This non-tarot deck and book set, subtitled "The Ancient Art of the Druids," is an interesting relative to the Ogham systems of the Celtic Tree Oracle.  The 25 cards in this set are illustrated with scenes from celtic life and indicate significant symbols of Druid lore.  Many of these symbols will be familiar already for fans of the Greenwood Tarot, the Celtic Book of the Dead, and the Merlin Tarot.  Additionally, Nigel Jackson's illustrations may be familiar, as he has more recently done The Rune Oracle with Silver RavenWolf.

A predominantly green color scheme runs throughout all the cards, which are bordered in white and further bordered with a framework of tree trunks and branches twined about the edge of the image.  None of the 25 cards are numbered or valued in any particular order, except that they all bear the letters of the Ogham alphabet in a small circle at the bottom of the card, and so you can arrange them according to the alphabet.

Since they are not a tarot, there are no Major or Minor Arcana, no suit or Court cards.  All the cards are simply titled in English at the bottom of the image.  There are four cards which do seem to have slightly more "traditional" significance, being the Four Holy Treasures of the Gods.  They are: the Cauldron of the Dagda (which would be a water symbol similar to cups), the Sword of Nuada (which would be an air symbol correlating to the Swords suit), the Stone of Destiny (an earth symbol like Pentacles), and the Spear of Lugh (a fire symbol like wands).  There are circles in the top border on these cards which indicate the elemental symbol for each one.  The circles in the bottom borders on these four cards are all blank.

There is one card, titled The White Roebuck, which stands out from all the others, it equates to the tree of Irish knowledge, the mistletoe.  This tree is considered sacred above all others by the Druids and so it is not assigned a specific letter or symbol, and its circles are blank at both top and bottom.  This tree is considered to represent the spiritual essence which is in all things but not contained within any one thing, hence the lack of a letter.  The White Roebuck seems to me to kind of correlate to the Fool for some subconscious reason.

The remaining 20 cards have the traditional Irish "druim" Ogham letter in the circle in the bottom border, and the "sacred Branch Oghams" in the circle in the upper border.  There is a small section in the front of the accompanying book which explains the difference between druim Ogham and branch Ogham.  No explanation is given for the Branch Ogham in the text for each card specifically, although the letter in the druim Ogham is shown in the card pages.  If you wish to learn the Branch Ogham you have to flip back and forth.

Titles for the 20 letter cards are archetypal in nature.  Names like the Flower Maiden, the Oak King, the Weaving Sisters, and the Harvest Wine are some examples. The artwork is interesting and, once you have read the accompanying text in the book for each card, should have no problem understanding and remembering its meaning, though it is necessary to read it the first time to learn the associated mythology.  Text in the book is two pages for each card, with an illustration, and a small chart listing the correspondences for each card, including the Deity, the Color, the Tree, thr Animal, the Herb, and the Use for each Ogham.  Meanings for upright and reversed cards are given, as well as the myth itself for the card.

The book also contains a section on spreads with four original layouts designed for use strictly with this system, although I imagine someone creative could use them with any deck.  Many tables of correspondences follow, and then the indices and bibliography.  It's not a very meaty book for all that it is part of a deck/book set.  A recommended reading list would have been a nice inclusion.  The cards themselves are standard sized and shuffle and handle easily, particularly since there are only 25 of them.  The edges are buffed to a smooth finish.  The back design is very nice, and the set comes boxed in a rigid cardboard box with a lift-off lid.

While this is not a terribly difficult system to use, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for the beginner either, because there is a small amount of information provided and growth is limited unless you know what else to look for.  Anyone already interested in learning to use the Oghamic systems will gain greater insight from using this system in tandem with others like the Celtic Tree Oracle and the Celtic Book of the Dead.  It is a good addition to any celtic lover's collection, as well as anyone who collects decks.

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also illustrated by Nigel Jackson:
The Rune Oracle

Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

The Celtic Oracle by Nigel Pennick and Nigel Jackson, 1991
published by Aquarian Press, ISBN 1-85538-132-X