Tag: divination

Knot Your Garter

A while ago I was researching love divination superstitions when I came across an interestingly little charm from the 1696.

To know whom one shall marry. You must lie in another county, and knit the left garter about the right legged stocking.. and as you rehearse these following verses, at each comma, knot a knot.

‘This knot I knit,

To know the thing,

I know not yet,

That I may see,

The man (woman) that shall my husband (wife) be,

How he goes, and what he wears,

And what he does, all days, and years’

Accordingly in your dream you will see him: if a musician, with a lute or other instrument; if a scholar, with a book or papers.(1)

Now this is particular charm evolves so the more common usage of it is as written in 1899 “To induce favourable dreams, nine knots are tied on a garter.” (2) There are other regional variations of this as well that are interesting to look at but we’re going to deal primarily with these two variations.

Now, I am a folklorist at heart. I majored in it at college so I love to watch superstitions evolve in this manner (and then dissect why they evolved in this manner).

 

Wrist Bells

 

More importantly, this is interesting from a witchcraft perspective. Here, the practitioner is sleeping somewhere different away from home. While there, they knit their left garter around their right stocking and say the verses. In their dreams, they’ll get a vision of their future spouse. (Remember that around this time, garters more unisex than they are now.)

There’s a couple ways to break down this superstition into an actual practice and it would widely depend on how the garter was constructed and the usage of the word “knit”. I don’t knit personally (I’m a crochet girl) but theoretically, you’d have to pull stitches out in order to restitch the stitches for this charm or you’d end up adding length to the garter and defeating the purpose of the garter entirely. Or, you’d add length to the garter ties, making them longer than used (garters were tied at this time, not elastic as now).

But garters are still a close, personal thing. They’re kept close to the skin and were incredibly individual yet ubiquitous items. There’s also a level of propriety to be addressed with garters. Garter kept your clothing where you wanted it to be, it kept you properly dressed. Typically speaking, you were rarely improperly dressed except around wardrobe-related servants or your spouse. So there’s something of a “revealing the self” aspect to this charm, subconscious though it made me.

As pre-made clothing became more popular, people made less and less of their own garters. Garters eventually became less used as clothing designs changed. The origins of the charm became older and less known. It simplified, due to clothing changes and time itself. It became more of a “knot nine times to reveal your future spouse in a dream” sort of deal.

 

 

Either (and any) variation of this charm has legs to stand on so the actual change isn’t the problem we face when looking to use this spell. Instead, what we need to address in how to adapt this spell to modern times.

Few people regularly wear garters. Many people end up with garters for their wedding clothing and that’s about it. It’s a special occasion thing, usually, so not a lot of people would consider this specifically important. Of course, some people still regularly use garters for costuming, tall socks, or they wear them for work-related clothing.

We need to look at what’s important here. Is the garter itself important? Or is what the garter represented more important? If the garter itself was important, then you would have to use a garter to cast this spell. If the garter isn’t important, then what could be used in place of a garter? Would making nine tiny knots with a piece of sting in the hem of your underwear work in lieu of a garter? Shoelaces? Hair? Hair ribbon? Suit tie? What could be used when it comes to modern clothing?

At it’s heart, this superstition is a knot spell to induce dreams of love. That’s what it’s suppose to do. So… would any knot do? Could you make something and then knot it?

Could you make a garter specifically for this purpose and use the charm for it? Either by knitting, sewing, or even braiding some thread together and tying it to your leg. The steps would probably be creating the garter to your left leg measurements, then tie it to your right leg, saying the charm, then go to bed.

 

 

If you wanted to adapt this to modern usage you’d have to answer these critical questions:

What’s the purpose of the garter? What does it stand for? Does that meaning still stand today for me? Is there an equivalent I can use instead?

How can I knot the garter or garter substitute? Will sewing stitches be representative? Or does it have to be knitted?

In the end, any of these variations would work. I don’t have a “here’s exactly how you adapt this” because there’s so many ways you could go with this. Personally, I’d crochet a garter (because knitting seems to escape me) with my left leg measurements and say the charm as I made each stitch. I’d make it long enough to tie on and knot the tying portion nine times. Then I’d tie it to my right leg nine times, repeating the verses, before heading to bed.

But, that’s me. How would you adapt this classic superstition? Does it sound similar to an old superstition you’ve heard of before?

  1. Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions, editors Iona Opie and Moira Tatem. 2005 Edition, Oxford Press. Page 221-222
  2. Ibid.

Tarot Emulation Attraction Spell

This is a spell to be attractive sexually. Let’s not kid ourselves here. This spell’s about physical attraction. It’s about making you look sexy. It’s not going to attract people to you that aren’t already attracted to you and it’s not going to get you a relationship. It’s not going to give you a hook up. It’s just a way for you to stand out and feel sexy.

So, in a way, it’s kind of a a love spell. It makes you feel awesome and love yourself. You’ll probably see a pick up when it comes to flirty gestures or sexual propositions.

Tarot Emulation Attraction Spell by This Crooked Crown

What you’ll need 

  • A tarot or oracle deck of some kind
  • Article of clothing you’re going to wear

Search through your tarot or oracle deck and find cards that make you feel sexy or awesome. They should be card that you want to emulate or represent you. Pick cards that also represent how you want others to see you.

Pick as many cards as you want from as many decks as you want. Lay them all out on top of the article of clothing you’re going to wear. It should be an outfit that makes you feel sexy.

When you’re ready, focus on how you want to look and raise the card up to your face and make a swooping motion down the length of your body and place the card back on the piece of clothing. You can recite what about that card you want to bring into yourself as you do this or you can just make the motion. Do this for each and every card.

Then get dressed. Lay the cards out on top of your dresser or stack them in a drawer. Go about your day. When you’re done for the day and you’re undressed, you can place the cards back in their respective decks.

Note:

  • You can also lay the cards out on your naked body, shoes, or jewelry if you prefer.
  • Placing the tarot cards on your mirror is also a good alternative.

Happy casting!

5 Tips to Loving Yourself + Tarot Spread

Quick post and then I’ll let you get back to your evening. There’s a ton of tips floating around about how to love and care for yourself. I’m not going to rehash all of that info because I’m sure you’ve run into it before. Here’s some of my favorite ideas.

Keep reading because there’s a tarot/oracle/divination spread at the bottom you might enjoy!

