Author Archives: PJ Spur

About PJ Spur

PJ Spur is an author, intuitive, spiritual mentor, astrologer, and hypnotist. She does tarot & oracle card readings, natal chart readings, grief coaching, and relationship healing. She also has hosted a weekly “Coffee & Cards” event with her Soul Compass Community for the past four years. Her book Navigating Grief with Grace is available on Amazon. Learn more at www.dearpj.com

The Witching Stones, by Nicholas Pearson

The Witching Stones: The Lore and Craft of the Essential Crystals, Gemstones, and Minerals to Empower Your Magic, by Nicholas Pearson
Weiser Books, 157863833X, 288 pages, October 2025

The Witching Stones by Nicholas Pearson is a captivating journey into the world of folklore, magic, and the sacred significance of stones. Known for his expertise in the field of crystals and their metaphysical properties, Pearson takes the reader into the historical, cultural, and spiritual roles that stones have played in the traditions of witchcraft and magic. Pearson offers readers a comprehensive blend of knowledge and practical guidance, making it an essential addition for those intrigued by both the mystical and the historical aspects of stone lore.

Nicholas Pearson has studied and worked with minerals and crystals for almost thirty years. His relationship with gems and crystals began when he was a small child. Pearson is an author, teacher, Reiki master and energy healer, who uses magic and flower essences in his practice. He loves to show how crystals can change lives and believes he serves as a bridge between science and spirituality. Pearson appears on numerous podcasts and workshops around the country, including a tarot and divination workshop in Dallas which I attended a few years ago. Learn more about Nicholas Pearson on his website.

In this extensive work on witching stones, Nicholas Pierson has put together a guide to the 14 stones which he attests are integral to witchcraft. What follows are thirteen chapters, each one devoted to one magical stone, with the exception of amber and jet, which he combines into one chapter. He explains this pairing:

“Two particular stones that were prized by magicians and priests of prehistory, amber and jet are both organic gems of fossil origin. Because of their similar luster, comparable weight, and being found in the same kinds of environments they have developed parallel imagery as complementary stones. At several points in history, they were regarded as the same or remarkably similar substances.Today these stones have come to be known as the gemstones of the high priestess, priest, or priestess.”¹

Pearson structures The Witching Stones in a way that is both accessible to newcomers and enriching for seasoned practitioners. The book begins with an exploration of the mythology and history surrounding stones, tracing their importance from ancient times through modern practices. Pearson weaves together stories from various cultures, showcasing the universal reverence for stones as sources of power, wisdom, and protection.

Next, Pearson provides detailed descriptions of individual stones, their mythology, their properties, and their traditional uses in magical and healing practices. Each chapter is well-organized, often including practical exercises, meditations, and rituals that readers can apply in their own spiritual work. This information comes under a heading that the author calls “Craft.”

Near the end of the book, Pearson recommends that the reader enjoy the book in the order in which he wrote it:

“Working through the chapters in order represents a symbolic journey of crafting the witch’s soul, of embodying magic inside and out. . . The role of the witch is to stand at the threshold of the material and the magical, learning from and partnering with the spirits of place. Let the landscape reveal its magic to you and surely you will know the witching stones residing there.”²

My favorite chapter was “Lodestone: Stone of Attraction and Direction”. Like all curious students, learning about stones and their properties is interesting, entertaining fun. I was unaware that lodestone had magnetic properties. Pearson explains, “The earliest evidence of magnetite comes from Mesopotamia, where it was used alongside other iron ores to fashion weights and cylinder seals more than 4000 years ago.”³ Because of its magnetic qualities, lodestone has been used in magic and medicine for millennia. This stone is useful for “attracting” all types of desires: love, money, health and happiness.

Pearson includes a lodestone manifestation and attraction spell, as well as a spell to reverse or stop unwanted attractions. He also includes a spell for when you may have lost your way and want direction or inspiration. All of the spells are easy to conduct and most include simple ingredients.

I also really enjoyed the chapter on Jet and Amber, as I have been a fan of amber for many years. Did you know that you can create a necklace of amber and jet, representing the ultimate power of the witch? Pearson shares the history of this claim in both myth and literature.

Pearson writes in a clear and inviting style and makes complex concepts understandable, without oversimplification. His prose is educational and entertaining. He includes five pages of notes that include references to each chapter, as well as a four-page bibliography.

The cover is beautifully designed with embossed, varnished letters and photos of three stones. On the back cover, his author photo is varnished and embossed. Inside the cover pages, the book features beautiful four-color photos of all fourteen stones. Each is shown in chapter order, which makes these photos a great reference tool.

Overall, The Witching Stones by Nicholas Pearson is an enlightening and practical resource for anyone interested in the intersection of stones, folklore, and magic. Pearson’s expertise, combined with his passion for the subject, shines through in every chapter, making this book a valuable companion for both study and practice. Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or a curious newcomer, this book invites you to discover the ancient mysteries and enduring power of the stones beneath your feet.

“The witching stones are magic embodied. They are the tools for casting spells and carrying out rituals to commune with gods and spirits. They are part and parcel of the witch’s cabinet, the materia magica of the secret art.”⁴

I’ll be sure to keep The Witching Stones on hand for reference for client readings and follow up notes. I can see myself using and recommending many of the spells and potions he describes. I often recommend specific crystals or stones to clients and this book will be a valuable resource to share.

PJ Spur

The Original Zodiac, by Graham Phillips

The Original Zodiac: What Ancient Astrology Reveals About You, by Graham Phillips
Bear & Company, 9781591435419, 208 pages, October 2025

The Original Zodiac by Graham Phillips is a fascinating exploration into the origins of astrology, delving deep into the ancient roots of the zodiac signs and their historical significance. Known for his investigative approach to historical mysteries, Phillips brings readers on a journey to uncover the beginnings of the zodiac as we know it today. In this book, he takes us back to Mesopotamia to unearth eighteen signs of the zodiac.

Phillips is one-part historical detective and one-part adventurer, as he weaves together thought-provoking works on some of the greatest myths and legends of all time. He has penned books on King Arthur, Mother Mary, and the origins of Judaism, among others. Once a reporter for BBC radio, he also appeared in numerous TV documentaries and mini-series on similar topics. He lives in the Midlands of England. Learn more about him on his website.

Phillips sets out to challenge conventional wisdom about the zodiac, proposing that its origins lie not in Babylonian or Greek tradition as commonly believed, but much further back in time and in different cultures. The book is meticulously researched, drawing on archaeological findings, ancient texts, and astronomical observations to build a compelling case for a much older and, perhaps, more mysterious origin of astrological symbolism.

