Tarot and Oracle Decks I Let Go Of

Every deck photo in this post (save for the last one, which I took myself) is attributed to its corresponding link. Just tap or click the photo and it’ll take you to where you can buy the deck. You’re welcome.

When I started Practical Magic, I was a total deck collector. I wanted PM to be a physical shop and a place that distributed decks from all over the world. Obvs, my plans changed, I quickly turned from card collector to card creator, then Marie Kondo happened, and I happily said bye to a bulk of my collection.

My tarot and oracle decks (of old) are gone but definitely not forgotten. I kept a dedicated Bullet Journal list of all my decks when I was still doing a lot of tarot/oracle-shopping.

I decided to walk down memory lane tonight and give you all a tour of the decks I’d thrown away. A To all the decks I’ve loved before… list if you will.

I hope this inspires collectors, widens tarot enthusiasts’ interest in decks in general, and encourages would-be creators to keep on making.

Light Grey Tarot

Published by: Light Grey Art Lab
What I loved about it: It was quite possibly the first indie deck I ever ordered from the States and had shipped via the post office all the way to Manila! I love how every card was designed by a different artist—including the Empress by Filipino illustrator Soleil Ignacio. I also appreciated the card stock of this deck and how easy it was to shuffle.
Why I let it go: Like most of the decks I sold or gave away, I just wasn’t using it enough!

Ceccoli Tarot

Published by: Lo Scarabeo
What I loved about it: Based on illustrations by Italian artist Nicoletta Ceccoli, this deck was beautifully haunting. I purchased it through Amazon because many of the Tarot Tubers I subscribed to just raved, raved, raved about it constantly.
Why I let it go: It didn’t actually follow the Rider Waite Smith system, so you had to pretty much freestyle while reading with this deck. It was hard for me to explain to people I read for what every card meant because the illustrations were so different (and some kind of controversial too).

Tarot of the Zirkus Magi

Published by: Duck Soup Productions
What I loved about it: I got a first edition, and there weren’t many of them produced. I liked that this was based on the Thoth system and it helped me figure that out (a little bit). I liked the clear narrative that went through this deck’s American Horror Story vibed circus theme. It was the second deck I also ordered from Etsy that I had sent straight to Manila (during this time, I became very friendly with the Post Office people and even ended up reading cards for one of them right before her retirement).
Why I let it go: I just never used it. Also, I nicked one of the cards (which were glossy and could easily be damaged) and I couldn’t stand it, lol. Eventually, news came up that there was something problematic regarding the people behind this deck so I was just glad to have been rid of it.

Morgan-Greer Tarot

Published by: US Games, Inc.
What I loved about it: It was my first Rider Waite Smith type deck that was borderless and gave a really up close, zoomed in view of the cards. I bought this deck because Ethony kept raving about its 70s aesthetic. I bought this from Amazon and had it shipped to Manila via Johnny Air.
Why I let it go: As far as 70s decks go, I preferred the Aquarian tarot. The porn-staches on the men of this deck were way too distracting to me.

Osho Zen Tarot

Published by: US Games, Inc.
What I loved about it: This deck had one of my absolutely favorite card backs. It was popular among the Tarot Tubers too—considered one of their staples (save for one of the problematic cards that, I remember, someone said she just took out of the deck). I remember visiting the Osho store in Bali way before I got really serious with tarot.
Why I let it go: I saw Wild, Wild Country on Netflix and got freaked out, LMAO. Also, I found the illustrations disjointed and no amount of trying had me clicking with this deck.

Guardian Angel Tarot

Published by: Hay House
What I loved about it: I bought this ironically. I kept seeing it in my neighborhood Fully Booked and panicked the one time it was no longer there. This is the ultimate in saccharine sweet glitters and angels decks and I find that it actually worked pretty well.
Why I let it go: Too cheesy. I just couldn’t. Not even ironically. Also, Doreen Virtue is a no-go for me.

Tarot Mucha

Published by: Lo Scarabeo
What I loved about it: The box was sturdy and great. I bought this in New York at Enchantments (the oldest witchy shop in the city?)—one of my best friends who had moved to NYC took me there. I didn’t really want to buy the deck but I thought, during that trip, that I would buy a tarot deck in every city I visited as a souvenir. (I’m happy this deck ended up with my cousin!)
Why I let it go: I just couldn’t relate. If you know me, I prefer very modern imagery and this just doesn’t fit the bill.