 

 

01 Focus on what you love

I pick one thing that I really like about myself and buy or create something nice for it. For example, I’m really fond of my hair so when I’m feeling down in the dumps, I’ll buy a new hat, make a new hair accessory, or try a new hair style.

It helps reinforce that there’s stuff I like about myself and that I’m still super cute even in sweats and a baggie tee while procrastinating today’s workout.

 

02 Forgive yourself

Life’s tough and sometimes it sucks. And when you suddenly remember that mistake you made when you were five, it’s like the world is crashing down for about fifteen seconds.

Forgiving yourself isn’t easy. How do you come to terms with something you’re still ashamed about or still embarrassed about? For me, I sit and and say, “yeah, that thing happened and it sucked. I’m sorry it happened but I can’t change it now. I know not to do that thing again.” And that little mental convo helps ease the regret that clings to that memory and it can ease out of the forefront of my mind. It doesn’t instantly forget that memory but it makes it easier to go on with my life.

 

 

03 Making time for yourself

I’m not really a meditation girl. I spend about five minutes on meditation, total, a day. I’m far too restless to sit otherwise. And half of that five minutes is actually me telling myself today’s to do list.

But all those thoughts running around in your head can be addressed when you’re not busy doing a thousand and one other things. Taking a moment to stop, think, and know that you’ve got eight more things to do before lunch is important. Know what else is important? Acknowledging how much of that to do list is actually for you.

If your to-do list is entirely for someone else or work, then you need to carve out time for yourself. And if you can’t find time, make time by dropping or rescheduling something that isn’t important.

 

 

04 Treat yourself

Typically when I’m treating myself,  I buy myself flowers or a book. Usually I mix up something super tasty while I’m at it. I don’t do it often and I make sure that what I’m making or buying isn’t witchcraft related. It helps separate my work and the rest of me. Don’t get me wrong, almost everything I do is witchcraft related eventually. Untreated flowers become dried flowers for my herbal creations, books are broken down to see if I can utilize any ideas in my spells. Food may later become offerings. These are all things that may happen but that’s not why I’m doing them, so it counts as a treat in my eyes.

Why and how do you treat yourself? Are you treating yourself for good accomplishments? To even out bad days? How about ordinary days? You know the ones that you have most of the time. Do you treat yourself then?

Figuring out how to treat yourself is super important. It can make ordinary days special and memorable. It can ease dealing with crappy co-workers or take the bite out of an argument with family.

It doesn’t have to be food based or shopping based, as many “treats” are. I sometimes dedicate an evening to doing something fun but “wasteful” like surfing pinterest pinning ideas for my dream home on a secret board. Or I’ll pop in a favorite Disney movie or read a favorite book once again. It’s a treat. For you. Who cares what others think of it?

 

 

05 Stop doing things when they’re no longer fun

I don’t know about you but there’s lots of people out there that start doing a hobby and it no longer is fun. Sometimes projects become frustrating or you realize that the people around a hobby aren’t people you want to be with. Whatever the reason, they’ll be a point where you’ll stop and ask yourself “why am I doing this?”

And if you don’t have a good answer for that question, then stop it. A good answer might be “because I want to master this” or “I’m doing this for a commission” or “I want to achieve this goal”. If it’s not those reasons then it’s probably not worth your time right now. Put the project and hobby aside until you get inspired to pick it up again.

Your hobbies should be enjoyable. If they’re not, what’s the point?

 

Ready for the spread?

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A simple spread to be sure but it focuses on big questions.

01 How can I love myself?

This card doesn’t tell you what to love about yourself or why you should love yourself. Instead, it tells you how to treat yourself with love. It tells you how to show your love of your own self in the same way a card might show how you love someone else.

02 How can I care for myself?

This is your self-care methods. It may suggest that you reread a favorite book, binge watch TV, meditate, or any number of other self-care choices available to you. When you draw this card, make sure to correlate it with real-life actions in addition to ethereal or mental actions.

This card might be a little harsh. It may tell that you need to cut back on snacks and focus on healthier food choices. It might tell you to get out of the house and go make friends. It might even tell you to drop toxic friends for your health.

03 What can I do better for myself?

This card will focus on things you’re already doing. They will be things that you should focus on now, for yourself. If your attention is scattered or you feel like you’re being pulled in a thousand directions, this card will tell you where to focus your attention and how to get back on track.

It can also tell you things like “go make some more friends so you’re less lonely” or invite more art into your life. It might suggest that you take a class to inspire your yoga routine or start taking up daily writing prompts to upgrade your writing skill.

This isn’t necessarily about bettering yourself but doing things that you already like doing and focusing on that. It may also be a suggestion that you should focus on controlling your finances or getting a job promotion. It’s less self-oriented than any of the other cards and can involve how you deal with the world around you.

 

 

Give it a try! It’s a simple little reading but can really answer some questions if you’re kind of floundering right now. If you don’t want to read for yourself, you can always buy this reading over at my etsy or storenvy shops.

Decks featured:

  • Sacred Creators Oracle by Chris-Anne © Chris-Anne.com
  • Linestrider Tarot: Kickstarter Edition by Siolo Thompson ©

5 Love Divinations to Reveal Your Sweetheart

Love divinations is one of the most common types of superstitions in the world. Everyone can probably vaguely recall at least one type of superstition that’s suppose to reveal whether or not someone loves you or will love you. Open to any page in a superstition dictionary and you’ll probably find a love related one. It’s that ubiquitous and it’s the number one question I get asked about as a professional reader.

That’s not a bad thing. People want to feel loved and there’s so many different culturally specific charms that have developed to reveal love to you. Here’s fourteen of my favorites for you to try and enjoy:

 

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01 Apple Peels

Apples are, without a singular doubt, associated with love. From the golden apple that started a war to numerous divination methods, apples are commonplace in love rituals. While there are methods of divining a future love from pretty much any part of the apple, we’ll look at the peel itself.

Peel an apple in one singular piece as much as possible. Move slowly and take your time so you get it right. Toss the apple peel over your left shoulder and see what letter the apple peel formed on the ground. The letter should stand for the first letter of the future lover’s surname or Christian name. (1)

 

 

02 Plucking Daisies

Ever pluck the petals of a daisy to find out if they love you? You knot the charm “They love me. They love me not.” After each sentence, you pluck a petal and when you run out of petals you have the answer you seek.

