I started 2020 with lots of great, positive energy and I expected it to be fantastic. As we all know, it wasn’t. However, I think it’s important to count one’s blessings, and mine have been plentiful. Here’s to a better 2021! I think we’re all going to need some extra TLC, which is why I decided to pick the Lantern Oracle (by Angelina Mirabito and illustrated by Yuly Alejo) as the spotlight for my last review of the year: as a deck created to embark on a “soul-nurturing journey”, this 44 card oracle published by Blue Angel is my choice to close off 2020 and start 2021 anew.
In this deck, each card is a “lantern into your current situation”. Feminine wisdom is at the centre of this deck. With a strong character focus, it is designed to be a tool to “ask a question and connect with the Maidens, Mothers, Guardians, and Crones [...] for clarity, growth, assistance, and healing”. Each of these four figures is associated with an element and a phase of consciousness, having 11 cards for each stage. The more I use this deck, the more I like it. Each character has so much personality, different ages, different expressions, different skin tones, different bodies. It is so easy to relate to them, to imagine their backstory and motivations. Each card has so much power that, as a whole, this is a fantastic deck for weaving stories together.
The artwork is very atmospheric, with a rich palette and a good balance between cards that look darker and others that have more light in them. This contributes to one of the objectives of the deck, “to draw lessons, solutions, and insight from the shadows and be empowered to walk in truth and shine your light in the world”. They combine a realistic style with fantasy elements, and though most feature one woman on her own, you can also find groups of them, as well as a couple of men. The cards have a nice matte, shuffle-able finish; thin and not intrusive borders; and a red mandala backing. The card names are conceptual, and under the names you can find key phrases for immediate answers.
But beyond these key phrases, 144 page the guidebook offers more: an introduction (including information for the four guiding phases, a how-to, and spreads) as well as the card meanings (spanning 2-3 pages each). In turn, these include the cards’ guidance, as well as a concise Maiden, Mother, Guardian or Crone message. The deck and book come in a sturdy two-part box that features the artwork of the “Strength of Vulnerability” card.
The Lantern Oracle is a deck I can’t get over. It works so well in all kinds of situations and for all kinds of people, with such a deep wisdom filled with gentle energy and a tinge of pensiveness. The artwork is beautiful, and looks great in one card pulls, bigger spreads or combined with other decks. Though the Crone cards are my favourite (because I can’t often find older women depicted in my decks), all of them are so worthy of contemplation. Head over to Blue Angel Publishing to check it out, as well as other new releases and more goodies to come!
