Kamienie Wroza - Deck Review
Published by Doslonce in 2008, these funky little cards are made in Poland, the name translates loosely as "divination with stones", "stones divine", or "stones predict the future", depending on just how loose and how poetic you're prepared to be.
The deck consists of 42 cards presented in a tuck box, a little white book in Polish, with an additional single sheet of information, and 3 'bonus cards' showing examples of each stones appearance that are represented in the deck.
The cards all have a narrow white border, and the border at the base holds the name of the stone and also a keyword as to the predominant meaning of the stone for divination, both given in Polish. The card backs are a dark olive green colour, with 5 spiral patterns overlaid - at first glance they're reversible, but the position of the swirls is slightly offset, allowing a keen eye to spot whether a card is upright or reversed before flipping it over.
The small size of the cards does nothing to diminish their designs, as they're kept bright and simple, not trying to cram too much in, which can be a downfall of many a smaller deck with a poor size-to-detail ratio. They measure up at 5.8 x 8.8cm (that's 2 1/4 inches by just under 3 1/2 inches (3 7/16 inches if we're going to be exact)), so just slightly smaller than a regular deck of playing cards, and the card stock is light, but, because of the smaller size, not too flimsy, and they're lightly matt coated, making them a pleasure to shuffle.
The LWB is printed in Polish too, and, because Google Translate will only get you so far, I was lucky enough that one of my fellow Taroistas has the deck, and had laid her mitts on a copy of a translation of it that she was able to share with me! It's quite detailed for a small booklet, detailing several example spreads, how the cards are broken into groups, the zodiac sign and planetary association for each card, along with suggested keywords for each, both upright and reversed.
The artwork is beautifully rendered designs and natural scenes, with a few man-made objects thrown in for good measure, done in a swirling, almost ethereal, style, seemingly done with pencils, as the shading and linework is intricate and impressive. The cards are divided into 6 colour groups, with 7 cards in each group, and have a wonderfully positive, gentle energy about them. The cards blend their energies and imagery well with other decks, both oracle and tarot.
I'm particularly enamoured of cards like Sapphire, Quartz Crystal, Schorl (or Black Tourmaline) with Pyrite, and Ruby - just some examples of cards that are inspiring and intuitive in their connection, presentation, and imagery.
Kamienie Wroza is published by Doslonce, all images are ©, and, although a little tricky to find, I was lucky enough to find an online store with them in stock, and Anna there was able to help me through the rigors of ordering in a language where i can just about say "hello, how are you?" (but can suggest that someone 'goes and hides in nettles', thanks to a Polish buddy (it's "Pochowaj sie w pokrzywach!" if you're interested, although i'm sure it's missing all of the little accents, hats and squiggly bits that we associate with Polish lettering!)
