“believe in your own magic” - Oracle Deck Review

Try before you buy: today’s review is of the “believe in your own magic” Oracle, a deck of 45 cards created by amanda lovelace, artwork by janaina medeiros (the creators do not use capital letters, so I am honouring that here). All opinions are my own.

You can purchase your own copy here.

(This is an affiliate link which supports me if you make a purchase).

My Star Ratings

1 star = disappointing / 2 stars = meh! / 3 stars = pretty good / 4 stars = terrific / 5 stars = sensational

The Artwork 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Card Meanings 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Guidebook 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Card Quality and Packaging 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Why you may be drawn to this deck

This deck is definitely one for those who appreciate the Modern Goddess incarnate! It is full of super relatable, diverse women with the same concerns many of us everyday souls have. It is humble, beautiful and really humorous in parts. Terrific for beginners to long-term Oracle collectors.

The artwork

One of my favourite things about this deck is the comic art. Not your classic Spider-Man comic with speech bubbles, but the work is really fun and every picture tells such a strong story.

One of the first things that stood out to me is the postures of the characters in the cards. They really embody those times we feel shy, nervous, unsure - or bold, brave, content, nonchalant, etc.

I like that many of the cards have images that are set in the everyday world, or have everyday people surrounded by symbolic images. The CONFIDENCE card shows a “real world” setting of a girl riding a train. The character shows how uncertainty, within ourselves or about the world, looks like. The fact she’s on a train hints that growing confidence can be a slow, but steady forward journey.

My absolute favourite artwork in this deck is the NOSTALGIA card. It is a great way to show just how challenging being present in the moment can be, when distracting thoughts are going on in our mind. It also demonstrates how our unchecked thoughts can really impinge on our day and can be really expansive (hence the thoughts residing in a universe). Check out these powerful images below.

The Card Meanings

If you want an Oracle that spells things out boldly and succinctly, with no frills, this is deck for you. There are times when we only need to pull out one card, get the wisdom upfront and move on. The deck is really useful if you’re time poor (or have a short attention span some days!).

Most cards offer quick advice on how life is, such as the GOLD card that tells us we “don’t need someone else to fix” us. Other cards offer guidance on what to do, like the SHARK card which suggests it might be time to move away from a particular scenario. Others give you that much needed pep talk, reminding us of what we instinctually know, but often somehow forget.

And some cards don’t sugar coat a thing (see below) and guide us to make those tough but empowered choices! I feel this short and punchy approach can sometimes be the exact medicine we need.

The Guidebook

This has a terrific introduction that sometimes runs like a Q&A session to the author. We learn why the deck it was created, how to use it and why the cards don’t have reversed meanings. I absolutely love the answer they give to the question asking whether Tarot or Oracle decks are evil (you’ll need to purchase a copy to find out what is said! Link to purchase given above).

The card descriptions are super easy to find, as each card is numbered. The descriptions run for just one page, but the book is a quite large for an Oracle deck, so you don’t feel like it’s too short of words (there’s merit in small but clear descriptions, as much as the long missives).

The actual guidance is always supportive, sometimes a little too close to the truth and a couple of times quite scathing about how certain situations can be - but the words are always empowering. You feel the author is in your corner and totally gets it.

Lastly, the humour used throughout the guidebook is 10/10 for me. It’s dry, it’s punchy, it’s great! I feel like the author is the sort of person I’d like to listen to on a long podcast, just to hear her take on life.

Card quality and packaging

The cards are nice and big, so you can really take in the images, but they fall short in the slightly flimsy card material used (so keep them away from rowdy pets and children 😂). They’re not coated well enough for the best slip when you’re shuffling, but with cards this large, would you even want to shuffle them?

The box is well made, in fact it reminds me of an elegant gift box you might receive a watch or large pendant in (attached to velvet cushioning). The container is quite strong, so if you like to take your favourite decks with you when you travel, it’s unlikely to get damaged.

Some final observations

I feel like I don’t want to say much more about this deck, as it’s full of delights you don’t want spoilers on.

To sum things up, this isn’t just any Oracle deck, it’s more like a box of artisian choux pastries, with many levels and layers that are sure to please your palette!

Here are some other whimsical Oracle decks, that may whet your appetite:

Affirmators! 50 Affirmation Cards to Help you Help Yourself by Knock Knock and Naomi Sloman

Gentle Reminders Daily Oracle Deck by Em and Friends

Oracle of Mystical Moments by Catrin Welz-Stein

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