Shaheen’s Tattered Nomad Oracle, the Review & Interview

The Review

I love to be spoiled, specially when someone is spoiling me with cute decks! The first impression I had of Shaheen’s Tattered Nomad Oracle was of delight and surprise. Why? He spoiled the little girl in me with a double effect. A gorgeous deck signed by its author and with a small butterfly postcard with a simple note in it. This was the wrapping of the deck, the delight, the surprise. But, was it going to be as good as it promised its wrapping?

Oh! Yes!

This is a deck with double effect. (Let me stress that again: double effect.) You can stare at the pics on your screen during hours and feel they are great. But this is nothing compared to the effect when you first see them live! If you like collages, and if you like intuitive imagery collages, this is your deck. This is a two sided deck which will give you a great pool of meanings for your readings.

This is a Lenormand that asks you to “look beyond” what you might see at first sight. Thus cards can be used both for a traditional Lenormand, or for a totally different oracle. This means, that reading these cards requires a lit bit more time, if you use them beyond the traditional scope of the Lenormand. And this is good news for those who wish to go beyond, to read beyond, to explore beyond.

The deck has 41 cards. You have 2 extra consultants (a total of 2 women and 2 men), and extra cards: 37. the Seer (visionary, prophecies, creative thinking), 38. the Bat (rebirth, change, shamanism), 39. the Umbrella (optimism, triumph), 40. the Aura (energy, Qi, karmic connections), and 41. the Familiar (spiritual guide, soul connection, warning). Collages are refined and deeply labored mixing the layers and the images as if they were just one. Paper stock is strong and easy to shuffle. You can use this cards as many times as you want, enjoying them for a long time.

The best part of this deck is that it is two decks in one, a door that invites you to go beyond or invites you to let it closed. It is a Lenormand and yet an Oracle. You can use it in a traditional way, or a totally different personalized way if you want. In short, this deck is a good option for anyone who likes to begin with traditional meanings and books, but might want to play going beyond that.

This is a must-have deck in your collection. It is very refined, it has gorgeous collages, and it’s two decks in one. Just dare to be curious and go beyond 🙂

The Interview

Pepi: Why the “oracle” and not “lenormand”?

Shaheen: The soul of the deck is Lenormand, but in my opinion the cards are so much more than that. They were channeled from this empowering time in my life when I decided to let me intuition and creativity work through me. I set out to create a personal deck that translated the traditional Lenormand system into images that spoke to my intuition and worked with my symbolic vocabulary.

This project was addicting. The images just came through me. Each card was a personal discovery that lead me closer to understanding Lenormand, and my own intuition. As the deck began to form, it seemed to have a life of its own… and who am I to dictate!

So because the deck didn’t seem to fit the Traditional bill, and people outside of Lenormand seemed to gravitate toward it… I decided that Oracle was a great umbrella term. Let me be clear that this is a Lenormand deck… it has all the parts. It works perfectly with traditional reading! But it isn’t bound to anything.

P: From where did you get the inspiration?


S: The deck’s life began as a project of self-discovery. I needed an escape from everything. I needed to explore my own inner world by putting something on the page. The Lenormand images intrigued me, and I knew I had to marry them to my own symbology.

The true inspiration was just curiosity itself. I wanted to create a deck that spoke to my bohemian sensibility, and went beyond the deck’s that I had already encountered. The cards are rich with images that support the basic meaning of the symbol, but hidden throughout the cards are keys that active your intuition and help you tell the story laid out in front of you.

Because I see myself as a bit of a nomad, and a storyteller these cards needed to have the same aesthetic. This is the Tattered Nomad Oracle…. Its soul has been all over the world; it’s the accumulation of my story and a million other people’s stories. It changes with the wind, it’s worn with wisdom, and it can give you insight into anything!

P: Which is the most gratifying thing/emotion you got from creating this wonderful deck?

S: Honestly the most gratifying thing about this project has been creating it! It was a truly alchemical experience that enlightened me in so many ways. It revealed parts of myself I never knew. To hold this in my hand, and touch it and work with it is surreal!

Beyond anything else, knowing that this little sparkle of inspiration has become a shooting start to so many other people’s dreams is amazing! People all over the world have fallen in love with this deck. It’s absolutely humbling, and inspiriting. It let’s me know that love creates more love.


P: Which layouts do you think will fit best your deck?


S: I personally love to thumb through the cards and treasure hunt for an answer. I have a personal method of reading that I call, “Wondering for Wanderers”. This is basically a process of using significators to seek out an answer within the deck. You don’t lay the cards out; you look for them in the deck.

If you have a question about love, your significator could be The Heart. Shuffle the deck, then flip it over and sort through until you find The Heart… look at the 3 cards before, and the 3 cards after!

P: Any tips for readers?

S: Regardless of how you approach Lenormand this deck will work for you. That’s something I want people to understand. This deck has all the working components of Lenormand, with a few added touches… such as my beautiful additional cards. But the most importantly, this deck is meant to speak to your intuition. Regardless of what the traditionalist say, I believe that intuition is the thread that pulls everything together…and these cards are keys to unlock your own symbolic and intuitive nature.

Just remember to approach the deck with reverence and curiosity… you never know where it’s going to take you!

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