Egyptian Pyramid Oracle

by Verona McColl

a review By Sheila Hall, CTM

The Egyptian Pyramid Oracle is a boldly, colorful deck consisting of 25 cards and is rich with Egyptian symbols. Verona McColl is the illustrator and writer of the accompanying book. The deck divides into five houses, and the houses are represented like the suits of a Tarot deck, and are linked to the elements of Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Spirit. The houses are associated in this manner:

Air - InspirationEarth - WisdomFire - PowerWater - ChangeSpirit - Temptation

Each house consists of five cards in the suit. The cards are not numbered, but the name of the suit and card appear on each one. The borders are symbolically designed so that each suit is easily distinguished from the others.

The deck comes with three additional cards. One card shows a diagram of The Pyramid Spread, which consists of six cards laid in the shape of a pyramid, and a second card with the instructions for the spread positions printed on it. The third card is printed with the house and element associations, along with a brief description of the meaning for each house.

The back is designed with a blue background that fades into a white strip in the middle of the card, while two triangles face opposite directions like looking at a reflection. There are two cobras on both ends of the cards and they appear to be emerging from behind a circle.

The companion book is a lengthy 192 pages. McColl begins the book with writing about the various forms of divination, and a discussion of ancient Egypt and the Egyptian's approach to symbols. She covers the meanings of each house/suit in depth, including the borders used for each house. The book shows black and white illustrations along with an informative view of the cards. The information for each card includes a few keywords, a description and historical information, and the card's meaning in upright and reversed positions. The book covers dealing instructions and the six-card Pyramid Spread, which is moderately sized and informative.

A careful study of the symbolism is needed in order to make reading with the deck easy. I like the historical information provided for each card, and the 32 page glossary of Egyptian terms that is included at the end of the book. The book is informative and I have been able to learn quite a bit about the symbols of this deck.

The Egyptian Pyramid Oracle is a deck which measures half an inch wider than a standard Tarot deck, and is detailed with Egyptian symbols. The colors are bold and beautiful. McColl uses a multitude of varying shades in blue, green, orange, red, brown, black, white and yellow to provide the deck with the rich colors. Those who are interested in Egypt and Egyptian symbols should enjoy this oracle very much.

The Egyptian Pyramid Oracle (ISBN 1-56718-448-0) is published by Llewellyn and can be viewed at: Llewellyn. COM

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