I love seasonal things. I love watching the passing of time, and Autumn is such a beautiful time to celebrate the changing of the seasons and how that affects us. I’m also a little obsessed with having the right things to use for the right occasions. Hence, my project to have a different tarot deck for each season has morphed into a need to have a different deck for each month. And because I’m a little bit extra (as my friend Arya would say), I also want to use a different additional oracle for each month, different tarot cloth, and different stones/flowers/supporting players.
Hey, I could be spending my money on crack and prostitutes, right? Let me have my fun. This is also going to feed into a special offering I’m going to be adding to my Etsy shop, so keep an eye out for that!
Autumn is my favorite season, though it’s still really hot and humid here in Georgia. But we’ve been combing craft stores for seasonal goodies, and looking forward to our annual autumnal activities, like Pagan Pride Day and apple picking in Ellijay, Ga. The energies are a bit darker and the energy lends itself to introversion, so the decks, oracles, and stones I’ve chosen reflect that.
Here’s the list of decks I’m using month by month, and a list of stones I’ll be using for the season is below that.
The Raven’s Prophecy Tarot– See the deck interview for this deck here. I love this deck so much. Not only does it have a lot of raven imagery (super important to me as a proud Ravenson), but all of the images are stunning. It looks like the artist used pastels on black paper, and that’s a look I’ve always loved. It lends a gravitas and magick to the deck that really screams September to me.
Witch Runes– I don’t have a picture of mine, as I’m making these right now. I think the watercolor I’ll be using will really compliment the colors in the Raven’s Prophecy Tarot, and I love the idea of using symbols that are specifically geared towards witchery and how we practice. I’ll be using the basic set of symbols, and probably adding some of my own. (Note, I was looking for a good picture online to show you what witch runes look like, and I happened upon Patti Roberts’ website. She’s written a series of books that look really good, and the first one is free. So I hoofed on over to Amazon to download it, and I’ll do a review when I’ve had a chance to read it. Click the link above to see her wares!)
Halloween Tarot– I’ve had this one forever, and it seems like I always forget to use it around Halloween. It’s actually a little cutesy for my taste, but I still kind of love it. I think this is a deck that would benefit greatly from alteration, mostly just trimming the white borders. Have I mentioned that I really don’t love white borders, especially on darker-themed decks? They just take away from the aesthetic. But I digress…
The Halloween Oracle– Sensing a theme here? This is a much darker-themed deck than the Halloween Tarot, though I think it does still have the same kitsch factor in that there are a lot of fun Halloween ‘monsters’ in this deck, like the mummy, the skeleton, and the vampire. If I’m being really honest, I love the deck and the cards are amazing, but the book could be SO much better. I rarely even use it, preferring to interpret the cards on my own. The meanings just aren’t clear and it seems like the book was a hurried afterthought once the gorgeous cards were done.
The Deviant Moon Tarot (borderless)– My beloved… My precious… I love this deck SO HARD. I ordered it as my Autumn deck last year, and just fell in love. The images are so evocative, and the art is so interesting and unique that I just can’t put it down. I love to just shuffle and draw cards to gaze at them and discern all the little nuances of meaning. The court cards are especially cool, as each suit’s ‘family’ has their own unique look. And sometimes the images just make me laugh. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Mildred Payne’s Secret Pocket Oracle– Because I loved Deviant Moon so much, I just happened upon this oracle created by the same artist. I just ordered them a few days ago, and am waiting for them (im)patiently, but I will post a review when I get them! Please spend some time perusing Mildred’s back story and looking at the pictures. I love the sensibilities of this deck, and I cannot wait to use them in conjunction with the Deviant Moon Tarot!
Ammonites– I love the idea of using fossils for Autumn, as they tie us to the past and help us uncover messages from ancestors and and our earlier, more primal selves. I especially love ammonites, as they represent the idea of spiraling inward, which is something we tend to do as the nights get longer and cooler.
Jasper– I’ve developed a real love affair with jasper lately. I never used to appreciate it, but suddenly it just came onto my radar, and I can’t get enough! Jasper is also very often fossilized microorganisms, like algae or plankton, and so it has that same tie to the past. However, the main reason I use jasper is for it’s grounding and supportive properties. Autumn is a time that we tend to spend more and more time in our homes, nesting and preparing for the long winter ahead, and it’s great to help keep us grounded and stable as we start to do more inner work. Also the colors are just so autumnal and gorgeous! (I’m especially drawn to mookaite and polychrome jasper right now, but there are dozens of varieties.)
Petrified Wood– How do I love thee? Let me count.. Never mind. This is one of my favorite grounding stones as well, and it also has that fossiliferous tie to the past. I really love that it’s wood, stripped down to it’s barest structure, replaced with something stronger (silica usually), and made beautiful. Sometimes in the Autumn, we’re left with the bare bones of ourselves. We can’t distract ourselves with the frenetic energy of the summer, and we’re forced to really look at things as they are. That’s where our strength lies.
