Happy Birthday to Set, Great of Strength, Lord of Storms and Bringer of Lightning!
Dua Set by Catfolk
Link: Dua Set Song
Category: Gods
Review: Mythic Oracle: Wisdom of the Ancient Greek Pantheon
This is a review of the Mythic Oracle: Wisdom of the Ancient Greek Pantheon by Carisa Mellado and artwork by Michele-lee Phelan.
Items Included
- Cards
- A Guidebook
- A sturdy box
The Guidebook
This book has a table of contents and each card is listed with the page number, but the cards are not in alphabetical order. They have sections: Protogenoi (Uranus, Hemera, etc.), Titans (Rhea, Prometheus, Mnemosyne, etc.), Olympians (Hera, Hestia, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Persephone, Hades, Hebe, etc.), Magical Beings (Hecate, Pandora, Chiron, The Moirae, Thanatos), and Heroes (Perseus, Psyche, Helen of Troy, Heracles, etc.).
There is an introduction and then there is a section on spreads to use with the Oracle cards. Each page about each card has an image of the card, a small paragraph about each deity and then a message of the card. The messages are longer than in most decks, but they are insightful, useful, and applicable to the querent’s question. Excellently done.
The Cards
The cardstock is sturdy. The cards are on the larger size so they are slightly hard to shuffle, but maybe that’s just me.
The artwork is beautiful. Athena has her helmet, spear and owl. Hestia is holding a huge hearthfire. Hecate (Hekate) has three forms (two of which look more maiden like and one is elderly. While the image is beautiful, initially Hecate was a maiden (even three formed Hecate were all maidens and only got the older form in the Roman period, iirc). Hades has a dark cloak. Persephone holds a scepter and it looks like she’s in the Underworld as she’s the Queen of the Underworld. Hera is seated on her throne holding peacock feathers.
The images are wonderful. I highly recommend this deck to anyone who loves Greek Mythology, Greek Gods and Goddesses and Oracle Decks.
Review: Egyptian Gods Oracle Cards
I got the Egyptian Gods Oracle Cards by Silvana Alasia (author and artist). I love the ancient Egyptian art that was used in this deck!
Included in the Deck
- A Guide Book
- A Sturdy Box
- 36 Oracle Cards
Things I liked
- Aset (Isis) has a blue throne headdress. The ancients did that too.
- Aset (Isis), Nephthys (Nefhti), Mut, Neith, Seshat, Sobek, Anuket, Satet, Set, Taweret, Serqet (Selkis), Khonsu, Ra, Thoth, Khnum, Ptah, Sekhmet, Nefertem, Amun-Ra, Osiris, Meretseger, Bast (Bastet), Anubis, and Shu were included in this deck! I loved the artwork!
- Hathor (Hator) card is on point! She is in a red dress, with Her horns and sundisk headdress! And there is a cow on Her card!
Things I wanted to see included
- A Wepwawet card! Anubis is included, but not Wepwawet! He needs more love! (I have two books on Wepwawet if anyone is interested: Lord of the Ways and Lord of Strength and Power)!
- Shu was included in this deck, but not Tefnut? Why wasn’t Tefnut here? She’s his other half! They are almost always together! (Here is my book on Tefnut with some Shu material: Lady of Water and Flame).
- Anubis’s card image is of Him weighing the heart and feather. I wish there was another image for Him. But that’s just personal preference.
- The Hathor card has the keyword “intelligence” on it. I think for emotional intelligence, this is spot on! If the author meant book learning intelligence, maybe that would fit Aset (Isis), Djehuty (Tehuti, Thoth) or Seshat more.
- The guidebook mentions Set is a god of storms and chaos and also mentions he is evil. (Set is not a god of evil in ancient Egyptian religion. He was demonized later…).
- The Aset (Isis) section only mentions Her as the “Mother Goddess” and the ideal wife and mother (She’s a widow and a single mother. How is that ideal?). It does mention She is a goddess of magic though. This was disappointing to see only this mentioned. Aset is a sorceress, a trickster, a scholar, a warrior as an Eye of Ra and so much more.
