This week we’re diving back into the big pile of reviews I have for you guys with an indie oracle deck. I love oracle cards (duh), but I really love indie decks. I think we’ve come to the point now where all the mass market oracles are getting to be copies of copies of decks that were unique 20 years ago. If you own one Doreen Virtue deck you pretty much own them all; same cards, same messages, same themes, just a different artist.

That’s what makes the indie market for both oracle and tarot cards so much fun. You have the opportunity to explore the world or magick and spirituality through the eyes of someone who is often an artist or intuitive who just had the message and concept of a deck fall in their lap, so to speak. When a deck isn’t being made because someone is contractually obligated to make one, the vibe just feels different.

Sapphire Moonbeam’s Moonbeam Magick oracle deck is one of those. It’s different. And it’s a deck that was created as a result of messages being “dropped in her lap” and her use of art to express them.

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Sapphire is an artist, a true artist. She works in different mediums from painting to jewelry, and she allows her intuition and her dreams to guide her work. She believes that these messages and images come to her because she has something she needs to share with the world. I love that.

[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]For those of that are clairvoyant readers, decks like Sapphire’s have us go back to our roots as intuitive.[/pullquote]

In 2012 Sapphire painted the image of a waning moon with a gradient rainbow burst behind it, the image that now graces the backs of her oracle deck. Looking back on it, she says that she feels this was actually a portal for everything else that came through later.

A year prior, she had begun receiving messages and visions in her dreams, things that she felt were possibly meant to be art. She’s made notes about whatever she was seeing and would make the plan to come back to it later when she had time to paint. Soon Sapphire would find that these notes would become many of the images that would come together to make this deck.

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The deck itself is simple. Her art is simple. But that’s part of what makes it compelling. While I love decks that have beautifully intricate art, like Collette Baron-Reid’s Mystical Shaman deck, there is something to be said for a more stripped down image like the ones in the Moonbeam Magick deck. More involved decks can sometimes be overwhelming for people who are new to reading or who don’t find themselves heavily clairvoyant. For those of that are clairvoyant readers, decks like Sapphire’s have us go back to our roots as intuitive.

The Moonbeam Magick deck plays heavily with color. If you love to read based on color and its vibrations, this is a deck for you without question. Cards like Storm and Free Spirit are heavily focused on waves and swirls of color that, without any real embellishments, definitely pull you in vibrationally. And, without much surprise, you’ll find rainbows featured on several cards.

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Even though you will find that many of the cards, like Angels and Flowers, are very simplistic, you’ll also see images with more happening visually. Cards like Strength and Fairies give you a chance to see some of the depth and variety to Sapphire’s work.

The deck consists of 46 cards. The cards themselves have a glossy finish and have a standard 3.5×5 inch size making them pretty comparable to many oracle decks on the market. The card stock is flexible making the cards easy to use but also not flimsy. They don’t feel like you’re shuffling paper and there is little concern that you’re going to ruin the cards.

The set is completed by a guidebook that is just shy of 100 pages. For each card, she provides a short interpretation and an affirmation. Much like her art, the descriptions in the book are simple, which leaves you lots of room for personal reflection and interpretation for your readings. She also includes some basic instructions and a few simple spreads for anyone new to using oracle cards.

I’ve been using the cards a bit and really like them. But if I had one criticism, because you know everything can’t always be sunshine and rainbows (even with all the rainbows in this deck), I’m not a fan of the font on the cards. If you’re a typography addict like me, you’re quite familiar with the Beyond Wonderland font. It has curls on some letters and numbers, and a “rubber stamp” effect where some characters have little lines of that look like the typeset was over-inked.

I think it’s cute on the box and book but on the cards, they take away from the art a bit. The font is also quite large on the cards and is placed right on the image rather than having a space with a solid background for the text to go since the deck is borderless. Because the font is so big on cards where the text takes up two lines, its extra cumbersome.

I’ve really enjoyed this deck so far and look forward to working with it more. Even though Sapphire is an artist and has painted these images herself, I feel less inclined to focus on the art and more on the energy and vibration of each card. Sometimes it’s the simple decks that can act as a portal for your deeper wisdom, just like the moon and rainbow image was Sapphire’s portal for pulling these cards out of the aethers.

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My Final Thoughts…

[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]Sometimes it’s the simple decks that can act as a portal for your deeper wisdom, just like the moon and rainbow image was Sapphire’s portal for pulling these cards out of the aethers.[/pullquote]

While this is definitely not going to be a deck for everyone, I think it’s perfect for people who are beginners to oracle cards, who are more inclined to red color and energy vibration, and even for children who are interested in learning to read cards. Everything in here is gentle but balanced and leaves lots of room for your own intuitive messages to come through.

You can find out more about Sapphire Moonbeam at her website SapphireMoonbeam.com, and you can find her deck at MoonBeamMagickDeck.com and at her Etsy shop. Within the listing for the deck on Etsy, she shows images of all 46 cards, so there are no surprises with what you’re getting.

The deck sells for $24.95 and comes in a rigid box with a lid that is suitable for storing your cards.

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