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Title: Goddess Astrology Oracle Cards
Created by: Tarn Ellis
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Price: $21.95
Number of cards: 38
Card size: in
Box size: 2 in approx
Guidebook pages: 128 (53 in english)
Purchased or gifted?: review copy gifted by Lewellyn Books
Absolute favorite card: Philosophy
Other favorites: (in order from most beloved): Subconscious, Hygeia, Sun, Pluto, Moon, Venus, Gemini, Home
Notable detail:
Season: Summer
Sabbat: Lammas
Sign: Leo
Element: Spirit / Earth
Deck compliment: Tarot of the Goddesses / Earth Woman Tarot
Collective Pull: Aries

Add to Your Altar

First Impressions

So my honest first impression is that I’m a little over astrology cards. Not because I think astrology cards are a bad idea because they aren’t. I’m just sick to death with the same kind of astrology deck. All of them feature the 12 signs, the ten planets, an asteroid or two and either the 12 houses or a keyword or two. The most original astrology deck I’ve seen is the Herbal Astrology Oracle and I would argue that it is more an herbal deck than an astrology one.

So when I saw this deck, I wanted to review it because I think people will like it but at the same time, I had very little excitement about it. Having it in my hands now, I can say that it's beautiful. I’m not a super huge fan of Tarn’s art but I do very much appreciate it. She is a great artist, please don’t misunderstand that. It’s just more colorful than my taste allows. But that’s a personal preference and not a reflection on the creator. Having said that, I do really like the artwork here. In fact, this might be my favorite of the decks she’s created. But I’ll talk about that more later. For now, let’s go through the whole thing and be sure to let me know if you ended up adding this one to your altar.

The Packaging

This is one of the better boxes from Lo Scarabeo. The box itself has a nice canvas texture to it and I like that it’s a traditional two piece box. I don’t care for their tarot boxes that have the small top that lifts up. I grab the box and the top always slips off, sending the bottom and the cards everywhere. This is like your standard box so everything is more secure, at least in my opinion.

The cards themselves are a bit thin but shuffle well. They don’t have gilded edges and if you’ve read my reviews for a while, you’ll know how I feel about that. I think these would’ve been outstanding with a hot pink, violet or indigo edge. But whatever, letting it go.

The design on the back of the cards are pretty too. It features a moon, two hands reaching towards the moon and stardust dancing about. It matches perfectly with the deck and looks like it could’ve been an oracle card all on its own. I also love that the box cover features a sun and the card backs feature a moon. I thought that was a nice balance of astrological elements.

The Guidebook

The guidebook is in black and white, not full color but it's a nice size. Like all Lo Scarabeo decks, there are several languages right from the start. I always repeat this because a lot of people don’t realize that there is no guarantee a deck will be translated. A deck has to sell well for a foreign publisher to take a chance on it. And as much as I wish otherwise, getting published by a major publisher does not equal huge sales. In fact, there are plenty of independent creators who produce and sell their decks themselves and make far more money than someone going through a publisher. They also might sell more than someone going through a publisher. This isn’t always the case but please understand that getting published as an oracle deck creator does not mean you’re going to make millions or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most do not.

Which of course means, most decks never get translated. Having four languages in the guidebook from the beginning is something I’ve always loved about Lo Scarabeo decks. That means at least for languages do not need to wait and hope to see a deck available in that language.

People ask me all of the time when Seasons of the Witch will be available in their language and truth is, it may never be available. So it's nice that at least one publisher has a way of dealing with this.

Ok, enough with me ranting about that. Inside the guidebook, you will find:

An introduction
How to use the deck
Three spreads
A list of all the cards and their corresponding glyphs
The card meaning

There’s a gentle explanation for the various elements of astrology like the planets and houses so even if you aren’t super familiar with astrology, there’s enough information to make the deck useful. For each card, you get the name, some keywords and the meaning for the card. You don’t have an image of the card itself so you’ll have to rely on the name to make sure you have the right one.

The meanings are one long paragraph but it holds both a description of the cards and the meaning itself. For the most part, I have found the bulk of the meaning is in the last 1-2 sentences of the paragraph if you’d like to skip to that part. The meanings themselves are what you would expect for each of the signs. Tarn does a good job at capturing the zodiac or planet quite well.

Theme

This deck is meant to be the celestial bodies portrayed through goddess form. So basically, a study of what each planet, sign, asteroid and so on would look like if it were a female body. There isn’t a connection to a specific goddess. Instead, the deck represents goddess or feminine nature as a whole, told through the eyes of astrology.

The Artwork

As I mentioned in my first impressions, I quite like the artwork and I do think this is my favorite art of hers. It’s not different from her past decks really and yet it is. It’s hard to explain. It just feels warmer and more confident. I feel like each one of these goddesses are truly secure in themselves. You know when you see someone and they give off this energy where you just know, they know who they are and don’t apologize for it? That’s what I see in these images in a way that I didn’t see in her previous decks.

The artwork is still rich and colorful and just like all of her artwork or at least all that I’ve seen, there are no faces. But what you do get is a variety of people. There are all different kinds of shapes and sizes, hair textures, skin tones and clothing styles. Some are naked, some are fully covered, some quite thin while others are plump and curvy. I think she does a great job portraying the female body in all of its forms. There are even times when certain races appear obvious even though the faces are missing. I think most women will be able to find themselves or something close to it in this deck.