Did you know that’s there’s another usage for this verbal spell? It’s used for determining whether your lover is faithful to you. Supposedly that’s why you say “he loves me, he loves me not”. Apparently, performing this little rite should be done around noon, facing the sun. (2)

There’s another verbal charm that could be said “Rich man, poor man, farmer, ploughman, thief” and whichever you say when you run out of petals, reveals the kind of person you’ll marry. (3)

 

 

03 Hair & Fire

Find a single a friend and sit together by yourselves from midnight to one in the morning in complete silence. During this time, you both pluck the hairs from each others’ head to match how old they are. So if you’re nineteen and your friend is eighteen, you should pull eighteen hairs from your friend’s hair and they’ll pull nineteen from yours. Toss the hair one by one into the fire while saying,

“I offer this my sacrifice to him most precious in my eyes,

I charge thee now come forth to me that I this minute may  thee see”

The vision of the future spouse will appear. (4)(5)

Interestingly, the wording is almost exact no matter where I read the superstition. This is because it originally comes from page 215 of Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillip. Where he got it from is unknown but that’s where the wording originates from.

Not willing to pull out a friend’s hair? There’s an updated version published where you sit alone in silence and between midnight and one by one pluck your hair from a hairbrush to match your age (so nineteen hairs for nineteen years old) and put it on a scarf in a row so you can see each hair. At one in the morning, turn over each hair and say,

“I offer my hair as sacrifice,

To the one most dear in my eyes.  

I call on you now to come to me

And this minute you I will see.”

And then the misty vision will appear to you. (6)

While I like the updated wording and the ability to cast the spell by myself, I’d probably use the fire and burn the hair plucked freshly from my head. Because that’s how I roll. But having other variations is nice too.

Speaking of variations, there’s a variation that the hair is to be burned in a linen cloth along with some of the herb true-love. The True-Love herb mentioned here is herb-paris, true lover’s knot and known scientifically as Paris quadrifolia. (7) Be careful if you decide to hunt up herb-paris. It’s name is derived because of it’s shape appears to be paired like lovers and looks like a lover’s knot but it’s poisonous.

 

 

04 Names

Names and words have long been recognized for their magical importance. Love divination by names is no different.

One continuing divination method is to take the name of potential lovers or a bunch of current lovers and write them on separate pieces of paper. Then paper is then wrapped each paper in clay and tossed into water. The first to rise back up will be their valentine.(8)

This one has a very great many variances out there. Some people will burn the names to ashes, lay the ashes on a mirror, and they’ll dream of their lover. Or they use bread instead of clay. Or they use the alphabet rather than names. There’s even a method with holly twigs and blood. (9)

This one is perhaps one of the most varying out there but the theme remains. Gather the names of potential lovers or the alphabet if there are no potential lovers available. If you’re using the water method, they wrap the name in something that floats, toss it in the water, and see which one comes up first and closest to you. That will be the initial or name of your lover. If using the fire method, you can use smoke divination from the burning process, or spread the ashes out in front of you to find letters or names spelled out.

 

05 Nuts

Nuts are often cited as a fertility ingredient and therefore are often used in love spells. There’s an interesting evolution in burning of nuts. Essentially, you lay out a nut or nuts on the hearth of the fireplace while saying the potential lover’s name. If the nut flies away, they return your affections. If the nut stays still, then they don’t. The verbal charm “If you love me, pop and fly. If you hate me, lie and die.” (10)

Another variation exists where if you already have a lover you can check their faithfulness depending on how the nut reacts. If it jumps away, then they’re unfaithful. (11) What’s interesting is this version may have been the original version used before the “pop and fly” became popular. So if the nut jumped away, the lover wasn’t interested rather than the current superstition of the jumping nut revealing a passionate lover.

Hazel nuts or chestnuts are often used but I heard this superstition using walnuts as a young girl.

 

 

There’s tons and tons more ways to divine who your future lover might be and it’s a popular (and fun) game to play as Valentine’s Day approaches. While cartomancy like tarot or palm reading are always popular, these folkloric methods are usually low key but culturally powerful ways to foretell the future. They might be silly now but they’ll well beloved and worth considering if you’re looking to do a love reading for yourself.

What kind of love divinations did you do as a kid? Did you recognize any or have one that was super common where you grew up?

 

  1. Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions. Opie, Iona and Tatem, Moira. Oxford Press. 2005. Page 3.
  2. Cassell Dictionary of Superstitions. Pickering, David. Cassell Wellington House. 1995. Page 79.
  3. Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions. Opie, Iona and Tatem, Moira. Oxford Press. 2005. Page 115.
  4. Ibid. Page 185.
  5. Cassell Dictionary of Superstitions. Pickering, David. Cassell Wellington House. 1995.  Page 124-125
  6. The Fortune-Telling Book. Kemp, Gillian. Little, Brown and Company. 2000. Page 98.
  7. Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions. Opie, Iona and Tatem, Moira. Oxford Press. 2005. Page 185.
  8. Ibid. Page 246-277
  9. Ibid.
  10. Ibid. Page 289
  11. Ibid.

Review: Bleu Cat Tarot

 

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Bleu Cat Tarot by Beth Seilonen and Schiffer Publishing 

Status:  Currently reading with it

Best for: Everyday questions but especially those with a fun or not-so-serious edge to them. Great for cat lovers or fans of the Siamese cat breed.

Favorite cards: Magician, Sun, Tower

Acquired from and date: Bought myself in early February 2014 from Amazon

 

 

My adoration for cats has been life-long and well-known. Early 2014 rolled around and I realized I didn’t own a cat related deck at all. Which was weird because there’s a great many cat-centric decks out there! My problem was that I’m kind of specific on the kind of decks I want to own so many of the more popular ones weren’t super interesting to me.

Then I found this one. The Bleu Cat Tarot is minimalist, and simple at it’s core. Artfully done images of Siamese cats are done in indigo but keep the playful yet dignified attitude of cats. And it has Siamese! My favorite breed of cats.

This isn’t just a novelty deck to catch the small niche of Siamese lovers. It reads extremely well as it’s a RWS clone. It’s definitely one of those deck you’ll either love or feel “meh” about.

Super quick note: The blue of the ink and the black ink lines are darker and more pronounced in the deck than in the instagram pictures. The other photos have shadows because I wanted to stay true to the coloring of the ink. Simply put: The cards are white, not beige.

