Wednesday 18 May 2016

Review: Butterfly Oracle Cards for Life Changes


You can’t get much more summery pictures than those on the new Butterfly Oracle Cards for Life Changes boxed set. Each gold-edged card has a picture of a brightly coloured butterfly and beautiful flowers. Very pretty.

But, although the images are perhaps a tad fluffy, the messages on the cards are serious. They are all about taking new steps in life – sometimes big ones. Butterflies symbolise transformation as their life cycle takes them from a caterpillar to a beautiful winged creature. The cocoon they spin around themselves represents the dark times we all go through, but which we can break out of, spread our wings and soar.

The deck's creator, Doreen Virtue, says in the book that comes with the it: “A butterfly is the perfect symbol of the beauty that occurs when you undergo life changes. The metamorphosis unfolds after a long period of darkness and isolation in the cocoon – and life can similarly feel dark and lonely at times. Yet, these frightening experiences are what lead you to new strength.”

Each card has a word or two on the front, which you can look up in the book for more information. Examples include Decisions, Dietary Change, Family Changes, Forgiveness, New Career, Relationship Dynamics and Retirement. The first card I picked was Sobriety, which suggested that it would be healthy for me to cut down on the vino. I can’t disagree and I suspect some of my friends will be chuckling at this.

Change, however, can be scary. What these pretty pictures of butterflies do is remind you of the beauty in life. They soften the tough messages of the words by making you focus on a beautiful image rather than thinking about how hard breaking out of old habits can be.

Publisher Hay House says about the cards: "Change is a part of life: sometimes it feels frightening, other times exciting. With the Butterfly Oracle Cards for Life Changes, Doreen Virtue will help you manage and understand any changes you are experiencing. Each of the 44 cards features a gorgeous butterfly-and-flower image - because who better than these winged creatures to demonstrate the blessings within transformation?"

Unlike most oracle decks, I don’t think each picture has much of an individual meaning apart from the overall symbolism of positive transformation. I would have liked the book to provide a bit more information about the butterflies - their names, habitat and something about their life cycle as well as why each picture was chosen for the deck. Perhaps Hay House could make that information available as a separate download in the future?

You can order the Butterfly Oracle Cards for Life Changesvia Amazon.

Links and previous related posts
Butterfly Oracle Cards for Life Changes: A 44-Card Deck and Guidebook
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/09/review-guardian-angel-tarot-cards.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/11/review-fairy-tarot-cards-by-doreen.html

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