Monday, July 31, 2023

Review: the Everglow, A Divination System

the Everglow: A Divination System
Author/Artist: Trisha Leigh Shufelt
Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing, 2023

Description: 78 cards, 160-page guidebook, box with magnetic closure lid.

Card Size: 2 3/4 by 4

"The Everglow is a culmination of all the roads less traveled. I hope it opens gateways leading to the introspection of profound answers, and those answers lead to more questions that will provide magic along the way."

Trisha Leigh Shufelt is also the author of The Poe Tarot, another interesting deck.

The Everglow is a 78-card divination system. The deck is printed on good card stock and easy to shuffle. The guidebook is informative and gives you everything you need to know about the system and the individual cards.

Although the Everglow is not a Tarot Deck it is influenced by the Rider-Waite-Smith system. The system is also strong on animal symbolism and associations. All of this is explained in the introductory pages of the guidebook before diving into the different card divisions.

The deck has 48 image cards beginning with the Major Arcana and ending with the Minors.

In the guidebook, the Major Arcana cards are presented with a card image, number and keywords, an overview of the upright and reversed interpretations and a section on the animal symbolism.

3 - "The beekeeper woman is the embodiment of the Empress energy found in the Tarot."

Abundance - "In the upright position, she reminds you that you are surrounded by abundance and beauty."

Self-Care - Reversed - "Time to self-nurture."

Symbolism - "Crow - Transformation, change, and protection" 

The system contains four court cards, each containing a symbol of each of the four elements.

"Kings and Queens likely represent people you know or aspects of personality versus actual situations. Knights and Pages (the Messenger in The Everglow) are doers, movers, and shakers. They more likely represent situations."

The guidebook presents each card with an image, name, overview of the card, a hint, the reversed interpretation, and information on the animal symbolism.




"Elemental cards (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water) can be pulled with the Everglow Arcana or shuffled separately." The guidebook goes into detail on how to use these cards within the divination system.


There are 18 Minor Arcana cards. These cards do not contain numbering, but the keywords are on each card, upright and reverse. The guidebook contains an image of the card, the keywords, the upright interpretation, the reversed interpretation and symbolism information. The cards are listed in alphabetical order.




The deck contains 30 text cards beginning with the Houses and ending with the Time Frame Cards.

The 12 House Cards are to be used separately in this divination system, which is explained briefly in the Houses section and explained further in the reading the cards section. Each card has a two-page summary, including card image, house, explanation, hints and a question to ask yourself.

"...while the Tarot may be the "why" something is happening, the twelve houses indicate "where" you are with that particular something and how it is influencing your life."



The system includes 11 Number cards, and four Suit cards. The guidebook explains the process of combining these cards within a reading. Each Number card contains keywords. The guidebook shows the card image and questions to ask yourself.






The Suit cards contain keywords, Element, Season, Time Frame, Astrology Sign, Personality and Negative Traits. The guidebook presents the card image and a short explanation on how these cards work in the system. This is further explained in the sample readings.




The four Time Frame Cards: The Past, The Present, The Future, and What do I need to know about, contain a phrase and questions or keywords. Trisha shares her thoughts on time and briefly tells how to use them.

"Time frame cards are used in conjunction with the spreads that follow. To pick a time frame card when used with a spread, simply shuffle and draw a card."

The Sample Spreads section shows how to use the cards in the system with six different layouts and examples: the Suit Spread, Time Frame Spread, Daily Draw, Numerology Spread, Astrology Spread, and the Everglow Spread.

On my first reading with this deck and system, I chose to do the Everglow Spread. For this spread, you are pulling from five piles. The first pile is made up of the image cards. You can leave in all the image cards, or pull the court and elemental image cards into their own separate piles. I chose to leave them all together. The other piles are numerology, suit, house, and timeframe.

My Question: Where does my focus need to be?

My first card Trust/Fear revealed I need to focus on trusting my path. I need to take my time and know that I will arrive where I want to be when I'm supposed to be there. "Trust comes in many forms, but ultimately it is having faith without doubt in someone or something."

The next two cards, Numerology Card 6 and Action, revealed a need to focus on taking Action toward Restoring Balance.

Six - "Ask yourself ~ Reflect back to a time when things were out of balance and how you were able to restore equilibrium. Could anything you learned be applied to a current situation that is out of balance?"

Action - Wands - Motivational movement forward toward your goals. Enthusiasm in the process. In this case, that movement is toward a balance in your life, reflected by the six.

If you take a moment to compare this combination of two cards with the Rider-Waite card, you will see a connection. The man upon the horse has succeeded, but in all success, comes the responsibility of a balancing act between normalcy and a sort of fame.

The First House shows that my focus should be on myself at this time, my needs, my self-interests, my own truths.

"Hint - This is the house of manifestation through self-interest.

Ask Yourself - What do you want in life?"

The Past card signifies that influences from my past may be influencing my present. This could include past relationships, previous outcomes, past choices, and more.

Overview: I need to focus on trusting my path, take necessary action to restore a balance within myself, and heal any mistrust which may have developed from past experiences. I need to move forward and leave behind thoughts of what could happen, and trust that I know the steps I need to take to find my happy balance in life and succeed.

I found myself impressed by this divination system. The Everglow Spread revealed exactly what I needed to hear at the moment of the reading. Over the days, I found myself pulling from the image cards for daily reading. Each day revealed great insight and advice to help me move through my day.

Whether, you choose to use the whole deck and the system, or go with daily draws from the image cards, this is a great deck with many avenues to explore.  

