The Tarot Tarts

Deck Review: The Mary-El Tarot

July 25th, 2025

A beautiful and terrifying deck. Acquired 2020, 2^nd Edition

You can see in the above image the printing of the backs is quite poor and inconsistent, but the stunning art makes up for the frustrating card stock and print quality.

*Obligatory Nudity Warning! This is the Mary-El, please be warned there is lots of full frontal nudity in this deck. Also please be aware that there are some triggering images in this deck as well, so do proceed with caution.

Before I get into the review, I want to make an important note: I use my decks thoroughly before writing a review. Typically I will only review a deck after a couple years of using it, and with no less than fifty full blown spreads under my belt with that particular deck. I find that this allows me the time to really understand a deck so I can review it beyond my first stage of loving the art and concepts. Almost always at that stage I feel very comfortable picking up that deck, even if I don’t particularly adore it like I might others. That is not the case for The Mary El. While I have used it extensively, I still find this deck eludes me. It is like a shapeshifter in hand. My emotional connection to the cards changes so rapidly depending on what is going on in my life and the context of my draw that I really haven’t learned the deck inside and out like I have many many others that have been in my collection this long. So! Please keep this in mind while reading this review! Thanks for being here!

Overall: 7/10 The Unbridled Shadow deck. First, let me say that the art in this deck is just plain stunning. In my collection, I consider this deck the counter part to The Witches’ Wisdom Tarot, partly because they have similar vibes, but I also purchased them at the same time as I was looking to expand my Tarot knowledge. Well, it took me over three years before I finally really dug into this deck and studied it intensively. This is hardly a Tarot deck that follows a traditional art structure, but it goes WAY above and beyond incorporating a plethora of esoterica related to the Thoth system, but also the Marseilles and RWS. It is so diverse in its choices of symbology that I find this deck absolutely needs its companion book. Like the Witches’ Wisdom Tarot, this is a deck that follows its own drum and I typically use it as a more meditative deck, or at least I’m only using it when I have a LOT of time on hand to do extra reading and thinking!

There are many style of art showcased in this deck! We have these very balanced, Art Deco feeling cards with bold geometric shapes but also have a very Meso-America art feel as well, or perhaps Ancient Egypt or…

I personally feel like The Mary-El somehow manages to be both a very primal but also intellectual deck. Because of the diversity of people and myths and symbolism in this deck, it has a very strong Jungian, collective unconsciousness vibe to it. I think Benebell Wen on her blog does a good summation: “You’ll find strong Qabalistic influences in her design, astrology in the courts, Rosicrucianism, and Hermetic philosophy.” And due to these heavy references, this is a deck that very easily gets lost in the sauce.

Some cards feel hyper-realistic in their imagery. Look at how you can tell the age of the person so clearly!

Card Quality: 1/5 Honestly if the artwork wasn’t stellar, these would have gone back. They have been plagued since production at Hay House with poor card quality as seen in the reviews. The card stock is fine on mine, but the printing is atrocious. The backs are either scratched, dotted with missing ink, or the tone is off half way through the card. My copy’s backs really suffer which is a crying shame since the double ouroboros of colored snakes is lovely. The gilded silver edges are nice, but the cards stuck to each other to begin with. Luckily I read though jumpers primarily so I tolerate these shortcomings.

A sample of a couple cards that consistently tug at my emotions. These are just a few cards of many in this deck that have seesawed between positive and negative connotations for me personally in the past five years.

Readability: 2/5, not due to poor design or choice of symbolism, but because this is definitely an advanced reader that needs the book! This was my first Thoth deck and I would NOT recommend this as a first Thoth deck! But…it’s not a purist Thoth deck; there is traces of Marseilles and RWS in the cards just to keep you on your toes! It is not easy at all to dissect meaning from the gorgeous images, being it is non-traditional for a Thoth. BUT the art is very provocative, and at times upsetting, so one will definitely have immediate feelings about the card images. The book that the artist wrote is really great at guiding you in a poetic sense though the image, but it’s not as grounded as I’d personally like and I end up finding my own meaning and sometimes I do not like the meaning. But, it leaves an impression nonetheless. The second edition changed several cards from the first edition, which I think is a shame since the first editions cards were very visceral and shocking, but the general theme is still there. The meaning and it’s accessibility to each person will vary greatly, but this is a good deck to use for shadow work and to meditate upon. I find it really likes to play with other decks as well. My initial impression due to the very realistic images of the human body and the intense emotions some images evoke was to keep this as a personal reader only, but I think for the right person at the right time, and maybe in that magical future where I feel like I really “get” this deck, I’d consider using it to read for select individuals.

More art styles. I could see this as being a deck used for dream work.

Art: 10/5 You either love it or you don’t with this one. Many cards shock, all cards bring about feelings, but there isn’t a single card that tells you how to feel. There is a mastery of ambiguity in the art that can change how you feel spread to spread, and day to day about the images. Also, each card seems to stand alone in itself. The “style” of the art varies dramatically from card to card, though each feels incredibly purposeful. Only after using this and continuing to be bamboozled by it for years have I finally realized that there is artistic discord, but it somehow is still cohesive as a whole.

Favorite Card: There more than I can count. But, I have a particular draw to the Two of Cups, and The Hermit.

Least Favorite Card: I don’t really have any cards I dislike, but I have plenty of cards that give me feelings of unease! Sometimes they were cards I liked yesterday!

Card I Identify As: Five of Cups

The deck Identifies me as: Queen of Swords

The radest 10s in any Tarot deck. The four horseman of the apocalypse.

Boxes it Checks: Dark, Shadow, vivid colors, esoteric, artistic, unconscious, unsettling, wild, Thoth

Season: Summer–a burning day with sultry nights

Similar Decks: there really isn’t anything quite like The Mary-El on the market that has the same complexity, but some similar vibes are The El Goliath Tarot, The WTNV Hayworth Tarot, The Bloodmoon Tarot, Somina Tarot, Goetia Tarot, The Lost Hollow Tarot, The Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, Tarot of the Imagination
July 2025 Decks

July 13th, 2025

I typically write out the titles of the decks, but I think they are pretty clear in the picture this month!

It’s past time to return to the fun game my Tarot pal and I have invented–the monthly Tarot D&D party! We did this in the spring and wanted to revisit it in the summer seeing as we had such a great time. The idea is we assign a number to the different basic twelve classes, and roll a dice to determine what our party looks like. Then we choose decks that exemplify that class and will pair in interesting ways with our other decks. My Tarot partner is an avid D&D player, but I don’t play, so take what I say about D&D with a grain of salt.