Instead of the well-known zodiac signs, Phillips “uncovers the original 18-sign zodiac, an ancient system that predates the familiar 12-sign zodiac by millennia.”¹ In doing his research, Phillips finds and presents evidence that our birth date and time reveal much about each of us. While the Greeks created the 12-sign system we use today, the ancient ones in Mesopotamia used 20 degrees for each sign, thus eighteen symbols. They also assigned an animal to each sign.

“So, this 18-sign zodiac is thousands of years older than the one we are familiar with today. We don’t know what specific stars were incorporated into constellations to represent each of those ancient signs. Still, we know that the list began at the spring equinox and that the subsequent year was divided into 18 divisions of some 20 days each. These, therefore, appear to be the sacred creatures of the original Mesopotamian zodiac, with the dates covered by each birth sign.”⁵

Phillips writes how the oldest description of this 18-sign zodiac is on a clay tablet dating back to 686 BCE. Found in Mosul, an area in Northern Iraq once the ancient city of Nineveh, this artifact now resides in the British Museum. Basing his date calculator on this artifact and axis progression, Phillips was able to calculate the birth dates each sign falls within. While no artifacts or records exist detailing this original zodiac, Phillips recreated it based on his extensive research.

Over the course of several years, Phillips used his list of eighteen signs and collected tons of data. He writes how he “compiled an in-depth survey, recording people’s attitudes, opinions, likes, dislikes, hobbies, pastimes, employment, health, and many other factors, and found that those born in each sign did appear to share common traits well beyond what should be expected by chance.”⁶ He used this information to create his own interpretations of the 18-sign original zodiac. This approach is quite fascinating and reading the entries for each sign was insightful.

Instead of a Sagittarius Sun, as I am in the traditional zodiac, I am a Goat in this system. I read the section and agree with most of the qualities and characteristics Phillips presents. However, he makes several comments about physical qualities that didn’t fit.

Since my birthday is close to a cusp, or dividing line, chosen by Phillips, I decided to look at the sign prior to Goat, which is Horse. As I read the qualities of Horse, I began to see that I was a mix of both signs. The adventurous spirit of the Horse and the dedication of the Goat combine with other traits to create me!

Next, I read the section on Serpent to check the characteristics and qualities for my husband. For the most part, Phillips was accurate in his assessment. The only thing I found incorrect was the reference to “few suffer from digestive complaints.”⁷ My husband has a series of digestive problems and has struggled with these most of his life. The author’s reference to “intuition, imagination and versatility”⁸ for those born under the sign of the Serpent though is accurate for my husband.

Phillips brings his book together with notes that cover sources for much of his research as well as a two-page bibliography with even more information for those who would be interested in further study. The book is well researched; his dedication to the multi-year data collection project of numerous people and their lives is impressive. Phillips has created something to give modern day astrology students and practitioners a new way to view the zodiac signs and their meaning.

Overall, The Original Zodiac is a thought-provoking and ambitious work that will appeal to anyone interested in ancient history, mythology, and astrology. Phillips offers a compelling argument for re-examining the roots of the zodiac, combining meticulous research with an engaging narrative style. While some of his conclusions may be open to debate, the book succeeds in sparking curiosity and offering new perspectives on an ancient topic that continues to fascinate people today.

By questioning established beliefs, Phillips encourages readers to think critically about the history of astrology and its cultural impact. If you are intrigued by the mysteries of the past and enjoy books that challenge conventional wisdom, this book is certainly worth reading.

PJ Spur

Telepathic Tales, by Daniel Bourke

Telepathic Tales: Precognition and Clairvoyance in Legend, Lyric and Lore, by Daniel Bourke
Destiny Books, 9798888501733, 320 pages, 2025

Across cultures and centuries, stories of extrasensory perception have surfaced like whispers from the unseen world. From the visions of ancient Greek oracles to the ancestral wisdom carried in Indigenous traditions across the world, humanity has always grappled with the possibility that our senses extend far beyond what can be measured or explained. In Telepathic Tales: Precognition and Clairvoyance in Legend, Lyric and Lore, Daniel Bourke takes readers on a cross-cultural voyage through these extraordinary experiences, documenting accounts both mythical and lived. With care and curiosity, he invites us to view them as meaningful parts of the human story.

Daniel Bourke is an Irish poet, songwriter and author. He has published articles in a number of journals and magazines, as well as Apparitions at the Moment of Death in 2024. He is expected to publish Déjà Rêvé and Love at Second Sight: The Experience of Meeting in Dreams before Meeting in Life in 2026.

Beginning each chapter with a provocative quote, Bourke dives into the material with the first few pages. There is no preamble or explanation, just a thorough presentation of clairvoyance and examples of intuition and foresight. From this discussion, he moves into visions; visions where people said, “I knew you were in trouble.”⁸

“The unconscious helps us by communicating things, or making figurative illusions. It has other ways, too, of informing us of things which by all logic we could not possibly know. -Carl Gustav Jung”⁹

Burke shares several stories about people in the medical industry who received messages or visions regarding patients and were able to get to them in time to render lifesaving aid. In fact, he notes a book that shares many examples of “nonverbal and potentially telepathic Interactions between therapists and their patients.”¹⁰ This is something I had never considered, although I have experienced telepathic messages from my husband and other family members and friends.

Next, Bourke takes us on a journey to learn more about deathbed visions, telepathic messages, and unusual phenomena. This subject is covered in two different chapters and relates to “nearing death awareness”¹¹ and “dreams of the dying”¹².

“That the mortally afflicted person might attain a prophetical or divinatory ability is an idea as old, as we have seen, as are the deathbed visions of Gilgamesh.”¹³

My favorite story in this chapter relates to a man in his seventies, who passed away on a Tuesday in Connecticut, only a day after his sister passed away in Ohio. Before his passing, he mentioned seeing his sister Mary in the hospital. At this time, no one knew that Mary had died. He and Mary had been very close. There were other stories of people looking up to the ceiling and carrying on conversations with people who had gone on before them. In my own life, when my aunt was passing, she said that she could see her mother standing by her bed. My grandmother had died about 30 years prior.

In subsequent chapters, Bourke discusses zombies and vampires as well as “cross cultural ESP”¹⁴, the origins of plant cures, and the idea of shared visions or dreams. He includes stories and research from many countries, different cultures, and varied spiritual traditions. For example, He discusses the South American Tukano and their medicine men. The Tukano believe that the creator of the Universe gave them a special plant known as curare. They also believe that “their botanical knowledge was derived from plant-induced hallucinations.”¹⁵

Bourke also includes many other tales of cures and medical aid. One story involves the Cherokee Indians who believe that “the spirit of the appropriate plant will suggest the proper remedy in a dream.”¹⁶ I love this! My family can trace its lineage to a Cherokee woman in the 1800’s.