 

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The Bleu Cat Tarot is a four tone deck. It has vibrant purple-blue denim indigo with a lighter gray-blue that matches the border and background flecks. (The depth of the blue color doesn’t show well in my photos due to lighting.) Then there’s the white of the card and the black ink of background imagery. The card images themselves look something like parchment paper, not entirely smooth despite the card itself being smooth. This is likely intention and comes from the type of paper the art was originally hand-drawn on.

The artwork is stylized and you’ll know just from glancing at these accompanying images or even the box art whether this is for you. There’s no sneaky surprises when it comes to the art. It’s entirely consistent.

The life within the art speaks to anyone who has ever owned a cat. The Death card? A dying plant and the cat standing on a cat carrier (prepping for a trip to the veterinarian, according to the included book). But there are still esoteric images like the High Priestess or Hermit.

The court cards (page, knight, queen, and king) add a little humanity but donning on appropriate hats, helms, and crowns. So you have a page with a plumed hat and a stack of books or a knight with a sword and feathered helm. It’s nothing so out of sorts with the rest of the art. In fact, some tolerant cats might even deal with the costumes in the courts fairly well in real life.

The writing has a slight “Asian” feel to it, reminding me a tiny bit of Chinese restaurant menus in a good way. It’s all in capital letters, blue on gray background. The Major Arcana aren’t numbered but the minor is, save for the Ace, which is spelled out. Since the text is computerized, like the borders, it’s uniform and therefore isn’t hard to read.

The borders are small and suit the deck. At first I wasn’t fond of them but they grew on me. Not all of the border is computerized. The diamond at the bottom of the cards and the triangle at the top of some of the cards are part of the original artwork. The borders and text were added later on the computer. Unlike a lot of decks with borders, this border doesn’t take away from the art. It kind of feels a bit weird though. At first I didn’t like the borders but not I’m rather apathetic to it. The borders exist and they’re small enough where it’s not worth the effort to attempt to trim them.

 

 

 

The deck is a Rider-Waite-Smith clone but switches out the swords, wands, cups, pentacles for feathers, plants, fishes, and balls, respectively. It goes along with the cat theme beautifully. But with all thematic swapping of suits, it takes some getting use to.

The other thing is that this deck can be kind of tricky if you’re not overly familiar with the components of a RWS deck. The deck doesn’t contain many details so if you don’t have a firm grasp of the RWS tradition, you might find yourself stuck trying to figure out what the card might mean just from the image. Intuitive readers might have an easier time with this deck, if they can get into it. If not, then it probably won’t click much at all.

You also have to channel your inner cat mentality. For example, the 7 of Fishes (Seven of Cups) had a bunch of food bowls in it, floating around. Which matches the traditional imagery of the Seven of Cups well but also matches a cat’s mentality. What kind of fantasy does your cat have? Probably something related to food, I’d gather.

I’ve also used this deck with great success for answering questions about being deceived, pride /ego, procrastination, and laziness.It’s also extremely good at spell related questions, especially glamours and illusions. It’s also unusually good at spirit related cards and handles faery related questions without having to deal with the faery decks’ run-around behavior.

This deck does sometimes throw you the odd “well, what did you expect?” sort of answer. All readers get the “how do I overcome this thing?” where the deck answers “by overcoming it”. Super helpful. This deck does that too but it adds a slightly sly or even cutting response. Exactly like a cat would, really. I guess if you want straightforward answers, you’d need a dog themed deck. Ever meet someone who is super intelligent but perpetually done with people and just sits back, making snarky comments? That’s this deck.When it wants to sass you, expect ALL the sass.

That being said, generally speaking the deck answers the questions in a helpful manner. It’s pretty good at giving you a different perspective. I also think it helps calm down things when you’re feeling panicky. That’s probably more the color palette than anything else but sometimes I feel like the deck is saying, “hey, chill out”.

Since the cards only have four colors throughout it, the cards could come off as “boring”. It photographs well but it’s not a deck I break out for client readings often unless it feels appropriate in some way. It’s definitely not a festival or faire kind of deck. It could be a really good deck for trying to read your animal’s inner thoughts and mood but I usually stick to using it for everyday questions for myself.

 

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When it comes to the practical stuff, the deck really shines. It’s a matte finish deck with thick card stock. It’s easily double in thickness of some of my “thin” card stock decks like Fairy Lights. While the thickness adds height to the deck itself, the cards shuffle easily. The card size itself is a not quite standard size for tarot decks. They’re in the ballpark of 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches. Around the size of a pocket memo book and a little shorter (but not wider) than my phone when in a case. I’d consider them a great size for cards but the thickness can make shuffling a bit less automated than a playing card deck.

The box it comes in is a keeper. A magnetic closing, thick cardboard box with white ribbon to keep the lid from flipping open entirely and cracking the hinge. The cards come right to the top of the box so you’ll need to place the included book on top of the deck so you don’t loose any cards. The lid does stay closed but if you’re aggressively tossing the box around, expect it to fly open. It’s only held closed by a magnetic. That being said, I haven’t felt that I’m at risk of losing my cards or damaging them if I keep them in my handbag or a small pocket of a backpack. I might add a rubber band to the box if I had the box in a tote-style of bag where it’s tossed in with everything else. I’m paranoid though so YMMV. I believe the deck was shipping in this box with plastic wrap over it, just as a heads up. It didn’t come with any additional packaging outside of this.

The included book is the same size as the deck itself. I find that the printing is a bit too close to the binding so you have to open the book widely in order to really read the card descriptions. The book doesn’t offer reversal meanings but does have a blurb around reversals. Pretty much, the meaning might slightly change but otherwise, read however you want.

Do at least skim the book. There’s little tidbits in there than can help determine meaning of certain cards or at least explain why they’re not exact clones of RWS. Also, the deck was created around Seilonen’s own Siamese cat’s antics so that comes through clearly with the book descriptions and introduction. The deck is meant to make cat owners smile at the kitty antics – and it does it’s job beautifully.

There’s two included spreads in the deck. They’re written for this deck so they fit the theme and are solid. Both are four cards each, one for situations and another for introspection.

 

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The Bleu Cat Tarot is a cat tarot deck but it’s a cat tarot deck for cat owners who want to smile at the ridiculous kitty antics their own cats have pulled off. It’s not just for Siamese lovers – anyone can appreciate the cards, but the specific breed will pull in anyone who enjoys Siamese.

