HoroscopoDiario
- Author and artist: Francene Hart
- Publisher: Bear & Company
- Recommended retail price: $35.00 US
- ISBN: 978-1-879181-73-1
The Sacred Geometry Oracle deck features the artwork of artist Francene Hart, who has been working with sacred shapes for over 25 years. Her art has been featured galleries and published in magazines and books. She has also produced a Sacred Geometry art book and colouring book.
Sacred Geometry associates geometric shapes and proportions to symbolic and spiritual meanings. The idea is that Sacred Geometry underpins the universe, and that wisdom, insight, inspiration and conscious evolution can be gained through the language and forms of this geometry. The deck includes paintings of geometrical shapes and mandalas, and draws on historial and cultural references.
The 64 card deck comes in a glossy, sturdy, drawer style box containing the cards and a detailed guide book in a plastic tray. I personally love nice boxes for my decks so I was delighted with this. I think the inner plastic container could be improved as the cards were tricky to remove once you’ve taken out the top few – I had to keep tipping the box upside down to get them out. But it doesn’t detract from the deck itself.
The guide book contains a one page interpretation for each card along with a large black and white version of the image. There’s an introduction explaining what Sacred Geometry is, and spreads are also included. I really liked these, as they offer something different to the standard type of spreads you can see with tarot or oracle decks. They seem well thought out and are based on some of the geometric forms from the card artwork, so it nicely mirrors the theme of the deck and creates a sense of cohesion. The guidebook and spreads allow you to dive right in and explore reading with the cards without having to know much about sacred geometry.
The cards are glossy which I find makes them easier to shuffle. The card stock isn’t very thick, which may not be to everyone’s taste. So they’ll probably show wear at the edges quickly if used regularly. The cards measure 7.5cm x12.5cm.
The artwork contains a border, with the card number and name at the bottom. They could easily be trimmed down if you prefer a borderless deck. The guide book gives each card name plus an additional interpretive title, for example ‘27. High Tide – Dynamic Action. I sometimes find it distracting to have a name or title on a card. However in this deck I didn’t mind the titles too much as they don’t always indicate directly the core guide book interpretation. This leaves enough room for intuitive or slightly alternative interpretations to come through without being distracted by the title.
In terms of the artwork I think the deck is beautiful. The back design is from one of the cards in the deck, printed in vibrant bright colours. The front of the cards have softer but still colourful tones which are really easy on the eye, in both pastel and more saturated colours.
The images include a range of geometric forms and shapes. Some of these are fairly simple and overlaid on pastel geometric patterned backgrounds. This works well as it adds some colour and interest without detracting from the focal shape. Others are merged into pictorial scenes which makes a really nice contrast to the cards with the simple shapes, whilst still retaining the geometric theme. The artwork really lends the cards to being used used as a meditation tool too.
These pictorial scenes are colourful and detailed, which I love. They include human figures, nature, animals, birds and insects. If like me you are a reader whose intuition gets stimulated by imagery, colour and detail, this might be a deck to consider. I personally would have like to see all the cards like this, instead of some with the just simple geometric shapes.
The interpretations include themes of of personal and spiritual growth, and connecting to the cosmos. The overall tone is one of support, healing and growth. There aren’t any cards here which have which have a darker vibe, or indicate tough challenges ahead. The deck doesn’t run away from challenges though, as the interpretations for reversals address blockages or difficulties.
A handful of cards seemed to have very similar meanings, so seemed a little superfluous – I’ll probably just remove them. Interpretations are included for reversals, except for the cards where the geometric shape is symmetrical. This may make sense if you do readings with card image reversals, but not all readers do, preferring instead to receive messages of blockage or challenge through the upright card. I would have liked to see reversal interpretations given for these cards, as it doesn’t feel like it’s allowing the full possibility of shadow and light to flow through.
My overall impression is that the Sacred Geometry oracle deck would probably be most suitable for someone looking for cards that focus on consciousness and growth in spiritual connection to the cosmos, rather than a deck to address matters on a more mundane level.
To explore this further I asked the question “In what way is this deck most useful?”. Lo and behold ‘60. Invitation’ turned up. Its subtitle is ‘Other dimensions’. The card represents doorways, portals, exploring dimensions of time and space, and giving oneself permission to do so. How appropriate! It reflects how the artist describes Sacred Geometry, as “A bridge between…the dimensions of time and space and a view of the universe as a multidimensional interconnected whole”.
I’m not sure it’s a deck I’d use on a regular basis, or for every day questions (although I think you certainly could if you adapt and apply your own interpretations). But if you are seeking a deck which offers this kind of focus on higher levels of consciousness and connection to the whole, then it’s certainly a beautiful one for that.
Reviewed by: Helen Masters