What was Odd
- Some of the names of the Gods and Goddesses are spelled differently even from their Greek names. Nephthys is Nefhti and Hathor was spelled Hator, for example. Maybe this is due to transliterations being different in different languages?
- Mut’s card image is off. She is seated and has a vulture headdress only. Where is the rest of Her headdress? She is normally depicted wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt by itself or ontop of the vulture headdress. I’ve never seen Her depicted with just the vulture headdress, but maybe She can be? I don’t know.
- Mehen (Ouroboros) is included in the deck. This seemed odd to me.
- Ammut is in this deck. She is not a Goddess. She devours the souls of evil doers. She was not honored as a deity by the ancient Egyptians. Why include her in a deck about Egyptian deities?
Apophis (Apep)is in this deck. It is not a Netjer. It is the Entropic Serpent Enemy of the Gods. It is destroyed by Ra, Aset, Set and other gods every day so the sun can rise at dawn. May It be felled! Why would you include this in the deck? This was a horrible choice! It wants to destroy all of creation so that creation never existed. Why include it in an Oracle about Egyptian Gods (and Goddesses)?
Final Thoughts
- Overall, I like this deck. The artwork is stunning!
- I’m going throw the
Apophiscard away. So, now the deck has 35 cards instead of the 36 cards in an already shortened deck! (Usually Oracle Decks have 44 cards or more). - The Guidebook is in four languages and the Table of Contents are divided into each language (English, Italian, Espanola and Portuguese) and the cards themselves are not listed in the TOC (and the cards are not in alphabetical order so you have to search to find them). For each card (in the English section), there is the name of the card, a paragraph of who the deity is and the meaning of the card. The meaning of the card is included in the paragraph so it is not easy to spot for a reading. I would have preferred another section for card meanings like they do in most Oracle Card books.
- I am disappointed in the guidebook and including the two non-gods in the deck. I love the art though.
Updated Review: Sekhmet Servant Oracle
I got the Sekhmet Servant Oracle Cards by Megan Zane. This deck is wonderful! There are 101 cards in this deck. The images on the cards are watercolor paintings done by Megan Zane with the name of the deities below each image. The card stock is good and stable, but the cards themselves are on the smaller side. They fit in my hand.
The art on this deck is gorgeous! Each image represents an aspect or form of the deity either in traditionally anthropomorphic form, anthropomorphic form with the animal head or in their animal form. Just a note for those who may be confused: Set is represented in this deck with the head of a falcon and the Red Crown. This is historically attested in the Dakhla Oasis during the Roman period in Egypt.
For the Shu card, He is depicted as a lion (and Tefnut’s card has Her as a lioness, which I thought was adorable for the Twins). Also, Anhur (Onuris) is depicted as a man with the feather crown. Anhur is a praise name for Shu. So Shu is technically in this deck twice. Sekhmet also has two cards in this deck (this is Sekhmet’s Servant Oracle, afterall).
Also, Yinepu (Anubis) and Wepwawet are both depicted here in their anthropomorphic form with the jackal head; while Yinepu is black, Wepwawet’s color is dark brown. Wepwawet can be shown in this form with a black jackal head too. I think that having them have different colors helps to tell them apart. Wepwawet is more often depicted as a standing jackal.
For Heru Wer (Horus the Elder) and Heru-sa-Aset (Horus, son of Isis): Heru Wer is in his falcon headed anthropomorphic form with the White Crown and Heru-sa-Aset is depicted in His child form.
Other deities in this deck are ones that are more common (Aset, Nebet Het, Nut, Hethert, Sekhmet, Bast, Yinepu, Geb, Wesir, Serqet, etc) and ones not as common in Egyptian themed Oracle Decks (Sobek, Seshat, Wadjet, Nekhbet, Mut, Sekhmet-Mut, Bast-Mut, Wenut, Taweret, Nehmetawai, Montu, Ptah, Ra, Raet, Nit (Neith), Pakhet, Repyt, Shu, Tefnut, Wepwawet, Menhit, Iusaas, Khnum, Anukis). There are groups of deities or spirits included too (7 Hetherts, 4 sons of Heru, etc).