This month in our “party” we ended up getting the Druid, the Warlock, the Barbarian, the Ranger, and the Rogue. Let me show you what I chose!

Of course for a Druid one needs a nature-first deck, and while I have A LOT of nature decks, I wanted one that was balanced in feeling, neither too soft nor too hard. My much anticipated Kickstarter rewards for The Children of Ostara arrived on July first and it is the perfect match! So it was meant to be.

Typically, before using a deck in a formal draw, I at least shuffle a deck and do an introductory five card draw. But, with TCOOT I did not have the time and I leapt in with a coarse shuffle and out popped one of the extra cards from the gold edition, “The Below.” For context, the second extra card is “The Above” (you know, “as above, so below”?). Right to the point, huh? I guess I don’t expect anything less when created by Xia Hunt. To start off we’re going deep. It’s time to explore things that are largely unseen and unrecognized, but are crucial to the world’s beating heart. It’s these things that will provide shelter and nourishment for your and your loved ones. Connecting to nature is critical.

It was explained to me that the Warlock class is typified by having their magic powers given to them by a powerful, not always kind, being and that there is an expected payment for these powers and strings attached. This is very ominous to me. We talked about a situation where a warlock thinks they are doing one thing but there’s something unseen behind the actions. The perfect deck came to mind, well, two decks, the Exile Tarots, Silent and Awaken. What is seen and what is unseen. I’ve had these decks for a while and my first few times using them it was rather a shocking and emotional experience, seeing as I was expecting something sweet like the Monsoon Tarot and got something very different, so I’ve held off from using them extensively but it feels right this month! I’m excited to see what comes of this!

From Silent I drew the rather scary Wheel of Fortune. I love the book that goes with these two decks—while it’s RWS, it is a very different take on the system and the more I’ve been using these two together, the more these decks are becoming some of my favorites! For this card, I understand that something unseen is that the absurd and the profound and the beautiful all simultaneously exist all at once, at the same time. It can be easy to think the world is complete garbage with all the wrong things happening everyday because that’s where your attention is focused, but remember to stop and look around! There is plenty more to absorb! And this will give you fuel and hope.

From Awaken I drew the contemplative Queen of Cups. There are many things happening around her—a rain storm, a rainbow, a sunset/sunrise, but she lets all these things wash over her and focuses at the tasks at hand which is protecting her cup and her raven and its eggs! I will need to recognize the roller coaster of emotion and that they exits also together all at once. I need to take action to protect that which is most important to me but also remember to take the time to “fill my cup.”

Last time we did this monthly deck party we had a Barbarian and we rolled the Barbarian again for this month. I had several Tarot decks I was ready to choose, but I wanted to see if by chance I had an oracle deck to fit the class. Well, I certainly had one that fits a barbaric vibe! While I’ve had this one for a while, I don’t think its been on this blog, so here’s the absolutely hard core Zammer Twins Oracle.

I feel like I connect with the art in the Zammer, especially since it is so reminiscent of the Trionfi Della Luna Tarot, but this is one of the few cards that eludes me. The guidebook gives a fairly good description, but I wasn’t exactly feeling those vibes, especially considering this is my “Barbarian” deck, so I’m riffing on my own for this one. When I hear the term “Red Queen” I think of Alice and Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts and how brutal she is and how she runs a (whimsical) tight ship. I love in this card how our queen has both a red arm and a white arm. She know the balance that must be struck between passivity and activity. From this card, I get the saying “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” While I must go forth with confidence and calm I also must harbor cold ruthlessness. That which does not spark joy must go! I need to be creative and resourceful in utilizing all my tools, and I got to keep my eyes on the prize even if it feels like I’m not heading in that direction.

The Ranger also calls for a nature oriented deck, but one that requires a sense of navigation. I was told a difference between the druid and the ranger is the druid sees the nature as the end focus while the ranger is concerned with the human surviving in nature. The Tarot Landscapes seems absolutely perfect for such a role, and I love how most of the cards take a bit of a “birds-eye view” over the scene!

I pulled the exquisitely tranquil 6 of Swords from the TL. A kingfisher looks on at a placid sailboat in a calm sunny harbor. I get major “enjoy the journey when you have the calm waters” feeling. When you have an easy route ahead, don’t overly complicate things. You are constantly moving so you may not have calm seas tomorrow. Take a higher view. Enjoy what you can today, Carpe Diem. You can choose what boats you board.

Finally the Rogue. I definitely feel like I have decks that are a bit hard, a bit stealthy in how the deliver readings to you, but despite going through my entire collection to chose another, my first gut feeling was the Lubanko, and I could not convince myself to use another deck.

The Lubanko gave me the very shadowy King of Swords. He reminds me of a character from a book series that definitely embodies the Rogue type (Achmed from The Symphony of Ages series, who, lets be honest, was the only character worth reading the darn series for). A Rogue King of Swords feels a bit like an oxymoron as well, but here we are. From this strange dichotomy, I see measuring my actions carefully. The best sword is one that is sharp from sparring use. Truth is sharp and needs to be delivered carefully. This king only steps out of the shadows when needed.

Okay then! Lets check out the puzzling whole:

I see this as a month of finding inner harmony in order to obtain outer structure and calm. In nearly all these cards we see things pausing before action, or a moment of calm. This draw taps into both emotional and logical feelings and making them work cohesively together. I am really enjoying using these drastically different decks together!

How about you? What decks are calling to you this month? Do you do any silly thematic deck choices or even Tarot draws?

V, one of my “helpful” assistants! This past June we unexpectedly had to say goodbye to our youngest cat, who made many appearances in this blog and loved playing with the cards with me. Sadie, you are sorely missed.
June 2025 Decks

June 3rd, 2025

Nudity Warning: thar’ be buns of steel on the horizon! Also some graphic violence.

After some wild months, and a particularly colorful and, dare I say, *spicy* month of May in my card readings, my Tarot partner Val and I decided we needed a cool down. This month, we wanted to reach for healing water decks and grounding earth decks. While I’ve used The Flow Tarot extensively, the other four are relatively new to me so I have lots of work getting to know these decks this month!

Clockwise, left to right: Folkloric Forest Tarot, the Flow Tarot, Sirena (Tarot), Coastal Curiosities (Pocket Edition), The Dreaming Waves Oracle

Sometimes I really pre-plan my draws, how I want it to look, if there’s a particular shape I’m going for, do I want a “theme” card, do I have a particular question or worry, etc. This month, I think the laid-back June really got to me (either that or I’m just completely mentally and emotionally exhausted) and I just picked up my familiar Flow Tarot and started mindlessly shuffling. It sent out two cards, so I started here and realized that, like usual, it’s gonna be a heavier draw.

