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Surrealist Tarot
If you’re wanting to use tarot to tap into your unconscious to discover what hidden factors are driving your behaviours then what could be a better match than the Surrealist Tarot? When you consider that according to the accompanying book, ‘Surrealism was born essentially as a rebellion against the dictatorship of rationality …’ this deck is designed to take you to places other decks don’t. To look at the Surrealist Tarot and read it based on card titles alone and in reference to “typically this card features ….” is obviously possible but what a missed opportunity that would be. This deck almost begs you to leave rational thought behind and…
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Believe In Your Own Magic Oracle
The intention behind Believe In Your Own Magic Oracle is to provide “you with daily messages of empowerment whenever you’re in need of some inspiration or validation.” However, I feel the power of this deck is that it encourages us to change our perception of how we think we should be and act. In order to own our self worth we need to be truly honest with ourselves. Though at times harsh, this Oracle supports this practice. The Believe In Your Own Magic Oracle Cards If you’ve been with me for a while you’ll know that I’m all about writing, editing and re-writing your own story (not just figuratively either).…
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The Animal Wisdom Tarot
The Animal Wisdom Tarot is a symbolically-rich deck that seamlessly merges animal wisdom with traditional tarot. It provides new perspectives that encourages you to reclaim your power by stripping away anything that isn’t authentic. This deck is beautiful and gentle and affirming – yes, but it doesn’t let you off lightly. Its focus is very much on accountability. The message repeated throughout is to be aware of your thoughts and actions and the world around and inside you. The Animal Wisdom Tarot Cards Ola Liola’s stunning watercolour artwork is a delight to behold. The background scenes draw me into the cards effortlessly and they have so much to share. The…
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The Starchild Tarot Akashic
The Starchild Tarot Akashic, not to be confused with The Starchild Tarot by the same creator, aims to help us explore “the ancient traditions of the Tarot through a multidimensional journey of Consciousness and awakening.” This is a deck for self-exploration, self-expansion, and self-understanding. As you look through the photos I’ve included you’ll see this deck portrays each card in a unique way. That’s why I was keen to add it to my collection. The Starchild Tarot Akashic Cards From the outset, The Fool, here titled Starseed and pictured as the opening featured image, takes a different approach. She’s not depicted blindly stepping off a cliff. Instead, the Starseed is…
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Everyday Witch Oracle
I bought the Everyday Witch Oracle because I really like reading with the Everyday Witch Tarot and lately I have a bit of a thing about “sets”. If that wasn’t the case I probably wouldn’t have bought this deck and I would have missed out on adding a great oracle to my collection. I don’t identify as a witch though and maybe that was part of my initial resistance. The back of the box begins, ‘Improve your craft with magic cats, pointed hats and spell work galore.’ and whilst it fits with the whole vibe of the deck I don’t connect with the blurb. Yet there is nothing off putting…
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The Tarot Revealed: A Beginner’s Guide by Paul Fenton-Smith
If learning the tarot has felt like a constant uphill slog and you’re wondering if you’re ever going to make sense of all the cards and their intricacies then The Tarot Revealed can help. You can tell it has been written by someone who teaches tarot. This is a step-by-step guide that introduces you to each suit and each card in a simple, unintimidating way. Anecdotes are used throughout to help explain the cards and to solidify the concepts. This approach makes the book interesting to read on multiple levels. The ‘Colour Meanings in the Tarot’ is a great primer. Understanding what each colour represents makes it easier to unpack…
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Animal Totem Tarot
How many animal-themed tarot decks do you need? I don’t know. But, since I have seventeen of them, none of which I’d consider parting with, I’d say keep them coming. As long as they have something to offer, why not? Obviously I love animal decks and the Animal Totem Tarot was a welcome addition to my collection. As the name suggests, and the book blurb confirms, this deck is aimed towards people keen to work with power animals and/or animal totems. However, I feel this deck is actually for anyone that loves animals; that loves the artwork; or for anyone keen to add an easy-to-work-with animal deck to their collection.…
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Combine tarot and journaling to edit your life story
Our lives are a series of stories. That’s not to say that they progress along an individual story arc, nor that they go to the plan we may have in our head. In reality we live multiple stories at any given time. That would be way too complicated if we were to try and capture them in a single novel or memoir. No-one would be able to follow that! After all, characters we consider “real” in books don’t share the mind blowing number of thoughts most of us have swimming around in our heads at any given moment. As I write these initial few lines, my mind is considering whether…
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How journaling can change your life
I wrote an article about mindfulness and meditation called How to tap into the power of the present which you can access by clicking here. However, I really believe journaling can be a mindful practice as well because it also brings awareness to where you are now. Plus the benefits of meditation and journaling are very similar. Here’s a far from exhaustive list of the benefits of journaling: Journaling can: boost your mood enhance your sense of well being reduce symptoms of depression reduce intrusion and avoidance symptoms after trauma improve your working memory help you to accept your emotions help you to manage stress strengthen you immune system lower…
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Deviant Moon Tarot
This is a deck I put off buying for a long time. To be honest, I found it creepy and disturbing. But, I kept noticing that other people fell in love with it once they owned it. I couldn’t help wondering if that would be the case for me as well. I knew it was possible. When I first saw The Wild Unknown Tarot I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Now I own all three of Kim Krans’ decks, (The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit, The Wild Unknown Tarot and The Wild Unknown Archetypes), and her book Blossom and Bones. First, second, third and subsequent impressions can indeed…
