5 Tarot & Oracle Decks For Storytelling
Fairytale, Myth & Legend In The Cards
I love tarot and oracle. Some people are wary of it, I can understand why. However, for me the cards are just a tool, a way of bringing your own stories out of you and into the world to help you to make the best choices on your path. There’s no devil involved, no angels (in my opinion anyway) just you, the cards and your subconscious.
How? Well, our subconscious and conscious brain is influenced by the stories and symbolism we experience in our everyday lives, through our culture, society and upbringing. The images in the cards relate to these experiences and so represent something slightly different to each person within the over arching theme of the image. So what better way to tell our own personal stories than through some of the fairytales, myths and legends of the past.
A Brief History Of Tarot
Before I share some of my favourite storytelling decks with you let’s take a brief trip into the world of the esoteric and 1430s Italy where we see the emergence of a set of cards we know as tarot.
Tarot was originally a card game played in Venice, Milan, Florence and Urbino, Italy. It took the deck of 52 cards and added 22 trump cards known a trionfi (triumphs) this included the fool card which is not to be confused with the joker, which didn’t appear until the 19th century. All modern tarot decks are based on the Venetian decks and have been added to now totalling 78 cards in a deck.
For over 300 years, tarot remained as a card game until around 1780 when, in France, tarot decks started to be used as a fortune telling tool. The triumphs were given the job of diving our spiritual future and the minor arcana, pip cards or original 56 cards were given the job of the day-to-day. In this way our personal stories were and still are laid out before us. When you go to a tarot reader you are going to a storyteller, someone who will interpret the symbolism in the cards and show you your path through story. Sometimes the most powerful stories are the ones we tell ourselves, about ourselves.
Let’s take a look at 5 of my favourites.
Beowulf Oracle - John Matthews & Virginia Chandler
The story of Beowulf is an ancient one and this deck holds all the characters, what they symbolise and how they may help us with our own journeys. The imagery is quite dark in places but it is in keeping with what is an epic hero’s journey. The Three Norns are also included to guide you and can be used within the deck or separately for past, present and future readings.
It’s presented in a beautiful box making it a great gift for the story lover and the accompanying guidebook lays out a brief history of the story and a version of the tale to read. It also links each character to a rune creating layers of meaning and a true journeying oracle deck.
Fairy Tale Lenormand by Arwen Lynch & Lisa Hunt
This little gem is a pocket sized Lenormand deck and uses the symbolism found in fairytale to guide you through the journey of life. The images are like that of a classic fairytale book and easy to interpret sticking in the main to the traditional objects found in Lenormand decks but relating them to fairytale.
The guidebook is sometimes unexpected in the stories it references but it often has a little gem of wisdom to offer up and if you know your fairytales then the cards are enough without the need for explanation.
The perfect travel deck.
Winterseer Animal Oracle by Siolo Thompson
Siolo Thompson is one of my favourite creators of tarot and oracle decks. I have three of her sets and this one offers a fabulous insight into the folklore of Britain, Scandinavia and beyond.
The guide talks you through the symbolism behind each animal, some of the stories they may appear in and how they may guide you on your path.
The imagery is beautiful and again the presentation box would make this deck a great present for someone who loves lore and nature.
Legends of Wales - Mabinogion by Huw Aaron
This deck is actually a game that I found in a gift shop at Tre-tŵr (Tretower ) Court and Castle, Wales. There are several versions of these games but it’s the Mabinogion that caught my eye. This includes all the characters of the 4 branches and can be used as an oracle if you are familiar with the tales.
Pick a card and see how the character’s journey relates to yours. A great, intuitive personal storytelling guide. Of course you can also play the game when you don’t want your story told.
Lord of the Rings Tarot Deck & Guide by Tomas Hijo and Casey Gilly
What can I say? Lord of the Rings is a classic and this Tarot deck is awesome! Great illustrations with the characters divided into the trump and pip cards for a journey through Middle Earth with rings, swords, cups and wands.
The guidebook comes in the form of a map and as you might expect Frodo is the Fool, The Magician Gandalf and Galadriel The High Priestess. Amusingly Samwise and his wheelbarrow are the Chariot card.
A deck packed with humour and the wisdom of Tolkien, you can’t really go wrong with this one as an epic journey story for your own journey.
As always you can buy any of the above decks in a good esoteric bookshop or store. If you would like to buy a copy online, please consider visiting my page on Bookshop.org where I have gathered some of the tarot and oracle I recommend. Here you will find a plethora of myth, legend and folktale.
This was a wonderful guide, I had no idea about the Lord of the Rings deck, it immediately found a place on my wish list!!