The Vertical Oracle
by Antero Alli and Sylvie Pickering
 
I first encountered this deck and book set when the owner of Possibilities handed it to me and said "Let me know if you think I should carry this."  She had ordered it sight unseen from the distributor; neither of us had ever heard of it before.  My first impression was, "Wow, how neat."  The deck and book set come packaged in a black plastic video case with a very nice cover design, and there is something about a plastic case that just feels really nice.
 
The name of the oracle comes from the deck's purpose which is to connect the "vertical" sources -- "the heavens above, the soul within, and the earth below" with the "horizontal realm" (the world around us).  The deck contains 52 cards and a small book.  This is not a tarot deck.  Each card contains full-color collage artwork that is really quite well done, and kept to a minimum of imagery, which I like a lot.  Most of the photographic collage decks that I've seen try to jam way too many images into one picture, the result is that their impact is lessened by being too "busy" looking.  With these cards, a few simple but profound images are given in each case.
 
None of the cards have any numerical value assigned to them and none are placed higher or lower than any other in the deck.  They come arranged in alphabetical order but that is just so they are easier to match up with the book.  I guess they had to select *some* way of putting them in order for the book.  The titles appear on top of the image area in a different place on each card.  The cards are placed inside the video case loosely with the book on top of them.  It truly is a video case, too.  I was surprised to see that when I took the book and cards out of the package, I saw the spool hubs on the inside back cover of the case!  I would assume for small production of a deck and book set that this is an inexpensive way to package the set nicely.  You can purchase plastic video cases very cheaply by the gross and insert laser printed cover copies and voila, instant presentation case!
 
One thing that irked me a little with this set is that some of the cards are printed with portrait orientation, and some with landscape orientation.  For those unfamiliar with printing terms, portrait orientation is when you're holding the card upright in a vertical position.  Almost all tarot decks and most oracle decks are done in portrait orientation.  When some are portrait and some landscape, this means turning your head back and forth while looking at the deck.  It gets a bit tedious on the neck after a while.
 
The cards themselves are printed on a heavy card stock that has a silky semi-gloss coating to it and a rich feel in the hands.  Shuffling is easy since the deck is more or less standard size.  Edges are polished to a smooth finish and corners are nicely rounded.  The quality of the printing here is very nice.  The back design is a lavender patterned background with a labyrinth spiral design on it.  This looks identical to the spiral labyrinth used on the back design of the Legend Arthurian Tarot.  It may be that they are both based upon the same labyrinth.  In the book which comes with this deck it states that this labyrinth spiral originated from a turf maze at Boughten Green in Northamptonshire, England.
 
The book which comes with this set is small and thin but has good information to present.  The authors feel it isn't necessary to overcomplicate the process, so what is given is good but not overwhelming.  I guess it is the old adage, "Less is More."
 
I would recommend this deck to someone who is looking for an oracle for self-illumination.  It's not difficult to learn, a beginner could use it as well as someone more experienced.  It's less oriented towards divination and more towards work within the self.  I don't know how easy this deck is to find in stores since I've never seen it before, anywhere, till it was handed to me.  If you are looking to purchase one and can't find it anywhere else, email Wicce.  You can also purchase the deck directly from the authors through the mail, address is below.
 
Click here for pictures
 
or here to return
 
Please use your browser's back button to return from pictures
 
also see
Vertical Pool Productions
 
Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace
 
The Vertical Oracle by Antero Alli and Sylvie Pickering, 1997
published by Vertical Pool, Inc.
ISBN 0-9657341-0-2
 
Deck can be ordered by sending $33 (incl. postage) payable to:
Vertical Pool
P.O. Box 7518
Berkeley, CA 94707
vpool@sirius.com