"To help the deceased to pass over, special scrolls would be placed in the tombs, or painted onto pyramid walls. These scrolls were inscribed with spells, chants and incantations and were basically instructions that would guide the deceased on their way and ensure a safe crossing into the afterlife. When one such text, known as the Papyrus of Ani, was discovered in the 1800’s it was dubbed The Egyptian Book of the Dead. This oracle deck is inspired by that scroll and is designed to be a positive tool for enlightenment."
from The Egyptian Book of the Dead Oracle.
Last spring, when my editor asked me if I was interested in inventing an oracle deck based around Egyptology and mythology, The Egyptian Book of the Dead more specifically, I jumped at the opportunity. It is a subject that fascinates a lot of people, including me. My scholarly heart leapt in excitement at the chance to lock myself away in my study, absorbed in the history of Egypt - its ancient culture, hieroglyphics and the Egyptian pantheon of deities.
I spent the early summer of 2023 poring over tomes of hieroglyphics and researching their meaning. I read a copy of The Egyptian Book of the Dead which my publisher had sent to me. I carefully studied the gods and goddesses of the pantheon and how they worked together or opposed one another.
Egyptology is a very academic subject and I needed all my university training to tackle it! It can be quite a dense and dry topic, but I loved having the chance to do a deep dive into it. It was also suggested that as my Celtic Magic oracle had been so well received, that there could be other mythology topics on the cards for me too, but Egypt was to be covered first of all.
I threw myself into the topic, eager to deepen my understanding of ancient Egypt and to do a good job on the project. I wanted to maintain the scholarly, academic aspect of Egyptology, yet at the same time I was fully aware that I needed to invent an oracle deck that would make sense to a contemporary audience.
When I am deeply absorbed in an ancient mythology, it can sometimes be tempting to forget that I am writing for modern readers. In its tone of register therefore, my work has to reflect both aspects of the topic - its history and its place in the current market. Its a fine line to tread. If I lean too far towards the dense, academic tone of register I will lose my reader's attention, but on the other hand, if I make it too modern or simplistic, then I will not have done justice to the richness of the ancient culture and mythology that the oracle is meant to represent. A lot of thought and forward-planning has to go into inventing an oracle deck like this one, in order to maintain this fine balance.
To this end I decided to include epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter of the book. These epigraphs are quotations taken directly from The Egyptian Book of the Dead by E. A. Wallis Budge, who translated the original Papyrus of Ani. He worked at The British Museum as the Keeper of the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities from 1894 to 1924. So although he is a long time dead, it is due to the inclusion of these quotations that he is cited as the co-author of this oracle and I am truly honoured to share that space with him. I feel that his translations of the Papyrus of Ani that I have quoted, give this deck a deep authenticity. It is a respectful nod to the vast history of Egyptology behind the project. I had a lot of fun reading through The Egyptian Book of the Dead, finding just the right quotation for each chapter.
Inventing an oracle deck is always a lot of fun. From the initial concept, to the pitch, to creating the outline, there is a lot that goes into the process. Creating the cards and their meanings is extremely intuitive work. I would say it's almost like channeling - the deities know what they wish to represent within the deck and what specific messages they want to get across. I certainly felt like I was a Scribe of Thoth as I wrote this oracle into being, one card and chapter at a time!
I gave myself entirely to this project for several weeks, researching, reading, finding quotations for epigraphs, outlining, tinkering and finally, getting it down on paper as a completed book and card deck. It was a wonderful project to work on. The Egyptians were a little bit spooky, a little bit ethereal and enchanting, always powerful and majestic. I hope that comes across in the Egyptian Book of the Dead Oracle deck that I have created. I wrote three mythology projects last year, but this is the first one to drop and it's out now. I hope you like it and have as much fun with it as I did in inventing it.
My Norse Magic book and Classical Mythology Oracle are both currently available for Pre-Order too! Oh and my book of Glamour Magic has also just been released this spring - and its pink!!!
I'm currently working on exciting new books as we speak, but in the meantime see all the links provided below to discover which of my latest books are out now and which new titles are forthcoming this year...
Blessed Be
Marie xx
AD: The Egyptian Book of the Dead Oracle Deck is out now.
Glamour Magic is also out now.
The Classical Mythology Oracle Deck will be released on 1st October 2024 and is available for Pre-Order now.
Norse Magic will be released on 1st November 2024 and is available for Pre-Order now.
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