I typically dislike key words on tarot decks, AND I’m not a huge fan of photo decks, but the Flow Tarot I think does a really excellent job in that their keywords partner perfectly with the traditional RWS and the watery image that has been chosen for the cards. The Nine of Waves (Wands) shows a rocky shore being beaten by wave after wave. Who will win? The rocks will wear down into fine silty sand, but there they are still at the shore, while the waves break and reform over and over for eternity. It makes me wonder who is persevering? Who wins? The rocks will stand like, well, a rock, while the waves, ever mutating and changing, still persist.

And, I don’t think of the Flow Tarot as mean deck at all seeing as its all about going with the flow, but if it has one challenging card, its Judgement. The sun is setting, and darkness looms. You cannot see what is in the water, how deep it is, or how far out to sea you are. What will happen in the coming night? No one knows. You now get to decide how to proceed, but proceed you must.

Last month had a theme of community that was streaked though nearly all my readings and it seems like it is here to stay! I love all of Junhasiri’s work, but I do think I adore her Dreaming Waves Oracle the most! Which should tell you something seeing as I much prefer Tarot over Oracle cards. From Dreaming Waves I drew the interesting Sailor’s Knot. This card’s keyword is interconnectedness. All the ropes on the ship are needed to steer it through the sea, but it’s not always clear how they interact with one another. It’s difficult to control something as wild as a ship on the wild waves, but by using many ropes together, and tying them strategically you can harness the violent power of the wind and water. One rope on it’s own can do only so much, but with many ropes, connected by many binding knots, the world’s at your fingers!

I love seeing the same knot-like twists the snake makes in the Compassion card from Coastal Curiosities. I’m not sure why it took me so long to warm up to this rather contrary feeling deck seeing as it’s right up my “weird” alley, but I’m glad I backed the Folkloric Forest so I had to think about CC again. The cards in this deck are quite intriguing because the keywords are paired with images that seem, at first blush, not at all be related to the word, but it leads you down an interesting thought path. A snake in the western Christian world is typically seen as a negative image, but snakes long before then had relations with healing, magic, and dreams. Snakes are widely misunderstood and hated for their bite and in a few limited species their venom. How can we extend compassion to a snake? By understanding it, and seeing that it is actually not dangerous at all. In fact, we see this snake is passively holding the arrow in place. Compassion, it would seem, tempers pain and violence. We have an interesting additional pairing of roses and ladybugs, who are easy to love but are part of the same, interconnected ecosystem. I am also reminded by the infamous “don’t tread on me” flag, but in this take, it feels like “don’t tread on me, I’m holding back the real danger.” Hmm.

My left flanking card…

My right flanking card…

I love the old time-y, straight out of the movie Babe art chosen for the Folkloric Forest Tarot. I’d been looking for that exact sort of deck for a very long time. It’s a little disheartening that the first card I draw from it to share on the blog is the Three of Air (Swords)! But it is a very, very interesting take on the Three of Swords. In this image, we see a Woodcock (no, I’m not making a random dirty joke, its a woodland snipe) being shot from the air. For the bird this is a huge loss, but for the hunter it is a gain. For the majority of human history we’ve relied on hunting to survive, so the idea of facing a saddening loss for a gain is integral to our species (an honestly most species). Perhaps this month I’ll suffer a saddening/blowing loss for a greater gain?

Then on the other side from the Sirena Tarot I drew the Ten of Cups. This deck, while not being a nice deck at all, like the Folkloric Forest has a very different take on the RWS and it’s interesting to see this Ten of Cups. Here we see the impossible made possible. A man has wed a mermaid! They succeeded in overcoming their differences and challenges and now they have it all, Earth, Sea, a big fricken castle on the sea, a sport ship and ten flaming flying cups in the sky!

I read this as though you face hardships and challenges, and fear in this journey, keep going (you have no choice)! Stand strong with others and offer them understanding when it seems impossible to think of such a thing. Each person can offer strength to others. Realize that not all losses mean the end, sometimes you have to give up something for the greater goal. You’re going to realize your impossible dreams, in the strangest sort of way!

Alright June, here we come. How about the rest of you? What do your cards say June has in store for you? Have you ever done a water/earth theme draw before?
Deck Review: The Witches’ Wisdom Tarot

May 20th, 2025

The Pagan Mother Deck, acquired 2020, Mass Market

Tasteful nudity warning: those who are offended by breast feeding humans and monkey butts should avoid this post!

Overall: 7/10 Let me start off by saying that I got this deck at the perfect time in my tarot journey, and I use it not only for readings but also as a learning tool. This is a beautiful, interesting, fresh take of a deck. Even though its been on the market for quite a while, I think its pretty stand alone in its radical rethinking of the Tarot. For many people it will really scratch an itch, but, it not a deck I personally reach for often.

It will never cease to surprise and intrigue me how Tarot has been adapted through time to represent different cultures and beliefs. Tarot as divination historically is based off of Renaissance Roman Catholic esoterica (and their undercurrents of non-Catholicism esoterica, like ancient Grecian and Roman and Norse mythos), and as time progressed elements of the Kabbalah, and newer mysticism (like The Golden Dawn) were mapped onto the cards and the whole visual system was remade over and over again. Since the 60’s there has been a growing (if not massive now) trend of neo-paganism adopting and owning the Tarot as their own. This deck is a testament of how versatile the Tarot system can be and I love it deck for that, and it will always have a home in my collection.

I tend to not pull more than one or two cards at a time from this deck, but that is more than substantial. The overwhelming majority of my decks I feel like the interpreter, but I feel The Witches’ Wisdom interprets me. Time and time again this deck gives me exactly what I need, no more and no less. You don’t have to be Wicca or Pagan to really feel the gentle loving touch of this deck, but you do have to have a connection with nature to feel comfortable in the images. The messages are all extremely kind, offering advice and a place to deeply meditate, and there’s a very strong Divine Feminine vibe to this deck even though there is plenty of masculinity portrayed. It stands on its own, but also works well with other similar themed decks. Unlike the Light Seer’s Tarot, this deck doesn’t shy away from some rough passages through life, but it still is one of the gentlest decks I own.

If you are a guidebook reader and want to be actively learning and thinking deeply about your cards and are okay with decks that don’t really follow a traditional system, this is a perfect deck for you. If you are a “grab and go” kinda reader you won’t be happy with this one.

Card Quality 2.5/5: The card colors are gorgeous, but I find they started chipping at the edges right away. They’re also massive, but I personally like that—I can really peer into the image. Love the back design with the compass rose (but with a four leaf clover). It’s very stiff cardstock, forget about doing anything other than an overhand shuffle. They want to hold a bow, unfortunately.

