Oracle of the Radiant Sun: Astrology Cards to Illuminate Your Life Cards – February 28, 2019

Everyone is making a big deal about the fact the card stock is on the thin side, but they are not extraordinarily thin. I own dozens of Tarot and oracle decks, and a good percentage of them have thin cards. What I do is, since I always shuffle seven or nine times, I do half of the shuffles facing up, and the other half facing down. If you do this your cards aren't always being bent in the same direction which helps prevent them from warping. Now that's out of the way...Beautiful cards, and nice book, and really charming presentation. Would I personally have preferred the cards be a tad thicker instead of having an elaborate box? Yes. But under the circumstances, ie This Set Being Out Of Print Forever, I'll take it as is. It's lovely. The colors are vivid. The cards are an interesting mish mosh of ideas and time frames, but there's a solid internal structure to how they look and read.I'm not familiar with Horary Astrology (or any astrology tbh), and the system is complex. But I found once I just jumped in and did the basic thirteen card spread I got into the rhythm pretty fast. It's not really more complex than Tarot, there's just some different considerations, and I have to say from my so-far limited observations since I've yet to memorize them, the titles of the cards are VERY helpful. They're helpful in the author/artist's intended meanings, and also in helping me form my own associations in an organic way since I respond to words similarly to how I respond to images.I sense, and I don't yet know if this will turn out to be true, that cards like these are great for big overviews, for longterm projects or for insight on things that are further out, much in the way Lenormand decks are best for smaller views and the short term. I could be getting this vibe because astrology is full of big patterns spread out over months or even years. I don't know if Horary Astrology can be used in conjunction with modern astrology proper, I wouldn't know where to begin synthesizing them, but it's a cool idea. And while the book doesn't indicate anything for reversals, I'm toying with the idea of incorporating them, in the same way retrogrades happen. So I can see there'd be some interesting applications.I've been waiting to find either a reasonably priced first edition of this deck, for years now, and now that it's in print again I finally have it and can explore some new paths. I find decks like this sharpen my skills and insights with other decks I own, so I'm looking forward to using it. It spoke to me through the images years ago, which was weird because at the time I didn't have the remotest interest in any astrology stuff, much less such a specific type. So I say if these images or ideas speak to you, go for it and give it a chance.UPDATE (6-2-19): Okay, so after using these for a bit the astrology part REALLY got in my way. I'd put it like this: I read the book, and read up a bit on Horary Astrology generally, and I have come to realize that combining cards with this astrological system just... doesn't work.Horary astrology is the idea that the moment you ask a question of the universe, the sky and stars and signs are all aligned in such a way to help you with the answer. This is why the royal courts of Europe, Asia, etc all employed professional astrologers. So that's one system.But cartomancy is the idea that you ask a question and consult an oracle, in this case cards. This makes it a completely different system and idea from astrology. It's not that astrology can't inform the structure of an idea on an individual card-- many Tarot decks utilize astrology-- but more like... YOU ARE CONSULTING CARDS, NOT THE SKY.So, taken together, the two things aren't aligning (see what I did there?) at all.The book is a good jumping off point for the astrological side of things, but I've found it useless, over time, with the cards. However the cards have remained very visually interesting. They are simply good oracle cards, in and of themselves. They have good symbols, the words really clear things up, and I've used them with various spreads besides the ones from the book. Also I've used them in Lenormand style, and they work really well.So I continue to recommend this deck. Perhaps you won't have the same reaction to blending two different, disparate things, in which case you'll like this whole situation. I just don't see the connection, but I've found the cards very cool and useful anyway.

The cards are thicker than the regular Llewelyn tarot deck like Linestrider. It's certainly thicker than another deck I own called Legendary Ladies. They are very usable and are gloss laminated. The colors are so beautiful and striking in person that I realise photos don't do it justice. The deck is also smaller than tarot size and bigger than playing card size I think so it's easy to handle.What I like about these is how it not only teaches you the properties of the various astrological elements but it makes a story out of each combination. There are 80 cards and it has its own system based on astrology and the characteristics of the various zodiac signs. You could very well use just these as there is a thick book to give full guidance. You can also just use them as Oracle to accompany tarot and enhance readings as well since they have a range of shadow and light keywords - one on each card. They are a great purchase and one you can explore over and over.I would get The Elemental tarot by these creators to accompany this deck for coverage of the elements and some mythology in readings.

An elegant, insightful deck. The cards are vibrant and rich in detail, each one symbolizing planetary energies through unique artwork that’s easy to interpret yet layered with meaning. The sturdy box and well-bound guidebook make the set feel high-quality and thoughtfully designed. The guidebook offers clear interpretations, making it accessible for both beginners and seasoned astrologers. This deck is a fantastic tool for illuminating patterns and exploring personal insights through astrology. A must have for every tarot reader.

I have a large collection of Oracle cards, and I love exploring new decks to see how I connect with them for both myself and my clients. This deck was amazing it reminded me of mini tarot cards! While I initially expected the cards to be a bit larger, the size wasn’t an issue for me. I’d definitely recommend this deck and might even purchase more for my “Blind Date with a Deck” experience.

Nicely done, insightful and intriguing, and good quality! Cards shuffle nicely. Love this set!

I love the look of these and that the artwork feels old. And there’s so much imagery packed into each card. Fertile imagery for divination!

I've not been into astrology buy I saw a video on how useful this deck is as an Oracle deck so I saw it on sale and thought I'd give it a try. It's surprisingly fun and useful even without using the astrology aspect. I use a lot of my decks for my writing like planning characters and plot lines and this deck is really great for that. If you do want them for their astrology references be aware they include planets through saturn.The art to me looks like the same style as the original rider-waite-smith deck so it goes well with that. I like the images, symbols and keywords on the cards. I prefer borderless cards but most aren't and the thin white borders aren't too noticeable on the mostly white backgrounds.The card stock is thin with a glossy finish. They already arr slightly warped right out of the box (warped differently since they came separated into two halves in the box) and glare covers some art during use. The edges are raised where they were cut out and the cards stick together slightly.

I love the illustrations on the cards. I would be careful shuffling because cards are thin, but I don’t mind personally.