Review of the Symbolism in the Alcheringa Oneiromancy Deck

Hello there everyone, this week I will be doing a review of the Alcheringa Oracle Deck which I got at the end of October 2020. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the Alcheringa cards and I’ve decided to do a review of them because I have not seen many people talk about these awesome cards and I think they do deserve the recognition! This oracle was created by Stephanie Alia and illustrated by Daniela Efe. The style of the cards is very modern, seems to be illustrated digitally and using lots of block colors like pastel pinks, blues and shades of oranges. I really enjoy the comic book style that is embraced in this deck’s illustration – giving it a very nice crisp look. I also enjoy the borders – which can often be butchered by other decks. I like that there is a salute to Greek architecture with their design here. I also like the box which resembles almost a marble finish.

The Alcheringa oracle has been created with goal to do dream work, and assist us in connecting to the symbolic language of the subconscious. According to Wikipedia, ‘’ Alcheringa is a word in the Indigenous Australian Aranda language used to refer to the Dreamtime, also known as Alchera.’’. In the booklet of the oracle, the creator of the deck Stephanie Alia says that this oracle was inspired by her experiences doing dream work. It is also mentioned on the box that it is an Oneiromancy Deck. But what is Oneiromancy?

According to the Free Dictionary, oneiromancy is divination through the interpretation of dreams, or the gift of prophecy (or pretense of prophecy) by natural means. The origin of the word Oneiros comes from greek, meaning dream (Collins Dictionary).

Upon looking up this deck online and seeing that it was an Oneiromancy deck, I was very intrigued. I have always been fascinated by the dream world and the subconscious. If you are too, and wonder if you should get this deck, keep on reading! I won’t go through every single card of this deck – but rather will review the symbolism of a few cards in this deck so you get a feel for how it reads.

Card 15: The Away

‘’The Away’’ card here represents the strong fear the have about a shadow or something, someone that may be after us in a dream. A woman is depicted, running from a giant shadowy hand, that is seeming to want to grasp at her in the dark of night. It represents our desire to escape and run away. It represents also our inability to face what feels scary and shadowy.

Card 5: Fear

In the fear card, we see a woman lying down, as if sleeping with her eyes shut. Three trolls or demons are over her body, one of them reaching into a cavity inside of her chest, as if reaching for the heart. I really wanted to mention this card in the video, because for me this card is really reminiscent of the phenomenon called Sleep Paralysis – where someone is stuck between the physical plane and the dream world. What can often happen is a feeling of panic, of not being able to move but being able to see our surrounding as we are in our body, but we can’t control it. There is a feeling of being stuck. Many people while being in sleep paralysis have seen what seems like a shadow presence or even a demon – an unwanted presence within the personal space, which is depicted here.

Card 37: The Source

I really like the source card here, where a head – which is devoid of identity almost like a mask – is open so that we can see what is inside. A chimney seems to emerge from the middle of the head, letting smoke through its open end. Around this chimney is depicted many different faces or masks. I like this image because it is a great representation of the many different facets and archetypes one can hold within their subconscious. In fact, in the booklet this card is represented as our ability to connect to the collective consciousness. A serpent is hooked to the big blue head – representing the mutative, ever evolving nature of our psyche.

Card 28: Past Lives

In this card, we see someone walking forward – it looks almost like the sun is setting. We are facing the character’s back, and this person is walking with a big backpack, which is full to the brim with little bubbles or crystal balls. Within each one of these bubbles is a different image – some have faces, other depict insects or animals. I imagine that each of these bubbles holds a memory – or a past life. There is a feeling of being weighed down by these many memories, which are dropping as we move – they are overflowing and in the process being revealed.

Conclusion…

Something that strikes me about this deck is the strong link between the dream symbol depicted, and how it comes with a subconscious emotional charge. I really admire the ability that the creators of this deck have to capture the different emotions and feelings that we often repress during our awake state - and how they come out at night during dream time.

What I really love about the Alcheringa Oracle is that it is very unique in nature, I find that it really nailed down the different themes that can come up in dreams. I find also that while this deck can be used to further explore our dream world (for example with a daily morning pull), it is also a great deck to explore the subconscious emotional charge we have underneath what might be happening on a surface level. It is great to explore our shadow, the subconscious, and to use it to complement and add depth to a tarot reading. If you are interested in ordering this deck, make sure to check out the shop and the instagram pages of the creators!

I also want to mention, if you would like to learn a few tips to deepen your tarot and oracle readings - I have a gift for you! When you sign up to my newsletter, you get access to a video called ‘‘5 Tips from an Artist to read Tarot’’ where I dive into the skill of artwork interpretation. Beyond remembering the meaning of each tarot or oracle card - the key to any reading lies at the heart of the connection between an image and a meaning. Make sure to sign up below this article!

With Love,

Mary Iris Jane