
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 Rackham Tarot & Oracle
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
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
Le Tarot aux Ramures Étranges
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
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
Shadowland Lenormand
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.
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
Tarot of Mystical Moments
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
Madhouse Tarot
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
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 Dreamkeepers Tarot
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.
The Somnia Tarot
I had this on preorder, and being familiar with the photography of Nicolas Bruno, I was excited to see what he would do with a tarot deck. His photography sprang from ideas he formed from dealing with sleep paralysis. Many of his images were intense, and whilst surreal, they were generally full of symbolism. In short, I
The Shadowland Tarot
This is the most expensive deck I’ve bought in a while, so I feel justified in being less than impressed with its shoddy box insert. Now that I’ve got that bit of info out of the way, I’ll get onto the praise. I absolutely LOVE this deck. Yes, it’s childlike. Yes, it borders on ostentatious with its, erm, blingy border. And yes, the liberal use of yellow appears almost garish