Review: Paolo Barbieri’s Unicorns Oracle

Paolo Barbieri’s Unicorns Oracle

Reviewed by ClaraZ

Paolo Barbieri’s Unicorns oracle
Lo Scarabeo
ISBN 978-8865276754
RRP £16.99
Published September, 2020

Saddle up for a flight of fancy beyond fanciful with illustrator Paolo Barbieri’s oracle, featuring a parade of unicorns like you’ve never seen them before.

Some appear in guises of the mundane world, while some take on the mantle of fellow mythical creatures, and others become heavenly bodies. Their purpose is to reach the reader’s inner child by taking the imagination on a journey where there is magic in the material, logic in the outlandish, and wisdom in the weird and whimsical.

Birds and butterflies, snow, planets, mountains, flowers, demons and dragons, to name but a few, all take on equine form in the 34-card deck. But author Rachel Paul’s card titles remind us that what we see with our eyes is merely symbolic of what the unicorn has come to tell us. Hence, the autumn-leaf unicorn is ‘Not a Leaf — Ending,’ heralding change, and the fire unicorn is ‘Not a fire — Creativity,’ blazing with inspiration.

This is a fascinating and unique deck featuring pieces of Paolo’s ever-popular fantasy art, taken from his book of the same name published last year (2019). It follows a familiar Lo Scarabeo format of glossy 9 x 12.5cm cards, with a book of the same size containing various languages, and a decent lie-flat box with lift-off lid. The back of the cards are cream, gold and grey with a decorative double unicorn motif.

With each card, the guidebook gives directions for a meditation, an affirmation, and an action all aimed towards bringing unicorn-style transformation into our lives.

The overall effect is lighthearted, positive and fun. And surprisingly irresistible in its sheer inventiveness.

After a little practise you might even start to perceive the unicorns and their messages in places you never thought possible!