The
Fairy Ring is devoted to all the wee folk of Britain and Ireland . . .
from fairies, sprites, ogres, and other beings both great and small.
The deck is divided into four suits for the 4 seasons. Each suit
contains 9 numbered cards and 4 court cards. Each card features a
different magical being identified by name at the bottom of the card.
There are also 8 festival cards to represent the chief fairy feasts of
the year.
This set comes with
a 248-page book entitled, "Guide to the Fairy Ring" by Anna Franklin.
In her book, she offers some background lore about each fairy, card meanings,
and a guide to working with each one according to it's nature. In
addition, the author provides some spreads designed specifically for this
deck.
The cards measure
approximately 3" x 4-1/2." They are created on glossy card stock
of good quality. The back of the cards are an earthy green color
with two entwining rings or Celtic knot circles in the center.
The beautiful images
in the card set certainly rang a bell with me when I first saw them . .
. and then I realized why the art seemed so familiar. This deck came
from the efforts of both Anna Franklin, author, and Paul Mason, artist.
This team also created the Sacred
Circle Tarot deck -- one which I also own and use in Tarot Readings.
In the Fairy Ring deck, I found the same quality of beautiful images as
in the Sacred Circle Tarot. Credit goes to Paul Mason for such outstanding
work! I knew this was a deck I would quickly love with such stunning
images that capture one's interest and imagination immediately with each
card. And I was delighted to find this work of art and wisdom rendered
in a fairy set of cards.
Through the magnificent
art and the writing in this set, we can come to know the special fairies
and spiritual beings and use their unique wisdom to help us find answers
in our day-to-day lives. Through photographs and computer techniques,
the images have been enhanced for a magical effect . . . very fitting for
a set of fairy cards. The characters blend in with their surroundings
to emphasize their closeness with nature . . . and their tendency to remain
unseen by most of us.
There are four suits
in this deck, with 9 cards each, named for the four seasons. Each
suit or season highlights the fairies that are most likely to appear at
the time:
Spring
Court -- bordered by bright green vegetation, leaves, and ferns.
Summer Court --
bordered with colorful daisies, clovers, and wildflowers.
Autumn Court --
bordered in red, gold, and yellow foliage.
Winter Court --
bordered by holly berries, evergreen, and pine cones.
In addition to the special
borders that designate the seasons, each card in the deck also has a thin
green border on the outside of the seasonal border.
The four court cards
in each suit are Lady, Knave, Queen, and King. They are similar to
Tarot court cards in that they can represent other people. There
are eight additional cards contained in the deck besides the seasonal suits.
These eight are named for holidays associated with fairies and can signify
important events or phases, and may indicate a time frame in some readings.
Franklin's sharing
of the fairy lore is warm, enchanting, and quite educational. We
are invited to meet each fairy in its own realm to learn new and interesting
things about familiar characters such as mermaids, banshees, leprechauns,
and even Jack Frost . . . and also to discover some lesser known fairies
for the first time. Tales about fairies have been passed down for
centuries and are retold with respect, insight, and enough personal experience
to convince those of us who have never seen a fairy to believe that perhaps
we could . . . or to at least believe that they exist -- if no place else
other than in the fantasy and imaginations of our own minds.
Readings through
these cards offer meaningful guidance. The fairy messages go a lot
deeper and more knowing than we might expect! Anna Franklin provides
a number of excellent spreads designed specifically for this deck, but
traditional Tarot spreads also work well with this set of cards . . . a
set that could almost be Tarot, but maintains it's unique place in the
fairy realm.
The author, Anna
Franklin, advocates reversed cards to be used with the Fairy Ring, but
that is always a personal choice. Reversed interpretations are included
in the book in addition to the divinatory meanings for the upright cards.
A section also follows the interpretive information to include how to work
with that particular card energy for meditation or pathworking. For
some of the cards, she clearly indicates that it's not recommended to work
with a certain fairy energy.
There is a special
beauty in the Fairy Ring cards that can take us places we may not have
ever visited. Those who love fairies will be delighted with this
deck. Those who don't yet know the fairies may benefit from this
lovely introduction into the world of fairies and other magical beings.
This deck will be appreciated by fairy fans as well as Tarot enthusiasts
for the meaningful insight the cards offer on your specific questions or
issue of concern.
In addition to the
wonderful and insightful messages, the cards are certainly very pleasing
to the eye in this beautiful splendor of art!
The spreads included
in the book are impressive, as a lot of books don't always include very
many (if any) special spreads designed for a particular deck. Anna
Franklin gives us the following nine insightful spreads for use with the
Fairy Ring cards:
-
The Fairy Mound:
A thirteen-card spread used to help you determine the important issues
and events of your past, what influences and concerns have a bearing on
the present, and how best to move into the future.
-
The Fairy Oracle:
A seven-card linear spread used to address a single question.
-
The Fairy Gifts:
A five-card spread used to ascertain what skills the seeker may call upon
to fulfill his or her destiny, or what trends and obstacles are preventing
him/her from doing so.
-
The Fairy Market:
An eleven-card spread that can be used for general readings or for in-depth
answers to a specific question or concern.
-
The Year Spread:
A twelve-card reading used for gaining insight into what the coming year
(or next 12 months) holds for the seeker.
-
The Life Reading:
A twelve-card reading used for in-depth analysis of of the seeker's life
and circumstances.
-
The Wildfolk Guides:
A seven-card reading that helps the seeker access the supportive fairy
energies through his life.
-
The Fairy Oak:
A ten-card reading that looks at the root of an issue or problem, and determines
how events and circumstances have progressed from this root cause.
-
The Fairy Ring:
An eight-card reading that gives you an overview of your life trends, and
insight on how best to move forward.
Many of these readings
can work nicely for other oracle systems as well, including the Tarot.
Velvet
Angel