Some cards that I think are an excellent and intuitive graft onto the RWS!

Readability 2.5/5 (5/5 with the guide book—this guidebook really rocks). I really don’t think of this as a standard Tarot deck as it has its own system that only kinda touches on the RWS/Thoth, but the fact that it does in about a half of the cards is a bit disjointed for me. This deck falls into what I’d consider the advanced reader category since much is contingent on how you feel about the art during your query and there’s only a little core-system reference. I would not by any means say this is a system-less deck though!

The majors work in reverse as the Fool’s Journey progresses to self actualization and realization. While this is challenging for me personally, I adore this very different take.

TWWT is a total revamp of the majors as you work from The World and into yourself/The Fool—it’s very clever. The minors think holistically on the smaller impacts you feel in life rather than the immediate issues at hand and can feel a bit…over your head? Vague? Puzzling? Vast? I find the guidebook quite critical in readings. But at the same time, some of the minors in this deck are the most interesting and evocative I’ve seen, and its been several years since I first picked up this deck.

Can you use it as a Tarot deck? Yeah, I suppose. Should you? I tend to treat this more like an Oracle deck, or somewhere in between the two. I find that I need time to think on the image given to me, that I find different meaning most every time I use the deck as it’s very situational-sensitive. The guide book is wonderful if you’re feeling stuck or just need inspiration. It demands time and meditation and sometimes I just want an immediate answer, in which case, I’m not using this deck.

Some not at all intuitive (to me) cards that do not come across as RWS. But gosh they are beautiful!

There’s also a lack of the tragic (call me dramatic if you will). That’s not to say that there isn’t negativity in the deck—this isn’t a fluffy clouds and unicorns deck, but, I cannot imagine getting a reading that won’t leave you feeling pretty good after, which isn’t always what I want.

Art 5/5: I’m in love with the artist’s idea of the natural world. I love how the beautiful and ugly and everything in-between is portrayed. The colors are stunning and the subjects picked for the cards are for this odd deck, perfect. I love the Empress/Great Mother, and anyone who’s offended can grow up. I LOVE some cards, and they are burned into my mind. This deck definitely leaves an impression.

Favorite Card: I can’t choose—it changes every time I use the deck. I fell in love with this deck because of Love and the Messenger of Air. I cried when I saw The Maze (The Tower) because it profoundly moved me. I have a special connection with the Goddess of Fire (Baba Yaga!)

Least Favorite Card: Nah, don’t got one!

Card I Identify As: The Lovers and the Page of Air, there’s just something about them that moves me.

The deck Identifies me as: 9 of Fire (I dunno why, I seem to draw it consistently through the years as “my” personal card, it’s very lovely and lush!)

Season: Mid Spring to Early Summer (Beltane)–there’s definitely a heavy theme of rebirth and self-discovery

Similar Decks: The Enchanted Wood’s Tarot, The Druid’s Craft Tarot, The Green Witch Tarot, As Above Tarot, So Below Tarot, Tarot of the Hidden Realm, Tarot of the Witch’s Garden

Boxes it Checks: Celtic, Shamanic, Feminine, Self-centric, Nature Centric, Kind, Lush, Landscape, Animal-centric, Spirit work, Mother, Earthy, Wiccan, Pagan
May 2025 Decks

May 16th, 2025

From left to right, the Eldritch Overload Tarot, the Divine Deco Tarot, the Zerner Farber Tarot (aka The Enchanted Tarot), Mystic, Augur & Sage Oracle, Diviner Definitions Oracle

May is arguably my favorite month of the year. I have been wanting to do a month of COLORFUL decks so that’s what we’re doing in this equally colorful and blossoming month! So my first concern was picking decks that really POP in colors, but also, I wanted to chose an unusual mix of deck “flavors” and general vibes. I took a little bit of an unusual path and included two oracles this month as well. Lets see what’s cooking this beautiful May!

Before we do our draw, I want to draw your attention to the black backed card—this is from an oracle called diviner definitions. It’s a very different sort of deck for me as it’s all about WORDS, their definitions but also accompanying prompts in it’s amazing LWB. The whole deck is also a rainbow spectrum that is not just alphabetical order, but rather relates to the meaning of the card. This is a weird and very cool deck.

Also, I’m feeling more confident with including runes when I share draws, so this month I grabbed two from the bag again, but one came completely off the table and thus was disqualified. However, Mannaz, a rune speaking to the greater aspects of humanity and collective memory, fell on our definitions oracle card.

Our thematic card this month is “seek” and interestingly the Mannaz fell right on this card, so I suppose I can say that I am seeking greater human connections, to see better things and do them, acting in ways that aid the greater good, and perhaps seeking wisdom? I love this color, the orange melding into a yellow hue, its strong, driven, but also happy and the tones match and pop in other cards as you will see.

On either side of seek, I drew two cards from the gorgeous Mystic, Augur & Sage (from the maker of The Journey of the Sacred Bee Tarot). I had intended to draw only one card from this oracle, but while shuffling, even though they are in numerical order, these two individually jumped out of the deck in the same shuffle (rather one that was stuck to the other). The first, Rite of Passage, speaks to mile markers in life, some we choose and others we don’t. A mile marker for me looms. Perhaps is has to do with what I seek. I’ll be progressing to the next step. A dragon fly, and also the bird of paradise flowers, go through stages of growth and they do not look like their most beautiful forms at the beginning. There is a greater potential hidden underneath that is not apparent and is now ready to come forth, perhaps even without my knowledge! It makes me wonder, what will give me wings?

The second card is Practice Patience. This comes at an appropriate time as a project I’ve been diligently working on came to a screeching halt and there is a period of rest needed before I can continue forth. I don’t know when this period will end, or if it ever will. It’s hard for me not knowing. But I can also see this as a kind and gentle reminder that “leveling up” and attaining what I seek is a journey and it cannot be rushed. It takes as long as it takes.

The Divine Deco Tarot, an absolute masterpiece of art meeting dance meeting Tarot is a deck I sorely regret not diving into sooner (it has been at least two years y’all before I finally included it in a monthly decks–it deserves better!) We have an interesting four of swords where the figure, surrounded by dancing moths/butterflies is holding out his hands as if asking for something while meditatively gazing upwards at our right of passage, a card of ascent (which also has our beloved flying insect). This kinda hammers home that to get to the next “stage” this month I need to rest, listen inward, see what the external world gives me.