The art is stylized so if it’s not your style, you’ll want to give this a miss unless you’re a serious collector. It’s also not super beginner friendly as doesn’t have a ton of details to parcel out the meaning from. That being said, as a RWS deck, if you have a fairly good grasp of the cards, you should be able to read this deck easily.

While this deck isn’t vibrantly colorful or full of details, it’s full of fun and life. It’s definitely a deck that you either aren’t interested in or it’s totally your thing. It’s different while still being a RWS. As a Siamese and cat lover and someone who likes unique tarot decks, it was a must-have for me.

The Bleu Cat Tarot by Beth Seilonen © Schiffer Publishing

 

How to Find the Perfect Tarot Deck for You

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Reading tarot cards is often considered a stable of magical practitioners. Lots of people read tarot cards though (and many magical practitioners do not) so there’s about eleventy-billion ways to learn how to read tarot and even more reasons to read tarot.

First, let’s get that troubling superstition about buying your own deck out of the way. It might work as a superstition for you, but it’s fairly new in the realm of superstitions and likely doesn’t apply now. You can buy your own deck. The deck will read perfectly well and will not carry negative energy because you bought it.

More importantly, the criteria for your tarot deck is one that needs to be considered carefully. Each person will want different things out of a deck. Ask yourself these questions to help narrow the field.

 

how-to-find-the-perfect-tarot-deck-for-you-by-this-crooked-crown

 

Do I like the art?

This is, by far, one of the most important criteria. It’s really hard to connect to a deck which has an art style you don’t like. I have all sorts of decks in all sorts of art styles and I can read with many of them but there’s a few I don’t use as often because I’m not super fond of the art style. I keep them often due to sentimental reasons or because they work well for a particular thing but otherwise, I could live without them.

Look at the art. Glance through google images for more pictures and check reviews. There’s some decks that have a fantastic cover or a handful of cards I love but I couldn’t stand the rest of the deck. Sometimes it’s the colors or something else. It’s a personal choice and don’t discredit that when it comes to a selection. You’re doing the reading so your aesthetic should matter.

 

 

Do important cards resonate with me?

Many  readers have particular cards that resonate with them. They might always look at the High Priestess or the Fool to determine if they like the deck. I usually check the Tower, Magician, and Hermit myself because those are the cards I like the most. If those cards don’t work for you, how does that diminish the deck’s quality or importance? I know there’s a deck that has a nice if kind of weird Tower card that I’m unsure about. Something’s not right with it for me so I end up not using that deck quite as often as I might otherwise.

Don’t forget to check the court cards too. The whole Arcana is important, not just the Major. Check the leaders of the Minor Arcana too. I know what happens with the Kings and Queens can make or break how I feel about a deck.

 

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Is the content up to par for me?

This is both a personal decision and an aesthetics  decision. I have a deck that covers all sorts of places in the world at all sorts of eras. But it largely settles in the medieval and Renaissance eras. But Chariot and World, with a handful of other cards, are thoroughly modern images with cars, computers, and so on. Every time I see one of these cards, it throws me because there’s so few of them compared to the rest. It made me change how I use the deck because of this.

You’ll want to consider the tone and content. Are a few cards really graphic? Do they show a lot of nudity? Are their children everywhere? What doesn’t work for you?

As said, some of this comes down to artistic choice with the creator. Some decks just aren’t designed well or use the creator’s own understanding of the cards rather than the traditional meanings people generally expect.

 

 

What do I want to do with the deck?

Are you focusing on love readings? Personal questions? Spiritual questions? Do you want a deck you can connect with or one that just the job done without a lot of fuss? I find that decks have an energy to them almost (or exactly) like a spirit. My Heart of the Faerie Oracle is so sassy and always wants attention whereas my Claude Bludel’s Classic Tarot is Grumpy the Grandpa Grumpasaurus. I’ve used my Heart of the Faerie Oracle for most everything but it doesn’t like financial questions. My Classic Tarot likes business questions but not business questions that relate to the heart or passions. It’s strictly business.

Reviews will help you determine a general deck usage typically but also check out the creator’s own words. The Heart of the Faerie Oracle was designed for relationships of all kinds and that purpose is abundantly obvious.

 

 

Will this deck be hard to learn?

Some decks are not beginner friendly. They might have small or intricate images or only have subtle hints at what they’re suppose to be rather than spelling it out on the card. My Deviant Moon Tarot, for example, doesn’t display the words “Cups” or “Swords” so you either have to pay attention or know the deck. I have numerous decks that just give numbers for the Major Arcana, which may not even work since some decks swap out the numerical placement of the Fool, World, and a handful of other cards.

Many decks expect you to know stuff. For example, the Sherlock Holmes Tarot is wonderfully but if you’re not overly familiar with a great deal of the Sherlock Holmes writing, you’ll have a challenging time with it. The Ghosts and Spirits Tarot takes from stories all over the world relying on you to either know the stories from the images or memorize the stories associated with the cards. Fairy Lights seems to have a hidden story or knowledge expectation, perhaps just merely being familiar with fairy tales as a whole helps or maybe there’s a specific real life fairy court life being referenced. This tends to only happen in themed decks but it’s something to be aware of.

Others might take the creator’s personal knowledge of the subject, skewing traditional meanings which makes it difficult to remember if you’re just learning stuff.

Originality versus RWS traditional meanings also may come into play here as well so keep that in mind.

 

 

Is it a RWS clone? Based off of RWS? Original? Does that matter?

Many of the decks you’re probably going to run into are Rider-Waite-Smith based decks (RWS) referring to the acknowledged creators of the tarot deck popularized today. This deck is also known as the Rider-Waite deck but Smith was the artist and her contributions shouldn’t be forgotten either so there’s been considerable movement to include her in the name/titles.

The RWS decks are the standard when it comes to tarot cards. Some decks are flat-out clones where even the position of the characters are exactly the same. A good example is the Tarot of the Magical Forest. It’s certainly pretty to look at and different with the animal characters but if you compare it to a RWS deck, you’ll see it’s a clone.

Many decks just take the RWS traditional meanings and put their own spin on it. You get some great themed decks out of this as well as some fantastic classics too. But, you’re at the mercy of the creators’ understanding of the cards and how they learned the cards. The Devil is a good example here: some people will immediately draw it as a classic devil and debauchery kind of scene and others go for a wholly different approach.

Original decks may have some inspiration from RWS or they might take inspiration from older tarot cards (tarot was a playing card game before it was a divination tool) or they could invent some new stuff. This is far rarer and often swings into the realm of oracle cards rather than tarot cards.

