I purchased many tarot and oracle decks at once to ultimately get a feel for what I like and connect to with the intent to part ways with the ones I didn’t. I thought it would be helpful (to myself and others) to post a bit of a review for the card decks in my collection. Today, I am talking about the 1st Edition Universal Mind oracle deck by Michelle Black; purchased on Etsy for $42-43 USD.
This may be odd, but I feel more comfortable when my tarot and oracle decks relatively vibe together. I use them both at the same time, so it is important that the color schemes, imagery styles and the like are close aesthetically. I purchased this deck in hopes to use it with my Starchild tarot, and I really enjoyed it! The imagery is beautiful and the meanings simple enough to coincide with all of my readings. I didn’t even utilize the [digital] guidebook, as things fell into place naturally and I didn’t feel the need to look up any further associations to the cards than what I had already assigned to them. With all of that being said, there were still quite a few things that made me not reach for this deck as often as I had planned to and here is why.
The divine masculine is one of my favorite cards in this deck! It’s so powerful and full of meaning.
The Packaging
In my opinion, what makes or breaks an experience with a tarot deck is not only the cards, but what type of protection houses those cards. Packing is important to me. You may be surprised to find out that with this deck, there was no tuck box or hardback solid box to house the cards in! I’m happy to report that the 2nd Edition has a box or pouch option, but it is an additional charge to have one. This for me is a real let down. Even at the lowest price points for decks, all of them came with some sort of packing to hold the cards in. I find this really odd and it doesn’t encourage me to purchase the 2nd Edition. My cards came shrink wrapped and did arrive safely in the mail, though.
Cardstock Quality
One of the biggest disappointments I had with this card deck, was the cardstock. Measuring at 3 x 4.75″ these are larger than most oracle cards. With that size, these cards bend and shape quite easily even with the gentlest of shuffles, like hand-over-hand method. I didn’t want to damage them, so I didn’t use them often as I had liked. Which of course, is a waste.
The Guidebook
Earlier, I mentioned a guidebook. I am also not fond of digital guidebooks. To me, it isn’t as convenient as pulling out a small book or pamphlet that is housed inside of the box for the cards (well, there goes that..since there is no box). This 1st Edition deck does, however, come with four additional cards that does have a bit about the creator, an explanation of the numerology system of the cards and a web address for the digital guidebook. As mentioned before, at this price point, I really feel as if this deck could have offered the minimum without going over budget. All other deck creators have, so I am not seeing the reason behind the extra costs for a box and guidebook; it’s the bare minimum in my opinion.
Overall, this deck was very beautiful and worked well for me, but the physical attributes of this deck truly took the joy out of working with it. I have since been able to sell this deck on a BST group via Facebook. I hope the new owner enjoys it more than I did!
