Deck Review: The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid

I first came across this deck in 2011, during a visit to São Paulo for a digital book conference (that I even wrote about here). I found it for sale for in a book store, very cheap, and brought it home. Even though this deck is by Colette Baron-Reid, creator of The Wisdom of the Hidden Realm, a deck I like very much, The Wisdom of Avalon did not leave a strong impression on me and I ended up passing it on and forgetting about it.

Last Christmas, I was given this deck as a gift again. As it found its way back into my hands once more, I decided to lend it a bit more of attention.

The Wisdom of Avalon comprises 52 cards and, as the name implies, its symbolism is meant to be related to the Arthurian legend. To be honest, this is done in a very freestyle way, which is not necessarily a bad thing but might disappoint those who are looking for a deck that portrays the lore more faithfully. For instance, we don't have cards for each of the most common Arthurian characters, like Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgan, Percival etc. The only ones that appear are The Merlin and The Lady of the Lake, and here they are archetypes rather than characters.

The cards are large-ish (12,8 x 9 cm), but the flexible cardstock makes them easy to shuffle despite the size. The edition I have does not have gilded edges, but I heard older editions do... I prefer it that way, as gilded edges usually make the cards stiff. The booklet is perfectly bound and fits neatly into the two-piece study box with the deck, which is very good in case you want to transport it. All cards, aside from "the sacred journey markers", were illustrated either by Gary A. Lippincott or Denise Garner. The back of the cards is non-reversible and depicts a golden cup filled with water, with a crescent moon reflected on it.

The cards are divided in four groups. The first is The Messengers of Avalon, which consists of the more archetypical characters, such as the Merlin, the King, the High Priestess, the Bard, the Grail Knight etc. The second group is The Animal Guides of Avalon and, as the name says, includes the cards depicting sacred animals, like the Owl, the Raven, the Horse, the Serpent, the Dragon, amongst others. The third group is called The Guides of the Faery, comprising the four elemental faeries and a goblin. Finally, we have the fourth group, named The Sacred Journey Markers. These cards show landscape scenes with symbols on them... they are not traditional art, but rather photos that were digitally altered to look painting-like.

One of the criticisms I heard about this deck many years ago is that these landscape cards felt "cheap" compared to the other half of the deck, which has very beautiful art. I understand this frustration, but I must say it does not detract from the deck in my opinion. In fact, these cards remind me of the importance of looking for signs in what surrounds us, because life and nature are constantly speaking to us in non-verbal ways.

The booklet by Colette Baron-Reid gives very basic instructions on how to use the cards, three suggestions of spreads and then the cards meanings. Each card occupies between 2 and 3 pages of description, with some of them being more detailed than others (for instance, the Novice card takes nearly three pages, while the Cow card barely takes two). There are no upside-down meanings.

A puzzle for Beltane

This year's Beltane has been rather melancholic. Not only it was cold and raining yesterday, which hardly inspires the thought of bonfires and dance, but it was also the aftermath of a very difficult election here in Brazil. The whole collective atmosphere felt like it had been drained.

It has been a few months since I last stood before my altar and talked to the Mother... My heart has been heavy with things I cannot really express to anyone else, if only because I cannot fully understand them myself. The mask of my persona – the unflappable, competent upfront I have created in order to function in the world – grows heavier and heavier. And yet, I fear that taking it off would reveal that there is nothing underneath. So, while drumming (I have a small shamanic drum), I asked the Mother for strength and clarity to do what I must and to accept my path. It's not easy for me to accept what I cannot control when it comes to myself or my life... I have too much fire in my natal chart and often feel compelled to act to solve things. But lately, all my actions have amounted to nothing. Sometimes you just have to trust the process... and I have such a hard time trusting anything! As I meditated a bit, I decided to pull a card about my musings. What was meant to be a single card pull ended up becoming a more complex puzzle, comprising many cards from some of my favourite oracles. And together, they revealed a very interesting message.