The Eldrich Overload (Tarot) is an absolute fantastic deck, but despite its amazing colors and shiny bling, it is not a kind deck. Not at all. It’s the dystopian novel of my Tarot decks and it honestly intimidates me. Thank goodness the book is stellar otherwise I might feel a little overwhelmed. We see in this ace of wands a hand being held out of the fire bearing a blooming branch. Though the fire rages, we can save something beautiful from the flames. Something precious, even if it feels small and it feels like all else is lost this one thing is worth being hopeful for. Worth building from. Ooftda. I guess, take hope and grow passion from it, is what I’m getting from this card. Perhaps I need to meditate on what I do have in hand.

Then we end with the King of Swords. This King looks very battle ready, and he’s not f*cking around either. He doesn’t even have a sword! He’s going in wisely with a spear (and a really big shield) to manage his distance. He has a helm with wings to give him speed (hello Mercury), but he also has a white dove of peace. I see this as knowing when to fight (and fight well when you need to) and when to stay your hand. This King is the ultimate mastery of the mind.

I see the Ace of Wands is flanked by two swords, one looking contemplative and forward to the next step and one laser focused on the now. This is a month in need of brain power!

Together, I read this as a month of juxtapositions, to actively seek bettering my self, for my self but also for the community at large by taking what I have and making it better. But it is also a month of planned rest and understanding Roman was not built in a day. To reflect and plan my path ahead. Interesting!

What do the cards say May has in store for you?
April 2025 Decks

May 13th, 2025

Well. It has been too long since I posted anything. I figured better late than never though. April for me is the month of the trickster, and in classic fashion this April did not disappointed, as you can tell by my much belated post! Our theme for the month was “magical mischief.” So, lets jump right in!

Sticking with the theme, I pulled out the relatively new Yōkai Tarot deck which is charming and a little spook with a fantastic guidebook that not only gives Tarot information, but also provides a short Yōkai folklore that relates to the RWS meanings. This mass market deck is absolutely top tier mass market with its linen and dry finish (reminds me a lot of my beloved Yokai Yochi Tarot), and fantastic illustrations. Staying with Japanese folklore magic, I also brought out my two Seasonal Fox Tarot decks, both Day and Night, to play. These decks are very sweet, but still full of sneaky Kitsune tricks. The wonderful Victorian Faery Tarot, a much anticipated (by me) deck is making it’s debut on this blog, and while I LOVE this deck, it has much, much more depth and complexity than I anticipated and after using it for near a month, I have quite the mix of feelings about it. Another completely new deck that I ended up unexpectedly including in this months decks is The True Sight Oracle. I was hesitant to back this D&D based deck seeing as I don’t play myself, but I am so glad I did back it because it is such a unique oracle and the guidebook is excellent. And, it has been a long time since I pulled out my beloved Tarot Deck Moonlight (by Ilisvidess). This tarot deck, which is a Thoth and RWS hybrid, is spicy, magical, and definitely has a naughty streak. This is a deck that I have used extensively and I still am a bit obsessed with it.

Now, normally on this blog I stick with the cards to make my posts short (kinda) and simple (not really), and I tend to focus more on Tarot and cartomancy, but IRL I do actually utilize a variety of divination forms, even if I’m not exactly adept at them. For fun (well, actually because it was dead on point), I decided to include my Wonderland rune coins (by GoGoStudio) for this month as well when I share this draw. I threw Fehu and Nauthiz. Fehu, the top left rune coin on my first two cards, speaks to new beginnings, abundance, self-esteem, and creative energy. The Nauthiz rune is at the bottom right and is the rune of need, patience, resistance, difficulties and challenge. Lets check out the cards!

So, because I included both the Day and Night versions of my Seasonal Fox Tarot, I flanked my oracle card with the Night on the left asking “Truth that is in the darkness/what is unseen” and Day on the right asking “what is plain as day/what does everyone see?” The oracle from True Sight I drew is Performance. This is a card speaking to the act we put on, whether consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes we have to act against our nature to achieve our goals, like putting on a brave face. It can of course also speak to an actual performance, or social event. Or acting “like everything is fine,” when it is not in order to get through the mundane.

Flanking Performance, from the Night Fox, which I asked for the truth that can be found in darkness, it gave me the Magician, and very adeptly paired with it is Fehu the rune of beginnings. The truth that isn’t obvious is that I am at the point of a new beginning and I’m prepared with everything I need. I have self confidence and actualization and I am ready to strike forth! I’m brimming with creative power now. I notice how the fox is looking away from Performance, as if it doesn’t accept this action, or is rather ignoring it.

Then on the other side where I ask “what is plain as day?”, we have The Devil. How appropriate. We can see the devil is also looking away from performance, and the two other foxes are suffering too much to be able to even notice Performance. I guess I’m left wondering how must I perform, if at all in the face of the Devil?

We then from the Yōkai Tarot pulled the 7 of swords, where the crafty weasel is classically taking swords from the encampment. interestingly, though he has two in the ground next to him, he seems perfectly capable of taking them all. Who is a crafty bastard weasel in my life taking resources?

The Nauthiz rune fell between the Knight of Pentacles (Moonlight) and the Herald of Autum/Page of Pentacles (Victorian Fae). Both of these cards are interesting in that they visually relate to harvesting grown crops, and both are in a state of rest, though certainly the knight has already done some serious labor, while the Herald/Page seems to be considering his options (I get strong Seven of Pentacles vibes from this Page). Together, with the rune of challenge between the two, I read this as “carefully measure and placed efforts.” There is certainly work to be done, but remembering to rest and thinking critically about what exactly that work entails is the key to success.

So together, I see this reading as a series of juxtapositions; being one’s self vs putting on a mask in the face of adversary, keeping up the hard work and forward-thinking even one someone is taking the proverbial rug out from under you. It may be a true challenge to keep working at something when it seems like there is no difference being made. I’m sure this resonates with many people in this past April!

What decks have you been bringing out these past few months? Are there cards that seem to be haunting you in every draw? The Knight of Pentacles and seven of swords seems to be mine!
March 2025 Decks

March 12th, 2025

Moravia as my Cleric, Into the Void as the Bard, The Lighthouse in Fog as the Monk, Runic Tarot as the Barbarian, and The Wild Unknown Archetypes as my wizard. Arguably my strangest combination of decks yet!

For 2025, I wanted to make my monthly deck choices more creative (i.e. weirder) than I’ve done in the past. Though I’ve only had this blog up and running for a couple years, my friend Val and I have been compiling monthly decks since 2020, and it’s time to mix it up! This month I wanted to take a subject near and dear to Val’s heart, D&D, and base our decks off of it. Though I personally have not done any D&D play, I have heard enough about role playing games to get the gist. I suggested that we make a “party” from our decks that exemplify various classes in D&D. We assigned the basic 12 classes to the numbers 1-12, rolled a 12 sided die five times to determine who is in our party, and we ended up with the Bard, the Cleric, the Monk, the Wizard, and the Barbarian.

