Wisdom of the Oracle
The Wisdom of the Oracle was created in 2015, and I can see why it’s a popular deck. The artwork is easy on the eye and uses symbolic cues extensively. Before ordering, I hadn’t realised I was already familiar with the work of the artist, Jena DellaGrottaglia, whose work I first came across back in 2010 or thereabouts. The Wisdom of the Oracle was the fourth deck DellaGrottaglia created alongside Collette Baron-Reid, and I’ve another of their decks, The Good Tarot, to look at next. Despite its small size, the companion guidebook is substantial and gives decent descriptions for each card. The fifty-two cards are quite thick, laminated, and fairly wide. They’re not the easiest deck to shuffle and tend to cling together too much. Although, because it’s an oracle and not a tarot, this doesn’t pose too much of a problem because I’ll only be drawing one or two cards and not using them for a full reading. I’ve chosen nine cards to look at, but please be aware the guidebook also covers:
The Oracle’s message
Relationship message
Prosperity message
Protection message
The entire interpretation for each card is probably between 400-500 words.
All of the cards are quite lovely and in To the Sea (7) we have a fairy woman sitting in a paper boat floating on a calm ocean. The water is pretty dark, and there is little visibility under the surface. An arrow at the front of the boat faces forwards. A set of binoculars is mounted on the back of the boat and facing the direction already travelled. A soft masculine face is barely visible in a turquoise sky. From the guidebook Essential meanings: Being in flow; returning to Source; recoginzing how pieces fit together; a natural pattern of events. The binoculars suggest looking back at the past whilst the arrow reminds us to keep facing towards our destination. The woman has her head facing down — she’s not looking in either direction and appears to be allowing herself to go with the flow. I wonder if the face in the sky implies a sense of divine protection. The boat isn’t all that sturdy, and standing up to look backwards may even cause it to capsize. The lack of clarity under the surface may indicate a time of emotional uncertainty, yet the message implies we can trust that we’re heading in the right direction.
Loyal Heart (35): Two owls form the impression of a heart as they sit on top of an egg-shaped structure. Gold bunting hangs overhead and two keys dangle on either side of the central flag. From the guidebook Essential meanings: Fidelity; loyalty; devotion. Owls are always suggestive of wisdom, which could be worth remembering when applying this card to situations. Wisdom is earned and learned, and there could have been a long road to achieving the essence suggested in this card. The keys may imply access to something valuable, and the crowns symbolise honour and legitimacy. Staying with the crowns for another minute, they could suggest a relationship that has a strong foundation based on duty and a mutual sense of responsibility. Not For You (6): A lot is going on in the imagery for this card. A hand holds up a chessboard with white to the left and black to the right. In the middle of the board sits a fortune cookie; a tiny bit of paper sticks out and contains just a single word, ‘Nope’. Above the chessboard is a cabinet, or maybe a closed window; a faint impression of a face can be seen within. Despite the negative answer coming from the card, it’s actually one of my favourites. From the guidebook Essential meanings: A clear knowing that something is being denied you; “rejection is God’s protection”. Chessboards always suggest a game, but here we can see none of the pieces are in play — the suggestion here is it takes two people to play a game, and no one has made a move. Maybe someone simply doesn’t want to play? The fortune cookie symbolises fate and implies a lack of control over an outcome. Not For You is the card to remind us to pay attention to signs and that stepping back from a person or situation is sometimes a good thing.
