Book Review
Title: The Wisdom Of Avalon Oracle Cards
Author: Colette Baron-Reid
Publisher: Hay House
Released: September 1^st 2007
Pages: 52 Cards & Guidebook
ISBN: 978-1-4019-1042-6
$15.95 USA/$16.95 CDN

5 Stars 

Reviewed By: Beverley Ann Clairvoyant Medium (Ontario Correspondent - Canada)

Newest member to the Hay House family, Toronto intuitive Colette Baron-Reid brings her own unique style to the many wonderful collections of Oracle Cards. The Wisdom Of Avalon Oracle Cards are beautifully designed, with a holy grail type chalice, Celtic knot-work and half ‘blue' moon crescent backing each card. On the alternate side, the cards also have three of the four sides laced with Celtic knot-work and frame the images with additional filigree separating the images from the descriptive. The cards are also golden-edged, which really makes them dazzle.

Baron-Reid uses the legend of the mystical isle of Avalon as a theme for the cards, not to be confused with just the Arthurian legend, these cards do not itemize the trails and tribulations of the knights of the round table, but instead, delve into the history and spirituality of the island where the women of Avalon devoted themselves to their sacred Goddess.  

In the guidebook Baron-Reid explains "Many novels have been written about Avalon, and one of my favourites is The Mists Of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley." 

"I designed these cards to introduce you to the magical mythological characters of Avalon. They will symbolically guide you and link you to your greater purpose, help you manifest your heart's desires, and encourage you to gain greater self-knowledge."

My daughter is also an Arthurian enthusiast and has read the Mists of Avalon, felt the powerful source of energy at Tintagel (supposedly Arthur's birthplace) and uses an Arthurian Tarot regularly. She seemed to really like Colette Baron-Reid's interpretation of the Avalon theme, citing that the author had taken from the ancient spiritual side of the legend and made it easily accessible to a greater audience.  

Initially the deck can be confusing as the deck is segmented different to most decks, but The Wisdom Of Avalon Oracle Cards still has four suits, which are as follows. The Messengers Of Avalon, where you will find standard cards like ‘Merlin,' ‘The King,' and ‘The Queen.' The second section is The Animal Guides of Avalon where animals such as the horse, eagle, snake, and bee represent qualities one must possess or work on in their spiritual journey. The third section is called The Guides Of Faery which only has five cards to the collection and seem somewhat out of place thematically. Then a great section called The Sacred Journey Markers, which look like sign posts on a medieval dirt road with one word on them such as ‘focus,' ‘movement,' or ‘communication.' It would have been nice to have some explanation in the guidebook as to how Baron-Reid came to the conclusion of this format, but when used, the cards are a powerful source of information; especially the road markers and the animal oracle cards. The guidebook is useful in breaking down each cards meaning however. All in all, this is an easy deck to use with great energy to it.