I’ll explain my choices as we check out the monthly draw!

For whatever reason, I was really drawn to laying out the cards in a right-to-left order this month. Gotta keep it weird I guess!

I’ve had the Into the Void: The Black Cat Tarot since spring 2023 and this odd, cheeky deck tends to get pulled out more than I’d like to admit. It’s a simplistic, non-standard RWS deck told from a (black) cat’s perspective. But it has a certain quirkiness with the limited black, white and yellow color pallet and the comic-like images that keeps me picking it up from the shelves over and over again. When we rolled the Bard first, I knew that no matter what else, this was the deck I needed. Funny, cheeky, story teller.

Here I pulled the Seven of Wands (and tbh, this deck keeps giving me this card this month so clearly there’s something here), where a cat playfully bats at a feather wand toy. Hmm. Typically I think of the Seven of Wands as the “defend the hill to die on” card. But this kitty seems to be enjoying itself! Perhaps this is a reminder that I should practice the skills needed to defend my hill and have some fun with it! Or perhaps is asking me “what do you need to take seriously and defend? Is there an illusion of threat that isn’t real?”

For my Cleric, I chose the Moravia tarot deck. I cannot help but associate the angels and heavenly beings in this deck as having a religious inclination. This deck is quite healing in is overall feel, though it does not shy away from being brutal when called for.

I drew the sweet Six of Cups from the Moravia. I might find the opportunity to make someone else’s life nicer, and they may reciprocate this to me in turn. There’s definitely feelings of nostalgia, childlike games of pretend, and creating one’s own world. Where do you need to create your own space? How can you care for others there? Where are you playing pretend where you need to set that mindset aside?

The Lighthouse In Fog is a relatively new deck to me and ooftda, it is sure one wild ride of a deck! I’m loving it and it’s strange take on RWS more each time I use it. I chose this as my Monk because it has so much raw elemental power portrayed in it, and is so mystical feeling.

I drew the strange, baffling seven of cups. Typically I think of the seven of cups as “choices” some of which make sense, and others being wild dreams. This at first blush looks like a chess board so of course there’s choices to be had as to where to place your pieces strategically. But when you look closer, you see many (if not all) the pieces are transparent! It may feel like you have many choices, all of which have an impact on the game–you don’t. This is an illusion. Perhaps the choices you see are not yours to make.

Because it requires reading the book and also having a bit of Jungian knowledge (well, technically it doesn’t, but Jungian-ists, you’ll be delighted) the Wild Unknown Archetypes was my choice for the Wizard this month! Also, it’s just plain magical in the strangest way.

From Archetypes I drew a card I’ve never drawn before, which given how much I’ve used this deck, is saying something: LXXVIII Anima Mundi. If this was a Tarot deck this would be The World card. There is a vastness of the universe before you. You will see its complexities and complications. You are but a small portion of the whole, but what part will you play? How can you bring your light to the greater good? Everything is interconnected.

And the Runic Tarot. Possibly the best embodiment for the Barbarian that I have in my deck collection. I don’t feel like there is much explanation needed for this one.

The Runic Tarot gave me V The Hierophant. Usually I think of The Hierophant as the teacher card (and I certainly have several teachers this month helping guide me!), and the accompanying book that goes with this deck describes the figure as the god Forseti. But, it is hard for me to not see a Christian biblical figure in this card, who is holding a tablet of commandments. It also makes me uneasy to see the dog at his side holding a sword at the ready, and the ground splitting under the people in the foreground. With the current political upheaval, I am getting strong “submit to my god, or else vibes.” Ick!

Well, seems like a troubled month is ahead. There’s a lot of discerning I need to do, to see what really matters vs what does not, what is an illusion, and what is real. With two sevens in this draw, there’s a critical turning point I’m wavering at. It seems like there is a whole lot of “everything, everywhere, all at once” feeling, and while there is a connection to the universe at large, there is also a looming figure that, while trying to look like they are kindly and giving and holy, are actually very oppressive (I mean, duh.). I get the sense I have to defend my position without looking like I’m on the defensive, as if I have to appear like I’m “at one” with the world, but really I’m planning for the long game. Woof.

How is YOUR March looking? Have you ever made a D&D party of your decks before?

Here’s a sweet picture of my lovely elderly cat for those that stuck with me though this one:
Deck Review: True Black (Tarot)

February 28th, 2025

The True Black Tarot (second edition?) acquired 2020, fifth special hologram edition acquired 2023

Courtesy Nudity Warning: There are beautiful naked people in this Tarot deck.

I’d just like to give a disclaimer that I personally treasure this deck and therefore have a pretty strong bias. It is one of my “if the house is on fire, which deck are you grabbing?” Tarots, so, if you are thinking of purchasing this deck (and it IS a spendy deck), do read at least another review that isn’t as gooey as this one.

Overall: 10/10 Its only downfall is its too good and nothing will ever compare after this. It has it’s own unique style that certainly won’t speak to everyone. Even those that like it visually may find that the images are so non-standard RWS that they may not be feel comfortable reading with it out of the box. I won’t dock points because of cost, but it’s still a limiting factor for many, though the creator Arthur Wang does offer three trial cards for reasonable price, and they are very personable if you have questions or concerns.

The figures of this deck are very otherworldly, serious, and somber. I have a tendency to think of this deck as my “spirit guide” deck, so this is the deck I reach for when I’m looking for that deep, third party introspection. I find this deck is extremely good for dream work. I have seen the images of this deck in my dreams many times, so there’s something profound about the card images that tap into the unconscious (at least for me). The deck also has a distinct masculine voice that is powerful and beautiful, without feeling BRRRAW tough-guy manly-man. It also has tasteful and powerful images of women.

This is an exquisitely balanced deck in regards to positives and negatives, but I do have to give a word of warning–this is not a deck that is interested in being buddies. This is a very aloof, impartial deck. It does not bother silver lining things. If any of my decks could represent the Judgement card, it would be this deck. This deck doesn’t exactly have a sense of humor.

A note about the different editions: The cards are almost exactly the same except instead of the spot gloss, the fifth limited edition has a holographic rainbow foil. It is very beautiful and very extra. Most of the spot-gloss/holo details are in the majors so that’s where you’ll see the biggest difference. The fifth edition box is also covered in satin cloth rather than matte paper, and I believe each edition’s box has a different quote on the inside of the box cover. Each deck is hand-edged in black ink to match the cards. I personally prefer the standard spot-gloss effects over the holo as I like the secretive feeling of the black gloss on the black matte cards. The holo foil really jumps out on the matte black cards.

