Deck and Book Reviews
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Erenberg Tarot
Tarot seeks to show us a different way of looking at things. The Erenberg Tarot shows us a different way of looking at tarot. Tarot of the Hidden Realm and the Morgan Greer Tarot put us more up close an personal than most decks. But to compare them to the Erenberg Tarot‘s up close and personal approach is like comparing photos of a full moon taken on my phone with those taken with a telephoto lens. Now this is all great but why do this? Why? Well firstly because it’s different and that in itself is great. It’s refreshing; it’s interesting and it’s exciting. Secondly, it allows you to hone…
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5 Mass Market Tarot Decks that Deserve More Attention
Introduction I have a lot of tarot decks and my collection continues to grow. And yes, I have most of the very popular mass market decks such as, Light Seers Tarot, Wild Unknown, The Everyday Witch Tarot, The Forest of Enchantment Tarot, Druid Craft Tarot, The Llewellyn Tarot and five different versions of the RWS tarot. They are popular for a reason. They are wonderful tarot decks and they deserve the attention they receive. But I have others in my collection that I believe deserve a lot more recognition. I rarely see them featured on Tarot Tube or socials so this is my attempt to remedy that. At the time…
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The Sacred She Tarot
Introduction The Sacred She Tarot is Ma Deva Padma’s second tarot deck. Her first was the Osho Zen Tarot. If you are familiar with, and like the eclectic mix of art styles in that deck, then you are bound to like the artwork in this one. Two things drew me to this deck: the 1 Roots card pictured below and the title. To be honest, it wasn’t a lot to justify pre-ordering a deck. But, when I opened the book and read Ma Deva Padma’s motivation for creating the cards, the urge made sense. She wrote, “I began the art for this deck in the hopes that it would serve…
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The Witch’s Familiar Runic Oracle
Introduction Three things drew me to The Witch’s Familiar Runic Oracle: I wanted to learn more about runes, I liked the concept of combining animal familiars with runes, and I liked working with The Unfolding Path Tarot which is also by Athene Noctua. These three things combined led to me pre-ordering the mass market edition as soon as I saw it listed. Unfortunately it arrived a week before my daughter’s wedding. So with all the last minute rushing around associated with that, I put The Witch’s Familiar Runic Oracle on the shelf and largely forgot about it until recently. Don’t get me wrong, I had flicked through it and on…
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Tarot of the Old Path
Tarot of the Old Path is a Wiccan inspired deck that incorporates the Victorian language of flowers and animal symbolism. This post contains a full review including insights and over twenty full colour images.
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Oracle of the Birds
I pre-ordered the Oracle of the Birds five months before its release date. So, yes, I was pretty keen for this deck. Why? Because I have a strong affinity with birds. I love watching them go about their day and I am fortunate enough to have abundant bird life around my house. As I’ve been sitting here preparing to write this I’ve seen a magpie, a rainbow lorikeet, a wattle bird and a noisy minor all in the area outside my office window. I see birds as messengers and so this deck provided the perfect combination. The Oracle of the Birds Cards Firstly, let me say that these cards are…
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Fyodor Pavlov Tarot
Introduction to the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot Fyodor Pavlov spent five years creating the RWS-inspired, Fyodor Pavlov Tarot and it was definitely time well spent. His research into tarot history and the imagery of the RWS deck shows through on every card. “Informed by his personal queer and trans experiences” this deck manages to represent gender, sexuality, culture, and bodies of various shapes and abilities without feeling tokenistic or forced. This is a well put together tarot deck. The packaging, the cardstock, the thought that went into it, the way the artwork portrays the meanings, and the book are all top notch. When I did my deck interview and I asked,…
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The Story Oracle
The Story Oracle was not designed to be an oracle deck in the usual sense. Rather, these 78 cards were created to help writers craft their stories. However, having seen this deck on Lisa Papez’s You Tube channel, I was drawn to it for its potential as an oracle. As someone who uses tarot cards as writing prompts it may seem strange to see it this way but I cannot imagine using this deck to help me write. However, as a tool to help me uncover and craft my own life story I think it works well. Little disclaimer though, I generally don’t write fiction so that may be why…
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A Dictionary of Symbols: The definitive edition
Introduction While not strictly a tarot book, A Dictionary of Symbols, is a wonderful addition for those interested in understanding, and working with, the symbolism present within the tarot. However, this isn’t a quick sit down and read, or a comfortable cover-to-cover-in-a-week read. It can get a tad wordy. But, if you decided to read a few entries a day, or a week, or cherry-picked your selection I believe you would be surprised by the information you would discover. What you’ll find inside For example, under the entry for “Correspondences”, which spans a couple of pages, you’ll find a brief but comprehensive explanation of the theory of correspondences followed by…
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Divine Doors
I bought Divine Doors simply because I like doors and since it isn’t an expensive deck I didn’t feel guilty about indulging my fancy. Rather than an oracle these cards remind me of a fortune cookie. I don’t mean that in a disparaging way. Quite the opposite. I believe you’ll find their insights run much deeper than you may expect. Each card features a picture of a door on one side with a few lines of poetic inspiration on the other. To be honest I had semi forgotten about these cards until my grandson grabbed them off the shelf and started to use them like a telephone. It seems he…
