The Shaman's Oracle

Book excerpt: Before spoken language evolved, our ancestors communicated through images, drawn or carved onto the walls of caves. A vast proportion of the thousands of such images derive from the visionary insights of the first shamans, who either left them as reminders for themselves or as spiritual signposts for those who came after them. Created by practising shaman John Matthews and beautifully illustrated with evocative images of cave paintings by Wil Kinghan, this highly original deck contains 52 cards, which are divided into five groupings - Spirits, Ancestors, Hunters, Dancers and Shamans - each representing a different aspect of human experience. Two further cards - the Journeyer and the Helper - represent the person who is conducting the reading: the Seeker. As the cards are drawn, they reveal insights that will help to guide the Seeker on his or her quest for the answers to life's most vital questions. The images are not only beautiful, atmospheric and mysterious, but they also touch on the deepest memories we all possess - the unconscious archetypes that influence our thoughts, feelings and actions at the deepest level of being.