Crusader - By Horse to Jerusalem

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Crusader -  By Horse to Jerusalem by Tim Severin.

This is the story of the author’s journey that follows that of Duke Godfrey in the eleventh century from his castle at Chateau Bouillon, home of the heavy Ardennes horse that was so conveniently available to the crusaders. The road travelled was the old Roman road, but over some extremely difficult terrains, 2,500 miles in all to Jerusalem. 

The author describes his experiences with Sarah his companion, with the horses that took them on that long journey, the people they met, and the many difficulties they had. At each place, we are given the story of Duke Godfrey and his entourage and what they described happened in that place. 

Mystic Psyche Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Mystic Psyche Tarot By Emily Balivet. Quality Boxed set of 78 Cards and full colour Guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing. RRP US $29.95 : UK £23.99 September 2025 Visit: https://www.rockpoolpublishing.com/mystic-psyche-tarot

To illuminate the path of self discovery! Showing us the depths of human experience through traditional Tarot symbolism, mythic archetypes, personal alchemy, and modern paganism, this deck highlights illusions, negativity and weaknesses and aids in the discovery of truth, power and discernment. It is ideal for beginners and experienced readers. 

The guidebook explains how to use the cards, how to prepare them, hoe to set an intention, how to choose the cards for a reading and how to interpret them. A One-Card quick draw, a Past, Present, Future Spread of 3 cards, and a Celtic Cross Spread of 10 cards, are suggested. Each card has a descriptive artwork image, a number, a title and two keywords for upright and reversals. The symbolism is explained, and the meaning is given. Reversals are also explained. 

The Bohemian Animal Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Bohemian Animal Tarot, written by Scott Alexander King and illustrated by Sharon McLeod. A boxed set of 80 cards and guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing. 

This is a truly beautiful Tarot deck. It is enriching, nourishing, and powerfully connects to many rare and iconic species that will facilitate great enjoyment for the reader and their clients. I like the deck and I like the work of Scott Alexander King. In addition to the suggested spreads, the deck can be worked through by choosing one card for each day. The species that are depicted are illustrated realistically and in great strength and skilfulness and admirability. 

True Love Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: True Love Oracle - Attract & Create the Love You Desire by Belinda Grace, Boxed set of 36 Cards and Guidebook, published by Rockpool Publishing US $24.95: UK £18.99.on 8/12/2022 

New levels of understanding, confidence and trust are promised! With beautiful high colour artwork by Lori Banks, these cards are enjoyable. We all want to be loved and to love others in order to be emotionally fulfilled. It is difficult to feel satisfied with your life without affection and respect. The cards carry an image, number and title. In the guidebook, you have twenty words of advice for each card and 1,000 words of extra meaning. Also included, are instructions on how to use the cards, guidance on specific issues, questions, information for a 3 card reading for singles and for partnerships. There are meditations, mantras, a reparenting method, and a reintegration of your divine feminine. 

Mystical Healing Reading Cards

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Mystical Healing Reading Cards by Anna Segal, illustrated by Jake Baddeley. By Rockpool Publishing. Boxed set of 36 cards and instruction book. Card size 5 inches x 3.75 inches.

"To the awakening of our spirit self"

It is suggested you meditate on the card images and read the message in the book. Questions to ask: What feelings and emotions are felt, what connections do you think of, do the symbols mean something personal, what does the card say about your past, your present life, and your possible future???

If you are tired of skimming surfaces, and are looking for something more meaty, this deck is a good start.

Celtic Spirit Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Celtic Spirit Oracle - Ancient Wisdom from the Elementals by Nicola McIntosh. Boxed set of 36 Cards and full colour Guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing. 

I enjoyed these cards, their gentle coloured drawings, beauty, concepts and write-ups on each card. The cards display an image, a number, a title and three keywords on their face. In the guidebook, we have more information in up to 1,000 words of meaning for each card. Information on how to use the cards is detailed. Focus on the outcome you desire. Ask an open question, such as “What am I Missing?” Several other suitable questions are suggested. Spreads include The Triquetra or 3 Card, Past, Present, Future, the 5 card Pentagram, and the 10 card Celtic Cross. 