Oracle cards are different in that the meanings are entirely dependent on the creators. These decks are typically extremely original with their content and often are themed. The Mermaids and Dolphins Oracle comes to mind as does the Sacred Creators Oracle. Since there’s no standard in meanings, you’ll either have to use the book or intuition to read the cards.

There’s also Lenormand cards which are a whole different system of card reading. They have even stricter meanings than tarot cards, have a few hundred years less history, and have designated spreads. They’ve seen an upswing in popularity of late and many people use them now as oracle cards in addition to Lenormand cards.

I have all these styles of decks and I use them all fairly often. I’m an intuitive reader so it doesn’t matter to me which system I use in the end. I just pick the best tool for the specific question at hand. If you’re not an intuitive reader, a Lenormand or RWS deck might be a better choice. If you have trouble with memory, are an intuitive reader, or you dislike classic occultism, an oracle deck might be a better choice for you.

I honestly suggest one of each if you’re going to do a lot of divination reading. Don’t break the bank but a RWS, Lenormand, and oracle will each have different approaches to the same problem and can reveal different aspects of the same question. Or pick your favorite. It’s up to you.

 

 

Do I like the size and feel of the cards?

Not all tarot decks are created equally when it comes to materials. Card thickness, sheen, card material, shape, and the mere size can all change. For example, all of the Blue Angel Publishing decks I own are huge – I have trouble shuffling them at time with my tiny hands. My Enchanted Lenormand? Fits in a pair of women’s jeans pockets (a claim that has either confused you or highly impressed you, I’d wager) and is about the height of a tube of lip balm.

Each reader will have a preference. For example, I like small to medium sized cards, slight to matte sheen, and a bit thicker than a playing card but not so thick you can’t easily shuffle them. I have a friend who loves large cards and another that adore shiny ones. It definitely comes down to personal preference but it’s something to be aware of. Look for these details in reviews.

 

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My favorites! The Queen of Swords, Page of Swords, the Hermit, and the Tower from the Dreaming Way Tarot

 

Do I want a companion book? What does it come with?

Most tarot decks comes with a tuck box which is exactly like a playing card box and a little white book with maybe a sentence to explain each card (also known as the LWB). Some tuck boxes and LWB are awesome and others are completely useless. Deviant Moon’s tuck box caused me so many issues when I got it that I spent the next day crocheting a bag for the deck just so I didn’t have to use the tuck box. Why? It was too tight and made closing the box and fitting all the cards difficult, risking even damaging the cards just to close the box.

Some decks have heavier cardboard boxes which are intended to house the deck permanently. And some others go completely overkill with their boxes and completely waste space. (I’m looking at you Heart of the Faerie Oracle and Enchanted Lenormand.) Often these decks include a companion book of some kind which makes up for the box size, usually.

I’ve also gotten decks in bags before which, like the heavier boxes, are intended for permanent storage but might not wholly protect the cards if dropped.

Companion books are a thing now and they’re pretty awesome. I’m not really a super fan of selling a companion book separately from a deck unless the deck comes with a LWB too but that’s just my opinion. Companion books are more complete LWBs, going into details about each card, usually a page or so, and often include a spread or two and some sort of introduction or forward from the creator(s). Some books are better written than others and they might be hard or soft covered. It varies from deck to deck.

 

 

Is the deck worth the price it’s being sold at to me?

This is more aimed at collectors than anyone else. I keep a list of decks I want and I periodically go through and examine the items on there, deciding if I want them for the reasons above or if the cost is worth what the deck offers. A RWS copy isn’t going to mean as much to mean as an oracle for example as I prefer original decks for the most part.

I see a lot of readers buy decks that they later sell off because they didn’t meet their needs. Sometimes, they wholly regret the purchase. Decks can be bought for the $25 price or under but many decks hover in the $35-45 range which, combined with shipping, can be a bit pricey if you don’t budget it. Many are more than even that and out of print or limited edition decks can go for hundreds of dollars.

Remember to take a second to think before purchasing. Many sellers don’t allow returns in this field so be aware before you buy what your options are if you don’t like the deck.

 

 

Does it have a companion app?

Some decks have their own companion apps. The mobile apps are sold separately but if you really love a deck, you can get the companion app and use the deck digitally on the road. Companion apps often also help you learn the cards.

Another good thing about companion apps is they’re often cheaper than the decks themselves so you can view all the cards without paying full price for the deck. Plus their ultra portable which can be a huge bonus if you’re a big traveler or aren’t public with your practice.

 

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What do others say about this deck?

Check reviews. Google up some reviews, ask around on social media, haunt the review section of retailer’s websites. Aecletic.com is a great place to start for this. Asking favorite bloggers is a good idea too. If you get a tarot reading from other readers, you can ask them how they feel about the decks used. There’s a good chance they’ll be happy to answer the question.

 

 

Those are good questions to ask if you’re looking for a deck. There’s a lot of choices out there so it can be tricky to find the right deck for you. Good luck and happy divining.

 

Decks featured (in order of appearance):

  • Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls by Matthew Lowes & Josephe Vandel ©
  • Heart of the Faerie Oracle by Brian Froud and Wendy Froud with Robert Gould © Harry N. Abrams
  • Fairy Lights Tarot by Lucia Mattioli © Lo Scarabeo
  • Classic Tarot by Claude Burdel © US Games Systems
  • Deviant Moon Tarot Borderless Edition by Patrick Valenza © US Games Systems
  • Scrying Ink Lenormand Oracle by Siolo Thompson © Bay & Willow
  • Dreaming Way Tarot by Rome Choi and Kwon Shina © US Games Systems
  • Tarot of the Magical Forest by Hsu Chi Chun, Leo Tang, Pietro Alligo, Giovanni Pelosini © Lo Scarabeo
  • Linestrider Tarot: Kickstarter Edition by Siolo Thompson ©
  • Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco © Blue Angel Publishing
  • Sacred Rebels by Alana Fairchild and Autumn Skye Morrison © Blue Angel Publishing
  • Sacred Creators Oracle by Chris-Anne © Chris-Anne.com

The Myth of Buying Your First Tarot Deck

There’s this superstition that you cannot buy your first (or any) tarot deck for yourself. It should be bought for you, given, or stolen but you should never buy it for yourself. If you do, the deck won’t work for you, or it’ll have negative energy, or bad luck, or whatever.

