Promethean Oracle Review
The Promethean Oracle is a 50 card oracle deck by Sophia Kelly Shultz and Mark Cogan. The deck is published by Red Feather, an imprint of Schiffer Books. The cards measure 4.75 by 3 inches.
Quality:
Like most Schiffer decks, this oracle comes in a long, sturdy box with a hinged lid. Schiffer’s boxes always look impressive on a shelf and are quite durable. Following their usual format, the companion book for this deck is a miniature bound book that matches the interior dimensions of the box. Its pages are glossy and feature full color illustrations. I have to admit that Schiffer’s cardstock is not my favorite, however. Their lamination is very glossy and it looks similar to the lamination on other decks of theirs where I’ve had some bubbling or peeling over time. The stock is also a bit thick and cardboardy for my personal taste, but I know some prefer this type.
Extra Materials (guidebook):
The guidebook begins with a spirited forward from Sophia Kelly that I applaud for its honest impression of the current feminine slant to the Tarot and oracle market and her advocacy for men. After a brief introduction, the thoughtful, yet flexible system for using the deck is briefly described. The rest of the book is devoted to individual card entries that describe the character on the card and offer suggestions about its meaning when paired with certain other cards in the deck.
The card entries are engaging, and I would have enjoyed even more content, especially since some of the characters being represented are less familiar to many people. There is a lot of space to jot down your own notes, and I could have done with less note taking space and more character background. That being said, the information provided is certainly enough for using the deck and learning the character’s story. My only other critique about the book is that sometimes the combination of font and background colors on the glossy paper make the text difficult to read, but my vision is also terrible, so that could be the real issue.
Artwork:
It’s moody, it’s evocative, it’s skilled, and it exudes a very palatable dignity. I love it. The art was the first aspect of this deck to catch my eye, as I really do love decks that utilize a dark background throughout. It lends a different atmosphere to the deck, and it’s a style I am always personally drawn to (if you will excuse the pun).
Set is one of my favorite Egyptian deities, and I was thrilled to see the fabulous service he received in this deck. To me his expression is absolutely spot on. Set and Anubis have their fur rendered in such a way that you can feel what it would be like to touch them when you look at the card.
Content:
The Promethean Oracle has a pleasing degree of seriousness and reverence to it. It isn’t just a deck that was created to fill the unfortunate gap in masculine themed decks, it’s a deck that was created because its ideas and characters are worth exploring and understanding. The characters that were chosen are fresh, interesting, and thoughtful. The deck includes Gilgamesh and Ezekiel, for example. Unlike many oracles, this one explores negative and positive human traits, which lends itself to more balance as well as some potentially hard-hitting messages.
The deck features “Prometheus Cards” (cards associated with the chakras) and “Tempus Cards” (representing the past, present and future). The guidebook suggests drawing cards alongside the Prometheus Cards (chakras) or the Tempus Cards (past, present and future) to enrich and sharpen your interpretations. Another subset of cards, the Divine Cards (gods and the supernatural), have keywords in their entries rather than a note about a specific chakra, making them unique to other character cards in the deck. Horus, for example, is a Divine Card and his key phrase is “restoration of balance.” Hammurabi is not a Divine Card, therefore a note about associations with the solar plexus chakra is included at the end of his card entry instead. These nuances make it interesting to divide up the deck for specific types of readings, and the suggested pairing system of Prometheus and Tempus cards is one that you can easily choose to employ or ignore for added versatility. I thought that these details made the deck flexible and enhanced its precision without sacrificing simplicity.
Conclusion:
I am thrilled to see a thoughtful oracle deck with a masculine focus. I appreciated that Kelly was willing and brave enough to point out what I’ve never been able to bring myself to say out of fear of raging backlash – there is an abundance of goddess and feminine content on the market and next to nothing with masculine content. It irritates and depresses me to no end, and I am glad that deck creators are starting to speak up and create content that celebrates the masculine and brings things back into balance. There are tons of fantastic men out there, and I am blessed to know many of them. They deserve to be celebrated and included. If, like me, you’re tired of feeling like you’re playing “Where’s Waldo” in your attempts to find the one man that appears in your deck of cards, this deck is a breath of fresh air. To top it off, the art is fabulous, and the balance of positive and negative messages make for some deep reading in practice. If you are interested in shadow work or a deck with fresh faces and opinions, the Promethean Oracle is definitely one to consider. I highly recommend it!
More like this… The Stone Circle Oracle, Swielistej Drogi Tarot, Gods and Titans Oracle, Twilight Realm: A Tarot of Faery
Quality: ****
Extra Materials: ****
Artwork: *****
Content: *****
Overall Score: 4.5 out of 5
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