Nicola practices Celtic Shamanism and her card titles bring elemental messages of the land, and the myths and traditions of the Celts. Information is provided about ancient and advanced beings called Elementals. She describes how each card relates to her. 

Healing Through Indigenous Wisdom

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Healing Through Indigenous Wisdom by Valerie Ringland PhD. Published by Rockpool Publishing. RRP US $18.95 : UK £16.99 

This work book helps you to deepen your understanding of yourself and others. By learning about indigenous cultures, we learn about our own. It is designed to be used each week over the course of a year and it provides exercises and space to record your perceptions. In addition to altars, animals, ceremonies, stories and other shamanic topics, it covers personal trauma, addictions, emotional problems that beset all people wherever they are in the world. It is an exceptional book and one that brings about change through guidance and life wisdom gained from older tribal cultures. 

Sacred Spirit Reading Cards

Mind Body Soul Card Deck Reviews: Sacred Spirit Reading Cards - Spiritual Guidance for your Life Journey by Anna Stark, illustrated by Louis Dyer (a mixture of digital paintings/mixed media artworks). Published by Rockpool Publishing. Card size: 19cm x 8.5cm

Quality magnetic flip boxed set containing 36 cards and a full colour instruction book. Cards have an image, number, title and subtitle. The book text provides information on how to prepare for a reading, how to use the cards, and to set an intention. It asks "what are you seeking?" There is an affirmation, a crystal suggestion, and there is Angelic Assistance provided for each card, and you can call on Chohans for assistance with specific problems. The cards can also be used for meditation. They are a larger size than usual. You will find much to read and enjoy in these cards!

Feminine Wisdom Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Feminine Wisdom Oracle - Awaken Your Intuitive Energy by Lea Androic. Boxed set of 36 Cards and full colour Guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing. RRP £19.99 (1st August 2024)

Yellow gold highlights glint from the sturdy box which contains the cards and instruction book. The card edges are also yellow gold leafed and tied with a pink satin ribbon. This Oracle is designed to awaken femininity, provide good life advice and strengthen intuition and wellbeing. 

Sample: 17. Kindness. A beautiful quality that is love in action; being considerate and generous. When, in doubt, choose kindness, for your kindness, heels, hearts and nurtures peoples souls. It’s important to be kind to yourself, and to heal your inner child. You must show yourself compassion and empathy. Choose to realise that we are all flawed and that it is absolutely okay to make mistakes. Offer yourself the gentle hand that you so often and selfishly give to others. Affirmation, I am worthy of my own kindness. 

Mythos Tarot Review

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Mythos Tarot - Guidance from the Greek Gods by Helena Elias. Published by Rockpool Publishing. Boxed set of 78 cards and guidebook. 

These Tarot cards feature both Gods and Goddesses in the Greek pantheon. It is a very modern deck. The images are glamorous photographic models, very fashionable and very Hollywood! The cards are edged with gold leaf and are glossy card stock. The images are young trendy types, with facial make up, and wearing crowns, with rays emerging from their head. The author was a senior fashion designer and her commercial work has been featured on billboards in Times Square. 

The Mythic Oracle

PROFILING: Tarot oracle with images from Mythic Oracle - Wisdom of the Ancient Greek Pantheon by Carisa Mellado with artwork by Michelle-Lee Phelan

Holistic Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Holistic Tarot – An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth by Benebell Wen published by North Atlantic Books

Licensed Attorney specialising in venture capital and global investments, qualified Tarot Master, Benebell Wen is a member of the American Tarot Association and the Tarot Association of the British Isles. She is a Feng Shui consultant, I Ching practitioner, numerologist and an astrology enthusiast.

With these impressive credentials, Holistic Tarot is highly academic but also very practical. It is a comprehensive textbook for those who wish to use tarot for professional purposes. The recommendations for this book come from the echelons of our greatest tarot experts, such as Kat Black Liz Dean, Barbara Moore, Bonnie Cehovet and many more who have written extensively on tarot, some even creating their own decks.  