Unfinished Symphony (10): This card resonates strongly, not just for its title. An oversized keyboard stretches across the sky with music symbols scattered in the background. A woman dressed in a harlequin-style costume sits cross-legged on top of a blue egg with a bow in one hand and a violin in the other. A female face can be seen inside the egg. A bird flies to her right, and one is perched on the keyboard to her left. The guidebook says Essential meanings: Unfinished business; an incomplete lesson; lack of closure; the need to make amends. Eggs often symbolise potential and possibilities that will materialise with nurture and care. Birds can represent a whole manner of things: They can symbolise freedom, new ideas, ideas taking flight, messages, and communication. The strong musical theme could suggest listening is especially important at this time. Thinker (44): is a card that provokes introspection, although maybe not in the self-reflective sense. The imagery shows bunting stretching along the top of the card. A woman sits on a plain abstract-like rectangular-shaped box with more boxes around her. She’s wearing ballet shoes and appears to be deep in thought. A face can be seen on the wall of the box to her right. From the guidebook, Essential meanings; Strategy; being analytical and logical. Ballet is a precision-orientated affair, and her shoes may symbolise a need to plan moves down to the tiniest detail. The emphasis on dance may also emphasise a need to be graceful. Clocks in the pattern on the bunting could correlate to paying attention to timing.
Orphaned (5): A woman sits in a bird’s nest on top of what looks like an old tree stump with the outline of a face showing. She’s wearing a wedding dress and has fashioned herself a beak. Her head is down, which implies she is forlorn. Trees can be seen in the background, and mountains are barely visible in the distance. From the guidebook, Essential meanings: A sense of loss; an identity crisis; recognizing that you don’t fit in; the need to belong; uncertainty about your place. The woman is clearly out of place, but her dress could imply themes of abandonment and loss. There are rocks to the side of her, which could imply she’ll be on solid ground once she removes herself from the nest — this could suggest we have more stability than what is immediately apparent. Clocks on the bunting across the top of the image could be saying it’s only a matter of time, or maybe a reminder that now is the time. Truth Be Told (14): The card features an owl standing atop a mask. A huge open window showing blue sky and white billowy clouds is positioned in front of its chest. Through this window to the soul, we can see tiny red hearts flying into the main picture space. The guidebook gives Essential Meanings: Honesty; accepting things at face value; coming out of denial; the willingness to be transparent; clarity of communication. The imagery suggests we be fully open and face situations head-on. Standing on the mask could hint at being above superficial representations of the self and allowing the love the fly out instead. Bunting draped across the window might even go so far as to suggest we celebrate moments of openness.
Message in a Bottle (15): A white pelican perches on the neck of a bottle floating in the ocean. Inside is an old-fashioned telephone, a few tiny red hearts, and gold stars. The water is clear enough to see the bottle's contents submerged underwater. The guidebook gives Essential Meanings: Communication; a sign; a cledon (the ancient name for a spontaneous oracle delivered innocently by the speaker) pointing the way to your highest good. Clear water normally suggests emotions being clean. However, this is a light-based deck, so I wouldn’t expect to see murky water. There is a slight increase in the depth of colour, which could imply some intensity behind the message. The telephone may urge the importance of speech over the written word. The final card I want to mention is Soul Mates (41): This card is the reason I bought the deck. I’d seen it used in a Youtube video reading and was instinctively drawn to the representation. The image shows two penguins in an affectionate stance surrounded by tiny red hearts. A faint impression of a serene face can be seen looking down from the sky above at the penguins. The guidebook gives Essential Meanings: Harmonious partnerships; love; friendship; companionship; a relationship fostering personal growth. The larger of the two birds holds an oversized golden key and the smaller penguin has a lock in its heart-space — it reminds the viewer to allow themselves to receive what is being given as much as it suggests the giving of love. Whatever relationship the card refers to, it suggests relating in nurturing and supportive ways. I also feel a sense of protective energy from the larger penguin.
The Wisdom of the Oracle deserves a place in any tarot and oracle stash. Still, it’s worth remembering this deck is aimed at a very specific area of the market — the lighter, airy side of those on a spiritual path. That said, if you are in a space where you need to surround yourself with gentleness, this would be a great deck for you. There is no denying that if we have just come through the wringer, we need some softness, and we can benefit from a little fluffing up. There are hidden faces in many cards and bunting features in nearly half of them. I love the symbols the artist used, and it’s one of those decks that lends itself to deeper interpretation. The booklet is alright, and I like that it breaks down interpretations for the different areas of life. Still, you will find another layer of information if you research the various symbols on the cards. It’s a solid oracle, and I will enjoy looking closer at the cards as they come up in my life.