What I loved: the cards and art are amazing! There are so many gods and goddesses in this deck! I am so happy that Wepwawet, Mut, Bast-Mut and Sekhmet-Mut finally get a spot in an Oracle Deck!
Things to Consider: This deck is independently published via print on demand. For only the cards, it is $38 plus shipping. There is a companion book which is sold separately for approximately $13. There is no box or small booklet. I put my deck in a tarot bag.
Overall: I would definitely recommend this deck to someone who honors ancient Egyptian Gods (especially the more obscure ones)! I would recommend this for diviners as well with a caveat that you may want to know or read about these gods before doing a reading with this deck.
This review was just for the cards as I don’t yet have the companion booklet.
Megan Zane’s website: Website
Set, Great of Strength
Set, Great of Strength
by TahekerutAset
I am Set
Great of Strength
Lord of the Oasis
Lord of the Land of Egypt
The desert is sacred to Me
Listen
I am here to bring you strength
In this Year of the Lioness
I am here to bring you love
In these trying times
I am not without compassion
I am stern
I am strict
I am strong
But I am the Lord of Love
So listen
I come before you as He Whom the Sky Shakes
I am the rebel God
I am the one who brings joy from hardship
I am the one who brings strength from pain
I dispel fear
I am Set, Great of Strength
And I am here
With all those who honor Me in this year
Simple Ways to Honor Gods and Goddesses
Some may find it hard to go into shrine right now. Or maybe you just want something simple to do outside of shrine. If you are looking for inspiration to honor Them outside of shrine, I have a few ideas:
1) Find them in the nature around you. Shu, Nebet Het and Aset are associated with breath. The Eyes of Ra manifests in the sunbeams or starlight. Nut is the night sky. Go outside and spend time with Them. Breathe and think of Their Names.
2) Say a prayer before you eat, offer your meal and then eat it.
3) Can you wear jewelry? Wear something you’ve dedicated to them, like a necklace, ring or bracelet.
4) You could wear clothes with colors that remind you of Them. (Blue or purple for Aset, black or purple for Nebet Het, white for any of the Netjeru).
5) Is there a Netjeru over your profession? Offer your workshift to Them.
6) Do creative projects. Call on Seshat or Djehuty for writing, call on Aset or Hethert for arts and crafts.
7) Do something you love and invite Them.
8) Offer to Taweret, Aset, Hethert, Mut or Bast and clean your home. Offer to Bes or Bast or whomever to protect your home.
9) Breathe. They are There. Gods and Goddesses of air and wind are with you when you breathe. So breathe.
We Walk With You
My religion has many creation myths and all of them are true. They tell us about creation. Atum masturbated and Ptah spoke and everything was created. The Celestial Cow as Mut or Hethert or Mehet Weret or Nit gave birth to the sun god Ra and as She spoke everything was created. Aset spoke the Word in the Beginning as did Nit and everything was created.
The other Gods, the air in the form of Shu, moisture in the form of Tefnut; Geb and Nut in the forms of earth and sky. Ma’at and Life in the forms of Ma’at, Tefnut and Shu. Ra, Shu, and the Eye Goddesses gave birth to light. Wesir, Heru Wer, Set, Aset and Nebet Het were born and thus more was created by them.
Do you not see? One became many. Creation cannot exist without differentiation. There are many Netjeru for a reason. For each job to be performed, someone must be equipped to do it. Some of Us have the same job, yet do it differently. To borrow a phrase: Diversity is Our Power; Unity is Our Strength.
All of nature is touched by these Gods and Goddesses. Sunbeams are Ra, Mut, Tefnut, Bast, Sekhmet, Aset and other solar Goddesses. The air you breathe is Shu or Aset. The earth you stand on is Geb.
Fiercely Bright One 
