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Title: Cries of the Souls Oracle
Art by: Isabelle Cerf
Author: Daphna Sebbane
Publisher: Rockpool Publishing
Number of cards: 42
Card size: 5 x 3.5 in
Box size: 5.5 x 4 x 1.5 in
Guidebook pages: 138
Purchased or gifted?: Review copy gifted by Rockpool Publishing
Absolute favorite card: Unbalanced Ego
Other favorites: Transgenerational Karma, Limiting Beliefs, Impatience, Certainties, Self-evasion, Prophetic Past, Lack of Self-love
Notable detail: black sides
Season: Autumn
Sabbat: Samhain
Sign: Scorpio
Element: Water
Tarot Deck compliment:
Collective Pull: Negative Free Will

First Impressions

My first thought when working with this deck is that oracle decks are changing. For a long time, we’ve thought of divination as predicting the future which is something I never really agreed with to begin with. But it seems more creators are feeling the same, choosing to create decks that have nothing to do with divining the future. Instead, decks are focused on the user and being able to peek inside yourself, to see what’s driving you, what’s holding you back, how you can heal and how you can grow.

This deck isn’t about predicting the future either. At first, I found it a touch bit overwhelming. The guidebook is quite meaty and while pulling the cards, I kept thinking ‘wow, I seem to have a lot of problems today.” But in all fairness, I hadn’t read the meaning behind the deck yet and when I did, it totally made sense. But if you’re expecting this deck to tell you when you’ll get married or how you can make more money, I think you’ll need to reorganize your expectations. It will show you the blocks that are preventing you from having these things which can be triggering or difficult to understand. So keep that in mind as I definitely found that I couldn’t use this deck like I would a more traditional oracle.

The Packaging

What can I say? Rockpool has the best packaging…the end! Just kidding, I’m going to share more than that. Rockpool really does have the best packaging though. Here, we see matte cards which makes me so, so happy. You have no idea. They feel better on your hands, they last longer, they look better, and they don’t have a glare. The cardstock is quite thick. I would say a bit thicker than their usual paper. The star of the show is the black siding which appears to have a slight purple hue to it thanks to the pink from the back of the cards. They’ve done this color a few times now so it doesn’t feel as unique anymore but they are still one of the few publishers doing black sides in general so I think it's still worth a mention.

The box is a classic two piece set that has a really nice canvas texture. I love tactile boxes which is another thing Rockpool is really good about doing. You’ll find a crystal ball illustration inside the top and bottom of the box in a bright salmon-pink color while the rest of the box is primarily black with accents of beige to match the cards.

The Guidebook

The guidebook has a lot of information but what it doesn’t have are spreads. You have some prompts that act like spreads but aren’t quite the same. You get an explanation of the meaning behind the deck, how to work with it and then “Discerning a wound or block” which are the prompts I just mentioned. But that’s it other than the card meanings themselves which are quite meaty to be fair.

Each card has the following meanings: mantra, wisdom, supplement, warning and moving forward. Each meaning offers a different perspective of each wound or block or what I like to call parts. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever done Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS). In fact, this deck reminds me a lot of this practice. If you’re interested in learning more about IFS or you’re familiar with it and need a good tool for self-healing, I highly recommend Listening When Parts Speak which is about as close as you can get to a real IFS therapy session without seeing an actual therapist.

I won’t lie, I found it quite challenging to understand the card I pulled at times. I was a little confused about which section to apply for my question and ultimately, I realized you really can’t use this deck like you would a normal oracle. Or at least, I have found that it's much more impactful if you avoid questions like “what’s the status of our relationship?” You can certainly ask that question but keep in mind, you’ll pull something that illuminates a block that’s preventing you from having the kind of relationship you want rather than a message saying you’re good or its all going to shit. I still think that’s a really powerful way to go about it but just want to give you a heads up that the reading experience may seem different than what you’re used to.

*Unbalanced Ego (fav) and Lack of Self-love*

The Artwork

The artwork is quite simple. What attracted me to the deck is the minimal, neutral style. For those of you who are new around here, I absolutely love earth tone cards and this beige is background right up my lane. Paired with the black illustrations—I’m so looking forward to taking many amazing photos of this deck and incorporating these cards into my readings.

Many of the cards are quite similar. You’ll definitely notice some repetitive motifs throughout such as the hands which seem to be a prominent feature. You can see examples of this down below. They’re the familiar hands you’ve probably seen all around the spiritual and witch community so the artwork doesn’t feel especially unique or original but pretty nonetheless.

“Wounds will be tamed when you start to look at yourself and learn to love everything you see inside, when you accept your light and shadow sides and embrace your failures and mistakes.”