It’s not a superstition I ascribe to. In fact, I find it kind of rubbish.

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Heart of the Faerie Oracle by Brian Froud, Wendy Froud, Robert Gould, & Harry N. Abrams. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m superstitious at heart. I studied major in folklore in university so it’s my thing. But, uh, I’ve tested this and I’m calling it: it’s not true.

First, let’s get to the root of this superstition. It’s not a historical superstition and I’m prone to believe it’s only a few decades old – perhaps calling back to an era where tarot cards weren’t published regularly and therefore were hard to come by. The decks would have been passed down like treasures. In this theory, it makes sense that people would believe that these decks held more power because they’re proven reliable and held sentimental value. (That doesn’t mean those decks are better than one you’d buy, by the way, just more personal.) My theory suggests that this tradition morphed into a superstition over time due to grandstanding and ignorance.

There’s a second reason why this superstition might have come to prominence. That reason is research. Back in the 90’s when the internet was still young but the New Age and Neo-Wicca movement was strong, you could buy decks fairly easily. But just because you picked up a deck didn’t mean…

A) You would know how to read it. Those little white books are infamously useless and many tarot reading books at the time were hard to get or steeped in occultism. Peer-learning was definitely a thing but you never knew if you were getting the complete education.

B) That deck or style suited you. I know many people from that area that just bought decks because they were the only ones they could find, not because they liked the art or how the deck read.

C) The resources were there for reviewing the deck before purchase. These days, if you want to buy a deck, all you need to do is hop on your social media to ask friends what they think or google up a review. That wasn’t easily available in the past and rarely did you have the time to do that before purchasing. These days, I can check multiple reviews in the store on my phone within five minutes.

So if you bought a deck and it didn’t seem to work for you, it could be for any one of those reasons and not because you simply bought the deck.

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Another source is possible. It could simply be one of those things published or spoken of by one group and then taught to their readers/followers and that passed along like a terrible game of Telephone until we have the superstition as it stands today. I haven’t been able to track it back that far but it’s definitely a reasonable theory.

It’s also likely to be at least partially a corruption of other bartering myths of which there are thousands. Superstitions of these kinds generally works like this: You should not buy X for yourself but it should be given as a gift or bad luck will follow. It might also have a condition, like you shouldn’t buy it on a Thursday in October or a neighbor has to buy it for you. These sorts of superstitions typically start in a regional area and build momentum as people move into new areas of the world. It’s a pretty common style of superstition. I’ve seen this style of myth attributed to just about everything from tallow candles, to eggs, to cattle. Historically speaking, these myths are likely partially existent to circumvent community bylaws that disallow various behaviors within a small community. For example, you can keep chickens in my state’s capital city which is across the river from where I live but you cannot in my city. I can read tarot in almost any city in my state but one next door to where I live. And in the capital city, it’s illegal to throw pickle juice off the back of a trolley. The bylaws might or might not make sense but you can bet there’s some sort of history to them. These superstitions may be born from these sorts of laws.

Whatever the source, the fact is that many, many, many tarot readers including myself buy their own decks. Many readers have bought their first decks for themselves, including myself. And I’ve never heard a case of someone who suddenly cannot read their tarot cards or claims to have bad luck because they bought their own tarot cards. Continue to hold to the superstition if you like but it seems highly irrelevant to do so in this day and age of consumerism.

You do you, but be critical in what you hear and read, OK?

 

Heart of the Faerie Oracle by Brian Froud and Wendy Froud with Robert Gould © Harry N. Abrams

Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco © Blue Angel Publishing

Sacred Rebels by Alana Fairchild and Autumn Skye Morrison © Blue Angel Publishing

Sacred Creators Oracle by Chris-Anne © Chris-Anne.com

Patreon | thiscrookedcrown.com

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Scrying Spell For Inspiration (Spell Saturday #32)

Sometimes the muses are just not playing and you need to get something on paper or under that horrid little blinking line in a word document. Instead of staring blankly at the screen and then surfing the web, try this spell instead.

This is one of those spells that requires a lot of thinking to prepare but once set up it’ll be simple to repeat whenever you need it. It’s a handy scrying spell too which is always fun.

ssfi

What you’ll need:

  • Quartz crystal
  • A scent you want to dedicate purely to inspiration and creative pursuits

Experiment until you find the right scent or scent combination to inspire you. You can use a candle, incense, aromatherapy, etc. Whatever you have, start it up and let the scent fill your work space.

Pass your crystal it over the scent source such as over an aromatherapy device, oil burner, candle, or incense.

Dedicate the crystal to your creative pursuits by saying the following:

In the depths of my heart and mind lies bright sparks, burning embers, and tamed passions

In the depths of your heart I will see what reflects in mine

In you I will see how to unlock my creativity.

Look into the heart of the crystal and let what comes to mind happen. Don’t fight it or force it. Just let the thoughts flow.

Every time you want to create something, fill your work space with that scent and look into the crystal’s heart.

Notes:

  • You can swap out the quartz crystal for any kind of stone with a crystalline shape or a reflective surface. Bonus if the stone is know for inspiration, creativity, opening the mind, or inciting passions.
  • Finding the stone as a pendant can make your life so much easier. Just wear as a necklace and you’ll have the stone inspiring your very heart.
  • You can use any kind of scent. It’s up to you. Don’t forget that you can combine scents to create a unique atmosphere. Just write down what you’re creating so you can replicate it later. I like to use a warm citrus spice with cool minty undertones and sandalwood for myself.

Divination Tool Review: Halloween Oracle

Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco & Blue Angel Publishing

Status: Currently reading with it

Best for: Halloween and autumn but it offers the truth in an interesting and unique way. Great for all questions all year around.

Favorite cards: The Veil, Invisibility, Scrying

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I’ll admit it: I love Halloween and when I saw this Halloween Oracle it shot up on my “must have” list to #1. No regrets at all.

It’s a beautifully vivid deck with some quirks that gets you into the Halloween mood nicely. It’s also great to use during the autumn season because of the more autumnal feel to the cards. That being said, I use this deck all year around in my personal readings, especially when I’m doing readings to spark creative writing. It just has that kind of fun but serious feel to it.

 

I’ll be honest, this Halloween Oracle is a bit strange. There are some cards that don’t read as Halloween at all to me. I think some of that comes from the artist being Australian rather than American. It doesn’t have the same kind of American Halloween kind of feel. That’s not a bad thing but it’s something to keep in mind.

