There is a beautiful story to be found in a tarot deck, but I confess to being fond of retellings and reimaginings of stories, oftentimes more than I am of the original. It’s probably unsurprising, then, that I generally prefer oracle cards to tarot. I find these to be much more entry-level friendly than standard tarot decks, and the artists behind them are able to be much more free in the type of story they wish to tell. Don’t want to include a magician, but maybe a mechanic or a concept of loss, instead? Have at it! Oracle decks trust that, rather than depending on a particular card to get a message to you, you’ll take what you need from its picture or unique story, instead.
The Liminality Oracle this Kickstarter Spotlight features is sure to give you a fertile ground from which to pluck your guidance.
I find that lately I’ve been craving art that seems soft and ethereal, as if it were taken from an old, heirloom-quality fairytale book. And this oracle deck certainly has that in spades, from the organic curve of old growth trees, to the soft feathers and fur of the creatures that creep across the cardstock. Most of the colors are soft and muted, so when brilliant colors are used (such as sources of light) they shine out all the brighter.
This deck is being supported by Célia Melesville, a France-based woman who created her own publishing house in order to focus on helping beautiful, custom decks come to life. For this project, she’s working with Amélia Leonards, a fantasy artist who created the deck using watercolors and chose to focus on the fae.
While I mentioned that I loved the freer expressions of oracle cards, there is still a booklet if you find you do better with some guidance. An example is even provided for one on the Kickstarter page:
01-Guidance: Keywords: Teacher, Messenger, Friend, Advice
The full moon rises over indigo tinted leaves, bathing the night forest in a cold, silken radiance that shimmers over dew kissed grass. Faint stars glitter through twisted branches, dappled light glancing off swirling antlers and supple white fur. The stag beneath the tree is regal, imposing, but he isn’t a threat- he radiates calm assurance, and intelligence and wisdom dance in his soft dark eyes. Do you dare follow him into the woods?
Everything may be difficult for you right now, but a teacher is coming your way, a guide who you can completely trust to lead your footsteps through any tractless wilderness, whether it be physical or of the mind. This person isn’t someone who behaves as if they’re high above you, but is a friend, someone who you respect and admire but don’t feel beneath. They won’t ask you to completely abandon your own judgment or surrender your independence- they’ll simply help you to see things a little differently, remind you that you aren’t alone.
Listen to their advice, pay heed to any messages they impart.
There will be forty-nine cards in all, each gilded on the back and bearing a title in both French and English. The explanatory booklet, too, will be bilingual, and the whole set will come in a rigid box to protect the contents. If the art on the Kickstarter page is anything to go off of, it will be a truly beautiful deck.
At the time of publishing this article, the Kickstarter is about $3,000 short of being funded with just twenty-two days to go.
I’ve already backed it for a deck, and I look forward to writing a follow-up article on how beautiful it looks in person.