Author: Carrie Paris, Tina Hardt
Artist: Carrie Paris
Red Wheel/Weiser
2023
ISBN #978-1578638109
“The Beloved Dead” is an 81-card oracle deck accompanied by a 144-page guidebook. Its purpose is to connect us with our past and open up the potential of our future through our ancestor archetypes (spirit guides). This is a wonderful way for us to ground and center ourselves, ask a question of the cards, and gain the collective wisdom of our ancestors.
The cards can represent a specific soul (living or in spirit), a memory, an event, or simply a way of looking at things.
The cards are 3 ½” by 5” and made of sturdy, glossy cardstock. The card faces have a ¼” dark brown border, with the card title in white lettering at the bottom. The imagery is in full color. The cards are edged in gold.
The cards are broken down into one Spirit Throne card, ten Act of Love cards, sixty-nine Beloved Dead cards, and one Ouija card.
The Spirit Throne card acts as a sacred space where we can call upon our ancestors and invite them in for conversation.
The Ouija card is the “wild card”. When it appears in a reading, it can indicate that there is a spirit lingering outside of the cards that have been drawn, or it can indicate that perhaps another question needs to be asked.
The Act of Love cards represent energetic transactions and choices that, once made, have the potential to release pain and shift the unconscious “drivers” that throw us out of alignment.
The Beloved Dead cards represent our ancestors. The authors note that this group of souls will have a lot to say about our day-to-day interactions, our personal dynamics, and the experiences that we encounter in life.
There is a section on how to attune to the cards, how to work with the Spirit Throne, and how to use an opening and closing ritual. (There are short sample invocations for both the opening and closing rituals that can be used until an individual can develop one of their own.)
Each card is presented with a full-color image and a write-up of what the card represents.
At the end of the book are some very special spreads that allow the individual to make the best use of this oracle. There is a general three-card spread, a three-card evidential spread, a twelve-card Beloved Dead spread, and a twelve-card pillar of personal power spread.
In working with these spreads, I have found them to be a powerful gateway to connecting with my ancestors. There is great potential here for releasing the pain that has been carried on for a long time and coming to terms with our shadow issues.
You will get out of this deck what you put into it. Honor it, and it will honor you.
© September 2023 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction is prohibited without written permission from the author.
Bonnie Cehovet 