Compendium of Constellations Oracle Deck Review

Deck Creator: Claire of Black and the Moon
Website and Instagram: www.blackandthemoon.com, @blackandthemoon
My favorite uses for this deck are: setting intentions, manifestation, shadow work, and introspection.

My favorite cards in this deck are: Tucana - Manifest, Lyra - Attraction, Cygnus - Love, Crater - Abundance, Chamaeleon - Adapt, and Piscis Austrinus - Intuition.

The most challenging cards in this deck are: Canis Major - Dominance, Cassiopeia - Vanity, Hydra - Death, Sextans - Plot, and Orion - Narcissism.  The keywords on this deck are some that I know I will struggle with and would make great shadow work topics!

Let's get the logistics out of the way.  This is a 90 card oracle deck featuring 88 constellations, including the traditional zodiac signs, and two star clusters.  Which makes it an amazing value because I've found that other decks have maybe half the cards for the same price.  It does not have a guidebook at all.  Not a physical or digital version.  Each card has only one keyword on it, right under the constellation's name.  This can feel a little intimidating for people who don't do intuitive readings, but you can make your own actions and keywords for each card.

I don't love the box that it comes in because I think that the two-piece boxes are sturdier than the tuck-boxes, but that's not a huge issue.  If you want, you can always put your cards in a custom bag or box.  I keep my decks in their original boxes and this one will also stay in its original box.  Another detail that people may not like is the size.  They are smaller than what I consider to be typical of oracle and tarot decks.  I personally love the size, but I've heard that others prefer the classic size.  Below is a photo comparing the size of The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck Second Edition and the Compendium of Constellations.

The artwork on these cards is phenomenal and mystical.  I could flip through each card and stare at the images over and over.  I would never get tired of it, even though there are so many cards.  And of course, no two cards are the same.  Obviously, they're different constellations, but even the backgrounds and the colors are unique for each card.  Claire put so much energy, time, and magick into these cards and you can absolutely experience that magickal energy in every detail of the cards.  Some of my favorite cards are the ones that are lighter and multicolored, but the monochromatic and the darker colors are just as gorgeous.

P.S. Keep an eye out for my series of personal interpretations for each card!

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The Universal Mind Oracle Deck Review

Deck Creator: Michelle Black of Forest and Crow
Website and Instagram: www.michelleblackvision.com, @forestandcrow
My favorite uses for this deck are: monthly pulls, meditation inspiration, journaling prompts, and connecting to the elements, crystals, and essential oils.

My favorite cards in this deck are: Acceptance, Experience Dawn, Healing/Chakras, and Solar Eclipse/The Unseen.

My most challenging cards in this deck are: The Lesson and Life Giving Nutrition.  I struggle when it comes to taking care of my body and paying attention to potential lessons, so these are areas that I'm working on with this deck.

This deck gets along best with: The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck, The Starchild Tarot, and Sacred Soul-Searching Oracle Deck.

There is something so exciting and magical about supporting a new deck during its pre-order phase.    You are helping create this deck!  When my boyfriend and I saw the artwork for the Universal Mind Oracle Deck on Kickstarter, we both fell in love.  He actually backed this project as a gift for me.  This is the deck that sparked my love for oracle decks.  Let's get into a quick review of this deck and its virtual guidebook!

There is one thing that I would change about this deck: the size.  It's a lot larger than what I consider a "classic" deck size.  The image above shows one of the Universal Mind Oracle Deck cards with a Wild Unknown card placed on top to show you how much bigger this deck is than other decks.  I tried trimming one of the introduction cards that came with this deck, but it ended up a little rough.  It's not a total dealbreaker to me, but it does make it difficult to shuffle this deck in a traditional way.  Like I said, not a dealbreaker, just a heads up!

