#Like decipher its a tarot card without the name of the card on the design!

[koifsssh]

Totally random question that is not related to anything whatsoever (lie)

But do most people have a general idea on tarot cards? If I showed you one, for example, that I had theoretically made, would you be able to decipher it's a tarot card? Or is that considered niche?

[lihikainanea]

Tarot + Oracle decks used by the HWIC.

A sweet nani recently asked me to list the Tarot and Oracle decks I use, and to name my favourites. I thought that was a really great idea. Let me know if any of you have these decks, or if you end up getting them.

They’re under the cut, complete with pictures. My top decks are:

Tarot:

1) Wheel of Fortune 2) Wizard’s Tarot 3) Anima Mundi

Oracle:

1) Moonology

Here we go, kids!

Tarot Decks

1) The Mythic Tarot

One of my oldest decks. This is a great deck for beginners, because it is very visual and you can decipher the story from each card. If you’re just learning what the Suits mean and what the cards mean, this is a great deck to start out with. I don’t use it much anymore, but it’s a great starter.

2) The Gilded Tarot Royale

I really love the illustrations on this one, and the way the cards feel. I can riffle shuffle them without them getting all bent out of shape. This deck is also great for beginners, because the expressions on the characters is very clear and the cards are very intuitive. It’s easy to both understand their base meaning, and to assign your own meanings to them. Also, bonus points because the back of the deck is uniform--meaning you have no idea if the card is right side up, or upside down. If you read reversed cards, this is a great deck.

3) Native American Tarot Deck

I bought this after a reading at Earth Odyssey in New Orleans. It’s definitely a bit more of an advanced deck--it doesn’t use the traditional Suits (Cups, Wands, Pentacles and Swords are swapped for Vessels, Pipes, Shields and Blades) and the Major Arcana are completely different. I love this deck, but I don’t think it’s mine. There’s a fable amongst readers that the deck that is meant for you, the deck that is yours, will be given to you. I think I was meant to buy this deck to give to somebody else to whom it belongs.

4) Anima Mundi 

A favourite. This deck is just so incredibly beautiful. The card stock is incredible, so thick that I can’t riffle it, but its sturdy and strong. This is an independent deck that gained an immense amount of popularity, likely due to the fact that it’s stunning. This is a bit of a harder deck--your intuition needs to be established and you need to have trust in it. The creator--in my opinion, anyway--really nailed the images, and their corresponding meaning of the cards. If you’re looking for a deck that takes you to a deeper level, this is it. When you read through the guidebook you understand why she chose the images she did for the cards, and how they stray from traditional imagery. It gives you a deeper meaning to it all. The deck is animal-based, and in fact the only human in the deck is the Devil--which, again, deeper meanings. A beauty, but for more intermediate readers I would say.

5) Deviant Moon, Borderless

I love the weird, macabre quality of this deck. I find the images to be oddly intuitive, too--if you take just a second to actually look at them, you’ll decipher the meaning of the card quite easily. These cards are hard for me to shuffle because they’re long and thin, not quite the usual size for a deck. They’re a bit softer and a little flimsy, but if you’re into weird imagery--this is a great deck. It had good energy from the start with me. I don’t use it too often in readings because people are a little shocked or put off by the images, but I dig them.

6) Wheel of Fortune

Hands down, my most beautiful deck and by far my favourite. I can’t even EXPRESS how beautiful this deck is, from the matte black finish to the copper gilded sides to the hand painted images to the way it’s presented, in its own beautifully gilded box. I can’t deal. I often carry this deck on me in my purse, just to be around it. It’s just....it’s so fucking beautiful. The cards are thick and sturdy, the back is matte and gilded with copper. The original designs are paintings from the artist, that she superimposed on the cards. This is an independent deck (I’m usually not a huge fan of independent decks) and honestly, the creator could have charged 10x the price and I would have paid it. It’s just incredible in every sense of the word, and carried great energy.

7) Modern Spellcaster

This deck is similar enough to the Gilded Tarot to not justify buying both, but I don’t know I’m impulsive and I really like this deck. The images are awesome and colourful, and it just spoke to me so I bought it. But because of the design on the back, you know when a card is reversed in the deck--it’s not a huge deal, but it can be annoying if you read reversed cards. Again, this is a great beginner deck--the expressions are clear, the card stock is great to get a good shuffle going, and the images tell the story. I like to “clarify” a spread--so I pull from one deck, and then use another full deck to get more insight on the drawn cards. It helps to have two similar decks for that.

8) Wizard’s Tarot

Look, real talk, when I pulled this deck from the box, I fucking hated it. I HATED it. I hated everything about it. The design on the back is so fucking obnoxious and loud, I thought the images were hokey and tacky and just so goddamn cringeworthy. I shuffled it once, laughed like hell at how bad it was, and promptly shoved it back in its box with full intent to return it after my trip. I went away for a week, but like, the entire time I just...I couldn't stop thinking about this deck. I don't know why, it was just on my mind a lot. So when I got home I took it back out of its box and did a reading--and goddamnit that reading was SO fucking bang on, that I thought....okay, whoa. A few days later I did another pull--and THAT reading was so fucking accurate. So then I thought alright you bastard, you’re mine. This deck is now one of my absolute most trusted--when I need no bullshit and no sugarcoating, when I need bulletproof insight to a situation I’m all fucking confused about, this is the deck I pull from. It never lies to me.

Oracle

1) Moonology

Oracle cards can be a love/hate relationship, they require a lot more intuition and ability to assign meanings that you trust in. I don’t read Oracle cards on their own--I do a daily pull for the vibe of the day--but otherwise, I use them to gain insight on my Tarot spreads. I am very, very attached the the moon and this Oracle deck is my favourite--it is clear, it provides words and mantras to meditate on, lessons to absorb.

2) Nocturna 

My most beautiful Oracle deck--but this one is definitely for more advanced intuitive readers. I love the concept that this deck was based on--the night, and all of its happenings and creatures. The cards are visually stunning, the deck is gilded in gold on the sides and it shuffles like a dream. There’s a handy guidebook that comes with it, but you also need to be able to decipher your own meanings for it. The Fireflies card, for example--a full black card just speckled with some dots of gold--can mean anything from a longing for easier times, a loss of or return of innocence and naivety, or a reminder that even in the darkest of situations, light can still be found if you look for it.

3) Earth Power

My wanderlust soul was drawn to this deck, and I picked it up in New Orleans this year. I like that it hones in on the power of the universe we feel when we are in very significant places--there’s an energy that is undeniable. The cards provide mantras and words to keep in mind, which I like. The cards are real sturdy and laminated--but shuffling them is kind of a nightmare, because they stick. But they’re beautiful, they’re easy to read, and they're great for a daily draw.

4) Shaman Wisdom

A very advanced deck. Real talk, even I have trouble deciphering these cards sometimes. For example, this card here? it says Birch--Feminine, Ease, Venus, Water. That’s it. I don’t really know what to make of these without the guidebook, which does a good job explaining--but I don’t like using the guidebook. Much like the Native American tarot, I don’t think this deck was meant for me.  I bought it because it featured a wolf on the box and the wolf is one of my totems. I saw this deck right after a reading done on me when I was pretty supercharged so I took it as a sign, and it probably was. But despite my best efforts I just haven’t really bonded with this deck, and that’s alright. It means it’s not mine, but that I will find the person it belongs to.