Card Quality: 4/5 These babies are THICC works of art—so much so you feel like you really have to be delicate with them! No heavy shuffling these bad boys. They have rose-petal finish so if you strongly dislike that, this isn’t the deck for you. I personally love the ultra tactile feeling of the deck–it really pairs well with the spot-gloss/holo juxtaposition and the simplistic sense of the art.

One of my favorite things about this deck is the feeling of movement, stillness, and (call me crazy) temperature in these cards! For example, the knight of wands feel HOT and in the middle of action. The X of Swords feels both burning hot and chillingly cold. And the Ace of Wands has this inoffensive feeling of warmth.

Readability: 4/5 This really surprised me since when I first saw this deck I didn’t immediately “get” it. While this isn’t a complete beginners’ deck, reading is very intuitive from the art. If you have the basics of RWS down, this deck to me feels very easy to use. The majors and courts feature people (or human-like beings) and the minors are objects and animals. There are details you can’t see on a quick internet flip through that carry the weight and meaning of the symbols on each card, and make it all the more accessible to the reader. The LWB is great, very well organized, well written, and succinct. This deck has a really solid “personality,” but it isn’t a “read anything for anyone” deck at all.

The old adage of don’t ask what you don’t want to know definitely applies to the True Black since it will cut straight to the heart of an issue. I frequently find when I use this deck with a particular question it typically says something along the lines of “yes, but here’s what you actually need to hear, here’s where you actually need to do work on.” If you dislike coming up with questions for your cards and rather prefer just drawing the cards and see what comes up, this is the perfect deck for that kind of reading.

The devil is in the details with this deck. Look at the four of wands: do you notice the bird is tethered to the wands? What about the five of cups? One cup is dangerously breaking, three are cracked, but one remains solid. And what kinds of things are going on in Judgement? This is a deck where getting lost in the cards is encouraged.

Art: 5/5 I’d describe this deck art as neo-chiaroscuro with its spotlight effect. The feeling of the senses in the cards are out of this world. There’s interesting lighting, there’s wind, there’s wetness and dryness, there’s odd angles and view points. There’s feelings of hot and cold. It appears at first blush simple, yet it is so, so detailed. It is certainly a deck that after years of use you think you got it, but you still notice new stuff all the time. There’s not much for me to say other than when you get the cards in hand, you start to notice all the little details you can’t see on the screen. Also, this is another great deck if you’re into sword/knifes that look real—so good!

Favorite Card: The tower. I love the concept of the tower being felt in the body. And it has a little black image of a fox hearkening back to the fable of the fox and the grapes. And, there’s that big spooky eye! I also love the take on the III of Swords (yikes), this card haunted my dreams for a while.

Least Favorite Card: Sorry I don’t have one for you. I love them all.

Card I Identify As: Now after some time, I have to agree with this decks assertion of my personality and say The Knight of Swords (so embarrassing…)

The deck Identifies me as: The Knight of Swords—interestingly I always think of it as the knight of wands, but it’s not—its all offense and skill and I often think of myself this way when I’m focused and in my flow.

Season: Mid Winter/Yule/Winter Solstice

Boxes It Checks: Shadow work, Spirit work, Self, Dark, Aloof, Masculine, Intuitive, Honest, Ethereal, Avant-garde

Similar Decks: The Black Tarot (Da Bright Tarot), The Darkness of Light Tarot, The Shadow Light Tarot, El Goliath Tarot, Dancing in the Dark Tarot, Wayward Dark Tarot, Lux Ex Umbra Tarot, Terra Volatile
Year of the Snake Tarot Draw

February 14th, 2025

Welcome to the Year of the Snake! I was excited for this draw a few months ago, seeing as this is my Zodiac animal, but I wish those of us in the USA are having a better start to the year. Well, a good tarot draw makes me less blue, so lets soldier on! Perhaps we can glean some insight into this year.

Sometimes I have a great deck for a themed draw, and I was intending to use my Blood Moon Tarot, seeing as it has snakes aplenty (now that I think of it, is there a snake themed tarot out there? Anyone know of one?). But I was really craving a kind deck and, well, Blood Moon isn’t exactly that! So I went with my newest love, Forest Spirit Imprints Tarot instead, and we have a nice emerald green theme that makes me think slithery snake! Perhaps, later this month it might be fun to do a deck comparison between the two.

I love the “clock” style draw for the Chinese New Years draw. You can consider it a month to month, a personal progress through the year, you can assign the actual zodiac animals to different cards or you can see it as the journey for the year ahead. I like to make twelve animal themed prompts for the year. I’ll start at 1 o’clock and work my way around!

1 What skin do I need to shed?

We start off needing to shed the Ace of Pentacles–and, after a second glance, is it just me or is this ace bleeding??? I suppose there’s some relationship to fertility, but yeesh. This year, I need to shed my idea of wealth and security. Oh boy! Maybe this is a moment to find true freedom from the material world.

2 Where do I need to conserve my energy?

I love seeing the clam in the 4 of Cups, its a much less full-of-one’s-self image I tend to see with this card. I need to conserve my energy in regards to emotionally unfulfilling things! I should turn my back on that which does not fill my cup. (I like this, “Does it fill my cup?”)

3 Where do I bask?

4 of Wands, and a very sweet four of wands at that! I can bask in my successes and positive relations! It is important to celebrate the little things and the baby steps towards our bigger goals.

4 Where must I strike with lightening speed?

The Devil, ha! I must strike down that which is tempting me with falseness and fake promises!

5 Where do I show my fangs?

The Hanged Man. This is for sure a strange Hanged Man, with the trapped fairy closing it’s eyes and praying but our protagonist onlooking. I feel there are many ways to read this one, but given the current situation: I need to show my fangs at injustices done, even when others don’t notice or want to notice them.

6 Where do I poison?

The beautiful Queen of Cups. I have the power to poison the whole ocean! I have the ability to strike right at the emotional heart of things. I must be careful though to not poison my own cup! If I let the negative ocean in around me it will harm the joyous ecosystem I’m nurturing.

7 Where do I heal?

We must remember that snakes in both east and western traditions are not only associated with their venom but also were though of as creatures who can heal (looking at you Asclepius and your staff!). Here I pulled the lovely Empress; I can heal through my creativity, femininity and good nature. I can make good things grow. I have “mom” vibes!

