In 2021, I added 16 tarot and oracle decks to my collection. I thought I was more restrained last year but I acquired 22 new decks in 2022. I’ve shown tremendous restraint in 2023; I added eight decks to my collection. Here are my tarot and oracle decks of 2023. These are not all new; they are just new to my collection.
The Muse Tarot by Chris-Anne Donnelly
I bought the Muse Tarot in December last year after I published my tarot and oracle decks of 2022. It was initially a Kickstarter, but I didn’t support it then. I was undecided about the Muse Tarot for a long time because I’m usually not fond of collage decks, but I’m glad I bought it because I love it now.
On her website, creator Chris-Anne Donnelly explains that this tarot deck is called the Muse Tarot because the Muse “showed up like an inspiration party with a rock band of creative goddesses” while she was working on the Light Seer’s Tarot deck. That’s a great description of the Muse Tarot; it’s vibrant, uplifting, feminine, and creative. It’s also very sophisticated and contemporary.
The Muse Tarot is a 78-card deck based on the Rider-Waite-Smith system, but it reimagines it and changes the four suites to Inspiration (Wands), Emotions (Cups), Voices (Swords), and Materials (Pentacles or Coins). The Muse replaces the King, and the art of these cards is in landscape orientation rather than portrait.
Hay House publishes the Muse Tarot. It comes in a two-part rigid box with a 112-page booklet. You can also find more information about each card, including poetry, meditations, and creative prompts, at the Muse Tarot website.
A Curious Oracle by Devanna Wolf
I purchased A Curious Oracle by Devanna Wolf in late 2022, but I had it shipped to my mother’s home in Miami, and I received it in January or February this year; my mom lets my purchases accumulate, and she sends me a box of surprises a few times a year.
A Curious Oracle is an original, independently published deck with 49 cards measuring 2.25″ x 3.25″. It’s divided into seven sets: Body, Motion, Intuition, Heart, Mind, Blessings, and Spirit. Each set contains seven steps: Manifest, Relationships, Growth, Structure, Lesson, Healing, and Epiphany. It is a charming little deck to spend a rainy day with.
A Curious Oracle comes in a kraft box with a brief description of each card’s divinatory explanation. A 30-page Companion eBook is also available.
I have the fifth edition of A Curious Oracle, 110 out of 120, so act fast if you want to get your hands on it. Visit A Curious Oracle.
Priestess Devanna is a fellow Priestess of the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple and one of my teachers. I am a little biased, but she is a fantastic artist. I encourage you to also check out her art at Wild Empress Magic and her jewellery and magical tools at Forge and Fountain.
A Compendium of Witches Oracle by Nataša Ilinčić
A Compendium of Witches Oracle by Nataša Ilinčić is a beautiful and interesting oracle based on a collection of history, folklore, beliefs, and customs of wise women around the world published in an art book titled A Compendium of Witches. In 2020, the art became an oracle deck on Kickstarter. I didn’t support it at the time, but Lo Scarabeo now publishes the oracle, and it’s available from Llewellyn (USA), Booktopia (AU), and Blackwells (UK).
The 60-card oracle is divided into 30 Voices and 30 Whispers. Each Voice card depicts an archetypal witch; the booklet includes her fictional biography. For example, card 17 is the Reconciler, Aurelia Anahi Romalho, who lived in Brazil at the turn of the 19th century and saw her friend executed for witchcraft. One card/witch/bio is not fictional (Catherine Repond), and one features the goddess Hecate.
The Whispers feature animals, plants, and other symbols such as an owl, sickle, mountain, seashell, and pomegranate. Readings centre on the Voice cards, and the Whispers compliment and clarify them.
The cards are larger than your average tarot at 80x120mm with a matte finish; they are very nice to handle. A Compendium of Witches Oracle comes in a two-part rigid box, and, in Lo Scarabeo style, the 175-page booklet is in English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Ethereal Visions Tarot Luna Edition by Matt Hughes
I bought the Ethereal Visions Tarot Luna Edition by Matt Hughes because each card is illuminated with iridescent silver foil stamping. It’s a beautiful deck drawing on Art Nouveau that uses the Rider-Waite-Smith system with two extra cards: XXII. The Well and XXIII. The Artist. Published by U.S. Games, it comes in a two-part rigid box and a 139-page illustrated booklet.
