The Signs of the Times Oracle
Since writing about The Unveiled Tarot I haven’t been able to get some of its cards out of my head. So, I thought I’d explore an oracle deck for something different. I have more oracle decks than I tend to realise but I don’t use them consistently, nor do I have a “usual” way of working with them. Somehow, I keep convincing myself that I can’t layer my knowledge over the cards like I can with tarot.
This deck reminded me, yet again I might add, that is simply not true. Why I need reminding baffles me. I think it is simply that I love the overarching system that guides tarot. Nevertheless, symbols are relevant regardless of how or where they appear. Plus, when I do work with oracles I enjoy the experience and each time I vow to do it more often. But then I forget and go back to reaching for a tarot deck.
Fortunately, from the first time I saw this deck on You Tube, (sorry I can’t remember whose channel it was on), something clicked. Within minutes I’d placed my order and now, a few months later, here I am revisiting oracle cards once again.
The Signs of the Times Oracle Deck
I can’t pinpoint what inspired that initial sense of connection but I believe there’s a reason this deck has called to me now. I needed the simplicity the graphic art imagery provides. Plus, this is a very accessible deck. Every image shows something I can either walk down the street and see or that I can relate to in some way. Further, the uncomplicated imagery allows me to simply focus on what the symbol means to me. Therefore, for me, the beauty of this deck is that it really encourages you to tap into, or start to build, your own dictionary of symbols.
Krystal Banner writes,
Spirituality is not necessarily separate from you or your everyday life, no matter what your belief system. It is woven into the fabric of the human experience and something you can bring to various areas of your life.
I think that while this is all to easily forgotten, it is something that needs to be remembered. This deck is a potent reminder.
Each of these cards point to moments in my life. Therefore, unlike tarot where I’m reading the story presented in the card to help me make sense of a situation, emotion, or experience, with The Signs of the Times Oracle it is always my own stories and memories that I am directly drawing meaning from.
Some examples
18 Palm – Destiny Card & 19 Dice – Chance
As I was just flicking through the deck I came to the Palm – Destiny card. In that moment the film Titanic came to mind. I have never sat down and made it through the three plus hours that movie requires but for some reason that’s where my mind took me. This highlights how many things I absorb without conscious awareness which raises the question, “How many of my well-thought-out major decisions are in actual fact subconsciously driven?” Link that with notions of destiny and that opens a rabbit hole that rivals anything Alice explored during her Wonderland adventures. But I’ll move on.
The Dice – Chance card took me straight to another movie – Grease. Instantly I’m picturing Danny, Kenickie and the rest of the T-birds doing the Greased Lightning dance while singing what my 8 year old ears didn’t realise were inappropriate lyrics. I loved that movie so much. I think I still know most of it word for word. However now, with my adult mind, I see things differently. But at eight I didn’t see anything wrong with the changes Danny and Sandy were trying to implement.
I can’t dismiss the other thought that always comes to mind in regards to Grease though, “Why did the car take off?” That ending bugs me every time. Sandy smoking and Danny as a jock, I can run with that. A flying car, even if it was Danny’s dream car? no, just no. The message here, take a chance yes, but don’t push things too far.
Evil Eye – Protection
The Evil Eye – Protection card takes me somewhere else. One Mother’s Day my daughter and I had a day out together, just the two of us. Since she has four young children this is a rare event. To celebrate, we spent a couple of hours doing a Turkish lamp mosaic class. It was harder and yet somehow easier than we’d expected. As we were leaving the facilitator produced a basket and asked us to select a gift. I chose an “evil eye” keyring. So, at least for the foreseeable future, I will equate this symbol with that day and the thoughts and memories that surround it.
My Turkish lamp now lives on the bookshelf behind me. Coincidently, a plant that resembles the one in the card image sits beside it. My office has always felt like my safe space and a space worth protecting. This card serves as affirmation. I love that the “evil eye” symbol appears on a laptop. It perfectly rounds out the story for me.
A randomly selected pairing
I normally cover multiple pairings in these posts but since I’ve already written more extensively than usual on individual cards, for the sake of brevity, I’ll just write about one.
14 Angel Numbers – Confirmation & 36 Power Lines – Energy
I have been noticing angel numbers everywhere I look of late. So much so I can’t dismiss them. Therefore I shouldn’t have been surprised at the number of times this card popped up during the writing of this post. Firstly it appeared during the deck interview in the “potential” position. Then there it was again looking back at me from the “present” position as I did the past, present and future three-card spread as per the book’s suggestion. Now here it is yet again, its appearance feeling far from random. I wanted to put it back and draw a new card but I knew I shouldn’t do that.