Paulina Tarot

Published by: US Games, Inc.
What I loved about it: I love the color palette of this deck, and as with most US Games tarot decks, the card stock is perfect. I bought this on my first visit to Portland, at Powell’s. Just like my New York trip, I wanted to take home a deck with me even if I didn’t really have any decks in mind. One of my best friends owned a Paulina Cassidy oracle deck and liked it a lot, so I thought—why not?
Why I let it go: Not my style. I just never pulled it out of my cabinet, even for myself.

Tiny Tarot

Published by: US Games, Inc.
What I loved about it: When I was starting my deck collection and just new to tarot, I had this ambitious dream of creating my own handwritten tarot journal and I used this deck to paste on the pages of my Traveler’s Notebook. I got through a few cards and well, that project never saw the light of day.
Why I let it go: I didn’t actually sell this—it’s half pasted in an unused notebook and half, somewhere in my junk drawer.

Emily Dickinson Tarot

Published by: Factory Hollow Press
What I loved about it: No one new about this deck so it felt like a really special find. I studied this meticulously and really read up on Emily Dickinson. I gave this to myself for Christmas. Every suit was drawn by a different artist.
Why I let it go: I appreciated the Wands style the most and wished the entire deck was done in that style. The Cups didn’t really resonate with me.

Cosmos Tarot & Oracle

Published by: Light Grey Art Lab
What I loved about it: My second deck from Light Grey Art Lab, this was so beautifully produced. It had gilding, there were gold flecks on the illustrations, and every card was (again) done by a different artist. How cool, too, that this was a big deck that included all 78 cards of the tarot plus an oracle component.
Why I let it go: There was one damn card that did not make sense at all (if you know about this deck and have done any research about this, you will know what I’m talking about). The “cosmos” theme also flew way over my head.

Food Fortunes

Published by: Chronicle Books
What I loved about it: It was very, very cute. My friends LOVED it.
Why I let it go: I couldn’t actually use it.

Tarot del Fuego

Published by: Fournier
What I loved about it: The art! Ricardo Cavolo is fantastic.
Why I let it go: It was too quirky for me (and that’s saying a lot). I watched a video where someone said this was the yang to the Sakki-Sakki yin and I completely agree. I guess I’m just more a yin person.

Madam Clara Sees All Fortune Teller Cards

Published by: Motel Gift Shop
What I loved about it: Mid-century vibe. And how they incorporated keywords and phrases for both upright and reversed positions on the card itself.
Why I let it go: Cardstock couldn’t hack it.

English Magic Tarot

Published by: Weiser Books
What I loved about it: This was, like, under $12 in Amazon. I couldn’t pas sit up. It also came with a hefty guidebook (that I did not read). I like the graphic novel style illustrations.
Why I let it go: Very not me. I guess this taught me that I didn’t really like English Magic (or magick with a K).

Ceccoli Oracle

Published by: Lo Scarabeo
What I loved about it: It went with my Ceccoli Tarot.
Why I let it go: The box was tight, the illustrations made me go, “huh?” and I also never used the tarot deck anyway. I tried using this with a client once and she just gave me a blank stare even after I had read the actual guidebook to pull the card’s meaning.

Awakened Soul Oracle

Published by: Ethony Dawn
What I loved about it: The keywords! They were modern and relevant. The card stock was great too—this deck was really big, but if you could manage to get your hands around it, it riffle shuffled beautifully.
Why I let it go: I didn’t quite like the illustration style and choice of font, so it was mostly an aesthetic decision.

The Mayhem Tarot

Published by: Miss Mayhem Studios
What I loved about it: I bought this because it looked perfect with the English Magic Tarot—I like matching tarot and oracle decks! I try to support as many indie deck creators as possible and this just seemed like a gem.
Why I let it go: I could not relate to it (much like I couldn’t relate to the English Magic Tarot, which I matched it with).

Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle

Published by: Llewellyn Studios
What I loved about it: Siolo Thompson’s artwork.
Why I let it go: This was one of the last decks I bought right before my big clear out. I bought it more as a collector’s item than an actually usable deck—I didn’t even flip through it before I decided to cut my collection down to the basics.