Bourke has structured this book as a patchwork of short stories, vignettes, and interludes. Some stories are starkly realistic, set in familiar neighborhoods and workplaces; others are more surreal, evoking a dreamlike feel. This narrative mosaic allows Bourke to explore the concept of telepathy and dreams through a variety of lenses (social, psychological, philosophical) without ever letting the book feel repetitive or preachy.

Stylistically, Bourke is a master of restraint and suggestion. He can describe the most fantastic phenomena in prose that is understated and elegant. His character sketches are insightful and compassionate. And, as a careful researcher, each story and each example is documented in the exhaustive notes and bibliography sections. He even includes a lengthy index to allow the reader to find and review information or stories in the book.

Beyond its carefully researched myths, tales, and stories, Telepathic Tales is a book of ideas. Bourke is clearly fascinated by the philosophical and spiritual implications of telepathy, not only as a type of futuristic communication, but as a metaphor for empathy, compassion and understanding. Throughout the collection, he engages playfully but seriously with questions of consciousness: Are we truly ourselves if our thoughts are never private? How might empathy lead to harmony, or can perfect understanding breed new forms of conflict?

The stories do not provide easy answers, instead inviting the reader to grapple with ambiguity and uncertainty. In this way, his book belongs to the best tradition of spiritual non-fiction, which use the tools of imagination to work within his framework of research and storytelling. Bourke is truly an anthropologist of dreams, telepathy, and near-death experiences. I enjoyed his writing style and the stories he shares so that we can better understand the spirit world and our part within it.

Telepathic Tales would be enjoyed by a person who is newly awakening or newly learning about spirit communication, as well as someone who has been studying telepathy and dreams for a long time. I will be recommending this book to my clients and mentoring students. The real-world examples of spirit communication and telepathy will be supportive and empowering to those who are traveling on a spiritual path.

“What we do know is that a large minority of people all over the world commonly experience contact with their dead – sometimes regularly, sometimes as one-offs – and that there is both an academic and a personal need to know why. -Alan Kellehear”¹⁷

PJ Spur

LightWeb Oracle Deck, by Joanna Hunter, Anna Babich, and Stephanie Wicker-Campbell

LightWeb® Oracle Deck: Soul Technology, by Joanna Hunter with illustrations by Anna Babich and Stephanie Wicker-Campbell
Muse Oracle Press, 1763586928, 140 pages, 44 cards, October 2025

The world of oracle cards is brimming with decks that promise to guide, inspire, and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the universe. LightWeb® Oracle Deck: Soul Technology by Joanna Hunter with illustrations by Anna Babich and Stephanie Wicker-Campbell is a standout set, one that takes you on a journey and invites you into the realm of the LightWeb.

“Glimmering in the astral plane is the LightWeb, a glittering web of infinite possibilities and consciousness, where all is connected and everything is possible. A place where we remember our galactic origins and connect with our shared cosmic soul.”⁹

LightWeb Oracle Deck is designed to help users tap into a type of interconnected web, an energetic framework that connects all beings and possibilities. Hunter calls this structure a LightWeb. Here, the reader may access higher wisdom and foster a deeper relationship with their own intuition. Hunter’s background in energy work and spiritual mentorship is evident in the design of each card and its meaning.

The cards, illustrated by Babich and Wicker-Campbell, are adorned with luminous, ethereal designs that evoke a sense of tranquility. Soft gradients of light blues, violets, and pinks create a radiant effect, inviting the user into a space of reflection. The imagery, a blend of feminine forms, geometric patterns, and cosmic symbols, is both modern and mystical.

The deck is well-crafted, with a sturdy yet flexible card stock that will stand up to repeated shuffling. The glossy finish enhances the colors, making each draw a delight for the senses. The deck is a comfortable size for shuffling and reading, suitable for hands of all sizes. A sturdy box houses the cards and guidebook, echoing the aesthetic of the glimmering artwork

Hunter begins with a card that features a beautiful request for Divine support as the reader works with the cards. This prayer is short, but powerful and will make a nice way to open readings each time.

After a brief introduction, Hunter shares the four LightWeb Principles: Self-love, Self-mastery, Self-leadership, and Self-empowerment. Next, she provides several good ways to activate your deck. My favorite of her tips is one I have used myself: sleep with the deck next to your bed. You can also add a quartz crystal on top.

After including a brief “How to Use this Deck,” Hunter reveals several spreads and then goes into the card guidance. At the end of the guidebook, she includes a glossary of terms, as well as information on her “LightWeb Soul Technology and Course.”¹³

The deck consists of 44 cards, each designed to represent a specific aspect of the LightWeb philosophy. The cards are numbered, to make finding the complementary guidance easy. Themes range from self-empowerment and spiritual awakening to grounding and manifesting. Each card bears one word or phrase, such as “Akashic Records”, “Spirit Guide”, “Light Language”, or “Priestess”, accompanied by a few key words.

For each card in the deck, Hunter uses a very structured approach to the guidance. Each card has a title, key words and information from the LightWeb, as well as clues from the ShadowWeb. She also shares a Transmission of Light, which explains some of the card’s symbology.

Next, she includes a section on Going Deeper, which is the heart of the guidance. Hunter ends with the LightTool of the Card. This device can be a simple statement, an energy healing tool, or a suggestion for better living. Each one is unique.

The deck’s structure makes it versatile, able to be used for daily single-card draws, more elaborate spreads, or even as a supplement to meditation and journaling practices. The cards offer guidance that feels both specific and open-ended, and I saw this over the seven days I worked with the cards. The themes are universal enough to resonate with a wide audience, but not so broad as to lose their impact. Each card feels like a gentle nudge toward introspection and connection to Divine Source. As I worked my way through the cards, I felt a deepening into myself and a newer form of connection to Divine Source.

My favorite card in the deck is Freedom. The artwork features a carefree woman smiling and enjoying life. The guidance speaks of “Choices. Being free. Self-acceptance. Having fun. Lightest of energies. Joy. Being in the moment.”¹⁸

The guidance asks me to journal about freedom and what it means to me. Finally, Hunter suggests that I play some music, move my body, and enjoy freedom. This message was just what I needed for the day after my husband had an accident that landed us in the ER. I was reminded that I WAS free and now both of us were safe and surrounded by the love of our angels and guides.

I plan to add this deck to the stack I have on hand for client readings. The guidance Hunter shares will be a perfect way to end intuitive readings. I will also enjoy using this deck for my daily card readings over the next few months.