You’ll find bright pops of a salmon-pink color here and there from little drips of salmon colored water to what I’m calling little suns hanging out in the background. Eyes also feature quite prominently as do roses and skulls among others. I would not call this an art deck. I don’t think it's one that you’ll love because of the illustrations. The real meat of this deck in my opinion is in its general meaning.

Purchase Cries of the Souls Oracle

*With Tarot Companion - Tarot of the Abyss*

Reading With this Deck

Reading with this deck felt like a new experience. It's an unusual feeling to work with a deck that doesn’t seem to have a balance of “positive” and “negative” cards. I don’t mean this in a bad way. The purpose of this deck from my understanding is that our blocks, wounds, and traumas do not have to exist within us in a bad way. That we can learn from them, grow with them, and ultimately create a relationship that is mutually beneficial. So when you read with the cards, it appears as though every card feels bad or like it's calling you out and perhaps it is. But, I can appreciate that.

I believe tarot and oracle cards are like translators. They translate your feelings into words. They translate your subconsciousness to consciousness. They translate spirit to the physical world. That’s why I have always loved using decks to help me understand the parts of me that are an enigma. Blocks and wounds are some of those parts and this deck helps you face themso that you can heal these relationships and find light in the darkness.

I would say this deck is going to challenge you; it isn’t easy to face the darker parts of your spirit. So be prepared as it's not going to tell you what you want to hear. There are no cards like that here. That took me a few moments to let that settle in but once it did, I found myself loving the challenge. This one definitely won’t be one that I use often but I can already see myself grabbing it when I’m upset and need to understand my role in that experience.

Collective Pull

Negative Free Will illuminates a block that has led you to believe you cannot change your circumstances, that you aren’t capable of achieving your desires, or that somehow you aren’t entitled to what you love because of your past mistakes. This card appears in the moments when you give your power away choosing to believe other people are to blame when you can’t reach your dreams. You may see this card express itself in feelings of jealousy, unluckiness, or a downright attack from the universe. To heal this wound, you are being asked to follow positive feelings. To choose positive feelings and commit to your well-being rather than committing to false stories about yourself.

Season, Sign, Element and Sabbat

I looked at the muted tones and knew this deck belonged in fall even before I understood the shadow nature of it. The beige and black with pops of salmon pink screams Samhain and of course it being a deck for shadow work pretty much solidified my choice for fall, Samhain and Scorpio. If I were just going by aesthetic, then I would choose earth for this deck but that feels shallow. This is a water element deck all the way. There’s so much depth but also the potential to feel like you’re emotionally drowning. I love the water element and I think it can be incredibly powerful but it can also feel like you’re enormously heavy while floating away at the same time. I can feel that description of the water element in this deck when I work with it.

Who is this deck for?

This deck is for you if you aren’t afraid of shadow work. Or if you’re the type of person who loves to face your demons and likes to learn to be friends with them. I don’t think it's for you if you’re someone who gets triggered easily by criticism. Keep in mind, I wouldn’t call this deck judgemental by any means but it's never going to be easy to pull from a deck of cards full of what you might perceive as “faults” or “shortcomings.” Having said that, if you’re able to put that aside and look at this deck for what it is: a chance to heal the blocks that have been holding you back, then this deck will offer a lot of growth for you.

Tarot Deck Companion

I chose Tarot of the Abyss for this deck’s companion. It's an older deck from US Games but a really good one. I’ve reviewed it so if you’re curious, let me know and I’ll add it to the list. When I saw Cries of the Souls, I knew it needed something minimal to pair with it and Tarot of the Abyss came to mind. It's very similar to The Wild Unknown but completely in black and white which, aesthetically, paired beautifully with Cries of the Souls.

I always like to look for two things in a companion deck: a complimentary art style and a complimentary energy. Tarot of the Abyss isn’t as dark as you might think by the name and that’s why I felt the energy paired well here. It celebrates both light and dark energy, describing them both as neither good nor bad but two things that support each other. Ultimately, Cries of the Souls message is to help you honor both your light and shadow. So in a way, Tarot of the Abyss feels like the more mature version of Cries of the Souls. Not because it's superior or more adult but because it's the light at the end of the tunnel.

Buy Tarot of the Abyss

Thanks for reading all the way through. If you found this review to be helpful, informative or entertaining in any way, please be sure to leave a comment down below. It really helps me know what you’re enjoying so that I can provide more content based on what you love. In the meantime, please enjoy a variety of photos from this deck.

And of course, if there is something you’d like me to consider reviewing, please comment below or email me at hello@spiritelement.co