Tarot of the New Vision

Published by: Lo Scarabeo
What I loved about it: The concept—depicting the Rider Waite Smith deck from different viewpoints.
Why I let it go: It was more novelty to me—I guess, I felt that nothing stuck better than the classic RWS.

Guided Hand Tarot

Published by: Irene Mudd
What I loved about it: The collages. If this is enough proof that I like collages, just check my own deck out. This was the last independently published deck I bought before my complete clear out.
Why I let it go: I suppose when you make a collage deck exactly the way you want it to appear, you don’t need another one.

After Tarot

Published by: Lo Scarabeo
What I loved about it: I couldn’t buy the Tarot of the New Vision without getting this too because I always like buying things in tandem (I’m the type of person who’ll buy the same shirt in all colors). The concept of the After Tarot was what drew it to me—it shows us what happens right after the RWS scenes we know and love take place.
Why I let it go: As with the Tarot of the New Vision, it works conceptually, but the classic (IMHO) is still better.

Animal Wisdom Tarot

Published by: Cico Books
What I loved about it: The color palette was cute.
Why I let it go: I’m not an animal person! I bought this deck because I got reeled in by Tarot Tube (the longer I stay away from deck reviews, the happier my wallet is!).

Rebel Deck

Published by: Rebel Deck
What I loved about it: It is cute (a unicorn!), irreverent, humorous.
Why I let it go: I wasn’t keen on having the message on the flip side of the card, so when I brought it for people to draw cards from, they could kind of peep the meaning.

Linestrider Tarot

Published by: Llewellyn Studios
What I loved about it: I stalked this deck when it was still independently produced by creator Siolo Thompson. The artwork is gorgeous and I was lucky to score it when it went mass market.
Why I let it go: I didn’t use it. Luckily, my niece was into this deck so it got passed along to her.

Ostara Tarot

Published by: Schiffer Publishing
What I loved about it: This was another deck I stalked when it was independently published and I became way too excited when it got picked up by Schiffer and placed an order right away without thinking. Sometimes, the hype really gets to you!
Why I let it go: I didn’t like the card stock and the fact that my fingers were covered in silver glitter (from the gilding) all the time. This went to my niece too!

Illuminated Tarot

Published by: Clarkson Potter
What I loved about it: It was unique because it merged Major and Minor Arcanas to fit the tarot into playing card form. I bought this because my partner at the Inkling Workshop, Aueeie, said she bought it and the FOMO kicked in.
Why I let it go: I didn’t like the card stock and the fact that my fingers were covered in silver glitter (from the gilding) all the time. This went to my niece too!

Bad Bitches Tarot

Published by: Ethony Dawn
What I loved about it: The fashion illustrations were super cute. The box was beautiful and the rose gold gilding was TDF. But the star of this tarot deck is the guidebook, written by Ethony (who, if you’re into tarot and still don’t know about, should immediately google).
Why I let it go: I was way way way into my clear up and in the throes of minimal living, just decided to sell ‘em all.

Smith-Waite Deck, Borderless Edition

Published by: US Games, Inc.
What I loved about it: The centennial Smith-Waite edition of the RWS is my favorite Rider-Waite Smith deck. When they released this borderless edition, which stretches out the RWS images to the edges of the card, I thought, why not?
Why I let it go: I found that when you find the right RWS deck for you, you really don’t need another edition.

Fanuna's Tarot

Published by: Fanuna
What I loved about it: It’s adorable! Watercolor fairies! I loved the use of color among the different suits. I also liked how shuffle-friendly the card stock was. I bought this deck when I was constantly trolling Etsy for new finds and was so enamored by the fact that this came all the way from South America.
Why I let it go: This was one of those decks I just chucked in the pile because I was becoming really trigger happy, emptying my tarot cabinet!

Accurate AF Tarot

Published by: Prism and Fleur
What I loved about it: Full disclosure, I received a review copy of this deck! I just paid for shipping from Australia and this beauty was in my hands. It was my first round deck too. What I appreciated most about this was its minimal art style. Very cute.
Why I let it go: I felt I just wasn’t vibing with the deck, but I’m happy that my friend Reina did! So I was more than happy to pass it along to her and I love how she’s getting tons of use out of it. I got this deck a few weeks before my purge—so I was pretty excited about rehoming my stash.

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I hope you enjoyed this little deck collection tour! As always, comments are open for any feedback <3

xx