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Title: Botanical Dreams Oracle
Art by: Catrin Welz-Stein
Author: Lynn Araujo
Publisher: US Games Systems
Number of cards: 56
Card size: 5 x 3.25 in
Box size: 5.5 x 3.75 x 1.25 in approx.
Guidebook pages: 68
Purchased or gifted?: Review copy gifted by US Games Systems
Absolute favorite card: Sanctuary
Other favorites: (in order from most beloved) Refinement, Soul sisters, Forest bathing, Self-support, Boundaries, Foundation, Moonlight reflections, Wallflower, Spider woman, Violet lady, New chapter, Heart song, Believe in magic
Notable detail:
Season: Spring
Sabbat: Ostara
Sign: Taurus
Element: Water
Tarot Deck compliment: Tarot of Mystical Moments
Collective Pull: Pearls of Wisdom

First Impressions

My first thought is how much this deck reminds me of Dreamkeeper’s tarot. In fact, I thought it was the same artist at first. My first instinct was to pair it with that deck even though obviously the Tarot of Mystical Moments is a much better option considering it's made by the same artist. It's weird how much I keep coming back to a different tarot even though I have Tarot of Mystical Moments which by the way I saw on Magick With Maria’s Instagram a while ago and bought it immediately. If you don’t follow her, you absolutely should because she has the best decks and I love her page so much. Anyway, I really like this deck which you can tell because I have so many favorites. I really found it a struggle to choose my absolute favorite and for me, that’s usually a sign that I’m in love with the work. So let’s dive in shall we?

The Packaging

The box is a pretty standard two piece rigid box. I can’t say there’s anything super special about it but there’s nothing wrong with it either. It features silver foil filigree on the corners of the box and a matte finish. The cards are a little challenging to shuffle, mostly because there are so many—a whopping 56 cards in this one. Oracle cards are bigger than tarot so when there are more than say 50, they become a little harder to manage especially if you have smaller hands like I do. They did get a little bit better as they began to soften but I have a hard time holding them in my hands. Sadly no gilding. I’ve noticed US Games really stepping up their packaging in the past year or so but sometimes they do gilding and others times they don’t. There’s no consistency that I can see. I almost wish they’d do all gilded edges or none at all. I would’ve loved to see a striking purple or light teal on the sides. That would’ve pushed this deck over the top for me. But despite the lack of colored edges, it's still pretty gorgeous and well made.

The Guidebook

The guidebook is small but full color. For reference, there are 56 cards but only 68 guidebook pages so you aren’t getting a lot here. What you do get is an introduction which includes some language on how to use the deck and one tarot spread which can be found at the end of the book. I do appreciate the intro detailing how this work came about. I always like to know what inspired the creators, probably because I’m an oracle deck creator myself. Perhaps you don’t care about that but my curious mind always loves to know why? Why did this come about? What sparked the idea? How did it evolve? I love, love, love to know information so it makes me happy to see some of that being included.

For each card you have a short divinatory meaning at the bottom of the page which is great if you want a quick and easy meaning. You also have the more expanded meaning up at the top which drifts back and forth between stories and guidance though I would recommend reading all of it. You won’t need to for every card but there are some with details in the longer paragraph that you won’t want to miss so read each entry at least once.

The Artwork

Where do I even start with the artwork? There’s so much to look at and the deck is stunning. You may have noticed I listed my favorites in order from most favorite to least (at least out of my all time favorites), just in case you were wondering. But I love the entire deck and I feel like I find a new favorite every time I look through the cards. So let’s start with my all time favorite: Sanctuary. I drifted back and forth between this one and Refinement but settled on Sanctuary because of how peaceful it is. I love how this maiden is connected to nature and yet, inside the confines of her sacred space. And then little blackbirds are flying around her which my darlings, this is such a huge sign of confirmation for me. I didn’t even realize it when I chose the card as my favorite. I had asked the universe for confirmation of something and here it is, right in the face of this card.

I also love refinement which to be fair, I love this card so much because of what it means more so than the image. Elegance and refinement are things that have really become important to me this year. I want to feel elegant and luxurious in my life and the maiden featured here feels like she’s got the vibe I’m after. I hate the color pink but I love it here. Her dress looks like it's made of flamingo features and even her skin has a pinkish hue that feels romantic and feminine. Striving for elegance has become a sort of avatar, an archetype I can model myself after which allows me to be softer.

“Just as each visit to a garden is unique and subtly changes with the shifting light and passing of time, the lessons you learn from this deck will be different each time you encounter a particular card because you are viewing things through your own unique experiences and evolving perspectives. “

And that’s what I love about this deck: all of the images really illustrate the meanings. You look at it and you feel exactly what the word describes. Self-support for example features a woman leaning against another woman who looks exactly like her. Sure they could be twins but you get the sense that she relies on herself right from the start. Oh and then Boundaries with her clothes made out of the land and these thick heavy vines. It's clear no one is getting past her defenses unless she allows it.