This deck is similar to Hughes’ Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Cards, illuminated with gold foil stamping. Many cards are the same, with the foil colour being the only difference. Some cards, such as the Magician, Empress, Emperor, Strength, Justice, Star, World, and Minor Arcana, are different. The Luna Edition depicts more diversity than its predecessor.
YouTuber Wicked Moonlight has a side-by-side comparison of the two decks.
Dreamscape Oracle by Matt Hughes
I bought Ethereal Visions Tarot Luna Edition in January and stumbled on the Dreamscape Oracle, also by Matt Hughes, a few months later.
The Dreamscape Oracle contains 32 cards featuring animals, such as Raven and Fawn, and humans representing mythological figures, archetypes, and concepts, such as the Seer, Death Mother, and the Gift. It has the same Art Nouveau style and (gold) foil stamping as Hughes’ other decks. The Dreamscape Oracle can be used alone as a companion to the Ethereal Visions tarots, which is how I use it.
Published by U.S. Games, the Dreamscape Oracle comes in a two-part rigid box and a 77-page illustrated booklet.
W.I.T.C.H. Oracle Deck & Book by Angi Sullins and Silas Toball
W.I.T.C.H. Oracle Deck & Book was a Kickstarter I supported in September 2022 and received in March this year. It’s now available from U.S. Games.
W.I.T.C.H. stands for Woman In Total Control of Herself, and the set features 48 cards trimmed in gold foil, a 240-page book with oracular messages and poems, and an organza pouch in a box with a magnetic closure.
The art of W.I.T.C.H. is described as original by Silas Toball, but it’s a digital collage deck featuring Pre-Raphaelite art and other well-known art. That drew me to this deck, but I was disappointed by the final product. As other backers noted, the cards are darker and blurrier than the Kickstarter and website images suggest. Even here, the cards look brighter than they are; they photograph well. There are some other minor problems with this deck. It’s a lovely deck focused on female sovereignty, but it has yet to become a favourite I often reach for.
Starcodes Astro Oracle by Heather Roan Robbins
I had my eye on this deck for a while and finally bought it at the MindBodySpirit Festival in Melbourne in June.
Starcodes Astro Oracle by Heather Roan Robbins is a beautiful 56-card deck divided into four categories:
- Lenses: Signs, Qualities, Solar Activity,
- Celestial Characters: Luminaries, Planets, Asteroids, Lunar Nods
- Locations: Cardinal Points, Houses
- Patterns: Supportive Aspects, Challenging Aspects, and Changing States
I love this deck because you can do so much with it. You can use it as an oracle, a tool to learn more about astrology, and as an aid in ritual and magick. The cards are bigger than your average tarot but still comfortable to shuffle and hold, and they’re borderless so that art takes up the whole surface. Published by Hay House, the oracle comes in a two-part rigid box with a 136-page guidebook.
The Primordial Dreams Tarot by Lynae Zebest
The Primordial Dreams Tarot is an 80-card deck inspired by Neolithic cave art and “emergent consciousness – collaboratively created with AI” by artist Lynae Zebest. It was a Kickstarter in November 2022, and I received it this year. It is now available at the Primordian Dreams Tarot website.
The Primordial Dreams Tarot follows the Rider-Waite-Smith system with notable changes.
- The Initiate, Hero, Mother, and Father replace the Page, Knight, Queen, and King.
- The names of some Major Arcana cards are different. For example, the Empress is the Matriarch, and Judgement is Creation.
- The deck includes two extra cards: 00 The Self and 22 The Dreamer.
- The Major Arcana are not labelled or numbered. The Minor Arcana are subtly numbered.
The tarot deck came in a two-part rigid box along with a good illustrated booklet, two art cards, and a storage bag.
The Primordial Dreams Tarot is different from every other deck in my collection. I liked it when I saw the Kickstarter and have been enjoying using it this month. It has a primal or shamanistic quality about it. The size is perfect in my hands, and it shuffles beautifully. It is becoming one of my favourite tarot decks.
A few weeks are left in the year, but I think that’s it for my tarot and oracle decks in 2023.
