Messages from your Animal Spirit Guides Oracle Cards by Steven Farmer

Staff Review by Brett Almond

The “Messages from your Animal Spirit Guides Oracle Cards” is published by Hay House. Some animal themed oracle cards like these can be very Native American based as the “medicine” and meanings of animals is so prevalent in the Native American culture. But actually the meanings behind what animals represent is common to so many indigenous cultures around the world including, but not limited to, the Aborigines (Australia), Maori (New Zealand), Sangoma (Africa), Druids (Britain), Siberian shamans and also in the Japanese zodiac.

Every animal behaves slightly differently and has different teachings for us. An oracle deck like this helps you to pick a card in which the energies of that particular animal can help you. For example if you draw camel the associations made in this booklet are:

“Resourcefulness, determination, steadiness, fortitude, endurance, stamina, focus, optimism, containment, centeredness, adaptability, equality, justice, strength, survival, replenishment, positivity, accomplishment.”

These are energies associated with the camel who, by virtue of their physiological make up, can go for long periods without water.

For the longer description in the booklet (that accompanies the cards) there are two long paragraphs about the camel with sentences such as, “Sometimes it feels like you’re journeying across large, lifeless desert that stretches beyond the horizon with no end in sight. Traipsing across the seemingly barren landscape before you, your thirst for comfort and solace during these times can most readily be satisfied by looking to your inner resources.” To give you an idea, this quote represents about one third of the text about the camel.

These cards are so unusual as they are quite global in nature with animal listed from all around the world. The list of animals represented in this deck are:

Blue Heron, Boar, Camel, Cardinal, Cat (domestic), Chameleon, Cheetah, Chimpanzee, Condor, Dog, Elk, Emu, Falcon, Goose, Gorilla, Grouse, Honeybee, Humpback Whale, Kiwi, Ladybug, Manatee, Meerkat, Mountain Goat, Mouse, Octopus, Panda, Peacock, Penguin, Platypus, Polar Bear, Pueo (Hawaiian Owl), Rattlesnake, Roadrunner, Seagull, Shark, Snow Leopard, Spider, Tiger, Tortoise, Unicorn, Walrus, Weasel, Wolverine, Zebra.

I actually enjoyed the global nature of the cards with meerkats (“Get support from a trusted group of like-minded friends”), wolverine (“You’re a lot tougher than you think”), polar bear (“Stand up for yourself speak your truth respectfully and compassionately, with no attachment to the outcome”) all combining nicely for me in a reading. Each of these phrases is also written on the card themselves as well as in the booklet.

It is interesting with cards such as these to not get too hung up on the exact written words for each meaning, but to also to get a sense of what the energy of that animal might feel like or what aspect from that animal could you borrow to help you in your current situation. There are 12 blank pages at the back of the booklet to makes further notes. But I suspect a notebook may also be useful. I personally like to write my feelings and finding down when I do readings, but then again I have a friend who doesn’t like to write anything down. So that is up to you.

In all, there are 44 cards. The paperback booklet is nicely printed and made and is the same size as the cards. They come in a sturdy cardboard printed box. The animals are varied and global and the choice is interesting with many animals that other similar decks do not have in them. The descriptions in the book discuss the characteristics of the animals and also make the meanings personal to you as to how they might relate to your life.

So in all, I like the deck, and I don’t mean this to sound demeaning, because it is a complement, but they are fun to use. But they are also very much focussed on our spiritual growth and what we may need to pay attention to.