I’m always interested in combos of tarot and oracle that work well together. The Rackham Tarot and Fairy Oracle are a natural pairing thanks to the use of Arthur Rackham’s artwork. Lo Scarabeo publishes both. Because the artwork is quite busy and intense, I doubt either deck would be suitable for beginners. That being said, some of the images for the tarot cards are actually very well chosen. A handful of images are in both the tarot deck and the oracle, and it’s these cards I want to give extra

I received an early and unexpected birthday gift in the form of The Hieronymus Bosch Tarot. My friend knew I’d been eyeing it up in the shop for a while, and she also knows I’ve been thinking about getting back to writing about symbolism within art. I’ll take it as a sign, or more of a cattle prod to get myself moving once I’ve finished a couple of posts I left half finished in draft. Published in 2022, Travis McHenry, an author and occultist, is the man responsible for bringing this concept to fruition.

I’ve had my eye on this deck since before its official release and was so excited to look through the cards. I am embarrassed to admit it’s been sitting in the cupboard for about six months now. Published back in May 2024, The Awakening Tarot is another creation of Monica Bodirsky. Monica has previously created: The Shadowland Tarot, Shadowland Lenormand, the House of Shadows Lenormand deck, Between The Worlds Oracle, and Bats Blood Ink Oracle.

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

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

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

The Carnival at the End of The World is a unique deck. It’s not the cheapest tarot set available, but it’s strong enough in design and concept to warrant its self-published price tag. I had my eye on this deck for a considerable time before my eldest son bought it for me last year. Ashamedly, I’ve barely looked at it. In my defence, life has been exceptionally

Le Tarot aux Ramures Étranges (The Strange Antlers Tarot, Tarot of the Strange Antlers) was published in April 2022. The author/illustrator is Alisa Marazyuk, and she uses the name Rouxalis as the author. It comes in a solid box with a lift-off lid, and the guidebook is a respectable size. There’s no box insert to keep the cards cosy, but a cloth bag is

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

The Shadowland Lenormand by Monica Bodirsky is a natural companion to the tarot deck of the same name. Published in December 2021, it has the same style of artwork and gold edging as the Shadowland tarot. I will forever loathe gold edging on cards I want to use, and this deck is no exception. These cards are slightly smaller than the Shadowland tarot.

I’m surprised I didn’t review this deck ages ago because I used it extensively for months when it arrived. The Light Seer’s Tarot was/is a popular tarot deck published by Hay House in December 2019. The artist Chris-Anne Donnelly has since created the Muse Tarot (2020), The Sacred Creator’s Oracle (2021), and the Tarot of Curious Creatures(2021). It comes in a small but study box, and includes a relatively decent guidebook.

Tarot of the Sweet Twilight was published way back in 2009 by Lo Scarabeo. Artist Cristina Benintende, used deep colours throughout the deck. The overall result is a soft, warm, and bold design. I would not call it childlike, but the colours and characters evoke a youthful and fertile vibe. It comes in the traditional Lo Scarabeo tuck box and has the obligatory little white booklet. The interpretations given are thoughtful despite being limited in scope.

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 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

Published by U.S Games in 2020, Tarot of Mystical Moments is the creation of Catrin Welz-Stein. The cards are on the large size, although they’re not unmanageable. They arrived in a small but sturdy box and come with a small guidebook. We have gilded edging, but this time in silver. However, thanks to the mass-market price tag

The Madhouse Tarot was published in 2020 by artist Eugene Vinitski and author Elsa Khapatnukovski. The uniqueness of the artwork is consistent throughout, and the quality is excellent. The cards are a smooth matte finish and will likely be easy to shuffle. The black edging has a slight shimmer, but it pairs well with

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 Dark Mansion tarot was created in 2018 by illustrator Magdalena Kaczan and Krzysztof Wasiuk, founder of Taroteca Studios. An enormous amount of thought went into every inch of the finished product. Wasiuk states that he wanted to create something that was not only uniquely beautiful but useable and intuitive.

The Dreamkeepers Tarot is a lovely deck published in 2021. Liz Huston spent the best part of twelve years creating the images, and I like that she talks about this process at the beginning of the guidebook. Liz self-published the first edition in 2018, and US Games published this updated mass-market version in 2020.

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