The winter holidays are upon us and if you’re still shopping for your favorite spiritual friend, I’m really digging the Healers of the Earth Oracle by Mandy Peterson. It’s a complete divination kit all on its own, so no prior knowledge of cartomancy is needed. And if you do happen to be a seasoned cartomancy pro, this is a really fun deck to add to your collection. It’s extraordinarily functional in both the capacity as stand alone oracle card readings and as supplemental readings (where you pull a card or two from an oracle deck after a tarot reading).

The deck comes beautifully presented in a brown paper package tied up with string that is going to wow whoever you gift this to. It was designed specifically for empaths and earth sensitives intended to help you better clarify your own intuition.

Earth sensitives (also known as earth empaths), according to Peterson, are individuals who are hypersensitive to environmental changes, and therefore find that their own emotions are tied to natural disasters, war, social conflicts, and cyclic changes around them. Healers of the Earth Oracle is intended to help earth sensitives gain greater control over their empathic abilities.

Peterson had set out to create a healing divination tool and that she did. There are also strong tones of social justice, community service, and contributing to the world around you that run throughout the messages in this deck. The artist herself is a professional psychic, New Age spirituality author, and artist.

The deck set is packaged in a sturdy matte finish white sleeve box with a clean, immaculate aesthetic. The artwork for the deck is rendered through digital collage, using stock images that are then enhanced by Peterson.

The color palette is soft, muted, and beautiful. There are 73 cards in total, numbered up to 72, with a Card 0: The Intangible. The Intangible will indicate that at this time, future cannot yet be knowable and more flow is required before a matter can be ascertained. Card 71 is an omen for healing, in particular faith healing or the laying on of hands. The highest numbered card in the deck is 72: Divine Feminine, and that truly encapsulates the point of view for Healers of the Earth. There’s a strong lean toward expressions of the Divine Feminine.

I read through the entirety of the guidebook before writing this review and found it to be a beautiful, enlightening read. The language is gentle, nurturing, and positive, always encouraging.

There are some fascinating chapters, and a recurring theme is Peterson’s assurance to the reader that every facet of the deck is positive and encouraging, even when symbolism, imagery, or a message may appear initially to be “negative.” For instance, she devotes some time to addressing any potential concerns for the depiction of skulls on the cards. (I, for one, have no issue with the depiction of skulls, so I read this section with good humor.)

She drives home the point that the skulls in Healers do not symbolize death or lack of health, but that crystal skulls are a symbol of mystical healing. She explains how, for instance, a skull carved into a stone of obsidian is a powerful amulet of protection.

There is an Adventures in Wonderland vibe to the cards that immerses you in a world of magical realism. There’s fantasy, myth, cultural references from a diverse plethora of traditions, accentuated by digitally added details of weather, such as rain, snowflakes, clouds, and other markers for the earth sensitive to attune to.

The deck is intended to be read with reversals, and the guidebook provides extensive explanatory material on how to interpret the cards both upright and reversed. Peterson emphasizes that a reversed card doesn’t mean “negative.” Card 25: Remnants of Atlantis, for instance, when appearing in reverse, portends a shift in consciousness that is about to happen and the subsequent need to let go.

Going back and forth between study of the artwork on the cards, choice of imagery, and the text in the guidebook, I felt like the deck may have somehow been channeled, or that exercises of channeling took place in the creation of Healers.

You’ll also see impeccable consistency with the color palette throughout the cards. There isn’t a single work of art that’s out of place here. The exercise of how the artwork was put together seems so in line with the spirit of the deck: Peterson culled from stock images to create these innovative collage pieces, and that exercise feels like a metaphor of downloading prophetic visions from a collective unconscious.

Many myths converge here, with iconography that’s going to be familiar to you, no matter your background. Card 51: Tea of Transformation, for instance, reminds me of the Tea of Forgetfulness in Chinese lore that you’re asked to drink from after death, so that you do not retain any of your memories when you’re reborn.

The breadth and scope of mysticism Healers covers is impressive. Black Swan, Magic Beanstalk, The DIning Table, Quarantine, Pick Up Your Sword, Sacred Smoke, Moon Magic, Pole Shift, Resilience, The Sky Bridge, Time to Fly South, 11:11, Unretrieved Soul, Put a Spell on You, Feng Shui Butterfly, Seer of Souls, Akashic Records… just an exquisite collection of thought that’s tied together into an intelligently designed structure.