I'd recommend this deck to newbies and seasoned readers.  I can't wait to dig deeper into the system and see what appears in each reading.

Grab your deck at Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing.


(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)

Friday, June 16, 2023

Review: Dream Your Joy Oracle Cards

Dream Your Joy
Artist/Author: Judy Mastrangelo
Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing, 2023

Description: 59 cards, 128-page guidebook, book-shaped box with magnetic closure lid.

Card Size: 3.5 x 5

"My intent is always to spread feelings of hope and inspiration to all, by sharing my belief in the spirituality of humankind and nature."



Judy Mastrangelo has produced a beautiful deck featuring her own illustrations. The pastel colors and gentle images give a joyful feel. The many shades of pink backings are delightful.

Unfortunately, I was unable to connect to this deck. The cards are beautiful and the exercises were interesting, but I didn't feel much beyond pretty pictures.


The Guidebook begins with concerns over your health and encourages you to seek professional care if needed. I felt this was an unnecessary statement, like a trigger warning of sorts. Of course, this is only my feeling and opinion. 

The Purpose of This Deck is to bring you to a joyful state in order for you to get through difficult times. 

Mind Painting is a form of meditation practiced and encouraged by the author of "paint a picture in your mind" of the way you would like to be in the ideal world. Again, in this section, she brings up stress and seeking professional help.

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't seek help for your health concerns. You should if you need help, but it felt out of place to me in an Oracle Deck guidebook. I'm trying to give an honest review, but feel I may be triggering someone. That is not my intent at all.

The About the Cards and Using the Cards covers the creation of the deck and a process to use the deck. 

The bulk of the guidebook goes through each card: one page features the card artwork, while the other page contains the card name, a phrase, a short meaning, and exercises to go with each card. The activities vary from meditation and affirmations to physical activity and chakra exercises to drawing and coloring.

Tranquility: Find your sanctuary appeared as my first pull. A beautiful image of a solitary woman relaxing, enjoying her own company. She is confident and powerful in her own rights. (This is what I saw in the image.)

The Meaning in the guidebook says that the woman finds some time to be alone and think of her purpose. "Taking some "alone" time doesn't mean that you are lonely." A balance between social and alone time is needed for a healthy life. 

The first exercise is a Meditation of self-reflection over where you are, how you feel about your life, and what you can do to change it for the better.

The second exercise is Look in the mirror for imperfections and decide the best methods to fix your issues.

Both exercises, for me, suggested something is wrong with you, and you need to fix yourself.

Although I didn't get a feel for this deck, you may find it's perfect for you. I encourage you to visit these other reviewers for more insight into the deck.

Bonnie Cehovet - "This deck is a wonderful tool of empowerment that can be used by all ages."

Kaye Lynne Booth - "You will enjoy perusing this deck, even if you don’t hold stock in the power of oracles and divination. "





(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Review: Higher Self Oracle

Higher Self Oracle
Author: Deanna Marie Riddick
Artist: Deborah Rodriguez-Capacetti
Red Feather/Schiffer Publishing, 2023

Description: 45 cards, 112-page guidebook, metal box

Card Size: 3 1/4 x 4 1/2

"Receive guidance on your life's journey and help fulfill your calling by connecting with the higher self through this powerful channel of love and light."


The Higher Self Oracle is a vibrant deck, printed on thick card stock. Upon first opening, the cards have a slight curve to them, but with gentle bending they can be straightened out. The deck fits very loosely in the metal box, which I'm guessing is the cause of this one minor issue.

I am impressed by the cards and the messages received during a short time of using them. I always do readings with the decks before writing up a review. For some reason, I wasn't expecting much from this deck at all, but I was completely wrong.

But, let's talk about the guidebook first. The author opens with a brief acknowledgement of those who supported her in the creation of the deck. The introduction goes into depth of the meaning of the Higher Self. You are then introduced to the difference between you Higher Self and Ego. 


The author gives instructions on how to work with the Higher Self Oracle and offers four suggested spreads to get you started on your journey. Before delving into the cards, she gives you many techniques to help you to connect with your Higher Self. 



The bulk of the guide covers each individual card, including the name, image, a quote, and the meaning of the card. The cards are listed in alphabetical order, but are not separated by pages. You may find the beginning of a card in the middle of the page. Okay, I guess I would consider this a second minor issue, but not a deal breaker. 



As you see in the two images, the Acceptance card entry runs for three pages, but ends midway of the third. I would have liked to have larger images and page divisions, but again, only a minor issue. I can definitely get past it in order to receive the messages from my Higher Self.



The guidebook closes with a conclusion and a bibliography, which is followed by About the Author and About the Illustrator.


I began my journey into the cards with a three-card layout of Past - Present - Outcome. And the question: What can I expect in my day?


Without even reading the guidebook message, you can see an easy message from the cards. You may experience some obstacles today, but don't worry, just go with the flow. But, after reading the guidebook, this is the reading I ended up with:

You may have been experiencing obstacles, but it's time to move past them and stop worrying over what might happen. Stop the negative mantra and stay present and positive. Learn to move forward in spite of the obstacles in your path. Unpredictable situations come along, but you can't control the uncontrollably. Relax and adjust as necessary. If you just worry and resist, there's no moving forward.

A very motivating message, and directly resonates with where I am at the moment of the reading.

I highly recommend this deck to anyone interested in connecting with your Higher Self, or collecting another Oracle deck. 



(Review Product supplied by Schiffer Publishing)