My favorite card is Philosophy. I love seeing Jupiter peaking through in the background, just beyond the tree. It looks like the sun at first and I love that this card has that warmth that the sun would usually bring. I also love that while it's called philosophy, it’s completely immersed in nature. I feel like that term, philosophy, makes you think of something stuffy or academic. But academic doesn’t have to mean devoid of nature. There are a lot of grounded elements like the mountains and the heavy tree but also a lot of feminine energies too like the lake and the flowers.

“There is no set way to interpret the art; the best way to understand each goddess is to connect with yourself and realize what she means to you specifically. ”

I really love Subconscious too. It’s set in a desert scene and although there are camels in the background, it reminds me of the high deserts of California where I spent my summers and holidays. I love the desert. In fact, I am writing this review right now from the high desert. And I have always associated the desert with the subconscious realms. That’s part of the reason I love it as much as I do. This is a harsh place but it's also so beautiful. And that’s what I feel in this card too. There’s sand as far as the eye can see but there’s also life. A cactus here, camels there and a small oasis in the background.

I think that’s such a beautiful way to portray the subconscious realm. There’s beauty there for those who know how to look for it and for those who know how to make the best of it.

I’d like to talk about one more card, Pluto. Because I absolutely love that it’s not portrayed as a dark hellscape. This Pluto is warm, nurturing and full of life. There’s a phoenix (a subtle nod to Scorpio) and butterflies, lilies and water. Plus the goddess featured here has an obvious mother/crone energy. Pluto gets such a bad rap when there is so much good that can come out of it. And among all of this warmth sits a bit of darkness at the top, to remind us that Pluto’s darkness eventually gives way to light.

Reading With this Deck

Man does this deck pack a punch. It called it like it is with every reading I did. The first card that I pulled was the nine of arrows and the second was the ten of arrows and both are completely accurate. The hard thing about working with tarot sometimes is that it tells you things you don’t always want to face. And I have found that while the deck is full of cute and cuddly creatures, they have zero problem with being opinionated.

Having said that though, I found some card meanings that are traditionally more harsh to be quite gentle. I pulled the five of pentacles, a card I hate with all my heart, but found the meaning in the guidebook to be hopeful rather than doomful. I don’t believe a tarot deck should give you positive platitudes but there are some cards that need some softening and this is one of them.

What I found to be curious is the card I pulled about the deck, the seven of cups. I have to admit, that one threw me off because I haven’t seen the cards behave in that way. I’m still sitting with that means. I keep asking myself if it means I shouldn’t believe everything it tells me. But when I draw cards and they feel spot on for my situation, it’s hard to think they’re giving me false guidance.

Ready to get this deck?

Season, Sign, Element and Sabbat

I chose summer for the season mainly because of the bright colors but also because the zodiac signs align beautifully with the sun. It’s true that astrology is not just about your sun sign but I also think collective belief changes the energy of things. And what the vast majority of people associate the sun signs with astrology even though that’s just a piece. Which means, the sun embodies a huge part of how we view the astrological world and the Sun’s main season is summer.

I went with Leo for the zodiac sign. It’s true that this deck aligns with all of the zodiac signs and what was what I had at first but it just felt off. I looked through the deck again and kept hearing the word Leo. I think because this deck is so bright and expressive and even a bit sensual or theatrical. By that I mean, it feels confident. All of the figures within this deck feel confident and truly embody their light. That is a Leo quality so while the whole deck might represent all of the signs, the energy of it feels firmly in Leo territory.

I chose Lammas for the sabbat because of the expression of light and color, not unlike choosing the season of summer. But this deck also feels abundant, like it’s a snapshot of the earth during the harvest season.

Finally, I chose both spirit and earth for the elements. This is an earth deck, no doubt about that but the presence of the zodiac signs always brings in an ether element.

Collective Pull

I pulled Aries for you. This goddess encourages you to make a move on the things you desire. To stop hesitating and do what needs to be done. Not that taking a step and completing are not the same. Aries is the energy of initiation meaning, it's here to get the ball rolling. Don’t give yourself the added pressure of needing things to be perfect or needing to reach the finish line before you’ve even started the race. You just need to do something to chase your dreams. Maybe it's a small step or maybe it's a giant one. The point is that it’s just one step, not all of them. Take it one day at a time and over time, your dream will come true.

Who is this deck for?

Do you like Goddess energy? Do you like Astrology? Do you like working with feminine energy? If you like any of that then this deck might be a solid match for you. It’s very womanly in the best possible way. It’s also quite nurturing. I know I chose Leo for the zodiac sign but I also feel a lot of cancer in this too.

And I still think this deck carries the energy of confidence. So if you are a woman who is looking for some strong confident woman vibes, then I think this one will quietly encourage you to stand in your own power.

Deck Companion

I like pairs to be from the same author whenever possible so this deck would be lovely with Tarn’s tarot, the Earth Woman Tarot. However, I tried it with Tarot of the Goddesses and absolutely loved the match. I think the feminine power running through Tarot of the Goddesses goes well with the confident nature of this deck. Both feel very feminine, sensual, graceful and expressive. It’s not that Earth Woman Tarot isn’t like that but it almost feels like it competes with Goddess Astrology rather than compliments. Versus Tarot of the Goddess which seem to dance with each other. But don’t take my word for it. Have a look at the photos and you tell me what you think.

Read my review of Earth Woman Tarot

Tarot of the Goddesses