That’s right. Structure. These are not just pretty cards. You just wait until we talk about the system Peterson has created. But first, shiny…

Beautiful metallic silver edging. There’s a lunar radiance to the production value of this deck. Okay, now let’s talk about the card backs. Reversible? Yes. But wait… there’s text on the card backs? Yes.

The card backs are part of the divinatory process. There are nine different categories: Personal Physical, Collective Physical, Personal Emotional, Collective Emotional, Hypervigilance & Illusion, Industry & Technology, Purification & Release, Spiritual Hygiene, Empathy & Relationships, and the Unknown.

I think, though I’m not entirely sure, these categories as noted in the guidebook (and on the card backs) are the same categories noted in the product description you’ll find on the back of the box, though using slightly different terminology. In the product description, the deck is described as grouped into categories that include Air and Atmosphere, Land and Earth, Fire and Smoke, Water and Rain, Ice and Snow, Industry and Technology, Purification and Release, Spiritual Hygiene, and Health and Healing.

Several different divinatory approaches can be used with these card backs and the companion guidebook gets into how you work with the card backs with the card faces. Peterson also encourages you to lean in to your own intuition and work with the card structure however you feel pulled to. So that’s what I’ll do.

The first thing I do with a new deck– and this is entirely just a me thing, you won’t even see me necessarily recommending it to others– is to distribute the cards at random into seven card piles, seven for my Life Path number 7. Again, this is just something I do privately for myself. I don’t even really believe it’s workable for everyone. I mean, what if you’re a Life Path 1? What then? Anyway, I started off by randomizing the cards into seven piles.

Then I assembled them back together, followed an invocation prayer given in the guidebook, and then fanned out the cards. I closed my eyes and with my palm gliding across the fan, pulled a card at random.

I start by checking the category noted on the card back. Since my eyes were closed, this was randomized. I pulled Personal Emotional. According to the guidebook, drawing a card from the Personal Emotional category advises that right now it would serve my growth if I focused on my emotions and how my emotions are impacting my reality. Dammit, cards. Right on.

So then I take a moment to reflect on these messages and maybe even journal on what these points stir up in me about my personal emotional state. When I’m ready, I flip the card over to see what I had drawn.

Ooh Three of Swords! No, sorry. Card 20 is “Pick Up Your Sword.” The cards also have a few keywords at the bottom that help anchor you. These keywords are also why I think this is a fantastic deck for a total cartomancy beginner. You don’t have to know anything about how to read cards or have ever delved in to psychic development training to work immediately with Healers of the Earth Oracle. It’s user-friendly right out of its box.

I’ll confess that at the moment, all the cards are upright and there were no reversals in the lot, so it doesn’t mean much in my personal one-card reading that Card 20 came up upright. All of them are upright. Anyway, the guidebook is very insightful here.

This card is about taking a stand. I get a social justice warrior vibe here, and I love that. The divinatory messages for each card entry written in the guidebook sound like Mandy Peterson’s voice speaking directly to you. The text is written in second person and so you’ll absolutely want to use the guidebook when you read for yourself with this deck. The messages in the guidebook are part of the process as much as your own intuition is. These entries are beautifully written, powerful, really intense, and spot on.

Mandy Peterson’s Healers of the Earth Oracle was the oracle deck for me to acquire to end 2018 on. It came into my life at just the right time. There are strong healing energies in here, soothing, filled with loving-kindness and just the gentleness you need when you’re feeling broken. This is a healing deck, absolutely, and really something you want to work with when you’re dealing with depression, anxiety, or poor mental health. Of course, as the guidebook’s first page says, this deck cannot be a replacement for professional psychological diagnoses or expert care. As a supplement, it works wonders.

Mandy, your deck has helped me through some tough moments through this last leg of 2018. For anyone dealing with anxiety, depression, or feeling misunderstood, this is the oracle deck to work with. Healers is the gift to consider for yourself or a friend who could use the gentle vibes of healing and empathy this deck provides.

FTC Disclosure: In accordance with Title 16 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 255, “Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” I received the Healers of the Earth oracle cards from the author for prospective review. Everything I’ve said here is sincere and accurately reflects my opinion of the book.