8 What is something I need to digest slowly?

The 2 of Wands! I need to plan my path/journey carefully. Where I want to be is at a distance, with many obstacles in the way, but I can do it with a plan! But this takes time.

9. Where do I need the help of other’s hands?

7 of Pentacles (we have a little nod to our bloody Ace of Pentacle at the beginning, don’t we?). I need the help of others to aid me in cutting the dead growth out of my life to free up the new growth so my tree flourishes. Get rid of that which doesn’t serve you and is holding you back. Again, “does it fill my cup?”

10 How to use my cunning?

Temperance makes her second appearance this month! I must use my cunning to maintain balance in my life. I must choose my battles strategically but also know when to rest and take a break. Perhaps I need to “slither-out” of situations with grace. With this particular Temperance I get a sense of taking only what you need and no more.

11 How to use my charm?

The delightful 10 of Wands. I must use my charm to get the hard work done, even when it feels like an endless task. Perhaps I convince others to help me in the labor, or perhaps I make the the chore fun and delightful for myself.

12 How does the snake help me grow?

7 of Cups. The snake helps me grow by giving me choices, but also the wisdom to make good choices. There’s a rather fantastical experience here, isn’t there? Lets remember our 2 of Wands and think over our choices before jumping into the most appealing one. (I love that we have a little snake wizard in the tree!).

This sure seems like a year of growth (and perhaps growing pains) for me! How about you? What does the Year of the Snake have in store for you?
February 2025 Decks

February 10th, 2025

The Cerulean Sequence Oracle, Animal & Food Tarot, Forest Spirit Imprint, The Craft Felt Tarot, Unicorn’s Journey Tarot

I had some serious plans this year for mixing up my deck choices for something totally new and unexpected, but I’ll start that next month because I wanted (and lets face it, needed) to find some sweet escapism through some colorful, cute, child-like decks.

So, I will admit, I’m not a huge fan of cute decks. Anyone whose been here a while knows this. But for some reason, this past year in particular (I wonder why) a handful of cutesy decks really spoke to me. Lets dive right on in!

It is interesting to see all the cards this month have center embalm motifs!

From the Animal & Food Tarot I drew the very charming knight of cups, which looks like an Afghan Hound on a cute little pony! This deck is not only cute, but it is an absolute fantastic take on the RWS that still holds traditional meanings but with the most playful twists! Of course, the knight of cups is the daydreamer, the die-hard romantic of the knights, the classic “knight in shining armor” who always comes with a gift. It’s also typically a knight I associate with the one who is in search of “the holy grail.” This one has some serious faith in their horse, as they are carrying a glass with a fancy beverage and asking the horse to walk over a blue tarp. I can attest, this is no easy feat!

Then from Unicorn’s Journey Tarot I drew the lovely Page of Cups! I have to admit, while there are things about this deck that kinda bug me, there is just so much heart and soul to it that I’m adoring using it this month. This page looks on at other’s relationships and learns from good and bad behavior what does and does not work. This particular Page seems to be frolicking for the success of its friends!

Hmm, with both the Knight of Cups and the Page of Cups there seems to be a call to go forth boldly with your romantic view of the world, not to be jaded. Be not only your authentic self, but be willing to take chances, make mistakes and learn. Be observant! There’s also a gentleness here with the cups.

From The Craft Felt Tarot I pulled a classic Ace of Wands! Grab your passion(s) and run with them! What a fiery card! This is another deck that is RWS but many of the cards take a very interesting twist on the meanings, this card being a bit of an exception. The whole felt images, usually in bright bold colors really give it an interesting look that is growing on me. Of course, this card being the only red card really stands out!

From Forest Spirit Imprint, a deck I almost didn’t back and now I’m so, so happy I did because I love it’s story, I kept getting XIV Temperance and 4 of Swords together, so I’m keeping the two for this draw. This dark-horse deck follows the story of a young girl who enters a land where she is Thumbelina-small and with her trusty bird friend follow the fools journey. We see an interesting take on Temperance by asking nicely for our needs, and also taking only what we need. The Four of Swords has some sweet metaphor of instilling boundaries to keep our self safe so we can literally find rest. This seems particularly on the nose with the absolute wild things happening in the world at large and this may be my favorite take on the 4 of Swords.

With the Ace, Temperance, and the Four of Swords, I get the feeling of aggressive self-care, and balance. You have to place your health as a priority; no one else is! There’s also the feeling of taking what you need, but not more than that.

So, with the Tarot, we have the Ace of Wands directly under the Knight of Cups–this is definitely a “go boldly and unapologetically to your fancy!” which is fitting as I write this Valentines is arriving at the end of the week. This can also be taken as following your dream or wish or hearts desire.

The Page of Water tops Temperance (who appear to be watching the Page, and the Page watching Temperance) and the 4 of Swords. Due to the character orientation, I’d say this is card combo is definitely calling to watch yourself and your health, especially mental health and assuring that you unplug and decompress in your personal safe spot. Take in the world, but not so much you are overwhelmed. Maintaining a healthy distance is key to managing your self.

All together, the Tarot have a very gentle feeling (except the blazing Ace of Wands!) and with the two court cards in the cups, I get the feeling of strength in gentleness–don’t let anyone tell you being gentle is a weakness!

On to the oracle then!

Okay, I won’t lie, The Cerulean Sequence oracle is a much. This is definitely like a deck I might have imagined as a kid, with its weird complexities and quirks and all. The deck comprises of 60 cards, labeled 0-9, accompanied by images that build and progress. It has it’s own secrete language, numerology, absolutely rad guide book (that has very little writing at all) and is really archetypal without being typical at all. And, I’m not at all confident at using it yet though I really really wish to be! So, as I learn and use this deck, you’re going to have to settle for basic key words.

The first card, a 4, is very chemical looking isn’t it? We see what looks like a process of reactions, a sphere coming apart, the moon phases, vials of liquid, oscillating waves. The key words we have here are Stabilizing, Solidifying, Forming. The 6 card is much more scene-like, with a watering can watering the whole forest and ecosystem. We have repeat images of water drops along with a seed grow chart. Words associated with this card are Temperance (again!) Philanthropy, Reserve Love, “Soft Like Water”. Our final card is a 2, with multiple moon images and keys (I won’t lie, I’m getting some serious High Priestess vibes from this one). Key words are Feminine Phase, Moon, Subconscious and Love.

These three together are, for me at least, the foundation for self love and self care: creating a stable foundation/environment, giving love outward (but maintaining healthy distance) and receiving love and care inward.

There definitely is a strong feeling of self love, self care, balance, rest, and gentleness in this draw! I think we could all use these tools this month ahead.

What did your decks say February looks like for you?