Secrets of the Ancestors Oracle

Psychic News Magazine Oracle Card Deck Review: Secrets of the Ancestors Oracle by Abiola Abrams. Boxed set of 43 cards and Guidebook. Published by Hay House. RRP £17.99 (12^th March 2024)

“You are made with the legacy of love. You are stardust. You are a library. You are a sacred heir to the queendom of the Divine.”

From the inside box cover: Whether or not you know your ancestors - they know you. Spirit was our first ancestor. 

Abiola explains that we have been given a blessed assignment by our ancestors to evolve our consciousness, awaken our life purpose and clarify our truths. This Oracle helps us to do this by connecting to spirit guardians, guides and ascended masters who reveal this assignment and assist us with its undertaking. These ancestors can intercede with the Divine on our behalf to help us along this spiritual path. Our ancestors have prayed for us to connect with them and wish to show us our sacred inheritance and help us to deepen our wisdom. Our ancestors might not be blood relatives. They can be community or cultural ancestors, and can also be animals and plants that are linked to the land and which help with our healing and empowerment. One day, we will be an ancestral spirit and can start today with this responsibility. 

In the Guidebook, we find guidance on how to dedicate, cleanse, bless, and prepare for a reading, make an invocation, shuffle and select. We can venerate ancestors with a praise poem, tell their stories and build an ancestral altar. Several spreads are recommended, such as The Sankofa, one card; Ancestral Wisdom of 3 cards; Generational Wealth of 5 cards; the Cornrow of 9 cards; and the Family Karma Tree of 15 cards; or use the Talking Drum and Council of Elders from Abiola Abrams’ previous card deck (information given below). There are details about the 5 Elements of the Community Circle, which are the 5 suits of the deck, and these are divided into Earth, Air, Fire and Water plus an additional fifth suit. Reversed cards show shadow aspects. There is an intentional connection to Tarot cards, and though no knowledge is necessary to use this Oracle deck, those who read Tarot will recognise the four elemental suits added to the 22 Major Arcana cards. There are three special cards, Mother God, Father God and the Unknown Card. 

The Guidebok text is divided into the meaning and explanation of the card energy, Ancestral Memory, Ancestral Medicine, the Tarot Correspondence and a Declaration.

Sample text from the Guidebook: Number 17 is titled The Star and the subtitle is Spiritual Rebirth. Full Guidebook text: “Hello, Season of Renewal! There is sunshine after the storm. You have been through it and like who came before, you are more than a survivor - you are a thriver.  Being vulnerable can feel emotionally difficult, but allow your vulnerability to be your strength and superpower. Come, as you are, step into the limelight to be seen, be heard, be a movement. You are the start of your own show called life. You are blessed. This is a lush, beautiful, fertile season of transformation for you. You are nourishing the earth and the earth is nourishing you. Trust your inner guidance, as you are perfectly, divinely aligned. New ideas are flowing through you, allow yourself to receive it.”

Ancestral Memory: The Star card was inspired by the Chibados the third gender of the Ndongo and Matambo people. These trans-feminine people were revered as deeply intuitive with powerful magic.”

Ancestral Medicine: “All things are possible, my child. You are in the flow. You have been chosen to dream bigger and expand your bloodline. Be generous and loving. Share the wealth.” Shadow Aspect (reversed) “Ugh! Things seem hopeless, but don’t lose faith. Hold on. You are overwhelmed. Hold on. It feels like you are being tested. Hold on. You feel uninspired and disconnected. Hold on. It will get better. You will get better. Self-care at this moment is necessary for healing, not an indulgence. Take care of you.”

Tarot Correspondence: The Star.

Declaration: “I am unapologetically me.” 

The card backs are mirrored so we don’t know when the card is laid face down whether it is upright or reversed. The card quality is strong and durable. The faces show the artwork, a number, title and subtitle and the symbols feature flowers, wings, wild animals and masks. 

The author is Abiola Abrams who readers might know from her consultancy at the College of Psychic Studies. She is very impressive due to her huge output of material and the variety of her work. She is very experienced and knowledgeable and her dynamic approach to her life and work is admirable. She focusses on producing empowerment products for women, and is especially interested in the promotion of black women though these cards feature men also. She is an American intuitive self-worth coach, award winning author, retreat leader, and transformational speaker and she has a number of courses, podcasts, MP3 downloads, audiobooks, books and card decks, and some free offers on her website below. She has founded the Mawu’s Goddess Mystery School, provides Goddess Empowerment Retreats and African Goddess Initiations. She has founded the Spiritpreneur Academy, and holds a Moon Circle and Coaching Group. She offers one-to-one sessions on Becoming the Goddess You Were Born To Be! She has free YouTube meditations, podcasts, such as the Goddess Temple, and courses, such as Write Your Own Book, African Goddess Initiation, and The Ancestral Cohort.

The artist Destiney Powell has a BA in fine arts and is from Nashville, USA. Her inspiration is taken from the African diaspora. Her artwork is of high colour, and mostly figurative and portraiture though she is versatile and these images are well produced and interesting. They cover all ages and sizes of people. I liked the illustrations very much. 

Abiola’s previous card deck is titled African Goddess Rising and is a boxed set of 44 Cards and Guidebook, also published by Hay House UK £8.99 : US $14.99 : Can $19.99 which begins with “Sawubona” - a Zulu greeting which means welcome, “we see you”. This Oracle invites us into the sacred goddess temple circle and each card represents a revered deity, matriarch, regal ancestor, or supernatural creature, all wise and loving divine feminine energy. Each bestows a gift of knowledge. The cards are divided into 9 temples: threshold guardians, ancestors, conjurers, warriors, shadows, lovers, griots, queens and high priestesses taken from the 54 countries of Africa and the African diaspora, such as Haiti, Cuba, Barbados, Brazil and Guyana. You must face and integrate these 9 inner temples to awaken the goddess within. The Guidebook provides information on a blessing on the cards, a dedication, cleansing and invocation. “Rise up beautiful one! this is your time.”

I read one card each day. The illustrations are also first class! 

Review by Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk