Banshee’s Weekly Oracle Card Draws, Part 2
Who doesn’t like trees, shrubs, plants & flowers?! Some of us are much better at tending to trees & botanicals than others. I fall into that latter category, but I do appreciate what the earth provides. Plants & trees provide us with tools for magick, healing, & sustenance (not to forget to mention their role in making this world such a beautiful place). I do have a small number of oracles/tools with plant &/or tree themes. I wish I had more with a tree theme than I do as I’ve always been very drawn to trees.
So I decided to delve into a part of my collection to share some wisdom with you from the world of plants & trees. And, they have much to say! So I hope you enjoy my Tuesday oracles on our other social media platforms (Twitter & Facebook), Here’s a brief look at the 4 decks I will be cycling through on Tuesdays.
1. Oracle of the Trees
This oracle gives us a tour of some of the sacred trees from various cultures both past & present. My only wish is that there were more than 32 cards to work with! I love the card artwork & the various types of trees they cover. Cards are numbered & include the name of the tree on the bottom of the card. You get things like the Elm or Weeping Willow, but you also get: Maypole, Tree of Life, Bodhi Tree, Christmas Tree, too.
Card descriptions are very detailed. The author provides a Description, Botanical Information, Symbology, Keywords, Upright & Reversed meanings & Advice. It’s a very thoughtful presentation. There are unique card spreads provided: Flower spread, Tree of Life, Two Oaks, & Leaf of Destiny.
There is some other nice information provided as well. All in all, I’ve enjoyed using this deck so far for 1 or more card readings. I only wish there were more cards as I am sure more ground could have been covered.
2. Hedge Witch Botanical Oracle
This is not a new deck (it’s in its 5th printing), but I bought this I believe late last year from a sale Llewellyn.com was having & just didn’t get around to using this until a short while ago. Siolo Thompson is also the creator of the Linestrider Tarot (a deck I have not purchased, not sure why). The plant artistry is so soft, subtle (to me), & beautiful. I love looking through these cards. Each card has a white background with a color drawing/sketch of a plant. Sometimes less IS more!
Cards also include: the name of the plant, it’s scientific designation & a keyword. The book has plant pictures, descriptive information which includes, history, legend, lore, magickal, & other uses, a brief oracular interpretation, & other names for the plant. There are no readings included. Some recipes are provided at the back of the book.
I like the simplicity of this deck for a quick reading & as a learning tool about botanicals. The creator suggests using this tool on its own or drawing a card or cards with Tarot, Lenormand, or other oracle decks.
3. Tree Magic
A nice, little gem I got years ago that I love using to this day! The cards are an absolute delight. According to the back of the box, trees offer ancient wisdom & have the power to heal & provide deep insights. “As intermediaries between heaven & earth, they can convey messages from both realms.”
The cards are numbered. Cards 1-26 are “Heaven Trees” centering around what’s in the air or what you can aspire to; Cards 27-52 are “Earth Trees” which focus on your basis or foundation. The card images are beautiful & have the individual tree’s leaf, pinecone, fruit, etc., adorning the 4 corners of the cards. Each card has oracular phrases/sentences that flow whimsically around the image of the tree on the card. At the bottom of the card, under the name & number is a keyword.
There’s so much the accompanying book offers. There’s some nice magickal information provided at the beginning of the book. There is only an upright interpretation, a good-sized paragraph for each card, but it is more than enough. You can read 1 card; however the booklet provides 13 different, unique card spreads for you to use! This deck is truly an adventure. A playful, fun, well-crafted divinatory set of cards.
4. Seed & Sickle Oracle
Speaking of well-crafted oracles, this one amazed me right from the get-go! I did a more substantive review of this deck previously on our blog. The theme centers around “the cycle of sowing & harvest”. You get 1 set of beautifully illustrated cards (a nice earthy-color palette) & 2 ways of reading/looking at them. Each card has a numbered name of the plant, tree, etc. on it as well as images of the individual plants & sometimes includes other imagery associated with the card interpretation.
The deck itself is divided into 4 seasons. On either side of the number on each card, there’s either a leaf, flower, or s snowflake symbol to designate what season the card belongs in. There are 2 guidebooks (Dawn Guidebook & Dusk Guidebook). So, how do you determine whether to read the interpretation of one, the other, or both? Dawn signifies beginnings, potential, growth, expansion, opportunities. Dusk relates to inward journeys, subconscious, personal, subtle influences. Another suggestion: if the card comes up upright in a reading, read the Dawn interpretation; reversed, read the Dusk. (I use this approach a lot).
The guidebooks also provide a few unique readings in each book. For example: The Dawn book has Summer & Winter Solstice spreads. The Dusk book has Spring & Fall Equinox spreads. One spread, the Sickle is repeated in each book. You can see why this oracle appeals to my Witchy soul. The seasonal cycles of birth, death & rebirth, the growing, harvest, & barren seasons…the circle of life. What’s not to like here?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey through my Plant & Tree Wisdom Tuesdays selections. Next, Part 3 in this series will explore the cards I’ve selected for Witchy Wisdom Wednesdays!
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