LightWeb Oracle Deck stands out as a luminous guide for those seeking clarity, empowerment, and connection. Its harmonious blend of art, wisdom, and practical tools makes it a joy to use, whether for quick insights or a deeper dive. The deck invites users to step into their own light, trust their intuition, and explore the interconnected web of possibility that surrounds them. The guidebook’s practical suggestions and gentle tone make it accessible to beginners and advanced practitioners alike.

For anyone drawn to the world of oracle cards, the LightWeb Oracle Deck is a beautiful addition to any collection. It promises not only guidance, but a gentle reminder that we are all connected through the LightWeb, and that our journey is illuminated from within.

About the Creators

Joanna Hunter is a teacher, author, speaker, podcast host and intuitive life and business coach. She is also High Priestess of the transformative group she calls LightWeb®. Hunter transitioned from marketing executive to spiritual coach after a major health scare several years ago. She channels a group of beings she calls Skyler and carries the sacred Codex of Light™ teachings. She serves as a spiritual guide for transformation and ascension. Hunter has written four other books and published two other oracle decks. Learn more about her at www.JoannaHunter.com.

Anna Babich is an illustrator and designer, who loves to create magical and celestial artwork. Over her career, she has illustrated everything from clip art to oracle decks. Her style is very intuitive and ethereal, and she feels that she infuses a type of healing magic into each piece of art. See more of her work on her website.

Stephanie Wicker-Campbell is a gifted illustrator and designer, who has illustrated oracle decks, journals, and book covers. She is also a keynote speaker and author in her own right. In a recent post, she expresses that she is stepping back from design work and focusing more on her publishing house, Muse Oracle Press. Learn more at https://museoraclepress.com.

PJ Spur

The Butterfly Wisdom Tarot, by Starla Yilmaz

The Butterfly Wisdom Tarot: Guiding Wings for Your Journey, by Starla Yilmaz
RedFeather, 9780764369230, 144 pages, 78 cards, June 2025

With her beautiful deck, The Butterfly Wisdom Tarot: Guiding Wings for Your Journey, Starla Yilmaz draws inspiration from the butterfly. An ancient symbol of metamorphosis and the soul, and offers readers of all experience levels a vibrant tool for reflection, guidance, and growth.

Starla Yilmaz is a fiction writer, tarot reader, and cross-stitch creator. Tarot and cross-stitch have been an important part of her healing journey and her life for more than 20 years. While her work in romantic fiction has won two awards, this is her first deck. You can learn more about Yilmaz on her website.

After what Yilmaz calls an “intense healing period of my life”¹, she had a vision of “butterflies cross-stitched onto white canvas, each one the focus of a tarot card, forming one giant tapestry.”² She laughed and put away the idea until a later time when she decided to begin one simple pattern. As the designing and sewing healed her, she created another and another. When she started writing the guidebook, she began to draft little stories to accompany each card, including key ideas and thoughts or questions for deeper contemplation.

Each card is edged in black with a distinct color for the inner border, showing tiny threads on white fabric. She uses matching thread colors for the Major Arcana and again for each suit of the Minor Arcana. All the cards feature an uncomplicated design with a butterfly and crisp black stitching representing a very basic part of the symbolism from Rider-Waite-Smith.

For example, The Moon card features a moth with a crescent moon and a full moon, adorned at the top with the symbol for Pisces. When readers go to the guidebook, her story brings out the tale of the dog barking at the moon because he fears the mirror image of the moon on the water; her thoughtful questions encourage the reader to inspect fears, dreams and reflections.

Within the guidebook, Yilmaz features full-color illustrations for the Major Arcana cards. She includes an introduction to her story, notes on how to use this deck, and several one, three, and four-card spreads. At the end of the guidebook, she includes “Healing Patterns and Prompts”¹⁹ for the reader to copy and stitch (pg. 129-141) She shares three designs, offering a beginner pattern and an advanced pattern for each. Yilmaz also includes a list of tarot resources.

The heart of this deck lies in its artwork. Each card is adorned with illustrations that intertwine the world of butterflies with the archetypes and stories of tarot. The Butterfly Wisdom Tarot arrives in a box of royal hues and elegant details, calling to mind the fragile beauty and bold colors of butterfly wings. The box is sturdy and well-constructed, with a magnetic closure that protects the cards while adding a sense of ceremony to every reading. She has designed a deep well for the cards with thumb holes for easy removal.

The symbolism in these cards is simple, subtle, and brilliant. Each black stitch has been carefully designed and sewn to represent the timeless archetypes of the 78 cards of Rider-Waite-Smith deck. From the two cups pouring water in the Temperance card to the tiny tools of the Magician, Yilmaz has artfully selected the best symbols for each card and carefully stitched them onto her fabric canvas.

And the butterflies! Each butterfly is a mini masterpiece! Whether it is a classic monarch on the Emperor card or a chrysalis on the Hanged Man, Yilmaz uses all the colors of the rainbow to present her butterfly parade.

The cards themselves are printed on high-quality, matte-finish stock that feels silky to the touch yet substantial enough for everyday use. The deck is standard size, shuffling smoothly whether you prefer riffle or overhand methods. The matte finish reduces glare and makes the cards easy to photograph—a boon for those who share their readings online.

Card backs feature an elegant, symmetrical design that looks like stained glass and butterfly wings in flight, making the deck reversible for those who read with reversed cards.

From the outset, the deck exudes an energy of gentleness and support. It is approachable for those new to tarot and a delight for seasoned practitioners. I love the thoughtful questions that Yilmaz poses for each card, so that the reader can go deeper into self-reflection.

I presented the cards to a Zoom group that I attend monthly. Here are a few comments from attendees:

LC – The Lovers: “I’ve been flirting with this guy online. I now know I need to decide whether to meet him or move on. I love the question: ‘What quality do I need to work on to be a better partner?’ That really makes me stop and think.”

TW – 4 of Cups: “OMG! I see how I have been a Debbie Downer lately! I may need to contact my old therapist and have a few sessions to put myself right. Am I depressed or just bored? These questions really help!”

As for me, I really resonated with the artwork and guidance for the 6 of Wands. I loved the simple garland of victory and the 6 wands cheering me on to success. Another favorite card is the Strength card. Yilmaz features a gorgeous orange butterfly resting on the gaping mouth of a lion. Simply stunning!

