Portals of Presence: Faces Drawn from the Subtle Realms is a 72 card deck by artist, author, vocalist, sound healer and group facilitator Deborah Koff-Chapin. Each card was painted by
Deborah in her process of Touch Drawing over the course of 20 years.
My first impressions upon unboxing this deck were that the packaging is sturdy and convenient. The deck comes in a hard cover box that is large enough for both the cards and the 36-page guidebook. This deck measures a whopping 4.5" x 6" - a bit larger than your standard deck of oracle cards. I don't typically keep my cards in their boxes as I like to display the boxes in my sacred space as a visual representation of my practice, but I do appreciate a well-packaged deck. For those who do keep their cards in the original box, it is solid enough to keep your cards protected when not in use even if you're traveling with them.
The guidebook, as previously mentioned, is 36 pages and covers the overall vision of the deck. This book is not going to tell you what the cards mean, but it will tell you how to use the cards. Deborah explains how to ground and center yourself, something you should do before approaching any deck. The structure of the guidebook is as follows: selecting the "portals;" gazing and visualization; creative exploration with the "portals;" closing the "portals" - a mini ritual for finishing a reading; and working with the "portals" in both solitary and group settings. Deborah does an excellent job of describing the various ways of how to use these cards so if you are unsure of how these cards will work for you, read the guidebook (which I highly recommend doing with any deck - authors don't spend precious time writing them for nothing!)
The cards are printed on high gloss, flexible card stock. They are definitely larger than your standard deck and many may find it difficult to shuffle them, but after reading the guidebook I don't get the impression that these cards were necessarily designed to be shuffled in the typical way. In the guidebook, Deborah describes creating a "pool" of cards to choose from. She suggests mixing the cards on a flat surface, perhaps with a crystal in the center of them, to select cards or sifting through them face up/down until a card calls to you. Personally, I like to shuffle my cards until they pop out at me. If you choose to shuffle these cards hand-over-hand like I do, I recommend holding them vertically instead of horizontally. It's a work out for your hands if you don't shuffle regularly, but with time it gets easier. Practice, practice, practice!
Each image is an intriguing image of a face, a presence that has been inspired by a place, natural object, or human spirit. As humans, Deborah explains, we instinctively gravitate towards human faces for comfort and information since we are most familiar with them through our daily interactions. After doing several multi-card readings with the deck, I've found that these images give me incredibly straight forward answers, ideas, and emotions.
They give me insight into my subconscious mind as well as insight into the energies that surround me at the time of my readings.
Working with the cards may not be easy for everyone. As the manager of a metaphysical store (Stone Age in Tallahassee, FL for those of you who are curious - shopstoneage.com) I've found that modern readers are...lazy, to say the least. I rarely come across readers who are willing to take the time to truly feel out a card to experience it for themselves. Too many readers are dependent on decks that tell them the meaning on the cards themselves. Don't get me wrong, I have and adore many decks that give keywords and descriptions on each card, but I always rely on my intuition and knowledge above all else. This deck is not for the lazy reader, but it's not exclusively for advanced readers either. Readers who are tired of run of the mill decks will find solace in the beautiful faces within these cards. This deck is for readers who want a deeper connection with the human experience. Deborah has provided guided audio with original music for this deck that may help readers connect with the cards.
Overall, I feel that this deck is incredibly useful in the right hands. I think that beginners will learn much about themselves with it and experienced readers will expand themselves with it. I know that Portals of Presence will have a permanent spot in my collection of decks. If you're interested in purchasing this deck for yourself, visit shopstoneage.com or touchdrawing.com. Many thanks to Deborah Koff-Chapin for sending a sample of this deck to me for review. This is an honest review and all opinions are my own.