Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Oracle Cards

  • Witches of Legend Oracle

    Witches of Legend Oracle

    My wonderful husband, Seth, backed a kickstarter for me for the Witches of Legend Oracle by Annabelle Lewis. The art was just so gorgeous that I couldn’t resist. Seth would call me in to show me updates and new cards as they were created, additional tiers that were added, and so much more. The deck was fully funded, starting production and then, Pandemic. After a bunch of delays the decks finally made their way to Annabelle, and then on their way to us.

    AND MINE ARRIVED TODAY!!

    I am a little excited. Opening the box I saw black tissue paper and a sticker saying Thank you for supporting my small business.

    When you opened it up you saw a beautiful black velvet Tarot bag.

    Under the Tarot Bag was a Reading Cloth.

    Also included was a gorgeous enamel pin of Nyx, prints of Hecate and Medusa, and stickers of Medusa, Hecate’s familiar and The Morrigan.

    And, then there is the deck itself. It comes in a nice box, but it is a little big so I will probably use the velvet bag. The book is really nice and has space for adding your own notes for each of the cards. I love it a lot. The deck itself is gorgeous and comprised of 34 cards. The art is ink and watercolor and the palette is primarily monochrome with hints of gold. The deck has beautiful gold edging and feels wonderful in the hand. I am so excited to begin working with it.

  • Day 9 of the Hostage Situation: Divination

    I love tarot and oracle decks. I have been reading since I was 16 and I have loved them ever since. I think they are a divination tool of such beauty, and each deck is unique with new insights to share. I am a bit of a collector when it comes to decks and I have well 6 right here beside me and an additional 8-10 more. I may be underestimating that amount as well. I might have a problem (nah!). In the last month I received a new oracle deck as a gift and I received a tarot deck my husband kickstarted for me as well. I am awash in new divinatory tools and I love it. I thought I would share my first impressions of both decks in case you were looking at them, or so you might want to.

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    Deck 1: The Literary Witches Oracle written by Taisia Kitaiskaia and illustrated by Katy Horan – The artwork for this oracle is lovely. The cards are divided into two types: The Witches and The Witches’ Materials. There are 30 witch cards with portraits of famous literary women and 40 material cards which are common images found in literary work like wolf, cauldron, white dress, etc. The deck comes in a sturdy box and has a guidebook that has basic meanings for each card as well as sample spreads. Here is a quick look through the guidebook.

    The cards are well made and solid, but a little large for my hands when it comes to shuffling. The imagery on the cards is gorgeous and lush for the Witches and beautiful but simple for the Materials. I love the idea of working with imagery as a divination tool and I look forward to using this deck. Here are some examples of my personal favorite Witches and some of the Materials I liked a lot.

    Deck 2: The Oriens Tarot by Ambi Sun – The imagery for this deck drew me right in when Seth showed it to me on Kickstarter and I knew I needed it. The artwork is stunning and comprised of animals and insects. The colors are lush. I have been waiting for this for a while. The deck came in a beautiful sturdy box, and I also got a reading cloth in the design from the back of the cards. The deck does not come with a physical book, but I was able to download a copy onto my computer and phone, and you can look at the meanings of the cards on the website.

    The sides of the cards are gilded in an amazing holographic silver that catches the light beautifully. The cards are of a nice thickness and fit really well in my hands. I could shuffle them all day if given half the chance. (I find shuffling super meditative and relaxing.) I am massively in love with the animal imagery and the beautiful colors. I am so excited to get into using this gorgeous deck. Here are some of my immediate favorite cards.

    Do you read tarot? Or do you collect them like me? What do you think makes a great deck? Do you enjoy oracle decks as well?

     

  • Looking into The Future

    I was gifted with my first tarot deck when I was 16. It was the Arthurian Tarot by Caitlin and John Matthews and it was a gift from my older sister Krystie. I fell in love immediately and I have been doing readings since. For the first year or so I carried the deck with me everywhere I went and slept with it beneath my pillow. I had a notebook where I would write down the meanings of the cards, and any insights I might have about the cards as I was reading. After a couple of years I no longer needed the book or my notes to read.

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    Currently I am waiting for a new tarot deck and an oracle deck that my husband backed for me on Kickstarter. One is The Oriens Tarot Deck by AmbiSun which is a Rider-Waite-Smith based deck that features animals on the cards. The art work is gorgeous and it will be coming to me from Australia. The oracle is the Witches of Legend oracle deck by Annabelle Lewis. It is still open for three more days, and the artwork on it is gorgeous.

    The tarot I use the most currently is the Deviant Moon tarot by Patrick Valenza. I was gifted the Crow Tarot by MJ Cullinane by my younger sister Traci for my birthday this year and the deck and I are still getting to know each other.

    Have you ever had your cards read? Do you read as well? Do you practice another form of divination?