Grand Lenormand

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Grand Jeu De Mlle Lenormand also known as the Astro Mythological by Mlle Lenormand) 54 cards with instruction booklet. Published by Grimaud. Card size: 127 x 90mm
Each of the traditional playing cards are represented as hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades which offer elements, numerology and other symbolism. Two extra cards are included as significator for a male or female querent. The 52 cards are 4 decks of diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades. The 52 cards are divided into 5 areas: 
The Conquest of the Golden Fleece; The Trojan War; Hermetics/Alchemy; the Unexplained; and the Zodiac. 
The cards are further divided:
The Top has 3 areas -
Left - a playing card image. Central - a constellation. Right - a letter and underneath some have Kabbalistic gematria. 
Middle - a pen and ink image, renaissance and mediaeval in design. 
Bottom - 3 areas of smaller images:
Left, Central - botanical images with sometimes several different flowers. Right - another image.

Sibyls Oraculum

Mind, Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Sibyls Oraculum - Oracle of the Black Doves of Africa by Tayannah Lee McQuillar, with artwork by Katelan V Foisy, Pack contains 44 cards and comprehensive information book. £16.99 published by Destiny Books

"There will be a coming of the day when that which is hidden shall be revealed" 

The Libyan Sibyl

The author, Tayannah Lee McQuillar is a cultural anthropologist, scholar of religion, esoterica and mysticism. She hails from New York but conducted her research in Brazil and New Orleans and has shown great expertise in her knowledge of divination from earliest antiquity in this North African study and uniquely developed card system. She is the author of  'Rootwork'.

Anamchara Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Anamchara Oracle - Be guided by your loving soul companion. By Saorsa Sionnach. Boxed set with 44 cards and full colour Guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing. RRP US $24.95 : UK £18.99 (published 11th April 2024)

The word, anamchara means soul friend, spirit advisor and invisible confident. Love is the universal language and the deck focuses on kindness, peace, and contentment, providing good advice with caring intention. The front of the box and sides are gold embossed and the cards have gold leafed edges. The Guidebook has an excellent introduction to the focus of the oracle, about the Celtic culture, and our connection to others. It is well written with information on how to use the cards and self development. Mana is the golden lion, and Gabriel is the lighthouse in all storms. Due to the child-like images, I am recommending this oracle as a gift of love, and close friendship for young people, though the text is not immature. 

Daily Intentions Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Daily Intentions Oracle  - Wisdom From Your Higher Self by Jackie Morgan. Boxed set of 36 cards and Guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing. RRP US $24.95  : UK £18.99 

Sample: Belonging. Affirmation - I call soulful relationships into my life. Are you longing to feel you have a soul family? Do the people around you not hold the same values you hold? Why not find new people who match your enthusiasm and lust for life? Are the people around you now the people you always hoped for? Thank those who are in your corner. Call  more nourishing individuals to help you hit new heights. Ritual: If you’re feeling lost and lonely, this is a very common feeling. Be gentle with yourself and breathe in the knowledge that the relationships you’ve been waiting for are nearby. What can you do to call them in? Maybe you are feeling vulnerable. Put this aside and be more adventuorous. Begin attending events that are aligned with your interests and strike up conversations with new people. Join an art group or even connect with someone from your past, who is living a life that you find interesting or inspiring. Could you go online and find a group that loves the same things you have been passionate about? Sometimes it can feel uncomfortable to be vulnerable and strike up a friendship, but this is your time to find those who can add to your life!

Auset Gypsy Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Auset Gypsy Tarot by James Jacob Pierri, original illustrations by Rebecca Stotsenburgh and Heather Scott. Published by REDFeather. UK: £22.99 US: $24.99

Mind Body & Spirit Ezine Book and Card Set of 78 Cards and full colour guidebook is contained within a magnetic clip closure quality presentation box. Good sturdy card stock with gold leafed edges, size: 7 inches x 4 inches.

The concept of this deck is unconventional. It’s an ‘on the move’ dream-like adventure, with modern styling and a hint of antiquity. It was 20 years in the making! It dances, struggles, juggles, charms and heals. It’s quirky, joyful, Bohemian, and it is full of the wonder and magic of the goddess Isis and of the Gypsies. There is autobiographical information provided, as the deck is the very personal perspective of the Creator, Designer and Writer, James Jacob Pierri, an Astrologer and International Tarot Reader who was known under the name of the Auset Gypsy when reading cards at Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios Theme Park. From there, he built a clientelle of movie stars and other celebrities. The two female artists are graphic artists who add their quirkiness to the mix. Within the deck are astrology, myths and secrets, gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, and it has a canny style of know how, and it introduces us to all the fun of the fairground! It unlocks spiritual insights but always suggests you use your own intuition. The cards can be used for meditation, inspiration, and personal development. “The bitter truth is better than the sweetest lie”. 