That desire was reinforced though as I looked at these two cards sitting side by side. It felt jarring because both the colouring and the patterning clash so much. Maybe that is the message itself or maybe it’s just reflecting how I’ve been feeling of late.
Then something struck me. As I look out my office window, I can’t see power lines because here they are underground. But, just because I can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. And, just like that it clicked. Maintain my vision even if I can’t see how it will come to fruition. Trust I’m on the right path. Now I realise just how much the earlier cards I wrote about are connected to this pairing as well. Nothing occurs in isolation. Everything is interlinked. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to grasp the true magnitude of that.
Some things to be aware of
Krystal Banner points out that “there is meaning and intention in every aspect of the deck, including the colours” and the numbers. On the Smiley Face – Joy card, seen firstly at the top of this post, the background is yellow. However, when the card features on the packaging, (which you can see at the end of this post), the background is blue. How does that change how you see the card, if at all? We all read in our own way. The number is 30 – which for me is the number of creativity. I see sunshine and happiness, communication and creativity.
I like that the symbols aren’t all to be found where you’d usually expect to see them. It encourages you to look around in your day to day life as well. You might know you are never going to see a bison walking down your street but it could appear on the cover of a children’s book, on a logo, or on your television screen. As the cards below show, the possibilities seem endless.
Some deck specifics
This is a 44 card deck which is fairly standard for an oracle. It would have been nice if there were a few more cards yet it doesn’t feel underdone. I like the low sheen cardstock and I find the size, 9 x 12.5cm, manageable.
The titles are printed in either black or white which ensures they don’t become lost in the backgrounds. I find the hand written section okay to read but my granddaughter doesn’t so maybe a different font would have been better. Unfortunately I’ve hurt my thumb so for now I can’t comment on how easy the deck is to riffle, but it’s definitely fine to overhand shuffle.
I do find the backs a little disconcerting though. You look away and the centre appears to pulse and spin. Even when I try and focus on them there’s so much movement. Maybe that’s apt. Are we really seeing signs or are they illusions we’ve created to help us make sense of things? In the guidebook, Krystal Banner argues for the former.
The Signs of the Times Guidebook
The Signs of the Times Oracle comes with a 105 paged, perfect bound, black and white guidebook. Flip it open and you’ll find a comprehensive contents page which lists every card’s page number for quick reference. However since the book is organised by card number it is just as easy to flick through the pages to find the relevant card.
The book starts with an Invocation followed by a chapter titled Working with The Signs of the Times Oracle. This discusses the intention behind the deck which is to encourage you to see the signs that are all around you. Next is a chapter covering readings that gives a step by step approach which, to be honest, I skimmed over. I did do all the spreads though. She offers four single-card and four three-card spread suggestions as well as a five-card “Give me a sign spread”.
Then come the card meanings. Here the number, title and keyword sit above a black and white thumbnail image of the card. This is followed by information on the symbolic relevance of the image and the meaning. Finally there’s an Additional Meanings section, which, as the name suggests, offers more meanings. The number of these vary but most provide a further four interpretations.
The book is an okay read but, unlike most oracles, the deck is easy to interpret without it. Once you’ve read the opening chapter you’re ready to go. That’s because, for me, these are symbols rather than signs. Signs directly represent something. For example a red traffic light is a sign because it means stop in every instance, whereas symbols, such as a red circle, are open to interpretation. In other words, symbols speak to us in a language of our own making, while signs express a fixed meaning. Therefore, it makes sense to make your own associations with the cards comfortable in the knowledge that the book is there if you draw a blank.
Wrapping it all up
If you’re looking for a straight forward, contemporary oracle that’s great for self-discovery and recognising what is going on in the here and now then this could be it. Since I found The Signs of the Times Oracle so easy to work with it led me to explore Krystal Banner’s other work. I discovered she has a tarot deck, the Kaleidadope Tarot: A Dope Deck, which has a similar vibe. While it is no longer available through her personal website, I did find it on Little Red Tarot. If you’re interested in that you might want to head over and have a look sooner rather than later.
Summaries
The Signs of the Times Oracle cards
| Artist | Krystal Banner |
| Card Size | 9cm x 12.5cm |
| Card Stock | Low sheen |
| Shuffle | Fine to shuffle |
| Fan & Flip Through | Okay to fan, bit slow to flip through |
| Miscellaneous | 44 card deck |
The Signs of the Times Oracle Guide book
| Written by | Krystal banner |
| Pages | 105 pp |
| Appearance | Perfect bound, B & W |
| Spreads | Various single and three-card spreads Give me a Sign Spread (5 cards) |
Publishing Details
Created by:
Krystal Banner
Pictured Version:
Published in 2022 by Hay House
ISBN 13: 978-1-4019-6432-0
Websites:
