Hello, soul friends!
I wanted to start off a section on my website where I review card decks that I have used over the years. I have owned over 75 various decks (currently own about 65), and thought I would write some of my notes, experiences, personal opinions, and information on the decks for anyone out there looking for suggestions. Diving into the world of decks can be a bit scary, fun, and also at times overwhelming with the sheer amount of choices.
There are various differences to the types of card decks people use, but the most common ones are Tarot, Oracle, and Lenormand. Over the years, I have come to collect various and eclectic decks ranging in artistic style and type. I always purchase what grabs my attention, and have learned that my aesthetic is not for everyone. So, as always, purchase what you feel guided to use for yourself.
I am just expressing my opinions and my own personal experiences with these decks and I hope that you can appreciate the candor. As always, use your own intuition and find tools that suit your tastes.
Archangel Power Tarot
The Archangel Power Tarot Cards deck is published by Hay House. I purchased my deck at a local book shop, but I have also seen it available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other bookstores.
This was one of my first decks, aside from an old Tarot deck. It was my first foray into Oracle cards and I was suggested this deck by Doreen. I found it to be a good addition to my budding spirituality when I first started out.
From Amazon's Product Description: Get Answers and Courage with the Archangel Power Tarot Cards It’s not enough to receive answers — you also need courage, motivation, and empowerment to take steps based on those answers. Now you can receive accurate guidance in a gentle way and get the confidence to act upon it! You’ll feel driven to move forward with positive life changes, with the help of the archangels who guide you in the Archangel Power Tarot Cards. Doreen Virtue and Radleigh Valentine created this 78-card deck for highly sensitive people who need encouragement to put their Divine messages into action. These cards retain the magic of traditional tarot, with beautiful and inspiring words and imagery. The accompanying guidebook gives you step-by-step instructions on how to conduct trustworthy tarot readings for yourself and others.
About The Author
Doreen Virtue is well-known for her books and cards about angels. She holds B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in counseling psychology. Raised in New Thought, and then steeped in new age, Doreen's whole life changed on January 7, 2017 when she had an encounter with Jesus, which led her to get Baptized, begin reading and studying the whole Bible, and becoming a Christian. Since her baptism on February 25, 2017, Doreen only writes scripturally, even though some of her previous writing is still being published. She is working with her publisher to rewrite some publications, to take others out-of-print, remove her name from other products, and give back her royalties to charity on others.
Doreen Virtue is a best-selling author, a doctor of psychology, and a Christian who studies scripture. She has appeared on Oprah, CNN, the BBC, The View, and Good Morning America, and has been featured in newspapers and magazines worldwide. For information on Doreen’s work, please visit her at AngelTherapy.com or Facebook.com/DoreenVirtue444.
To enroll in her video courses, please visit www.HayHouseU.com and www.EarthAngel.com.
My Personal Review
This is a 78 card deck that is meant to be used as a Tarot deck, and is Archangel specific. It includes the Major and Minor Arcana, as well as Court cards. Product dimensions are 0.8 x 4.8 x 5.2 inches. The cards are larger than a traditional Tarot deck, but similar to most Hay House decks.
The deck is meant to be used as a Tarot deck and perhaps even an Angel Oracle, although I often found it cumbersome to connect with the images in the deck. The card suits for the Minor Arcana also threw me off.
The messages are all wonderful, and you can pick it up to use it with anyone without worrying about garish or scary messages. The artwork is a combination of various styles and some Photoshop, where a lot of the same faces pop up on different bodies - so there is a lack of cohesion that I prefer in most of my decks. Even if the artistic style is similar throughout, I found some of the images to just be out of place with the traditional Tarot meaning.
The accompanying booklet helps you along with meanings of the cards as well as how to work better with the archangel associated with the card. Granted with the odd suit renaming, it could appear that this deck would be a little useless for specific Tarot spreads, but I do find it a wonderful and amazing deck to use for quick 3, 5, and 10 card spreads. Given it's bulky and sometimes odd images, I didn't always naturally reach for this deck, unless I had a query that was a little more difficult than my other decks could handle. I did find that if I looked past the things that I wasn't fond of, it was an accurate deck.
I find that anyone could pick up this deck and use it without a lot of confusion, or meddled up jargon included in the guidebook.
The cards are noticeably bigger than a deck of standard playing cards and the card stock itself is solid; I recommend anyone with a new deck spend some time shuffling it and getting to know its feel, in addition to just "getting to know" any new deck. I've found that I can shuffle them quite easily, but only if I did a few at a time. 78 large and wide cards were a bit much for shuffling. Especially with my small hands.
The card stock is thick, has a shinier finish than newer decks (which is annoying when trying to get a nice picture of the deck), and also allows you get a nice bend without cracking the card stock.
The guidebook is helpful, clear, and also helps you connect with the messages further. If you have difficulty other tarot decks, this may be a better solution for you. It is very easy to handle and shuffle. It is so gentle to use, that I have even allowed my children to play with it. Much of the imagery is not dark, scary, or inappropriate for even a young audience. My children loved the soothing images.
If you are new to Angel, Tarot, or Oracle cards, or a beginner in divination, this deck might be a comforting addition. I would say that this deck is a good one to try and check out. For me, personally, I just didn't connect with it as often as I have with other decks. I ended up gifting this to someone who absolutely connected with it.
My overall opinion is that this deck is a 3 star choice.
Artwork - 3 stars
Card stock - 3 stars
Ease - 3 stars
Guidebook - 3 stars
I hope that you enjoyed my deck review, and also enjoy other deck reviews that I add to this site. I have a passion for exploring new decks and also finding various ways of connecting to my intuition. I appreciate you checking out my site and taking the time to read my review.
