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Seasons of the Witch: Yule Journal, by Lorraine Anderson and Giada Rose

Seasons of the Witch: Yule Journal, by Lorraine Anderson with illustrations by Giada Rose
Rockpool Publishing, 1923208365, 208 pages, October 2025

Yule, which is celebrated during the winter solstice, marks the longest night of the year and the quiet beginning of winter’s embrace. As the world slows and darkness lingers, the season’s energy naturally calls us inward, inviting stillness, reflection, and renewal. This quiet time, when trees are bare and many animals are hibernating, is a moment to honor the cycles of rest and rebirth, tend the inner flame, and listen to the wisdom that emerges in silence.

It is in this silence where some of the most profound spiritual insights can finally be heard, especially with tools that attune people to their inner landscape. Journaling during the winter months becomes a powerful practice, offering space to reflect on the past year, release what no longer serves, and plant seeds of intention for the light’s gradual return. Similarly, the introspective energy makes this season a wonderful time for oracle readings, promoting deep spiritual work, reflection, and intention-setting for the year ahead.

Season of the Witch: Yule Journal crafted by Lorriane Anderson and illustrated by Giada Rose is a wonderful companion for the winter months, blending the art of journaling and oracle readings. This beautiful, full-color journal is designed to provide people with ample space for their solitary musings, seasonal observations, and oracle card readings during the Yuletide season.

Spanning 208 pages, this paperback journal includes 50 thoughtful journal prompts. 44 of the prompts come directly from Seasons of the Witch: Yule Oracle, making this journal a great resource for those who enjoy working with the deck (me!). The additional six new prompts offer further questions for reflection, creating space for even more insights to emerge. As an extension of the oracle deck, the journal deepens the experience of one’s reading by offering a place for personal reflection about the divinatory messages. 

However, Seasons of the Witch: Yule Journal can absolutely be used independently from the deck as a space for reflective writing. The combination of the beautiful illustrations with meaningful writing prompts promises an inner sanctuary for thoughts, musings, and spiritual nourishment. The prompts skillfully weave themes of gratitude, restoration, and inner wisdom, offering insights about what the darkest time of year emotionally, spiritually, and intuitively awakens within. Here’s an example of the prompt for Perseverance:

“Yule is a celebration of the return of the light. When you are facing a difficult time, how can you bring light to your situation? What are some ways you can carry the light in your soul despite the darkness you’re feeling?”1

As reflected in this prompt, Anderson really gets to the heart of the season with her questions. She approaches the process of journaling with a gentleness that leaves room for the writer to find their own voice. The questions are specific enough to give focus to a topic but also leave room for open-ended exploration through the journalling process.

What’s really nice about the journal is the rounded spine and flat-lay binding, which makes it easy to write in. On the left side of the journal is an illustration by Rose that captures the many themes of the season from the starkness and chill of the snow to the merriment of coming together to feast with those you care about. Then on the right side, there’s the prompt at the top in a box followed by two additional empty pages for writing, making nearly three whole pages for reflections. For those of you who write big, the spacing of the lines is very easy to fit your script into! Though it’s worth noting, once in a while, some of the pages are left blank with no lines.

While I haven’t officially started writing yet (I’m waiting for December!), I can tell the amount of space for each prompt will make it easy to fit multiple entries in. Whether one is using it in tandem with the deck and a card comes up twice or you want to return to the journal year and year and keep adding to it, the size of the journal leaves plenty of space for multiple musings about each journal prompt.

Just flipping through this journal has given me so much excitement for Yuletide season! Seasons of the Witch: Yule Oracle is one of my favorite winter decks, and seeing the images on the cards amplified on the pages of the journal brings me pure delight. I also love the embellishments of holly, pine, pinecones, and little moons around the border. The whole journal really captures the essence of Yule.

And while I do enjoy working with my deck, and I’m sure I’ll use it in combination with this journal, I also like how the journal will be a safe space for me to explore without the external guidance of the deck always steering my reflections in a certain direction. I definitely see myself flipping through the journal and writing where I feel called to in that moment without any oracle prompting, which is why I know this is a great resource even if someone doesn’t have the deck.

Overall, Seasons of the Witch: Yule Journal shines as a seasonal, art-infused companion for anyone seeking introspection and exploration of their inner landscape during Yule. Its visual beauty, intuitive prompts, and thoughtful design invite a contemplative experience throughout the chilling winter season. If you already love the Seasons of the Witch: Yule Oracle, this journal adds a lovely layer of personal reflection. But it also makes for a wonderful stand-alone tool for navigating some of the darkest times of the year. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes through in my writing this Yuletide season, and I’d definitely recommend it as a gift for your witchy friends this winter!

