Initiates Oracle by Marcella Kroll and Adam Smith Review

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I received a free copy of this deck in exchange for an honest review.

Increased interest in the occult has led to a significant rise in tarot and oracle decks, which means there is sure to be something for everyone. Initiates Oracle by Marcella Kroll and Adam Smith is one such deck that has sprung up recently.

Initiates Oracle is the perfect oracle deck for anyone interested in Egyptian magic and the Egyptian pantheon, but who wants something outside of the traditional Rider-Waite tarot. Inspired by Kroll and Smith's journey to Egypt, where they underwent the initiations of the Sphinx, which consisted of a series of rites to transition to a higher spiritual state.

Using what they witnessed during their initiations, they created the Initiates Oracle using Egyptian symbols, colors, motifs, and archetypes to create a transformative, practical oracle deck. Unlike many other oracle decks I have seen over the years, this one is quite lengthy, consisting of 40 cards along with a 128-page guidebook. Like all guidebooks, Kroll and Smith introduce the deck, explain how to use it, and offer detailed descriptions of the cards' meanings, although you are also welcome to derive your own meanings using the cards' imagery. Unlike other guidebooks, however, there are no spread examples at the end, which I think is fine because this is an oracle deck and not a traditional tarot deck. This means how you read and use the cards and the spreads you create are entirely up to you.

Like many of the decks I have received recently from Red Wheel/Weiser, the Intiates Oracle is printed on a heavy card stock and will hold up to continued use very well. The edges are leafed in a beautiful gold, but it is likely this gold will wear off with use, as it tends to on most decks over time. That is just the nature of using cards!

That artwork is simple, yet powerful, with both sides being beautifully detailed. While the deck focuses mostly on Egyptian symbolism, it is heavily inspired by modern occult practices as well. For example, there is a card for "As Above, So Below," which most witches are familiar with. Others feature the most basic magical symbolism such as the elements, while others still lean heavily into the Egyptian motif, such as "Devotion," which features the Sphinx, and "Guide," which features Anubis. This is honestly a very interesting and unique deck.

If you are interested in using oracle cards in your magical practice and work with the Egyptian mythos, Initiates Oracle may just be the deck for you! You can snag your own set wherever decks are sold.

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