I've had this deck and book set for a while and have meant to get around to reviewing it but only now found myself available to give it the time it deserves.  This is a really beautiful and workable oracle set and I didn't want to just crank out a form-style review of it.

Brian Froud is a well-known artist of faerie and fantasy artwork; co-creator of Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book and Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, he's also known for his designs for the fantasy films "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth."  Other books about goblins, giants and assorted mythical creatures also bear Froud's ingenous artwork.

The first thing that strikes one about Froud's artwork is that while the work itself is beautiful, the subject matter is often quite dark and not always your usual "white-light" blend of pretty faces with wings.  Entirely too much artwork these days that is devoted to the concept of faeries and angels depicts them as being so perfectly pretty, and they're not always so.  In terms of faeries, I've seen one once myself, and he wasn't exactly a beauty.  Froud's faeries actually encompass a large range of types and looks, some seeming to be little more than beings of light, while others are quite earthy and wild looking.

The set comes with a hardbound book and 65 cards.  As stated before, the illustrations on the cards range from several which depict beings of light, therefore they look quite different from others of the deck which have full illustrations.  It can be a little disconcerting at first.  There is also a blank card which is numbered 0 and can be used to draw your own Faery Guide, as he or she reveals himself to you.  The book suggests that if you don't have a clear image of the Guide, or if you cannot draw one, you can ask to be shown a symbol which you could use to refer to that Guide, and draw that symbol on the card.

Reading further into the book, one discovers that those beautiful beings of light which are depicted on the first thirteen of the cards are actually the Singers of the Realms, which are higher entities even amongst the Faeries.  I like to think that the reason they are shown as they are is that they have reached a higher evolution and move at a higher frequency than the rest of the ethereal beings.  The next thirteen indicate the Sidhe folk, those who are the Elder race of Faeries and who have special gifts and bring forth special miracles.  There is quite a range of variety here, from *That* Gnome! to The Sage to The Faery Who Was Kissed By the Pixies.  All of them are incredible in their own right and there is a familiarity to them when you meditate upon them, as though one is accessing a higher consciousness and feels as though one sees a truth, not just a mere fantasy illustration.

Faery Guides and Guardians, and the Help-Line Troupe, follow next.  These are the ones who guide us through our everyday lives and the ones who assist with small but helpful things in the midst of all else that is going on.  Here is the group wherein lies the faery that I saw the one time, although I was disappointed not to see him represented here specifically.  I'll never forget him though!  The last section of cards is the Faery Challengers, wherein you see the most connection with tarot concepts insofar as these are the archetypes of the Faery realm.  Death himself has a card here, as do several other recognizable archetypal energies.

The book itself is a beautiful creation.  Crafted of the finest paper in an ivory color with blue inks (a look I love!) and stitch bound so it will withstand even the most frequent consultations, even the cover is gorgeous.  You don't often see a book of this quality contained inside a deck and book set.  Many times the publishers will put a simple cloth-bound cover on it which is nice but once out of the box does not look very attractive.  And many people, myself included, will separate the cards and book for storage, choosing to house the cards in a custom-made bag or box and putting the book in the bookcase with others of its kind.  I used to keep them all together in all their boxes but found that space requirements made this nigh impossible to continue doing.  This book would look great on a coffee-table, that's how lovely it is.  Glossy paper and full illustrations on the boards make this book really stand out in every way.

Much of the book is taken up with wonderful descriptions of the faeries themselves; however, there are lots of good, useable sections with spreads, instructions on how to do readings with the deck, and much more.  By following this link you can actually read excerpts from the book here.

The cards themselves are fairly standard in size and weight and are generally quite flexible.  A nice satin coating protects them from wear.  The edges felt a little sharp, although this will disappear with use.  The deck handles and shuffles easily.  The back design is an impression of the Topsy Turvets, card number 51, but it's the lower half impression of the image, and then reversed upon itself so you can't tell whether the card is upright or reversed till you turn it over.  There is no little white booklet, since the set comes with such a wonderful book.

I absolutely, positively recommend this deck and book set.  Many people will want to have it just for the artwork, although the book will sell itself on anyone who does this.  It's definitely worthy as a collector's piece.  However, this is frankly a good, useable oracle set and it can be used for a wide variety of readings and meditative purposes.  Since it's not a tarot deck, you don't have to worry about whether you have any experience or not.  It's great for the advanced reader, but Macbeth's writing style is so easy to read and accessible that even the most shy of beginners will find this set opening whole new worlds to them.

Click here for pictures

or here to purchase this deck

or here to return

Please use your browser's back button to return from pictures

Review Copyright 2002 by Gina M. Pace

The Faeries Oracle by Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth, 2000
published by Fireside Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc.
ISBN 0-7432-0111-6