Folklore Oracle, by Hadas Knox and Giada Rose

Folklore Oracle, by Hadas Knox and illustrated by Giada Rose
Rockpool Publishing, 1922786160, 112 pages, 44 cards, July 2025

Ready for charming yet profound insights? If so, Folklore Oracle by Hadas Knox and beautifully illustrated by Giada Rose is a swoon-worthy deck that you’ll want to add to your collection! This oracle is a perfect blend of folklore, symbolism, and wise guidance, bringing together themes from the age-old stories that capture one’s imagination and sing to the soul. The mixture of lore and art invites readers to divine through the enchantment of beloved cross-cultural stories that have taken on a life of their own, retold again and again to each generation.

“Using the language and imagery of folklore and folk wisdom that stretches back through recorded time to a numinous past, when each object not only possessed its own practical function but was the embodiment of an archetype with the force of collective wisdom behind it, this deck asks you to explore how you might lean more deeply into the questions in your life.”2

“Using the language and imagery of folklore and folk wisdom that stretches back through recorded time to a numinous past, when each object not only possessed its own practical function but was the embodiment of an archetype with the force of collective wisdom behind it, this deck asks you to explore how you might lean more deeply into the questions in your life.”3

As for the oracle images on each card, they all draw readers deeper into the story, theme, motif, or symbol being portrayed. The deck is rich with symbolism, both in the choice of card names and imagery, which Rose had brilliantly visually translated for readers to further explore the depths of their psyche while gazing at the card drawn. The mixture of black and white with vivid, bold colors adds further layers of contrast, jaxapositioning where the card lands and the insights spurred on by the process of absorbing the card’s details. At the bottom of each card is a question one can ponder, making it so there’s some reflection before moving onto the guidebook.

In the beginning of the guidebook, Knox provides an introduction along with guidance on how to use the cards, sharing three different spreads for inspiration. Each entry features the card’s name and number along with an image of the card and the question it asks readers. There’s then sections The Lore, Meaning, and Diving Deep, where Knox further illuminates the message coming through. The lore section provides contextual information about the card, which ranges from how the card often appears in folklore to history to superstition. The meaning section gives an overall message, and then the deeper dive goes just a bit further for insight and reflection. All together, the entry provides plenty of revelation and food for thought.

I do appreciate Knox’s style and approach to the guidebook entries. They’re a nice blend of folklore tidbits coupled with insightful commentary on the divinatory message. The meanings are not superficial; they call for readers to have courage and truly delve into the questions on their mind, taking stock of where they’re at within. In the introduction, Knox notes the cards avoid “shying way from the darker aspects of humanity’s shared past”4, and thus the messages reflect the full range of emotions that come through in the potent stories told through the ages. Knox’s insights into the meaning and symbolism of the cards in the guidebook is thoughtful and thought-provoking, encouraging readers to reflect on their own beliefs and experiences, fostering new revelations.

I also really enjoy the variety of cards: The Well, Stolen Child, Mirror, Ghosts, Broomstick, Curse, Salt, Garden. All of them call to mind aspects of a myriad of folklore stories I can recall having an impact on me. Knox does a great job weaving the symbol or motif into the broad archetypes of these stories while also pinpointing the message they have to share with us in oracle form. This spectrum of grand life lessons absorbed by vast populations to meaningful insights meant just for us is a really neat aspect of the deck, as these folktales resonate differently with each of us while still appealing to the collective psyche.

So far, all the readings I’ve done with this deck have been very insightful. After a particularly stressful few days, I asked the cards for spiritual guidance. The card I pulled was Fever. This card asked me, “What needs to be burned away?”5 And the folklore Knox shares about fevers is that they can be a “catalyst for an alchemical transformation.”6 As for the meaning of the card, Knox notes this might be a time of suffering but that within the flames it is possible to “stand in the games and let them wash over you”7 to “rise from the ashes and be born anew.”8. I especially loved this quote from the Deeper Meaning section of the guidebook:

“What if, instead of a force responsible for your undoing, the fire you stand in is evidence of your strength, your capacity to emerge with a purged soul and renewed faith in your own ability to heal?”9

I felt a burst of strength from reading this card. The message of guidance shook me out of a funk and made me feel bold and empowered amid the heat I was feeling. I really appreciated the shift in perspective Knox’s word provided, and it instantly shifted my internal monologue from a woe-is-me floundering stress-ball to courageous alchemist in the midst of a transformation. Powerful stuff!

Overall, Folklore Oracle is a beautifully crafted deck that invites readers into a world where the magical and the mundane are intertwined, leaving a lasting impression on the imagination and the soul just like the folklore symbols and motifs featured in this deck. Knox’s guidance goes deep and brings forth meaningful messages for the readers, while Rose’s enchanting illustrations stimulate the psyche and provide beautiful oracle visions. Those who enjoy folklore, fairy tales, and mystical enchantment will appreciate this deck, as well as readers who enjoy detailed introspective guidance for self-reflection and transformation. This deck is a real work of art!