Which? Faeries Oracle or Heart of Faerie Oracle?

Carla

I want to buy my first Brian Froud deck and wonder which to get--Faeries Oracle or Heart of Faerie Oracle?

I am looking for a deck that shows faery as more than pretty winged girlies. I want to see some earthiness and a bit of darkness as well. I can't decide which would be the best deck to start with.
 

Winterchild

Faeries!

Carla... These decks are both fabulous and accurate for me, they go really deep.... I borrowed a copy of the original Faeries Oracle initially to take part in the Faerie Seekers Circle, I loved it so much I had to buy it! I have Heart of Faerie on my iPhone as an app too.

I think I would go for the original Faeries to start with but maybe if you read this thread:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=133750&highlight=heart+Faerie

It may help you decide...

Whatever you will love it and do join FSC!!

:heart:

Winter
 

Carla

I bought both!
 

Winterchild

yay!

Do join the circle.... I love how folk read with these decks Carla!
 

swedishfish612

I went out to buy the Faeries Oracle today and discovered the Heart of Faerie as well. I hadn't done my research; I didn't realize there were two decks. I was "forced" to buy them both. :D
 

Chronata

And you will undoubtably love them both as well!

I keep mine together in one enormous deck, but if I were you, I would take them one at a time...the FO first, and then the HOFO.

There are so many more amazing exercises in the first book, that you can use for the second deck once you get to know your fae!
 

swedishfish612

I've been holed up in my room with the FO all evening. A cup of coffee, a deck, and a book...does it get any better than that? I'm really enjoying the deck so far.

I have to admit, I don't have a good track record with oracles. I buy one, realize I don't want to take the time to learn a new system, and abandon it in favor of Tarot. But I'm hoping this one keeps my attention...there seems to be something really special here.
 

ladybird

I purchased the Faery Oracle this past summer and have yet to dive into it. I'd love to get to know them better, seems like the perfect time. :) Maybe the FSC is the place to familiarize myself with them too?
 

Absynthe

The Froud decks have a very particular energy about them. They are definately not all 'love and light' like a lot of the new agey fae decks are. There is more to the elemental realm than butterfly wings and bubbles. But then I grew up on Froud\Hensen collaborations so I was doomed to love these decks from the start.

I first bought the Faeries Oracle in 2003 in a quest for a non-tarot deck that had some kind of depth to it. I got so sick of decks made up of a handful of cards with single word entries on them. Thats fine for some, but I like specifics! The Froud decks (I have both now) are laced with meaning but its in a certain code that challenges you to stretch yourself with each reading. Nothing is ever straight forward, its always a labyrinth and just when you think you've cracked it. No! Hats not what we meant at all... is what you'll hear. The deck challenges you to overturn your assumptions and to not learn cards by rote but by direct experience with the forces represented by them.

I love these decks for this reason. But they are decks that require commitment and a personal relationship. Its easy to get frustrated with them especially as they continually throw up cards at you repeatedly regardless of the question if you're not getting it. These decks answer the question that must be asked, not necessarily the question you are asking. These are the only decks I've encountered with a real life of their own.

The app deck is just okay for me. It'll do in a pinch, but its horribly limited and doesnt allow you any real freedom to construct a reading. But if you need to just pull a card in the moment it will do without carrying the deck in your back pocket.

Now the difference between the two. HOF contains more of the seelie and unseelie court than the original deck did. I find its a more relationship (relationship to others and self) deck than the original. The FO deck has more scope for general questing. I have bought both and will combine the two. Sometimes I will make up a deck for purpose by choosing certain cards from each, or I can use all of them. The fae realms aren't sticklers for rules, they like fluidity and a certain amount of chaos. That use of the cards would be perfectly acceptable and even encouraged by the energies presiding over it.