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If you think I’m such a dick

Suck it

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Secret garden

While it may not be an actual tarot or Oracle deck, I feel like these little cards are still in the same general theme. These were a birthday present and sort of an inside joke considering how much I'm struggling with my actual backyard.

The cards are quite lovely though, I've really been enjoying drawing one every morning during breakfast and seeing how they fit into the day ahead. They're really all just solid advice that can apply to virtually every situation, but where's the magic in that?

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Neopets - The Official Tarot Deck

This deck is pure nostalgia for me. Neopets was a big part of my childhood and I've recently rediscovered and fell fully back in love with the website. It's silly and escapist but also safe and damiliar and it brings me a lot of joy.

The deck is beautifully designed, a lot of thought went into attributing the right piece of lore to the right card. Combining 25 years of storybuilding in one well-designed package.

I've missed out on or forgotten much of the lore and am actually (re)learning a lot through using this deck. I absolutely love that the booklet not only tells the story through the meaning of the cards but also mentions the items/characters and roughly where on the site they can be found.

It really is another gimmicky deck, but it brings me so much joy to look at the deck and work with it.

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Mystieke Katten Tarot

I'll admit this was very much an impulse buy but y'know, it's cats! I love the combination of tarot and cats and particularly like the idea of different cat breeds representing the different cards. Of course I went looking for a representation of my own cat, which I found in Temperance (except switch the eye colors). I would have loved a little more explanation on why each breed was chosen for each card but sadly there's no explanation on this in the book.

Unfortunately the cards have that matte coating that makes them hard to shuffle. It always makes me sad when companies insist on using it because it just makes it so much less likely that the deck will get a lot of use.

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The Tarot of Light and Shadow

This deck is absolutely brilliant in concept. It claims to be the first to actually consist of two decks, shadow and light, designed to work together. Both decks have the same backs so they can easily be shuffled together and used as a single master deck. The shadow cards representing the inner world or the unknown versus the light which represents the outer world or the known.

The cards have that wonderful, slick coating that makes them a dream to shuffle but the card size is rather large for two deck that are intended to be combined. The deck book does address this and recommends washing the decks to combine thoroughly and then dividing into multiple stacks.

I love the subtle differences between the twin cards, like how the Hermit's lantern in the shadow side is mirrored as an hourglass in the light. Even the minors, which are illustrated in more of a Marseille style, consistently have these subtle differences that I think really enhance the interplay between both decks.

Each deck also has a carte blanche, a cosmic mirror, to be used at your own discretion. I'm not a huge fan of them but to each their own. Overall I think this is a very thoughtful deck, especially well-suited for those who use tarot as a tool of reflection more than divination as the decks play on reality and its reflection.

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Lindemans - The Fool's Faith

This isn't so much a tarot deck as tarot themed beer merch. That said, I couldn't resist and got it anyway. I haven't played the actual game yet (rules can be downloaded here) it seems like it's a trick-taking game with some added challenges. Sounds like a good time if you want a low stake game while drinking.

It's quite gimmicky, but I'm a sucker for those so I love having this in my collection anyway! Oh, and the beer's pretty decent too if you're into fruity things (which is the one kind of beer I can actually kind of stomach).

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Finding beauty in unexpected places (at ungodly hours)

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This man has to be some Irish god descended to earth for a little bit of fun...

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First proper spread in ages and damn… this deck always knows what’s up.

Seaborn Spread

When Siolo Thompson and I first created the Seaborn Kipper, we included a spread inspired by the fun and adventure of waves. It seemed a fitting tribute to the surfing that Siolo was doing when we came up with the concept for the deck two years ago.

The Kipper has a set of traditional spreads, some of which I explain in the guidebook, but since the system is unfamiliar to the vast majority of diviners we know, we wanted to provide a spread that practiced oracles and tarot readers could use to get insight while also getting to know the cards of the Seaborn Kipper.

The Seaborn Kipper is now available almost anywhere you buys your decks. And if it’s not, ask them to order you a copy and get some for their other loyal customers!

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Tarot beer is a thing now?

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She knows...

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Daily magpie visit on an otherwise dreary workday <3

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Lisboa Tarot

Lisbon holds a special place in my heart. It's one of my favorite places to visit and I've spent many a vacation there. Naturally when I came across this deck I was instantly obsessed. Each of the cards was inspired by views from the streets of Lisbon. Some familiar to me, some places I'll have to try to find the next time I can make it there.

A nice touch is that the booklet mentions (in varying degrees of specificity) where you can find the sights on the cards. The hermit, for instance, can be found in the Jardim Dom Luís.

The cards themselves are made from a lovely thick cardstock but do have a matte coating that'll take some breaking in before they'll shuffle smoothly. Nothing that can't be overcome, though.

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Ethereal Visions - Illuminated Tarot Deck

The mostly pastel color palette outlined with gold foil art nouveau designs gives this deck the dreamiest atmosphere. Not in a bubbly, happy-go-lucky kind of way though. This deck gives off a very realistic vibe, like it'll tell you what's up in no unclear terms.

As it's a Lo Scarabeo deck, you know the quality of the cardstock and coating is good. The specific version I got is a tad large for comfortable shuffling but that's just me.

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Once again, Christina has no business being so accurately up in my business. She always knows what's up...