I plan to share The Butterfly Wisdom Tarot with my Friday Coffee & Cards group and other Zoom groups I attend. I will keep the guidebook close by for my personal card readings, as I consider the questions for deeper reflection. Yilmaz provides this note:

“I hope that readers find themselves supported and uplifted during life’s toughest moments with my deck and guidebook.”²⁰

PJ Spur

Boadicea’s Tarot of Earthly Delights, by Caroline Kenner and Paula Millet

Boadicea’s Tarot of Earthly Delights, by Caroline Kenner with illustrations by Paula Millet
REDFeather, 9780764369087, 216 pages, 80 cards, June 2025

Boadicea’s Tarot of Earthly Delights is a beautiful, vivid celebration of both the mystical and the material, seamlessly weaving together the pleasures of the physical world and the wisdom of spirit. In a crowded field of modern tarot decks—each vying to reinterpret the archetypes and traditions of the cards—Caroline Kenner and illustrator Paula Millet have created a deck of stunning images and poetic wisdom.

Caroline Kenner is a priestess, a tarot expert, a shamanic healer, and a witch. She has read tarot cards for five decades and has studied and honored Boadicea “as a Sacred Ancestress for more than 50 years.”²¹ Kenner is co-founder of the Fool’s Dog tarot app company, and this is her first book.

Paula Millet has enjoyed a lifelong study of art and science and loves this opportunity to create a deck inspired by her experiences. She is an artist, graphic designer and deck creator and has also worked in several museums in the US, including the Smithsonian. Millet has contributed to the creation of three other tarot decks.

The first thing I noticed about this deck is the use of vibrant colors and beautiful artwork. In her unique style, Millet has combined hundreds of classical art pieces in very unique ways. For example, the Knight of Fungi (Pentacles) features a knight wearing a snail helmet, brandishing a mushroom, riding atop a donkey. The collage designs that Millet creates are brilliantly stitched together to appear as one piece of art. The visuals are impressive and dazzling.

“Technically, I work in Adobe Photoshop, sampling, manipulating, and blending select bits from at least 5 or 6 or up to more than a dozen images to create each digital illustration.”²²

The Major Arcana cards follow traditional names and Rider-Waite-Smith symbolism, although the duo created two extra cards: Boadicea the Queen and Perspicacious Platypus.

At this point, I’d like to share a little information about Boadicea from the guidebook:

“Boadicea was a queen of the Iceni, a tribe that occupied the territory of present-day Norfolk and Suffolk, during the Roman occupation of England in the 1st century of the common era. After her husband died, Boadicea and her daughters expected to inherit his throne under Roman law. Instead, her sovereignty was ignored.”²³

She led an army of her people against the Romans, not once but three times. Although the Romans finally defeated her, Boadicea and her army killed almost 80,000 Romans. This deck is a testament to her “wisdom, assertiveness and courage.”²⁴

In addition to the two extra cards, Millet and Kenner also renamed each of the Minor Arcana suits as follows:

• Cups – Tentacles
• Wands – Combustion
• Swords – Aether
• Pentacles – Fungi

The cards with tentacles amused me and the mini art collages with fungi tickled me even more. The way Millet combines tentacles with people and artifacts is delightful! Figures of varying ages, body types, and backgrounds populate the cards, reflecting a vision of humanity that is as diverse as the flora and fauna that surround them. (For any art lover who is interested in the source of Millet’s artwork, she includes a comprehensive appendix with all the information listed.)

In the guidebook, Kenner really shines, sharing a description of each card, a brief interpretation, and upright and reversed meanings and symbols. She includes a bit about the history of tarot, divination, and reading cards. Kenner also presents twelve spreads, as well as several pages on reading tarot. I found her meanings like what I’ve come to know as traditional RWS and appreciated how Kenner and Millet collaborated to create the poetic verse and artistic renderings for each card. I also resonated with this note about reading with only Major Arcana cards:

“Majors only readings can sharpen our focus on life’s most essential issues.”²⁵

The cards are printed with a velvety, matte finish, edged in gold and further adorned with a colored border that matches each Minor Arcana suit or crimson for the Major Arcana. The cards are a bit oversized and were a little hard to shuffle with my small hands. However, the size allows the artwork to really shine. The cards are housed in a beautiful box that is decorated on the interior as if it held the finest map in the world. A deep well with a scarlet ribbon holds the cards, with ample room for the large guidebook. The box closes with a magnetic flap.

I took the cards to my Friday “Coffee & Cards” group, and my friends loved the deck! Here is a sample of comments:

JS drew the 2 of Aether “I can’t believe this card is telling me it’s time to make up my mind.”
She went on to say that she was battling with herself over a complex question and now knew that it was long past time to choose and move on.

LL drew the Perspicacious Platypus card and, after we all laughed at the absurdity of this card, she drew a breath, read the guidance and shared this:

“This very strange card has shown me a new way to look at my life. It’s time for me to look at what I want to embrace and what I want to leave behind. I can’t ask others to help me with this, because it’s my own decision to make.”

This deck would be appreciated by any level of tarot reader, although someone with a little knowledge of RWS would probably enjoy working with the deck more than a novice. Those looking for a deck to support healing, self-acceptance, and the exploration of personal pleasure will find much to love. Through its rich artwork, innovative symbolism and beautiful prose, Boadicea’s Tarot invites us to savor the delights—and the lessons—of our world.

I plan to keep the deck on hand for client readings and refer to the guidebook for additional wisdom for my own personal readings. As Kenner shares at the end of the guidebook:

“Tarot is a wisdom tool designed as a game. Working with Tarot can help you understand yourself, refine your goals, and achieve success and happiness. Tarot deepens compassion for self and others. Tarot enhances life.”²⁶

PJ Spur

The Oracle of Rewildling, by Sherry Salman and Alexandra Eldridge

The Oracle of Rewilding: Pathways to Renewing Our Kinship with All Things, by Sherry Salman and illustrated by Alexandra Eldridge
Red Wheel Weiser, 9781578638239, 176 pages, 44 cards, June 2025

In Sherry Salman’s new deck, The Oracle of Rewilding: Pathways to Renewing Our Kinship with All Things, she pays homage to the transformative power of rewilding—both as a practice and as a mindset. The author intertwines fairy tales, ecological insights, and spiritual messages to craft a narrative that is insightful and inspiring. Rewilding, as presented in this deck, is not solely about returning to untamed landscapes but also about rediscovering the instinctive, untamed animal essence within each of us.

Sherry Salman, PhD, LP, is a Jungian psychoanalyst, who teaches and writes for the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association. She also consults for the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism in NYC. Known internationally as a speaker on “the creative imagination in postmodern culture and psychological life”²², Salman’s work has been published in numerous books and journals. Her book, Dreams of Totality, discusses symbolism and imagination and our struggle with modern living. You can learn more about Salman on her website.