The deck also feels somewhat disconnected. The skull set, for example, is lovely but I think they might have been better served as a separate oracle all by themselves. The Lady De Los Muertos is kind of a surprise as it’s the only truly culturally specific addition to the deck and I’m not sure it’s appropriate given the rest of the cards. I think it would have been more appropriate in an entirely Mexican deck or a deck with traditions from all over the world.

And then there’s cards that don’t wholly seem to fit the Halloween them at all. Like Forgiveness and Hearth. I can see the connect, especially if you think of the rituals performed around the holiday. I don’t look at the Hearth card and go “Halloween!” It’s something of a logical leap.

There is a definite witchy feel to most, if not all, of the cards which balances out the deck for me, personally. A less witchcraft-oriented reader might not get that same feel.

Weirdly, the back of the deck has a very Halloween less serious feel which kind of seems like the artist was phoning it in for the deck backs.  It doesn’t really mesh well with the deck’s painted sketch style. If you saw the deck backs without knowing what the cards were suppose to look like, you’d probably be surprised.

 

The art, as you can see, has a almost painted sketch quality to it. They’re not sketches, exactly but they’re not fully cleaned up art either – and that’s the point. The art is finished but it has a washed or scraped feeling to the art. It’s kind of like someone drew it then scraped a broom over the surface of the art. The images are clear but there’s a lot of background noise.

Speaking of backgrounds, outside of a few select images like The Lamp, there isn’t a lot of background to the image. There’s a lot of the scraped colored and light filter kind of backgrounds. Which I kind of like as it focuses the main image more. It doesn’t lend any additional meanings, really, but rather serves as an assistant to the mood of the card.

The art varying somewhat in another unique way. There’s the natural styling like in The Lamp or Nightsong where it’s clearly a complete picture. And then there’s singular focuses where there’s nothing but the card’s focus seen, such as with The Pumpkin or Invisibility. And other times there’s this surreal thing happening. The Underworld, Midnight, or Ghost shows off what I mean where there’s kind of a main image and some hue background and some other elements going on all together. The Apple, Joy, and Black Cat show this a bit too. It’s like a scene but without the coherency of the scene – and yet it’s still coherent as an image. Almost like a collage except it’s all one image. It strikes me as odd and I’m not sure if that’s just me not fully liking that as a style choice or something else.

The borders are black with a color second border around the image.  The color is the most prevalent color in the image but that sometimes means the border stands out a lot and other times it melts into the image. I think I’d like to see this borderless or without the second border at least. If you’re into trimming cards, this is a definite candidate. Especially since when trimmed these cards would be so much easier to handle.

I know from looking about the internet that the art style in general is the same for all of the artist’s cards but I’m not sure about the backgrounds. That might be unique to this deck. The large and secondary border thing is definitely a Blue Angel Publishing trait as my Sacred Rebels Oracle has a similar style.

 

Personally, I tend to use this deck for when I need a push in the right direction without any sass. I also use it for daily draws a lot. One of my favorite usages is to pull a card to help build original characters for writing (oh hai NaNoWriMo participants!)

I sometimes find myself pulling the deck apart and putting the decks into groups and then fanning that particular group to get a reading. For example, I might pull all of the skulls and pull a card from that. I don’t really do that with other decks so I’m thinking it’s because this one’s kind of disjointed. But I also do it because it’s easier to pull out cards that are useful to character creation.

That being said, I totally do use this for your regular ol’ readings. It’s not great for large readings as it only has 36 cards but unlike the Lenormand or Tarot, it’s sometimes hard to pull a full and complete story or reading from it. Or, rather, you could create a whole story from all the cards but it would take some clever talking to cover yourself. Might be a fun experiment.

I don’t find that this deck specializes in any particular way. It covers all the questions equally but does slightly better with personal questions. For example, I’d probably pick another deck for a financial based reading but if this one was within reach, it would handle the question well enough. It’s not designed to cover a lot of the more practical questions but it can still handle them.

All of this being said, there’s not an overwhelming spirit to this deck for me. I get a sense of purpose and of mischievousness and just the right amount of shadowy darkness to really mark it as Halloween but not a spirit that jumps out and says “hi!”. This is n’t even remotely as  vocal as the Heart of the Faerie Oracle, for example. I consider the Heart of the Faerie Oracle an extremely vocal and personality driven deck. This one’s more low-key in personality.

 

hocollage

 

That being said, the deck reads extremely well despite the size. Blue Angel cards tend to be larger in size and this one is no exception. The size makes it rather hard to shuffle. Those folks with smaller hands (like me!) will find themselves struggling to shuffle these cards. My tip? Rotate the cards so you’re shuffling not on the side but on the top. If that doesn’t work, try the fan method or a stacking method.

The deck box and book are all nice and study. The book isn’t your average LWB. It’s 73 pages and nicely written with the meanings. It also has the images of the cards alongside the meanings. It’s set up in alphabetical order which is good because the cards aren’t numbered. Some oracle decks don’t have that and it’s frustrating.

The cards are solid. They bend nicely like cards should but can take damage. I’ve even spilled coffee on the cards and just wiped it clean (in a panic, because liquid + paper = enemies). The cards have a plastic (?) coating to them which means they can take the aforementioned damaged. But it comes with a cost – they’re highly reflective. Like “I can send signals and see myself” reflective. Their shininess makes photography a challenge, especially with strong light. It even reflects in candlelight!

Even worse, the shininess makes all sorts of damage appear obvious on the card. Bent corners, scratches, and even dust are very noticeable. Even fingerprint smudges. This isn’t a problem if you photograph in low light or use filters to correct the problem but on-the-go photography can be a challenge. It also doesn’t really show on the face of the card when you’re doing a reading unless a serious scratch. It shows more on the back of the cards.

 

While I seem to bash the deck a lot in this reading, I actually really love the deck. It had a lot of witchyness to it which means I can use it all year around. I always have fun reading with it. I find the written meanings are just vague enough to allow a greater range of usage.

I really like this deck, I do. I’m not sure I’d love it more if some of the above things were different. I wouldn’t love it less either. It’s one of those decks I love despite what I see as flaws.

 

Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I consider this the ultimate Halloween divination deck? No. There’s just enough quirks against this deck to have me continue my search for the best Halloween deck in the land. But I do love this deck!

 

Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco © Blue Angel Publishing