The Journey Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Journey Oracle - Discover Your Personal Pathway by Adrienne Trafford  Boxed set of 46 Cards published by Schiffer Publishing, RRP £22.99 $24.99 

The stylised figurative female images are pleasant and strong, most are portraits which accompany a hundred words of text that explains what the card says, and what the card means. The artist and deck creator, Adrienne Trafford studied art in Italy and graduated from Kutztown University. She is a charity worker and enjoys dog rehoming. 

Sample Card: 6 Desire: What the card says: Your craving is like a thirst that cannot be easily sated. 

Auset Egyptian Oracle Cards

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Auset Egyptian Oracle Cards - Ancient Egyptian Divination and Alchemy Cards by Elizabeth Jensen, illustrated by Marie Klement (pastels on canson paper) . Published by Rockpool Press. Boxed set of 44 cards and instruction book. Card Size: 5.5" x 3.75" 

The book gives information on how to prepare to give a reading, to shuffle, pray to an Egyptian deity, and lay out the cards in spreads, for a one, three or seven card reading.
Each card provides a hand painted image, a number, a title, and a subtitle that relates to the energy of the card. The book provides further information on the card energies and meanings and includes channelled messages. More information on abundance, love, work, travel, health, family and future are included. 

The Camelot Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Camelot Oracle - Search for Guidance from the World of King Arthur. By John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington. Quality boxed set of full colour guidebook, two inserts, and 50 Cards. Published by REDFeather Mind Body Spirit. RRP £34.99 Sept 2026 Revised and updated Edition. 

This is a high quality product. It has a dark wood coloured box with gold embossed lettering. The magnetic flower of life seal is lifted to reveal the guidebook’s cover image of Arthur the Warrior. I got my eye glass on this and it is a stunning artwork by Will Worthington who has produced the majority of the Cards’ images. Wil Kingham has added his skilled artwork to several Card illustrations. 

The concept of this Oracle is that of an inner journey, or spiritual quest, devised by the esoteric specialist John Matthews. Included in the guidebook is comprehensive information to gain learning from the archetypes/characters and how to deal with your question. There are suggested places to visit, suggested by a landscape map of the Lands Adventurous. This will assist your travel from the court of King Arthur in Camelot to various places listed below. 

Pistis Sophia - The Goddess Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Pistis Sophia - The Goddess Tarot by Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips Published by Red Feather (Schiffer Publishing) Boxed set of 22 Majors-Only cards and guidebook £31.99

Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips have added to their very successful fully illustrated 78 card Sol Invictus - The God Tarot, published a decade ago. Sol Invictus is the Invincible Roman Sun God. This is an entirely masculine myths and historical tarot deck so it is no surprise that after more than ten years of development, an all female Majors-Only of 22 cards is available. Pistis Sophia takes its title from a Gnostic work from early Christian times with esoteric teachings from Jesus. Several Christian elements are included in what is largely international in scope. 

Kabbalistic Visions

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Kabbalistic Visions - The Marini Scapini Tarot by Marco Martini, illustrated by Luigi Scapini, Presentation box of 78 cards and instruction book Published by Schiffer Publishing. RRP £40.99 

“To the great love of life.”

There are several pages of the origins of the Tarot and today’s use, followed by explanations of Kabbalah, a Tree of Life diagram, Hebrew letter correspondences, connections, codifications and a page of text for each Sephiroth, various ways to codify the Majors, Body, Soul and Spirit. The Way of the Soul (with 7 Palaces), the Way of the Body, the 3 Mother letters, the 7 Double letters, and the 12 Simple letters, all explained. 

Each Major has 350 words of understanding, a short divinatory meaning, Past, Present & Future, the obstacle within the reading and the Final Result of the reading. Each Minor has 350 words of meaning. The Court Cards are King, Queen, Knight and Princess of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins, with Pip Cards having 50 words of esoteric plus divinatory meaning.