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Ritual Earth Oracle, by Andres Engracia and Selena Moon

Ritual Earth Oracle: Spiritual wisdom through rituals, festivals and celebrations, by Andres Engracia with illustrations by Selena Moon
Rockpool Publishing, 1922579599, 128 pages, 36 cards, October 2025

Ritual celebrations, no matter which culture they come from, remind us of our shared humanity. Whether it’s gathering around a bonfire, honoring ancestors, dancing in the streets, or sharing food in sacred company, these moments root us in community and tradition. Even when the customs are from cultures different than our own, they speak a universal language of joy, remembrance, and connection. Marking the turning of time, the cycles of nature, and the milestones of our lives, rituals remind us that across the world, people have always celebrated, mourned, and honored together.

Ritual Earth Oracle by Andres Engracia with illustrations by Selena Moon draws upon the spiritual energies, insights, and celebrations of 36 rituals and festivals worldwide to create a potent oracle deck. With great reverence, Engracia honors the specifics of each culture’s rituals to honor their “own indigenous spirits, folklore, and ceremonies.”1 In the introduction, he also offers guidance on how to use the deck, offering tips for cleansing the deck as well as spreads readers can use for structure.

For each card;s entry in the guidebook, he shares the location of the ceremony or festival, keywords, the card’s significance from an oracle perspective, and information about the ceremony or festival. There’s also a ritual included for readers to tap into the card’s essence, attuning themselves to the spiritual energies of the ceremony or festival described. Most of the rituals are accessible, easy to plan, and doable with supplies on hand.

While I haven’t pulled every card yet during a read, I did take some time to read through the guidebook and found it all absolutely fascinating. Engracia has done a wonderful job in both choosing a diverse array of ceremonies and festivals as well as capturing the heart of what their spiritual intentions are within the oracle advice. Many of the ceremonies and festivals I had never heard of and it was thrilling to learn more about each location’s regional celebrations.

Some of the ones that were new to me included Songkran in Thailand, Butter Lamp Festival in Tibet, Inti Raymi in Peru, Guelaguetza Festival in Mexico, and Matariki in New Zealand. I loved discovering more about the spirituality of these traditions and how they’re celebrated. Even the festivals I was more familiar with – Green Man Festival in Wales, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Walpurgisnacht in Germany, and Bacchus’s Feast in Rome – were expanded upon by Engracia’s oracle interpretation and informative background context.

Meanwhile, Moon brings these ceremonies to life on each card with vibrant colors and exciting illustrations, inviting readers to physically connect with the energies. There’s distinctly sensual energy to the deck’s images, drawing readers into their bodies as much as their spirits. The lush, layered artwork pulses with rhythm and movement—pulsing fire, swirling cosmic backgrounds, evocative floating masks, and liminal places that seem to breathe on the page.

Moon’s artwork awakens the primal side of ritual that taps into the passion, ecstasy, and the raw joy of being alive. There’s something almost tactile about the imagery, as though you can feel the drumbeats, the heat of the sun, or the press of bare feet against the earth just by holding the cards. She does a wonderful job blurring the line between sacred and sensual, reminding readers of the humanity of these festivities and celebrations, often creating large gatherings of people in which bodies come together to make magic through performance, dance, feasting, and ritual.

The way Moon captures the desire, vitality, and pleasure as powerful forces that are undercurrents to the spiritual expressions of these different ceremonies through her illustrations provides a great balance to the more informative and insightful writing of Engracia in the guidebook. Readers have the opportunity to engage both mind and body, learning about the ceremonies and then also having an image portal to tap into the energy, for spiritual insight.

This balance comes through too in the way the cards are still named for the higher divine lesson they offer rather than the name of the festival or ceremony; the focus is on the spiritual transformation happening while the information about the ceremony provides more insight within the guidebook for spiritual seekers to learn.

Having the cards designed this way offers people the opportunity to do readings without necessarily referring to the ceremony since the name of the card and keywords can be enough for psychic guidance. Though, I still think becoming familiar with the ceremonies, festivals, and rituals associated with each card is the real source of power of this deck!

One of my favorite cards pulled so far is Marigold Dreams, depicting the celebration of Dia de los Muertos in Mexico. Engracia talks about how this two-day festival happens on the first two days in November, coinciding with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, describing how families create home altars of departed loved ones adorned with yellow marigolds and photographs. The sage oracle advice he offers is as follows:

“This card urges you to seek comfort in the loving embrace of friends, family or your partner. It is time to rest your body and settle for a while, so slow down, take a breath, and relax. You are not alone and you are not without support.”2

I loved this reminder to tap into the loving support systems I have in my life, including my ancestors who have passed on. I felt so calmed after pulling this card during an especially hectic time. While I didn’t fully perform the ritual Engracia suggests of creating an altar for my loved ones who have passed on, I did take the time to look at photographs I already had up and remember their loving presence.