     

  • Magickal Monday – Sturgeon Moon

    Magickal Monday – Sturgeon Moon

    Happy Full Moon, Witches!! I hope the coming of the sturgeon moon finds you well. This is a full moon in Aquarius, which according to Madeleine of Written in the Stars Horoscopes and Tarot is the full moon of the Rebel, so get out there and break the rules. Find new ways of doing things. Make things happen.

    I decided to do a spread today with The Halloween Oracle. I used a spread from the accompanying book called the Halloween Three Card Draw.

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    I shuffled until I had three “jumpers” and then laid out the spread. Imagine my surprise as I turned over the first card it was actually two, hmm… I decided that I would read with both of these cards standing in the Card 1 position. In another bit of irony I ended up with two different skulls, so Card 1 is Skull of Flowers and Skull of Light.

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    Skull of flowers is about coming back from a hard time. Learning to create again after you have been cast down. “Sometimes the universe gives us a blank slate to work from, so we can build what we really want, rather than just settling for less.” I recently got a new job after too many years of working in a department that did not appreciate my contributions, and often took advantage of my knowledge without duly compensating me for my work. My new position came with being told I was highly desired, with a lot of positive feedback, and with a substantial raise. This fits well. The skull of light is about shining light into the shadows in order to see yourself, and allow yourself to be seen. I have been hiding in a position that made me unhappy, because I was half convinced that I was not worthy of anything better. That I was not smart enough, knowledgeable enough, or talented enough to achieve anything more. In the last couple of weeks though, I became painfully aware that I cannot continue as I have. That I am worth more, and deserve more, and I achieved it fairly quickly once I turned my mind that way. Again, pretty accurate.

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    Card 2 The Challenge: For card two Zombie jumped. The zombie is about control. Do you want to control everything? Or are you allowing others to control you? What are you doing currently that you do not want to do? What are you not doing that you wish you were? Why aren’t you doing it? It is time to find a way to live your best life.

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    Card 3 The Solution: Another twofer! This time I was presented with The Veil and Scrying. The Veil rules the future. It’s presence says that the veil is thin, and other worlds are close. Listen to what messages may come regarding the future. “Plan, set intentions, think big!” Scrying is about trusting your intuition. Maybe you should try scrying, especially with this card coming with the veil. It is time to work on your intuition, and stop relying on your rational mind for all the answers.

    Tasseomancy is not generally my cup of tea (pun intended) but I think I am going to get my white cup and my witches brew tea, and see what may come up.

    I see a person jumping a fire. And the head of a bull? I saw a sword, and a circle. I think it is time I did some wilding. It has been too long. Only a little over a month until Earth Warriors Festival!

    I have put some water with a piece of quartz and a piece of moonstone in it out to charge in the moonlight. Full moon blessings friends.

     

     

  • Magickal Monday – Witchy Haul!

    Magickal Monday – Witchy Haul!

    Happy 4th of July Eve to my American Friends! To everyone else Happy Magickal Monday!!

    I have done some witchy shopping in the last couple of weeks, so I thought I would share some of my recent purchases.

    From a little shop in Yellow Springs, Ohio called House of Ravenwood I bought a piece of statuary that is a Merlin/Wotan – Odin. The workers and I thought it to be Odin. The box called him Merlin, but to me he is an Odin as the wanderer piece.

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    From my friend Seamus’ shop The Magical Druid I picked up a beautiful copper bracelet with pentacles on it. I also picked up a gorgeous piece of peacock ore, and a nice chunk of Black Tourmaline.

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    And a new oracle deck called The Halloween Oracle. The imagery on this deck is beautiful. I love Halloween, so this deck is right up my alley.

     

    I shuffled until a card popped out as a simple one card spread and I got the card:

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    Nightsong – Hidden Talents:  Should this beautiful but shy bird sing to you by appearing during your divination, know that you must unwrap the present of yourself. Look! Some of the gifts within you remain unopened! The time has come to step into your true potential and claim all possibilities for yourself. There is no more time to waste. No more excuses! – Stacey Demarco

    I am so excited to continue working with this deck. I think it is quickly going to become a favorite.

    My younger sister has gifted me with a beautiful picture which I am planning to frame to add to my altar space. I have no idea where it is from, or who the artist is, so if you know them please let me know.

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    I also made a trip last Thursday to my friend Heather’s shop Violet Flame Gifts in Newark. I was picking up the gorgeous drinking horn she made that was just begging to be owned by my husband. While I was there I found a gorgeous wand that I could not resist. Labradorite and Turquoise are two of my favorite stones. I am thinking of this as my Pisces wand, because of the shells and starfish motifs on it. I am so in love.

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    That is all, and enough, lol. Expect to see more of the oracle deck, and of that wand.

    Bright Blessings!