Eldridge says this about her work:

“My paintings emerge from a place where contradictions are allowed, paradox reigns and reason is abandoned. My search is for the inherent radiance in all things… the extraordinary in the ordinary.”²³

The Oracle of Rewilding is a collection of 44 cards and a guidebook that shares a rare glimpse into the kinship between man and the animal kingdom:

“Although we will never really know what it’s like to be a stag or a rabbit, a wolf or a bird, we can still imagine it. In fact, as humans, we have always done so-in art, in story, and in myth.”²⁷

Eldridge uses a combination of the glass plate negatives and the addition of artistic elements to create these windows into the heart and soul of this kinship. The glass plate negatives hail from 1880-1920 and the author explains that this time frame was selected purposefully:

“It was an era when there was excitement about Charles Darwin’s findings that emotions exist in both humans and animals; it was the beginning of land conservation and wildlife preservation, the emergence of modernism in the arts, the invention of photography and the X-ray. Simultaneous with these developments, there was an enthusiasm for peering into the ethereal beyond.”²⁸

Although the glass plate negatives are used as a base for Eldridge’s art, these are only a starting point. For example, Eldridge paints bird, lioness or wolf heads on ladies and fox, stag and goat heads on gentlemen. She adds angel wings to children and lots of birds and flying insects throughout the deck. Fish, octopus, and other water creatures also come to play.

Although the glass plate negatives would create black and white images, Eldridge has skillfully colorized the images. Sometimes, she highlights the eyes, sometimes the clothing and other times the background. The colors are soft pastels, reminiscent of colorized versions of these photos from another time.

To fully explore this deck, I pulled a daily card for seven days. The cards never failed to mesmerize and bolster me with the guidance and symbolism shared. One of my favorite cards is called Forgiveness. It features a woman in a blue dress with a crisp, white collar and the head of a dove. She is shown handing a rose to a cat on a table. The guidance recommends “it may be time to come home to the tranquility and peace that forgiveness offers.”²⁹

Salman presents a unique way to welcome and honor forgiveness:

“Start with just cultivating the feeling and tangible scent of forgiveness itself. Then let that feeling radiate outward. This takes a lot of practice and includes the soothing of vengeful impulses that persist.”³⁰

I love and appreciate the softness of this type of forgiveness, as well as Salman’s narrative of the myth of the dove in literature and history. Including this information provides a backstory that grounds the reader in preparation for the wisdom that is shared at the end of each section.

One of the best aspects of The Oracle of Rewilding is its lyrical yet accessible prose. The author’s voice is filled with passion and clarity, a rare combination that makes complex ecological and spiritual concepts understandable for a wide audience. The deliberate pacing and vivid descriptions evoke a sense of wonder, pulling readers into a world where each animal, insect, and natural habitat holds a story.

The guidebook is designed for easy navigation with the cards arranged in alphabetical order along with a Table of Contents. Salman explains that she has done so only for the reader’s convenience, and she invites us to use them in a “nonprescribed order.”³¹ Salman includes a lengthy introduction to the concept behind the cards, including some history, notes about Jung and a discussion of shapeshifting. She also includes two ideas for card spreads.

The guidebook includes a four-color copy of each card, a brief description of the card images, keywords, and the background of the card. The final entry is guidance or wisdom. At the back of the book, Salman includes a list of books for further reading.

The cards are standard card size and are printed on good quality card stock. The edges are dipped in silver and the back of the cards features a soft mauve background and a white bird. The cards also feature a matte finish, which blends well with the feel of the artwork. The kit is housed in a beautiful two-part box with an indentation for the cards. The box color is also mauve.

The inside of the box features a frog; the box lid highlights a jackrabbit and the back showcases four of the cards. On the cover, Eldridge has chosen to feature two women wearing the heads of crows, paying homage to the card entitled Divination. While the box cover is printed with a matte finish, Eldridge has added stamped, silver type for the title, corner accents and other bits of type around the edges of the box lid. The effect is quite striking.

Whether you are an environmentalist, a mystic, or simply a seeker yearning for a deeper connection to the natural world, The Oracle of Rewildling holds profound messages and guidance. The images will awaken new insights and whisper magical words of hope and inspiration. I recommend this deck for any level of oracle or tarot reader. For those who might get lost in some of Salman’s Jungian prose and mythology, you can go directly to the section called “When this card appears” and enjoy the wisdom she shares.

Every card I pulled left me with significant guidance to ponder or a new view of my world. The interplay of poetry, prose, and evocative imagery ensures that every page delivers a beautiful experience and allows individuals to seek wisdom tailored to their unique journey.

PJ Spur

Tarot Disassembled Deck and Tarot Disassembled Guidebook, by Jennifer Cooper Steidley

Tarot Disassembled Deck, by Jennifer Cooper Steidley
Weiser Books, 9781578638659, 78 cards, April 2025

Tarot Disassembled Guidebook, by Jennifer Cooper Steidley
Weiser Books, 9781578638642, 280 pages, April 2025

In her groundbreaking deck and companion guidebook, Jennifer Cooper Steidley has taken the traditional symbols of the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) deck and broken them apart, much like deconstructing a puzzle. Tarot Disassembled Deck presents each art element from each card and shares the meaning, history and myth. This deck challenges conventions by isolating the symbols that make up each card rather than presenting the usual composite imagery.

Jennifer Cooper Steidley is a graphic artist who received her first tarot deck in college over thirty years ago. Since that time, she has collected more decks and created a few herself. One day, while watching her son take apart his sandwich into the individual parts, she thought about how this might relate to the symbols of the Major and Minor Arcana of tarot decks, inspiring the idea for this deck and guidebook. Learn more about her on her website.

What really appeals to me about this deck is how the art style allows users to meditate on specific elements without the distraction of extraneous details. The minimalist yet visually captivating style draws attention to the essence of each card’s archetype, enhancing one’s ability to connect intuitively with their meanings.

The artistic design of the cards is nothing short of extraordinary. Combining modern aesthetics with an air of mysticism, the deck feels both approachable and profound. Each symbol is thoughtfully rendered, inviting the reader to explore its significance within the context of the card and the larger narrative of the tarot. This makes the deck particularly appealing for study sessions, group discussions, or personal reflection.

For example, on the Star Card, Steidley features: star, ibis, green landscape, flowers, water jug, flowing water and tree. If you place a traditional RWS star card alongside Steidley’s star card, you begin to see how the deck creator deconstructs the RWS artwork to reveal the individual symbols.

In fact, Steidley suggests that card readers take a RWS deck and use it along with Tarot Disassembled Deck. Her unique art style brings the symbols to the forefront, allowing the imagery to speak to the reader in new ways. Interesting to note: Steidley does not feature any people in any of the cards.

Available separately is the Tarot Disassembled Guidebook, which serves as an invaluable companion for decoding the rich tapestry of symbols presented in the cards. Written in an engaging and accessible tone, the guidebook offers detailed explanations of each card’s symbolism, history, and potential interpretations. She also includes two spreads and exercises for working with the cards.