Overall, Ritual Earth Oracle offers a fresh take on deck design by weaving global cultural celebrations into a spiritual tool. It’s ideal for readers who feel drawn to ritual, folklore, and creative community expression as paths to intuitive insight. This deck invites readers to dance in spiritual heritage, explore multi-culturalism, and discover new perceptions about how their spirit can learn and grow from joining in the celebration. Engracia is a wonderful storyteller who has a knack for distilling the spiritual wisdom within these festivals, while Moon does a wonderful job bringing the essence to life through the deck’s artwork.

Pure Magic Oracle, by Andres Engracia

Pure Magic Oracle: Cards for Strength, Courage and Clarity, by Andres Engracia
Rockpool Publishing, 1925924661, 36 cards, 144 pages, May 2021

Pure Magic Oracle: Cards for Strength, Courage, and Clarity by Andres Engracia is a wonderful deck filled with spells and messages of empowerment. This deck is inspired by The Big Book of Practical Spells by Judika Illes, which is a great addition to one’s collection for anyone interested in spellwork, along with her book Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells. The spiritual insight gained from Pure Magic Oracle has proven to be quite handy for me since I’ve started using the deck, and I’ve very much enjoyed the simple spells, some almost more like exercises, to enhance my spiritual connection.

I’ll admit what first drew me to this deck was the aesthetics. Illustrator Olivia Burke has done a wonderful job of making the deck visually appealing with symbolism that awakens the reader’s imagination and delights the eye with elegant drawings. The imagery is open for interpretation, though it stimulates the subconscious mind when gazing at the card. She has done a wonderful job of using color combinations to elicit feelings related to the cards. I especially love the back of the cards with ravens perched on a delicately designed circle with floral images with leaves around the borders, plus a half moon on both sides.

This 36-card deck has 9 cards for each element (earth, water, fire, air). There are color correspondences for every element. After using the deck for a bit, I’ve been able to instantly feel a connection to the element based on the color of the card I draw before even looking at the name of the card, message, or guidebook oracle message. I enjoy this because the color primes me to be open to the element and receive its message with attunement. Burke has done a wonderful job with color contrast to really make the images pop from the card’s color background.

On each card, there is the number, an image, the name of the card, and then four keywords. The card names are quite interesting, ranging from Telekinesis (an air card) to Belladonna visions (a water card). I was quite amused reading the card names and intrigued by Engracia’s unique choice of card names related to elemental energies. They add both depth and levity simultaneously, allowing for powerful messages to come through in a relaxed manner.

The guidebook starts with a foreword by Illes since her book was the inspiration for the deck, which is followed by an introduction by Engracia. There is a short and sweet poem to the elements provided to consecrate the deck and then two spreads for a reading provided: The powers that be spread and Elemental body spread. I did The powers that be spread, but I’ll write more on that in a second.

For every card in the guidebook, there is the image of the card with the keywords below and then information about the image on the card, such as its historical background or importance in magic. It’s almost like a little magical lesson! Then there is a Pure Wisdom section that provides an oracle message. Finally, there is a Pure Magic Spell provided.

However, I will note that it is not necessarily a spell every time. For instance, the Pure Magic Spell for the card Voudon Roots (24) reads:

“Study the arts of indigenous magic, stories, and folklore; learn the wisdom of native cultures and immerse yourself compassionately in the mind and heart of an elder.”3

I love this wisdom and do feel doing this would enhance one’s spiritual practice, but I also wouldn’t think of this exercise as a spell.

For me personally, this didn’t detract from the value of the deck, but it did make me a bit reliant on the guidebook at times  and more focused on connecting with the cards intuitively through symbolic imagery. As I mentioned, I did The powers that be spread and when I turned to the guidebook, the message still felt a bit elusive. I was better informed about the general meaning of the cards, but the message still felt a bit ethereal.

Therefore, I found it best to be creative in my approach of working with these cards. The imagery coupled with the insight of the guidebook has called me to journal, draw, and write poetry about the readings. There’s something about this deck that invites the reader to be an active participant in the divination, rather than a passive receiver of information.

This element of the deck is what makes it really stand out for me. I find myself called to read with it not so much when I want a direct answer, but more when I want spiritual prompting about how I can tune into my connection to nature, spirit, and the elements to facilitate healing and personal revelation.

All in all, Pure Magic Oracle is a one of a kind deck with very intuitive, symbolic imagery that invites the reader to creatively enhance their magical practice with spellwork and spiritual exercises. I recommend it to those looking for divinely inspiring deck that are open to musing a bit on the answers. By engaging with the cards through the spells and exercise, one can use this deck to enhance their awareness and channel their energy in constructive ways to spiritually develop their magical abilities. It is also a useful tool for connecting with the elemental energies on a daily basis to bring their healing wisdom into one’s life.