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Rating: 
Summary: A good laugh, a terrible "oracle"
Review: I have the version of this oracle with the gold ring pendulum, map, cards and book. The ring is covered with Norse futhark runes - not the dwarven runes from LOTR. OK, so the dwarven runes may have been based on the futhark, but isn't the ring supposed to have elven writing, anyway? As for the map and cards, I've seen better illustrating in junior high art exhibitions. But the book is a great laugh. New Age babble such as "what you are now doing is 'downloading' from the universal mind" and the comparison of journalists, researchers, economists and statisticians to oracles such as entrail reading and astrology are just a hoot. As is the liberal misuse of "quotation marks" around every other "word." The author - and the editor - apparently don't know that quotes should be used only for quoting speech, otherwise for creating the effect of irony. These are just a few of the words "quoted" throughout the instruction book: "knowing," "unknowing," "yes," "no," "identities," "see," "gifts," "invisible," "dies," "right" and "mysteries." If one didn't know that Donaldson claims an extensive background in druidry and metaphysical studies (and can be assumed to take this stuff seriously), one would think it was a terrific parody.I attempted an Elven Spread (as described on pages 62-63) with the card deck and the card meanings given in the instruction book. It made no sense at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Mystical
Review: I purchased these Oracles for the intent purpose to aid others in my community along with myself in the depths you need to go in order to learn about yourself. I use it with either the ring or my own pendelum. I do not think it is a nicer version of the ouija board for that is a tool that is dangerous if not used properly. The Oracles are to find what is deep within you, not created to use with Tarot, Runes, or any other form of divination. They are to be used solely. My community loves them as I do for they do show a darker side of self and lead you to find the self that is full of light as did the journey we all must go on in order to find that light we shine with. Blessed be
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad, but not great
Review: I would first off, like to start by saying I am a huge Tolkien fan as well as tarot card collector. When I came by this deck on sale at a book store, I new I had to buy it because I love The Lord of The Rings as well as divination. This deck is relatively good, especially for the small price I paid for it. It provides an interesting look into middle earth. The artwork on the cards are okay, not exactly breath taking, but even so it works fine.
The book provides pretty good describtions of the cards meanings, and works just fine for an orcale reading. Some people say that Tolkien would not have approved of an orcale deck, being that he was a Catholic. Well I believe that is rubbish. If Tolkien wrote stories containing things such as wizardy and elf magic, I highly doubt he would be so intolerant of sometime like this. He wanted to create a legend, and this deck farther proves how influential Lord of the Rings is. I do not recommand this to divination practicers who have not read or seen 'The Lord of The Rings'. Nor do I recommanded it to narrowminded people. If you are a Tolkien fan and you like orcale cards, this is a great set for you.
Rating:
Summary: What...the...heck?
Review: Let's leave aside the question of whether the world needs yet another media tie-in divination pack, and address some of the difficulties with this particular system: 1. The One Ring as divination device. Um...the symbol of ultimate evil used as a casting stone/pendulum? Is that a good idea? Not to mention that this version of the One Ring is a small doughnut covered in what appear to be Dwarven runes. 2. The cards. The subject choices are at best arguable - Beorn the Bearman gets a card of his own, but archetypal quest hero Frodo doesn't? Art ranges from rushed, to ugly to really, really silly (often all three). The Palantiri, for example, are depicted as a pile of squishy eyeballs with gumball-colored irises. 3. The map, which we're meant to use as a mat for card layouts and Ring casting. The mapmaker is under the misapprehension that the Bridge at Khazad-Dum is an actual river-crossing bridge, that Rivendell is between Caradras (North) and the Mines of Moria (South), and that Lothlorien is next-door neighbor to Mordor. The only person I can imagine getting any real benefit from the box, map, cards, and ring would be a collagista or altered-book artist, who will find some interesting (if pricey) fodder for cutting and pasting. Tolkien fans will be frustrated if not outright angered, while diviners and Tarot collectors will probably giggle and look for someone else to whom the set might be given away without guilt.
Rating:
Summary: Ohh...Ick!
Review: This oracle set is packaged so lavishly, in my opinion, to trick one into buying what is a poorly executed deck of 40 cards, a cheesy plaster of Paris "ring", a stiff and inaccurate map, and a little, awkward hardcover book. The book gives directions for using the ring on its own, the ring with the map, and the ring with the cards...kinda like a pendulum or Ouija board type of thing. Why would you want to use the very symbol of evil to ascertain the mysteries? The book also gives three different meanings for each card, Esoteric, Personal, and Reversed. The esoteric meaning for the Mirror Of Galadriel card has a few disjointed phrases about the Kabbala and some psycho-babble about unresolved personality/sexuality...... The art on the cards is just plain awful and if you love The Lord of the Rings they may actually make you wince with pain as they did me. Gollum, subtitled The Unloved Child looks vaguely like the figure in the famous painting called The Scream. The White Tree looks like a spindly birch that has been crookedly planted. Saruman looks like Sir Walter Raleigh while Gandalf looks like John Malkovich with a bad hangover. There is a card inexplicably titled The Mothers that shows two really ugly beings supposed to be Rose Gamgee and Belladonna Took holding infants. Mount Doom looks utterly unthreatening. The Black Riders look like really tired people, some quite feminine, none malefic, with the red-eyed leader sporting a huge pair of Longhorn steer horns. The elves are depicted as ladies in pastel dresses and men in cutaway coats and lacey cravats with Vandyke beards. Treating the great work and artistry of J.R.R.Tolkien in such a fashion is just bad karma. Stay away from this.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Magical
Review: This set is a very unique way to combine both metaphysics and fantasy. With gorgeous illustrations and offering several ways to use this placement "Lord of the Rings Oracle" allows you to gain a richer perspective on you and Middle Earth. The set contains a deck of cards which allows you to use them as a tarot, or may be used in conjunction with the map and ring. The ring is an interesting idea, used like a pendulum it may draw your attention to a particular card, or my favorite, a place on the map. Ask the ring what is yes for you and what is no, once you receive your answers, hover the ring over each of the places on the map and it will let you know where your journey needs to begin. It is a wonderful idea and for those who love Lord of the Rings for more than entertainment it allows you to gain an insight of how you fit with the story. While I agree the map is a little awkward for lying flat and the meanings of the cards are not as full of content as I prefer you'll end your session and adventure with a newer respect for both you and the realm. Simple but Magical.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Magical
Review: This set is a very unique way to combine both metaphysics and fantasy. With gorgeous illustrations and offering several ways to use this placement "Lord of the Rings Oracle" allows you to gain a richer perspective on you and Middle Earth. The set contains a deck of cards which allows you to use them as a tarot, or may be used in conjunction with the map and ring. The ring is an interesting idea, used like a pendulum it may draw your attention to a particular card, or my favorite, a place on the map. Ask the ring what is yes for you and what is no, once you receive your answers, hover the ring over each of the places on the map and it will let you know where your journey needs to begin. It is a wonderful idea and for those who love Lord of the Rings for more than entertainment it allows you to gain an insight of how you fit with the story. While I agree the map is a little awkward for lying flat and the meanings of the cards are not as full of content as I prefer you'll end your session and adventure with a newer respect for both you and the realm. Simple but Magical.
Rating:
Summary: A travesty
Review: Tolkien would have loathed this and everything it stands for. He was a Christian, not a gulliable New Age dimwit. An indefensible rip-off and travesty of the work of a great genius
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