“Sacred Sites” Oracle Deck Review
Try before you buy: here is a review of the “Sacred Sites Oracle Cards”, a 53-card deck by Barbara Meikle John-Free, with Flavia Kate Peters and illustrations by Yuri Leitch. All opinions are my own.
My Star Ratings
1 star = disappointing / 2 stars = meh! / 3 stars = pretty good / 4 stars = terrific / 5 stars = sensational
The Artwork 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Card Meanings 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Guidebook 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Card Quality and Packaging 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Why you may be drawn to this deck
Do you ever get that sudden pull to go travelling? Or do you sometimes get triggered when you watch a documentary on a foreign place and get a feeling you’ve been there before? I sometimes get this when I hear certain traditional instruments being played, like the Egyptian Sistrum, or the Chinese Pipa.
When I’m triggered in this way, my go-to is to sit in Meditation and uncover the hidden messages. However, in today’s sped up world, it becomes increasingly difficult to set the time aside to do this, so reaching for an Oracle Card from time to time can be really helpful.
The Artwork
The images in this deck immediately evoke a sense of connection to the exotic. As a person who loves to travel, I am always excited to learn more about different countries and their spiritual histories. And this deck does not disappoint in offering a variety of Sacred Places from around the globe.
The pictures vary from realism to iconography and symbology. I did feel there is a lot going on with the amount of images on the cards. However, these images are mostly presented in a strategic way that makes each one stand out.
The Card Meanings
The sacred images on each card are presented in a bottom-to-top format. This felt like a spiritual ascension roadmap of sorts, perfect for working our way through our pasts, present and potential futures. I’ll explain more below - without spoiling any specific card meanings - you’ll have to see what they mean for yourself in the guide book!
The Past, or “Lower World”
The pictures at the bottom of the cards represent the past. Part of our evolution, is to learn from the Past, so it seemed like a good place to start my reading with the messages at the bottom of the card. I loved seeing archaeological sites from Earth appearing at the bottom of many cards, such as the lion on the 8th Blue Gate of Babylon (on the Ziggurat of Ur card). Other cards had fabled relics, such as the Ark of the Covenant on the Axum card.
The Present, or “Middle World”
The images around the centre of each card addresses the present. Symbolic signs and talismans appear in many of the Middle (and Lower) Worlds, such as the Celtic Trisekllion on the Newgrange card, or the Manaia on the Tongariro card. Meditating on such symbols are a great way of remaining present. By dealing with the here and now, we achieve another step towards becoming the best version of ourselves.
The “Potential”, or “Upper World”
I like how the creator has used the word “potential”, not “future”, to describe what’s going on at the top of each card, reminding us the future isn’t set, as we always have a choice. I particularly loved the image of an illuminated Ameterasu, a Japanese Goddess, at the top of the Mount Fuji card, with her sun rays inspiring hope that we may ascend if we work through our pasts and presents.
The Guidebook
If this is your first deck of Oracle Cards, the guide book is user friendly. It is written in a way that is easy to understand how the her/history and Symbology of each Sacred Site relates to your jounrey, so you don’t need to be an Anthropolgy expert! I particularly loved the legends behind the characters on the cards. And, unlike some dry history volumes, the author fills the pages with interesting facts and spiritual hints for a happy life. If anything, the deck has often inspired me to pursue further research!
The Guidebook recommends a few different card spreads you can try. I did feel conflicted when wanting to a Past/Present/Future reading for myself, as not all facets of the one card resonated. So I tried a 3-card PPF spread and arranged 2 cards in order of which I felt best described my past and present - and then the remaining card was the “luck of the draw” potential outcome (I hope that makes sense!). I did find the reading made a lot of sense when doing it in this way.
Card Quality and Packaging
I think this is an important thing to look into, especially when I have observed so many clients comment on the difficulty of shuffling Oracle Decks, which tend to be quite large - this is something I struggle with myself (though there are other ways to draw cards without shuffling).
This deck is terrific, as the cards themselves aren’t paper thin, nor are they super thick. I find thick cards are difficult to shuffle and often fall out of the pack. These cards also have a decent “slip” when shuffling and are slightly smaller in size than some of the other Oracle decks I have.
The packaging is really protective. It’s a hard, glazed box, so the box is less likely to get worn, especially around the corners. Also it’s slightly difficult to open - which is great! Nothing worse than having to use an elastic band around the container to keep Oracle Cards from flying out of the deck, if the packaging is too flimsy!
Some Final Observations
The cards have their own unique classification system of being from the North, East, South or West parts of the world. Most sites that are considered North and South are easily enough to find, but some of choices for the East and West groupings surprised me. It guess it depends on where the user is located and what is to their personal east or west!
I found it tricky finding the page number in the guide book for the card I drew. Instead of listing the cards descriptions alphabetically, you need to work out whether the Sacred Site is classified as North, East, South or West and then find the card’s page number under the compass direction listing.
Overall, I feel this was a lovely, spiritually rich deck to work with - and a must for those who want to tap into their spiritual growth via these incredible sites dotted around the Earth. It’s especially delightful for those who love travel, culture and the way different societies have celebrated the Divine.
If you enjoy learning about Sacred Sites, here are some good reads I highly recommend:
Earth Grids: The Secret Patterns of Gaia’s Sacred Sites by Hugh Newman
Crystals and Sacred Sites by Judy Hall
Ley Lines and Earth Energies by David R Cowan and Chris Arnold
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