Shaman's Oracle
review by Tarot Dactyl
The Shaman's Oracle by John Mathews and Wil Kinghan is the most personal oracle deck I've used. It consists of 52 cards and comes with a spread template and hardcover book about the oracle and how it works.
The card stock is sturdy and the artwork features original and enhanced renderings of existing cave art. There are two interactive cards used to interface between the seeker and the energies of the deck: the "Journeyer" which represents the seeker and the "Companion" which is the seeker's supportive inner guide. The remaining cards are grouped in "tribes" which have elemental correspondences: Ancestors (earth), Hunters (water), Dancers (fire), Shamans (air), and Spirits (Aether).
The Cave Oracle Glyph is the template on which to lay the cards. The design is a handprint: each finger denotes a different "cave." Each cave is associated with a particular tribe of cards. The palm of the handprint represents "Midworld," a spiritual dimension of our own world. Outside of the handprint is an area called Spiritworld, which according to the book is a "timeless space where the ancient voices of the past are able to communicate their wisdom, and into which the seeker passes in search of answers."