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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!

Seasons of the Witch – Lammas Oracle, by Lorraine Anderson and Juliet Diaz

Seasons of the Witch – Lammas Oracle, by Lorriane Anderson and Juliet Diaz with illustrations by Tijana Lukovic
Rockpool Publishing, 1922579777, 160 pages, 44 cards, July 2024

Season of the Witch – Lammas Oracle by Lorraine Anderson and Juliet Diaz, with illustrations by Tijana Lukovic, is a captivating addition to Seasons of Witch oracle deck sires, particularly for those who resonate with the themes of the Wheel of the Year. As the seventh one released in the collection, this oracle deck is centered around Lammas, a festival celebrating the first harvest, and it weaves together the wisdom and spirit of this sacred time.

I always look forward to a new Seasons of the Witch deck because I love how perfectly Anderson, Diaz, and Lukovic capture the energy of the sabbats. There’s repeating patterns I’ve noticed in the decks–the foiled edges, the artistic style, and the uplifting messages focused on self-reflection and personal growth. Yet for each deck, the creators have drawn upon energies related to the time of the year and centered the guidebook messages and artwork around that theme. In the introduction, they write:

“We have decided to reclaim this sabbat as the energy of the boss witch and created this deck to support you in becoming the CEO of your life. It doesn’t matter whether you start a business or not, because it isn’t about the hustle but about taking control of your life and being brave enough to chase after your desires.”2

I feel like this energy matches Lammas since it’s always a season when I start feeling called to get things organized and prepared for the coming winter. I start noticing what’s been working this year through spring and summer, harvesting what’s cropped up with intentions of planting again next year, as well as what needs to be weeded to create more room for growth. And clearly the creators were also thinking in terms of vegetation as there’s a strong farm theme within the imagery of the deck.

The deck is comprised of 44 exquisitely illustrated cards, each adorned with Lukovic’s thoughtful artwork. The illustrations are rich with symbolism and gentle colors that evoke the essence of the end of summer and the bountiful harvest it provides. Images of fruit trees, sunflowers, bushels of apples, and corn connect readers to the abundance of the natural world during this time.

Lukovic’s art does more than merely decorate; it captures the Lammas theme of community, gathering the crops, and enjoying the final golden days of summers swimming and going to the county fair. Looking through the deck, one feels the mixture of work it has taken to get this far alongside the release that comes from finally being able to reap the benefits of what’s been toiled for. While the deck draws upon an idealization of a simple life (the images looks very relaxing and old-timey), I love how the cards bring forth the gratitude and appreciation for what has come to friction during Lammas, reminding the reader of pleasures of enjoying the bounty that’s been cultivated with care, intention, and love.

The guidebook that accompanies the deck is equally impressive, offering clear and insightful interpretations for each card, along with practical advice on how to incorporate the messages into one’s daily life through oracle spreads such as Sunflower Cross Spread, Prayers to the Earth Spread, and Vegetable Garden spread. The authors also suggest pulling a daily card, picking a guiding light card for the month, and creating a Lammas altar. There’s even a QR code for readers to scan to learn more about Lammas correspondences for their altar creation.

The deck’s messages are uplifting and empowering, emphasizing themes of gratitude, abundance, and the cyclical nature of life. For every entry in the guidebook, the authors offer key words, a summary sentence (the same message on the card itself), and insight into the card’s meaning. For some entries there are also additional rituals, meditations, recipes, or spells too.

My favorite card in the deck that I’ve pulled so far is Welcoming the Harvest. The image on the card is of a woman sitting on the back of a truck whose bed is filled to the brim with flowers, vegetables, and fruits. The amber waves of grain sway around her as black birds circle above in the blue sky. She sits and enjoys a bite of an apple, eyes closed as she savors the moment. The card reads:

“Expect growth and expansion, as your hard work has paid off. It’s time to celebrate!”3

The keywords for this card in the guidebook are “results, return on investments”4. And for the interpretation, the authors describe how this card symbolizes being on the right path and heading towards success in both short-term gains and long-term investments. It felt like such a great affirmation for the work I’ve been doing recently, and I was thrilled to read the line, “Your determination, focus and drive are fueling excellent results.”5 I’ve been giving it my all and this was confirmation that what I’m doing is all worthwhile.

One thing I really also like about this deck is that while the deck holds the seasonal energy of Lammas, the authors encourage readers to work with this deck throughout the year too for certain endeavors. They suggest working with this deck when coming into a leadership position, if one is a business owner or team leader, to raise one’s standards or bring in a higher level of self-worth, when coinciding long-term investments, and to make “boss or high-level moves.”6 So if any of these themes feel relevant to you, this would be a great deck to work with year-round to tap into your inner wisdom and gain guidance.

For anyone seeking to attune their oracle readings to the rhythms of the natural world and wheel of the year, Season of the Witch – Lammas Oracle is a beautifully crafted tool that offers both inspiration and guidance. Anderson and Diaz have once again done an amazing job bringing forth the energy of a sabbat into meaningful and thoughtful oracle cards, while Lukovic’s artistic interpretation of the messages makes this deck a pleasure to work with. Readers of all levels will enjoy the feelings of plenty and abundance infused in this deck, especially those who enjoy the grounded, down to earth feeling of being connected to nature.