Tarot & Oracle, & Book Reviews
A review-based blog for students. The blog will focus on tarot and oracle reviews. Any books reviewed will have an emphasis on tarot or other divinatory practices.
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The Oracles
The Oracles is a self-published deck created by Libby Bove. First published in 2022, they are an intensely unique and quirky oracle set. They’re possibly limited in the audience that will be attracted to the cards — mostly because they deal with the grubbier side of personality and inadequate relationships. Yet, I still want to say it’s probably one of the best oracle decks
Shamanic Healing Oracle
The Shamanic Healing Oracle is a lovely forty-four-card deck that was first published back in 2016. Artist Michelle A. Motuzas paints relatively simple designs, but I genuinely like this style of artwork. The deck retails at just under £20 and is well-priced for what you get. The box is sturdy and has a magnetic clasp on the lid. The cards are of average thickness
The Botanical Oracle for Strange Women
For Strange Women published the Botanical Oracle deck in 2019. The artwork was originally commissioned over a period spanning fifty-three new moons to illustrate their lunar perfume series. Ash Miyagawa is the artist responsible for the imagery in the beautiful Botanical Oracle and it's currently on my list of personal favourites. It comes in a small but sturdy
Winterseer Animal Companion
We’re already over halfway through winter, but I wanted to mention this lovely seasonal set by Siolo Thompson. The Winterseer Animal Companion (2021) is a decent-sized piece of kit, and this means we have a regular-sized guidebook. The box is sturdy with a magnetic clasp; and it has an insert! The cards are a good size, medium-weight, and
Nicoletta Ceccoli - Oracle & Tarot
Nicoletta Ceccoli (b.1973) is an illustrator from San Marino. At face value, her distinctive work suggests a childlike innocence, yet she often includes dark and disturbing elements that force the viewer into discomfort. The tarot deck was published in 2014, with the oracle deck following in 2016. Both decks retail for under £20.
Dan May’s Oracle Cards
Dan May is a fine artist that creates narrative paintings. The first oracle deck I bought was the one he collaborated with Lucy Cavendish, and the second I received as a gift from my youngest son back in August. I want to compare and contrast both decks to see whether one deck emerges as more robust than the other. My initial impulse
Mystical Healing Reading Cards
The Mystical Healing Reading Cards is a 36-card deck published in 2020, and I think Inna Segal did a great job creating something that blends old with new. Jake Baddeley did the artwork, and I would’ve liked to see this stated early in the book. It is not common practice to name the artist on the front cover, but I wish writers would reconsider this practice.
The Prophet, an oracle card set
Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) was a Lebanese-American poet famous for his book The Prophet (1923). His book is one of the best-selling of all time and has never been out of print. I first came across his work in the 1990s when I saw one of his poems on a friend’s wall. Poetry is not my favourite genre, but I fell in love the first time
Flower Meanings - a couple of books
There is a rich history of the symbolism of flowers. Attaching meanings to flowers and trees was a well-established tradition long before the Victorians picked up the mantle. I find it rather sad that the language of flowers has become such an underused resource in the toolkit of modern-day mystics and diviners. I think
The Enchanted Map Oracle
Created in 2011, The Enchanted Map Oracle is another offering from Colette Baron-Reid and Jena DellaGrottaglia. It is almost identical to the Wisdom of the Oracle, except it has fifty-four cards and the descriptions are slightly shorter. The deck is easier to shuffle than the Wisdom cards because they don’t stick together so much,
The Literary Witches Oracle
I loved this deck the minute I took it out of its packaging. It comes in a sturdy box six inches tall, about 5 inches across and two inches deep. There are seventy cards and a relatively thin booklet to help help you with interpretations. Taisia Kitaiskaia and Katy Horan jointly created the oracle. It was based on the authors’
Wisdom of the Oracle
The Wisdom of the Oracle was created in 2015, and I can see why it’s a popular deck. The artwork is easy on the eye and uses symbolic cues extensively. Before ordering, I hadn’t realised I was already familiar with the work of the artist, Jena DellaGrottaglia, whose work I first came across back in 2010 or thereabouts.
Moonology Oracle Cards
I am so impressed with the quality of these cards — they’re thick and feel like they’ll last a lifetime. The box is also solid. I love new decks for the fresh energy but hate them when it comes to shuffling, and this deck is no exception. These cards cling together, and I’ll be happier once they loosen up. I can see myself using these
The Oracle of Mystical Moments
My old regular deck isn’t working for me anymore, so I’m now on the hunt for a new one. The Oracle of Mystical Moments by Catrin Welz-Stein caught my eye, and I'm glad I now own it because I adore it. I came across her work years before the existence of the oracle; she’s a well-established artist whose work I love for being