I love surrealism and that’s probably why I love this so much but I really do get the sense of so much symbolism and intentionally here. Another quick one I’d like to mention is Forest Bathing. I love this card so much. It feels festive and wintery and peaceful. I’m writing this during the holiday season so maybe that’s why this sticks out. I want to pin this up on my Christmas tree or hang it on the wall for Christmas decor and leave it up there all winter long. So gorgeous.

Purchase Botanical Dreams Oracle

Reading With this Deck

I’ve done several readings with this deck now and I keep pulling the same cards, even when I did the collective pull. It's kind of becoming a joke between me and the deck now because she seems intent on giving me the same messages which is fine. She told me her job is to set me on the path towards wisdom. In fact, the card which describes her personality in my deck interview is the same exact card for the collective pull. So I’ll save more of the interpretation for that a bit later.

What I loved about the readings so far is that so much of it has to do with self-love and self-investment. I get the sense that this deck is here to help you focus on you and you alone. At the end of the day, you are only in control of you. You can’t change what others think, how they behave, what their choices are or what they want. You can only change yourself and this tool will help you to focus on what’s in control.

Collective Pull

I pulled Pearls of Wisdom for you. This card encourages you to open yourself up to new ideas and ways of thinking. There’s so much wisdom out there in the world. Knowledge found in the trees and birds, earth and sky. Ways of being and knowing that have absolutely nothing to do with thoughts or words. This card invites you to be inspired by all around you. To look at the color of the sky and see magic or to gaze into the smile of a child and find hope. Wonder and whimsy and beauty can be found everywhere you look as long as you’re willing to look with curious eyes. And as you allow yourself to open up to the magic around you, you will unlock richer pearls of self-knowledge and wisdom.

Season, Sign, Element and Sabbat

Ok so these are a little all over the place. It's a weird thing but I really prefer when all of the things line up like taurus, beltane and spring but it just doesn’t happen that way all of the time. I kind of don’t mind in this case because this deck is very surreal and the point of surrealism is that it stands outside the laws of everyday life. So perhaps in this land, Ostara is in winter and Taurus is in summer. Haha, just kidding but that’s fun to think about.

I chose Spring for the season which feels like a no-brainer. There’s a lot of plant symbolism here. So many flowers and trees and of course other things like birds, insects and leaves. I would say 95% of the images feel like they’re in the middle of spring time. I chose Taurus for the zodiac sign which is in spring so I guess it's more aligned than I let myself believe in the beginning. The whimsical quality and soft imagery feels Taurus-like. The bull always comes up with Taurus but I think a better description of this sign is luxury, refinement and sensuality. I’m picking up a lot of that energy here. Everything feels soft and feminine just like Taurus.

I chose Ostara for the sabbat so again, more aligned than I realized. It's mostly because of the color palette which feels like early spring to me. When I think of March, I think of water and a lot of greenery and the first signs of the earth getting ready to erupt in color. That’s what I see here too. I also consider Ostara to be very feminine in nature. Not only that but there are elements of late winter in this deck so it feels like an excellent transition deck. Finally, I went with water for the element although I could easily see earth and air as well. When I was looking through the cards, I saw so many water elements and the surrealist nature of the deck made me think of the subconscious realms which of course are associated with water so there it is.

Who is this deck for?

If you’re a fan of Tarot of Mystical Moments then don’t even think about it—get this one. It has the same energy and vibe to it and the artwork is identical. Also if you’re a fan of surrealism then get this one. There are plenty of layers to contemplate in each and every card. Something fun to do would be to ask the universe for confirmation of something in the morning then pull a card later in the day. Then study the card you chose and see if there are any symbols which offer confirmation.

I also think this deck would make a great gift for someone who needs to go on a journey of believing in themselves or building confidence in themselves. I really feel like every card I’ve pulled has empowered me to believe in me or to work on something that could really change me for the better. You never know, this deck might be the very thing that changes something for someone special in your life.

Tarot Deck Companion

The Tarot of Mystical Moments is an obvious pairing for this one since it's the same artist. Somehow, I ended up with a few tarot cards mixed up in the oracle box and I could barely tell the difference between the two. They really match perfectly.

Having said that, I do still like Dreamskeeper’s Tarot as an alternative. It also has the surrealist vibe and while the artwork isn’t as close of a match, I think you’ll really still enjoy the pairing. You can see my review of Dreamkeeper’s Tarot here.

Thanks for reading all the way through. If you found this review to be helpful, informative or entertaining in any way, please be sure to leave a comment down below. It really helps me know what you’re enjoying so that I can provide more content based on what you love. In the meantime, please enjoy a variety of photos from this deck.

And of course, if there is something you’d like me to consider reviewing, please comment below or email me at hello@spiritelement.co