A Review of the Sacred Pathways Card Deck

The Sacred Pathways Card Deck designed by Jamie Sams may be put into the same category as a tarot deck, but they read very differently. Although they do come with a book it is important to realize what they are before purchasing them, so that one may not be disappointed with them.

Numbers are shown in a teal color at the top with the name of the object, then the picture of the object, then the name of the concept the card is referencing. Each of the objects are depicted on a colored hide and are all Native American in nature. The text on the cards is displayed in a simple sans serif font, which makes it easily readable. There is not too much text to draw away from the image, but just enough to help the reader get a reminder of the cards meaning. The cards reading surfaces are simple, but well illustrated. The orange and electric teal that outline the cards and that is used on the card backs seems slightly outdated, however. The backsides of the cards are simple. They use a plain orange color with native sun design in teal.

This particular deck deals heavily with Native American culture. Unfortunately it does not pull its meanings from any particular tribe, however it does reference some tribes in the book itself. An in-depth book for this deck is essential. Although one could read the cards without the extended book, one would be missing many of the nuances of what the objects and concepts combined mean. There are many stories that are good to remember, not just when doing readings, but in general day-to-day life. So useful is the book that I would recommend for people to read it just for the entertainment/learning value.

The point cannot be expressed that the Sacred Pathways Deck should not be thought of as a fortune telling deck. Although one might use it to see what general themes might be coming up for an individual, the deck seems to function much better as a compass. The types of readings in the book further emphasize this point as they mostly deal with determining root causes of problems and how to get through them. There is also a lot of perspective to be gained from the balanced shield reading where one sees what influences are in which direction for the recipient of the reading. As a personal development tool, the Sacred Pathways Deck is invaluable as long as you are willing and open to the Native American cultural concepts expressed in this book.

Another great feature of this deck is that it comes with a box that you'll want to keep for easy storage. It is made of a heavy cardboard that has a separate slot for the deck and the book making it easy to slip onto a bookshelf. Unlike other tarot deck boxes, this one will not be crushed.

On another brief note, Jamie Sams also has out another deck called Animal Medicine Cards. That deck deals of course with animal totems, but it is referenced in the Sacred Pathways book. One layout requires that you need that deck, but otherwise all other layouts just require the pathways deck.

So overall I highly recommend this deck as long as you are interested in Native American culture. The easy to read card-face, valuable book interpretations, and reading layouts provided in this book make it a great deck for personal improvement work. The only negative to the deck is that the back of the cards are done in odd colors and aren't very fancy, but that could be a bonus to some as it means they aren't very distracting. This is a very solid, engaging deck.