For each card, Steidley presents keywords, astrological associations, symbolism, and what she calls “Quick Takes.” This is a summary of two or three sentences that expresses the essence of the card. She also includes a brief meaning for a reversed card. In the back of the book, Steidley includes a three-page index, so that the reader can look up any symbol on its own:

“When you find a symbol that you’re particularly struck by, please refer to the index of symbols at this back of the book to see where else it occurs.”³⁰

What sets this guidebook apart is its emphasis on encouraging readers to develop their own intuitive connections. While it provides a solid foundation of traditional meanings, it also invites exploration and personal interpretation, making it a versatile tool for readers of all levels. The inclusion of exercises and prompts further enhances its utility, ensuring that users not only learn but also experience the tarot in a deeply personal way.

I took the deck and guidebook to my Friday Coffee & Cards group. My friends enjoyed this fresh approach to tarot. One seasoned tarot reader loved the rich information from the guidebook. Another friend who is new to tarot loved how easy it was to read the symbols on the cards. She also enjoyed the wisdom from the guidebook. She drew the Page of Wands and focused on the salamander.

In the guidebook, she learned that this creature represents “fire, renewal, regeneration and transformation.”³² She shared that she felt as if she had “been through the fire” at work recently! On the other side of the upheaval, she learned of a promotion and understood that the card was confirming her transformation and new opportunities.

I found it interesting that Steidley has not made a combination deck and guidebook available for purchase. This deck works best with the guidebook, as there is no “little white book” with the deck. As a seasoned reader, I am comfortable working with the deck alone, but a novice might be lost. If you have both the deck and guidebook, as I do, it’s easy to work with the cards. However, if you purchased the guidebook alone, the black and white art images of each card are fairly small, and the lack of color may make it hard to follow along.

This deck and guidebook bridges the gap between academic study and intuitive practice, offering a unique lens through which to view the cards. Beginners may find this deck an intriguing way to familiarize themselves with the building blocks of tarot, while experienced readers will appreciate its thought-provoking take on familiar archetypes.

As Steidley says:

“You’ll have the aha moment as you discover one type of transformation leading to another. This is what I’m referring to when I speak of symbols being like onions – tarot, especially, needs to be explored layer by layer, discovering meanings upon meanings.”³³

Tarot Disassembled Deck and Tarot Disassembled Guidebook stand out as remarkable and unique additions to the world of tarot, offering both seasoned practitioners and curious newcomers a fresh perspective on the art of divination. Designed with an innovative approach, the deck deconstructs traditional tarot imagery to focus on individual symbols, creating a visual and intellectual pleasure for readers who wish to delve deeper into the layers of meaning behind each card.

PJ Spur

Your Heart Knows How to Heal You, by Cissi Williams

Your Heart Knows How to Heal You: The Sacred Medicine of the Four Chamber of the Heart, by Cissi Williams
Findhorn Press, 9798888502044, 256 pages, April 2025

In her latest book, Your Heart Knows How to Heal You: The Sacred Medicine of the Four Chamber of the Heart, Cissi Williams writes an inspiring and transformative guide for anyone wanting to embrace their inner power and heal emotional wounds. Williams takes the reader on a journey from your head to your heart then deep into the inner chambers for healing and rewriting your own story.

Cissi Williams has a masterful background in physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. She is an osteopath and a naturopath, while also being trained in NLP, hypnosis, energy medicine, and shamanism. In her work with clients, she has created a unique healing method that combines each of these healing modalities to heal the body, mind, soul and spirit. Through her teachings and podcasts, she has supported thousands of people in healing their lives. Originally from Sweden, Williams lives with her husband and two daughters in the Cotswolds, England. Learn more on her website.

Drawing from her vast experience as a spiritual guide and healer, Williams offers a practical blueprint for self-discovery, emotional freedom, and spiritual growth. What sets Your Heart Knows How to Heal You apart is its ability to blend the magic and mythology of healing with shamanic journeys and journaling. The result is a holistic approach that encourages readers to listen to the wisdom of their hearts, trust their inner guidance, and reconnect with the essence of who they truly are.

Williams divides the book into three parts:

Part 1: From the Head to the Heart
Part 2: Journey into the Sacred Medicine of the Four Chambers of Your Heart
Part 3: Weaving Your Heart’s Wisdom into Your World

In the brief introduction, Williams shares her story and what led to her experiences and the healing tools she now shares. She experienced a heart attack prior to her 52^nd birthday and she came to know this:

“At that moment in the waiting room at the hospital as I made this decision to let my heart heal me, I was filled with a deep inner peace. I just knew that somehow everything would be fine.”³³

Next, she shares that the structure of the book will support the reader to move from “your head to your heart”³⁴, explore the four chambers of the heart with shamanic journeys and learn to listen to your heart.

Although I was familiar with the concept of the four chambers of the heart, I was not aware of the idea that the four chambers mirror the four seasons. The first chamber brings “the medicine of healing and letting go”³⁵ and aligns with the season of autumn. In the second chamber of the heart, we find “the medicine of transformation”³⁶ and the winter season. For the third chamber, Williams mentions “the medicine of the magical light”³⁷ and the energy of spring. Finally, we have the fourth chamber and “the medicine of rebirth”³⁸, corresponding to summer.

After a brief explanation of shamanic practices, Williams shares how to best use the written shamanic journeys for your own healing. She also invites you to go to her website, where she has recorded these guided journeys. It is an easy sign-up process for access to a brief introduction, a journal, nine shamanic journeys, and three prayers.

Williams also includes mythological information on the Tree of Life, numerous goddesses, such as Freya, Mary Magdalene, Hel, and Brigid. In doing so, you can learn about your nervous system and receive wisdom from your body. In this same chapter, she discusses the chakra system and how to work with it through shamanic energy medicine. She includes another “shamanic journey to cleanse your chakras and tune into the Tree of Life.”³⁹

The chapters on the four chambers of the heart comprise the most important sections of the book. Again, she weaves in goddesses and spirit animals to support your healing journey. At the core of the book lies the belief in the heart’s innate intelligence. Williams emphasizes that the heart is not only a metaphorical source of love but also a powerful guide for decision-making and healing. She encourages readers to tap into the heart’s wisdom through practices such as visualization, chakra work, and shamanic journeys. These tools allow readers to cultivate a deeper sense of self-compassion and intuitive clarity.

My favorite chapter is Chapter 8, which is in Part 3 and is entitled “Re-writing Your Story.” Williams shares the story of Mary Magdalene and Glastonbury, which has long been held as the “heart chakra of the world”⁴⁰. Next, she takes the reader through a shamanic journey to connect with both Mary and Glastonbury.