We all know that how you connect to a deck almost entirely relies on the artwork.  This artwork was easy for me to connect to, especially because there are tons of rich colors, overlays, and so many moons!  What's amazing about the deck is that I can seriously immerse myself in the worlds or stories of each card.  This is my favorite deck for intuitive reading because I can use my own energy and combine it with the energy of the world in each card.  I can actually see myself in each card.  Seriously, they're that magical.

You've probably noticed that some of the cards have just one meaning or keyword, while others have one\two keywords.  Even though I don't love the \ marks (seriously just a personal preference), I absolutely love that there are a couple meanings right there on some cards.  They always support each other and serve as an extra prompt for the story of each card.

Another heads up for people interested in purchasing this deck: the guidebook is a PDF that you can download and refer to as needed.  At this time, a physical guidebook is not offered.  I printed mine at home because there is a lot of information that I wanted to quickly find and I prefer physical guidebooks as opposed to electronic guidebooks.

Each card has its own page with a brief message about the card, keywords, and the card's element, essential oil, and crystal correspondences.  I really love the bottom section with the information just listed out because it does help me better connect with the card that I've pulled.  The guidebook also has an appendix with rituals, such as meditation and morning routines, and references, such as moon phase meanings and nature divination.

Overall, I really love and feel connected to this deck.  If this deck was smaller and had a physical guidebook, it would travel with me everywhere I go!  It isn't impossible to travel with it and you could absolutely just download the guidebook to your phone, but it's just a little bulky for my on-the-go cartomancy needs.

Do you have this deck?  What are your favorite cards?  Your favorite uses for this deck?

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Inner Star Oracle Clarity Edition Review

Deck Creator: Jo Klima of The Darling Tree
Website and Instagram: www.thedarlingtree.com, @thedarlingtree
My favorite uses for this deck are: weekly or monthly pulls, rituals, and meditation.

My favorite cards in this deck are: You Are Stardust, Trust the Journey, Take an Adventure, and Sacred Knowledge.

My least favorite cards in this deck are: I don't think I have one!  I try to pick a card that makes me feel "uncomfortable" or "uneasy," but I connected very easily with all of these cards.

This deck gets along best with: all of my decks! It's a great addition to any spread.

This deck does not get along well with: I haven't noticed any decks that don't get along with the Inner Star Oracle.  Searching through #innerstaroracle on Instagram shows this deck paired with even more decks and it always seems to fit in well!

I think every deck is my favorite deck but is that so wrong?  I was actually scared that when I got the Clarity Edition, I would regret not getting the Magic Edition.  I was wrong.  The black and white designs are so straightforward and gorgeous.  The deck may seem simpler compared to its colorful counterpart, but I find that it's still just a powerful in imagery.  I chose the black and white version because I thought it would complement any other deck I paired it with and so far I've been right.  The cardstock is very thick and smooth.  The colors on the backs of the cards are magnificent.  The deck shuffles so easily and I think it's the perfect size.

What I really love about this oracle deck is that even though the guidebook that came with it is pretty small, it has just the right amount of information.  Just a few sentences about each card and its imagery.  It also has an affirmation for each card, which I love!  The cards themselves can actually serve as mini-affirmations or physical representations of your intentions.  I think this would be great as a weekly or monthly pull.  Of course, you can always pull for daily reminders or messages.  I think that for affirmations to really sink in, though, you need to use them for at least a few days.

So I shared a few of my favorite cards below, but I also wanted to share a sample of the guidebook contents so you can see what I mean about it really being of great quality in a relatively small book.  Also, you can probably guess that the card that I used as an example is my favorite.  You Are Stardust.

I tried to narrow it down to 3-6 cards that really resonated with me, but I couldn't.  I seriously picked 12 favorite cards and I still struggled to keep it that low... That's how much I love the images on this deck!  Like I said before, I thought I would regret not getting the Magic edition, but this deck is just what I need.

Do you have the Inner Star Oracle Clarity or Magic Edition?  Which card is your favorite?  What is your favorite use for this deck?

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