w ell, i'll be going now.
divination is an old craft with roots that can be traced back to the early second millennium. it is considered an occult practice, making use of different tools to try and gain insight into a situation or answer questions. what we know as tarot is itself a subform of cartomancy-- divination done with playing cards-- an umbrella term which oracle cards also fall under. i have been collecting tarot and oracle decks since my late teens, accumulating around 13 decks in that time. i use these decks for work, but they're also a slowly growing collection i'm very fond of. this page catalogues them.
THE ANTIQUE ANATOMY TAROT by claire goodchild
this deck feels targeted at witches and wandering spirits. with a decidedly gothic victorian face, it seemed poised to be my new favorite deck... unfortunately, the cards are so thin that it's borderline impossible to use them as intended. i don't dare touch it out of fear that the deck will crumble in my hands. the boxset, i am happy to say, is simply gorgeous.
THE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES TAROT by j.r. rivera, jasmine becket-griffith
i so badly wanted a tarot deck with artwork by becket-griffith for so long. i remember seeing oracle of shadows & light, wisdom of the shapeshifters... and wanting them badly. i've admired her artwork for a long time because it reminds me of old school click and drag dolls from myspace days in all the best ways. thankfully, i managed to finally get one with the beautiful creatures tarot and it only increased my hunger for the other two lol.
THE DAEMON TAROT by ariana osbourne
delightfully dark, cracking open this feels like peeking into the testament of solomon. presented with an almost ancient textbook flair, i rarely have use for this one but i adore having it. it's such a piece of art to me; many people will claim it's not a tarot deck and perhaps by their definitions it is not, but it is definitely at least an oracle deck. every whisper you get from the daemon tarot is a warning, challenging you to consider the darker twists to a reading.
DISNEY VILLAINS TAROT by ellie goldwine, minerva siegel
to tell the truth: i haven't used this deck. it's very pretty, though, with radioactive green and royal purple accents. the artwork is luscious and vibrant in the best way, too.
THE FAERIE GUIDANCE ORACLE by paulina cassidy
heartfelt and whimsical, i purchased this deck over ten years ago and it's been a mainstay for me since. in fact, this is where it all started! why this gave me the collecting bug is easy to see; it's a beautiful set with an indepth, truly helpful information booklet of shockingly good quality. i still reference it for other decks because how paulina writes about her deck is so fluid and easy to understand. it has definitely had it's periods of disuse but something always brings me back to the faerie guidance oracle.
THE HOMESTUCK TAROT by andrew hussie & various artists
fandom decks are a strange thing now that i consider it but when i was deep into homestuck, this was a purchase i really did not regret. it's traveled with me so it's in quite a terrible state, including the box falling apart... that said, this is a print by for fans by fans and is now something you can no longer purchase. i guess in the future it might be something interesting, but i used it pretty regularly for about three years.
THE KAWAII TAROT by diana lopez
minimalist and lovely, the kawaii tarot is a fantastic deck that helped me ease back into reading on the daily. whenever i feel like i'm falling off, i can count on this deck to bring me back on. simplistic in the best way, it's a reliable and fun deck that i may not pick up often, but return to when i need it.
THE LITERARY WITCHES ORACLE by taisia kitaiskaia, katy horan
eclectic but cohesive. this one sits and collects dust, i admit, but i loved using it back in 2019... it felt like this one really challenged me to interpret the messages each card was associated with, applying it in unorthodox ways. hopefully this makes sense, but i feel like this deck made a better reader out of me.
MYSTICAL MANGA TAROT by rann, barbara moore
beautifully printed, lustrous, and striking with a distinct artstyle, i picked this deck up on a whim. i was taken by the border around each artwork and back of the card, and a nice, thick box that looked beautifully decorative. the fact it features a booklet written by barbara moore gives it a little more weight.
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS TAROT by abigail larson, minerva siegel
this deck is special to me because it was a gift from my dear partner. i use it daily for even the most minor of things, and keep it close at all times. abigail larson is one of my favorite artists, and her artwork suits the nightmare before christmas so well.
VAMPIRE TAROT OF THE ETERNAL NIGHT by david corsi, barbara moore
what a heavy hitter of a deck! printed by lo scarabeo and featuring a informational book by barbara moore of llewellyn fame, it has a lot to talk about for tarot enthusiasts. pretty, dark, morbid-- it's everything i like in a deck. i don't use it these days but whenever i feel like i really want insight on something, i'll dig for it.
THE VINTAGE WISDOM ORACLE by victoria moseley
with cards slightly larger than the average deck, this one can be a little unwieldy in the hand. still, it's probably my most used oracle deck; the vintage victorian aesthetic cobbled together with a sheen of postage chic has a unique flair i've never seen in another deck. the establishment i purchased this from was probably my favorite place in town and it's gone now, so this little piece is something to remember it by.
THE ZOMBIE TAROT by paul kepple, stacey graham
this is the first deck i ever bought. i used it regularly about ten years ago, and it was an old reliable for me. despite it's age and how used it is, it's still in really good quality. in fact, it's in such a good state that i still consider purchasing the authors' other deck, the housewife tarot.