As the reader is supported to release old fears, receive “medicine from the four elements”⁴¹ and learn to weave magic from various chakras, they are also led to write a letter to Mary that highlights a new life story. This is so powerful and healing!

Wiliams has included many resources and navigational aids, such as the table of contents, and a recap that suggests specific chapters for aspects of life. She also includes a closing prayer and a resource list of books and oracle decks, as well as other sources and websites for more guided shamanic journeys. Additionally, there’s a recap of shamanic journeys and exercises from the book. This makes it easy for the reader to find a specific exercise, line of questioning, or guided journey.

Williams’ tone is compassionate and non-judgmental, creating a sense of safety and encouragement; her writing style is warm and relatable. Each chapter is interwoven with meditations, visualizations, and shamanic journeys, making the book not just an intellectual read but an experiential process. I’m particularly pleased that she provides audio of the guided shamanic journeys on her website. This offering makes the book even more supportive for transformation and healing.

Whether you are new to self-healing practices or a seasoned spiritual seeker, Your Heart Knows How to Heal You has something to offer. It is accessible for beginners, with its clear explanations and step-by-step instructions, yet it is profound enough for those well-versed in shamanism and spiritual growth. As Williams shares on the first page of her book:

“For all the mothers and grandmothers, sisters, and daughters–may we awaken the feminine wisdom that is embedded within our bones, flowing through our veins, and wired into our DNA, so that we can weave our healing medicine into our world.”⁴²

PJ Spur

Frame This Oracle, Juno Lucina and Dan Goodfellow

Frame this Oracle: A Tool to Deepen Your Card Readings and Reframe Your Perspective, by Juno Lucina and illustrated by Dan Goodfellow
REDFeather, 9780764368271, 144 pages, 25 cards, December 2024

With Frame this Oracle, Juno Lucina and Dan Goodfellow have created a unique divinatory tool that takes the reader deep into the realms of imagination, artistry, and magic. From the moment you open the box, you are drawn into a world of layered meanings, evocative visuals, and profound themes.

Juno Lucina is the pen name of a talented tarot master, who has created two tarot decks and written a definitive book on tarot. Her articles appear in numerous online journals, and she is a popular speaker at tarot and divination seminars around the US. She also writes fiction under the pen name Rose Guildenstern. Lucina lives in Connecticut, and you can learn more about her on this website.

Dan Goodfellow is an artist with a wide range of skills, from pen and ink to digital art. As a professional artist, he also considers himself a “Druid Shaman, Storyteller and Healer.”³⁸ He has illustrated several tarot decks and lives in Bath, England. Connect with him on his website.

The primary strength of Frame this Oracle lies in its concept. It invites the reader to interpret and re-interpret its layers, much like an oracle delivering cryptic wisdom. This title alone is a clever play on words, suggesting a duality: the act of framing as a literal boundary and the broader act of understanding. This oracle evokes mystery, prophecy, and insight, setting the stage for an exploration of more than a tarot or oracle card alone can divine.

The cards themselves are deceptively simple: a frame that features artwork along a certain concept. These concepts are grouped together in collections of five cards that fall under a specific theme, such as Living, Inspiration, or Mysteries. Within twenty-five cards, Lucina and Goodfellow have created twenty-five jewels of art and wisdom. When you place one of the frames on top of a tarot or oracle card, you add another layer of insight and a new type of divination tool:

“This Oracle is full of pointed edges – boundaries that point the way. Each card is a threshold to focus you, direct you to see what you’re missing, to understand what’s vital. These edges will poke you… bother you… wake you up in the wee small hours of the morning and wriggle around in your mind, heart, and soul to infiltrate all those heart crevices, cracking wide open those walls to let in… not what you think you want … but what you know you need.”³⁹

The guidebook is a masterpiece! After her extensive introduction, Lucina explains how to best use the card frames, including how to combine them with other objects, such as crystals or meditation. Next, she explains why she makes use of questions as part of the guidance:

“Questioning makes you open. It forms new patterns in the brain instead of reverting to old patterns of bias.”⁴²

In addition to suggesting that you select a card at random, she also says that you might look through the frames and choose a frame that calls to you. Or you may use the lists of frames to select a topic that may pertain to your query. Lucina also shares ideas for spreads and how to use the frames for maximum results.

To test this deck, I took it to my Friday Coffee & Cards group and my friends utilized various decks in tandem with Frame This Oracle. One friend paired #6 Start with her 2 of Pentacles from Thoth Tarot. From the guidance and her own intuition, my friend came up with this affirmation: I am starting something new, and I am adaptable and flexible. The question from Lucina’s guidance that spoke to her was “What is starting around me that I may be missing?”⁴³

Another friend pulled the 10 of Cups from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck and then selected #20 Divinity from Frame this Oracle. She almost began to cry as she read the guidance from Lucina and spoke briefly about letting go of shame and embracing the happiness of her beautiful family. She also shared that she will be journaling daily to listen more to the Divine and allow a more compassionate Goddess to guide her life.

Frame this Oracle trusts the reader’s intellect and emotional depth, allowing each person to derive their own understanding. This approach not only makes it highly engaging but also ensures its lasting impact, as different viewers uncover new meanings with each encounter.

I really enjoyed the ease of using these frames. Not only does it add a layer to your usual tarot or oracle reading, but it also invites you to be creative and daring in using your intuition. My favorite frame in the deck is #8 Stop. This card features lots of visuals that are jarring and somewhat frightening. Yet, as I sat with the frame and the guidance from Lucina, I began to see what needs to STOP in my life. And this knowledge provides direction and healing.

Lucina also includes a blank frame, which she calls Void and poses amazing questions and exercises to expand your vision and open your mind. Finally, she invites you to turn over the frame and use the back of the frame, which looks like a wooden window, with side panes of glass. She calls this the Open Window and asks you to:

“Contemplate the contents of the open window to see the focal points of your own personal frame reflected. What frames that you’re creating for yourself are revealed within your open window?”⁴⁴

I plan to keep Frame This Oracle on hand to enhance client readings and share Lucina’s insightful questions for journal exercises. The novel approach of this divinatory tool makes it fun to use and brilliant to bring into readings for others and myself. As Lucina says in the conclusion:

“Frame This Oracle will refocus the almighty power of your attention away from what generally engrosses you, whether mindlessly or obsessively – away from virtual media, what other people think, what you’ve been taught to believe, what you’ve decided must be so (or mustn’t be), what seems to matter – and allow you to perceive what you’ve been missing.”⁴⁵

PJ Spur