Deck Review: The Moon Oracle by Caroline Smith & John Astrop

Today I want to talk about a deck that I have been wanting to review since I first started this blog: The Moon Oracle, by Caroline Smith & John Astrop. It was one of the first decks that I ever got (the Brazilian edition of it, back then), and one I have owned on and off for many years.

The Moon Oracle comprises 72 cards, which can be divided into three minor decks: the Goddess cards, the Moon Phase cards and the Moon Mansions cards. There are 12 Moon Goddesses from different cultures, like Artemis, Ishtar, Lilith, Kali, Freya etc. The Moon Phases include each of the eight lunar phases in each element, so you have a total of 32 cards. And the Mansion cards are related to the 28 segments of the sky through which the Moon travels as it orbits the earth.

The cards and the book of instructions come in a very sturdy pull-out silver box, which keeps them protected when not being used and makes it easier to leave the set on display on a shelf. The quality of the material and the design of this oracle is not to be underestimated: the cards are big (~ 8x13 cm) and gorgeous, with vivid colours and a non-sticky glossy finish that can endure a lot of shuffling. I believe this is a deck that can stand heavy use and transportation, without you needing to worry that cards will bend or disintegrate in your hands. The art by Caroline Smith is drop-dead gorgeous and distinctive, with a slightly indigenous vibe to it. And for each lunar phase, Smith created a unique mandala, one more beautiful than the other. It's a veritable feast for the eyes!

The book is also very well-designed and well-organised. There is a small introductory part explaining the moon phases and mansions, and some moon-related astrology. Then you jump into the cards, first the Moon Phases, then the Goddesses and then the Moon Mansions. Finally, you have instructions on how to read the cards, with two original spreads (The Elemental Cross and The Seven Sisters) and the good ol' Celtic Cross. The last past of the book includes detailed moon tables, so you can easily find the exact date when the moon changes and also what sign and element it is in, which is important when you are using the Moon Phase cards.

In fact, one of the most interesting features of this deck are the Moon Phase cards, because they allow you to have a notion of timing in your readings. In all spreads taught, you always pick a card for the current lunar phase, and then other cards that will point to significant moments, either in the past or in the future, related to your question. In theory, this allows you to connect facts from the past to your current situation, based on the moon phase in which they happened, and also predict the moon phase in which new developments may occur. The book dedicates one page to each phase, in each element, and divides the meanings according to the zodiac sign the moon is in. To be honest, the meanings and keywords given are pretty short and do not give much food for thought.

The Goddess cards are gorgeous, and they also have timing attributes. Since each goddess is related a different zodiac sign, the presence of one of them in a spread shows that the month connected to her will be important for the situation at hand. For instance, the goddess Kali is ruled by Sagittarius (a rather random choice, if you ask me), so in a reading she implies that December will be an auspicious month regarding your question. Aside from that, the Moon Goddess are more 'advice' cards, as their meaning usually involve telling you to embrace the goddess' attitude in order to solve the problem posed in your question. Using the example of Kali again, pulling her card means that "you must pursue a policy of no mercy if you wish to achieve success" and that "you'll not find a solution in which you come out of the matter unscathed". As with the Moon Phase cards, there is one page for each goddess in the book, first describing the image, then the mythology and then the divinatory meaning of the card.

The Moon Mansion cards are the most 'oracle-ish' part of the deck: each of the 28 cards is connected to certain degrees in the sky, which are in themselves ruled by a pair of planets. The book dedicates one page for each mansion, first describing the image, then analysing the traditional meaning of that particular lunar station and then giving the divinatory meaning which, again, is quite... short. And although the authors explain some of the ancient traditional interpretations of each mansion, it's quite clear that they derived the meanings from the planets that rule each mansion.

And here we come to the crux of the problem I have with The Moon Oracle and the reason why I bought it and sold it more times than any other deck. On one hand, I love pretty much everything about it: the art, the idea behind it, the system. On the other hand... I never managed to have a consistent oracular experience with it. That is to say, I never felt like my readings using it yielded any deep insight, or truly revealed anything. For all its beauty and apparent complexity, The Moon Oracle gives rather bland readings. My impression is that I get very little from each card because their messages feel diluted somehow.

Let's take the Moon Phase cards... you have four different cards for full moons, with keywords such as "Fulfilment" (Full Moon in Water), "Solution" (Full Moon in Air), "Achievement" (Full Moon in Earth) and "Recognition" (Full Moon in Fire). Okay, they are not the same words, but they all hint at the same thing, making the meaning of each card very similar. It's as if you have four cards to give you the same message, with minor adjustments to suit each element. The Full Moon in Earth tells you that "the result of your hard work is now visible for all to see", while the Full Moon in Fire says that "you receive appreciation for your performance". Kinda potato, potahto innit? It makes the cards feel simplistic and punchless.

The book does not help much in this regard, because it lends so little in terms of divinatory interpretation. In the Goddess cards, I seriously wish the authors would describe the art less and develop the message of the goddess more. Same with the Mansion cards, which sometimes appear random and vague. Also, I find that the Moon Phase and the Mansions cards don't always integrate well when telling the story – while trying to read with this deck, I often felt like I was jumping through hoops to connect the cards coherently and make them relevant to the situation.

I had the exact same difficulty with the other two decks by the same authors that I owned: The Oracle of the Radiant Sun and The Elemental Tarot. I loved everything about them, but never found a way to use them satisfactorily. The readings seemed superficial, like I wasn't given enough symbolic material to explore. I don't discard the possibility that the blockage is in me, and not in the oracle. Perhaps Smith & Astrop's oracular language simply does not resonate with me, thus making it harder for me to work with their decks.

Lastly, as a southern hemisphere dweller, I can't help but notice that the deck has a northern hemisphere moon orientation: the phases look 'inverted' in comparison to what we see in the sky here. So if you live down under like me, it might peeve you a bit to read the name of a lunar phase but see its opposite. The old Brazilian edition fixed this; they actually took the trouble to flip the Moon Phase cards, so that they would match the southern point of view. Sadly, that edition also had many problems: poor card stock, poor printing quality (the cards literally faded over time), amongst other things, so I cannot really recommend it.

All in all, I think this is a gorgeous deck that you have to try for yourself and see how it works for you. My oracular experience with it has been underwhelming and, trust me, I say that with a great deal of frustration because I really wanted to be able to use it. But we do not seem to speak the same language, and I will probably end up passing it on in the next decluttering season.