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As a long-term fan of The Gaian Tarot, I eagerly awaited receipt of the new Herbcrafter’s Tarot deck illustrated by Joanna Powell Colbert and written by Latisha Guthrie. I knew from the first card that I was in love. The illustrations for the Herbcrafter’s Tarot are exquisite and breathtaking. Even the precise detail of the illustration on the back of the deck as a whole is enchanting. It has become my favorite card-back illustration of all time, the little tincture bottles, butterflies, and sprigs of herbs prompting a sense of discovery and joy every time I touch one. Instead of immediately shuffling the deck and drawing a card, which is how I usually approach a new deck, I made the decision to approach The Herbcrafter’s Tarot card by card, day by day, even (mostly) resisting the urge to peek ahead at the cards to come. It is truly a deck to be savored and I knew from the third card that I could recommend it wholeheartedly to others.

Drawing inspiration from the shared Celtic heritage of the authors as well as from Latisha’s Mexican-American heritage, The Herbcrafter’s Tarot is a sister deck in many ways to The Gaian Tarot. Like a traditional tarot deck, it includes 78 cards. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana follow an herbcrafter’s journey. The Minor Arcana cards are divided in four suits, aligned with the four elements: Air (Swords), Fire (Wands), Water (Cups), and Earth (Pentacles).  Each card contains a detailed colored pencil drawing in photorealistic style. Each card is alive with vibrant detail and thoughtful connection, most of the illustrations containing very subtle nods to the original major and minor arcana cards of traditional tarot decks. Depending on the suit and type of plant, some of the herbs are shown in the act of being prepared or harvested, in use in baths or teas, or in their native environment. The People cards for each suit, depicting the hands of women healers at work, have been titled according to the archetypes each woman embodies as she “matures into her craft from wonderer to warrior to midwife to teacher.” The skilled, creative, intuitive hands of Hijas (daughters), Adelitas (warriors), Madres (mothers), and Curanderas (healers) are represented in the People cards. Accustomed as I am to the faces and personalities of the people depicted in full in The Gaian Tarot, I did find myself sometimes missing that human component and wanting to see who is “behind the scenes” of the beautiful herbal layouts, nature mandalas, works in progress, and the gnarled hands at work in The Herbcrafter’s Tarot. The inclusion of scenes, plants, and hands rather than faces is intentional, however, because the primary perspective of the deck is from that of the plants.

“Women’s circles and mother-daughter circles are perhaps the most powerful agents of change on the planet right now, with each woman contributing to the healing of our world as she herself experiences healing.”

–Amy Bammel Wilding

The World is Your Oracle

by Nancy Vedder-Shults
Fair Winds Press
First edition, 2017

Review by Molly Remer

The World is Your Oracle begins by looking at three types of diviners and divinatory experiences and also the science of divination. The remainder of the book is then organized into three sections, one for each broad category of divination: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. This form of organization makes the book read like a delightful "buffet" of possibilities, offering a snapshot overview of each method of divination, steps to take to experience it, and suggestions for further study. The World is Your Oracle is not a specifically pagan book, but instead is markedly (and enjoyably!) interfaith in approach, while also being culturally respectful.

The World is Your Oracle is impeccably organized and very clear. It is also very easy to simply flip through the book and arrive spontaneously on a technique to try. Thanks to the clear organizational style, consistent format, and extensive cross-referencing with companion page numbers, you will have no problem jumping into an experience wherever the pages happen to open! Due to the broad topic and many subjects covered, the sections are brief, meaning that someone desiring to study a particular method in depth will need to seek out additional resources in order to do so. I did wish there had been a bit more time spent on the how's, whys, and purposes of divination in general as well as possibly information about cultivating, developing, and enriching one's oracular skill, but as the whole, this book is a beautiful, enriching, and comprehensive manual of divination modalities and options.

The illustrations by Linnea Vedder in The World is Your Oracle are absolutely gorgeous. They are full color throughout the book which is an unusual and special treat and each oracular method described has a companion illustration, rich in symbolism and opportunity for contemplation in and of itself. I found myself wishing they would publish a companion oracle deck of all the beautiful images from this book!

This review was first published in the April 2017 issue of SageWoman Magazine (issue #91)

The newly re-released Barbara Walker Tarot is rich with dedicated, attentive symbolism. A very no-nonsense deck, the suite cards as well as the court cards are illustrated with multilayered and complex images. This deck is an intense one. The images are bold and striking, even stark and harsh in presentation. They clearly draw inspiration from classic medieval images and styles, though blend many myths and themes within that artistic style. If you want an inspiring, comforting, and pretty deck, this deck will not be the one for you. Many of the cards are ominous in presentation and vaguely (or directly) threatening in imagery and theme.

“Doing shamanic work with children is magical and luminous, even miraculous…”

—Imelda Almqvist

I distinctly remember my first Tarot deck and the sense of anticipation, “danger,” and intrigue it held for me. I was about 13 when I got it, a Rider-Waite in the yellow box, and I did NOT like it. I never connected with the deck, the book that I also got was way too esoteric and, frankly, boring, and I didn’t find the images compelling at all. This experience set me “off” of the tarot for a long time. I discovered other oracle systems I greatly enjoyed, such as Crone Stones, I bonded powerfully with Womanrunes and wrote a book about them, but I felt like Tarot and me were just not a match. Ah, then…The Gaian Tarot. One afternoon in 2013, I was turning over some issues of leadership, power, group dynamics, and “warrior priestessing” and, for a reason I no longer recall, decided to do an online reading using the Gaian Soul website. Now THIS, this was a deck with which I could connect. The images. The earthy-messages, the goddess roots. I fell in love. I ordered the deck and began to regularly use the cards, enjoying many profound and illuminating experiences with them. So, when I found out a new edition was being released I was thrilled to review it!

Since I have and love the older edition of the Gaian Tarot, my first instinct when receiving the new one was to compare the two and the new edition does not disappoint. The cards are larger and thicker and edged with silver.

"Braids, tapestries, and currents in the river show us the way again and again--it cannot be one clear way or another, it has got to be both ways and together."

--Eila Carrico, The Other Side of the River