A little over a year ago I reviewed a really soft and gentle deck, the Birds Oracle, created and wri

A little over a year ago I reviewed a really soft and gentle deck, the Birds Oracle, created and written by Jessica Blaine Smith at Golden Blue with illustrations by Mia Emily Freeman. This deck is now sold out, and the only way to be able to get your hands on it is through the Birds Oracle Deck SET. Very few copies are left, so if you want it, be quick! But what is this set? It is a combination of the first, sold-out deck, and today’s protagonist: the Birds Oracle 2. It is a continuation of the first deck, but also its own separate deck - so it is not necessary to own the first deck to work with the second!Though many of the details I included on the first review will be repeated here (as it is a continuation deck), it is important to pay attention, as there are some new additions I love. It features 44 cards, half done on white and half done on black backgrounds (though, because of the textures, lead more to broken whites and dark greys), and they represent birdies from all around the world. For Jessica, birds have always been a part of her life, but as she mentions, birds have been a part of many lives. They have been with us for several reasons, from safety to pets. Historically they were also used as omens. Jessica says that whether you love birds or loathe them, it’s impossible to get away from them. So she says: “embrace them and learn to allow them to assist you in your life”.So, is the structure the same? Nope, there are new additions. While in the first iterance we had 44 different birds of all kinds, in this case we have 43 + a special card, “your bird”. Featuring simply two feathers, this is the card to replace with your own bird, the one you love most, your favourite good omen. This is a wonderful addition, but there’s more: in the middle bottom picture (just above this paragraph) you will see that 7 of these 43 bird cards also feature coloured feathers. These are the chakra cards, in which birds are chosen to represent the energy centres in our body. The illustrations represent the birds in a soft way, which doesn’t take away from their magnificence. Because of the neutral backgrounds, it’s easy to appreciate their colours and their details. They are accompanied by geometric sunbursts (or moonbursts!) which in most cases serve as focal points. I think that the fact that birds are, indeed, all around us makes this deck very approachable and close to our experiences. The cards are the same rose petal cardstock, with the only difference being the white backs vs the previous black backs.The 100+ page book also has this velvety feel and includes full-page illustrations of the cards. They are ordered by number, which can be found on either the top of the bottom of the card in a very discretely sized font. The book includes an introduction about how the deck became to be, a section on how to use the deck, a few spreads, an intro to the chakras, and information about the cards themselves. This section features the name of the bird, characteristics (basic descriptors), a short meaning, a guts section (where Jessica gets into details about what the meaning is really saying), and finally, an ask includes some questions or problems to help you further dive into the card. This bit is different in the chakra cards, where the information includes the bird’s characteristics, the chakra and its relationship to the bird, and what can be excessive or deficient for that chakra - as well as an associated crystal.So yes, this review is a bit longer because there was so much from the previous review that I wanted to keep, and such wonderful additions to this deck that deserve their own paragraph. The Birds Oracle 2 is a deck with a soft and gentle energy that feels very real and deeply close to daily experiences. But, because something is daily, it doesn’t mean that it is minor - rather the contrary! Our daily routines, connections, thoughts and even mistakes are the building blocks of our lives. The beauty of this deck, aside from its illustrations, resides in the immediate bond that it creates and in how it elevates our life occurrences. With the addition of the chakra work, it is a wonderful tool to go even deeper in our meditative practices. It is a deck for those who love birds, but also for those who recognize how moments of brightness and greatness can be found in the little things. Head over Golden Blue to see more images, and don’t forget that once the Birds Oracle 1 is gone, it’s gone forever! -- source link

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