*This page may contain affiliate links which may allow us to collect a commission when you click and make a purchase through the links on our site. There is no additional cost to you for doing so.*

Title: Tarot of the Woodland Wardens
Created by: Jessica Roux
Publisher: Amber Lotus
Price: $24.99
Number of cards: 78
Card size: 5× 3.12 in
Box size: 6.50 × 4.75 x 2.25 in approx
Guidebook pages: 196
Purchased or gifted?: purchased
Absolute favorite card: Nine of Arrows
Other favorites: (in order from most beloved): Ten of arrows, The Hanged Warden, Six of Cups, Eight of Wands, The Empress, Ace of Arrows, Ace of Cups, Seven of Wands, Four of Wands, The Devil, King of Arrows
Notable detail:
Season: late summer/ early fall
Sabbat: Lammas
Sign: Earth signs
Element: Earth
Deck compliment: Woodland Wardens Oracle
Collective Pull: Three of Cups

Add to Your Altar

First Impressions

The deck is beautiful and of course it is. We all know Jessica Roux’s work and if this is your first time being introduced to it, then you’re in for an aesthetic treat. Her work is so earthy and muted and just the kind of thing that says dark cottage core mastery. Having said that, there are a few things I’m disappointed by in this deck. Mostly because I would think her deck would’ve been given a bit more consideration for things like gilded edges, the guidebook and quality of the box. And yet, there is still so much to love. So let’s get to it and be sure to let me know if you end up adding this one to your altar. I love knowing which decks resonate with you.

The Packaging

On the surface, the packaging seems amazing but there are some things that I think could use an improvement. The box itself is a little thin. In fact, the top of the box almost stretches and feels a bit flimsy. The whole box is a full color print both inside and out and inside the box features the same motif from the back of the cards. The bottom of the box has Jessica’s bio printed which I quite like.

The cardstock is fine if not a bit thin. But honestly if it were thicker, you wouldn’t be able to shuffle the deck at all and I can barely shuffle it now. The card size is larger, more like an oracle which is nice for the artwork but really hard to shuffle in a deck of 78 cards. I like to do a riffle shuffle which is where you weave two halves of the deck together. I find the cards mix up a lot better this way but I absolutely cannot shuffle them this way because the cards are too large for the amount of cards.

Now to the cards themselves. They aren’t gilded and that’s what I’m most disappointed about. It's really hard to justify a lack of gilding when so many publishers are making it a point to not only gild but to choose really unique colors. A soft blue, mid tone green or a deep burgundy or brown would’ve made this deck outstanding.

What I do like is the matte printing. Jessica has a very soft, almost desaturated style of artwork that just wouldn’t have worked with glossy cards. These cards almost look like art pieces one might hang on the wall in a vintage frame. That’s of course due to Jessica’s art but also because the print is exactly what you’d want for this type of style.

*Four of Wands, Seven of Wands & Ace of Cups*

The Guidebook

The guidebook is huge and well done. I thought the guidebook for the Woodland Wardens Oracle was way too minimal but this more than makes up for that. Inside the book, you get:

An introduction
How to use the cards
Themes and symbols
Four spreads
Introduction for each of the card suites
And the card meanings

For each card you get a description of the card which features a good amount of information related to the meaning, the upright and reverse meanings and then some reflection questions. I think the description is my favorite part. I love reading about the thought process behind each animal choice. But there’s also little tips along the way that I think you won’t want to skip.

What I wish this guidebook had is color printing. It’s such a large, well-written book so I’m disappointed the pages aren’t printed in color. That could be a design choice since the whole of the deck looks vintage. So maybe the monochrome print is intentional but I think a full color book would make this so much better. Having said that, the price is pretty low for this size of a deck. I purchased it at $24.99 and it’s just below that at the time of writing this. There are many oracle decks with half the amount of cards that are more than $24.99, some of mine included. And part of that is probably because it doesn’t have the bonus features like gilded and full color print. But still, a few extra dollars more in the price to put the experience over the edge is worth it in my opinion.

Theme

Jessica describes her love of animals quite fondly in the introduction. She talks about how she wanted to create a deck that featured all animals rather than humans. And while the deck is called Tarot of the Woodland Wardens, it doesn’t just feature animals one would find in the woods. There are sea creatures and desert animals and mountain creatures and everything in between.

The Artwork

This is so classically Jessica Roux. It looks just like what you might expect from her and as someone who finds it hard to stick to just one style, I find myself so inspired by her consistent style. She just really has her lane and I so appreciate that. The artwork is soft. It has color but it isn’t super saturated. The colors are toned down so while colorful, they feel soothing rather than stimulating.

The art reminds me of what you might find in an old children’s book. Maybe like the original Winnie the Pooh or at least that era. It feels precious and the kind of thing you’d hang up around your kitchen or pantry.

“If you draw multiple cards depicting nighttime scenes or multiple cards with autumnal elements, consider what the recurrence might mean. ”

My favorite card is the nine of arrows although in truth, it's probably my favorite more so because I resonate with it so much right now. I’ve been struggling with some intense feelings lately. I also pulled this card for myself and it really hit home because the night before, I didn’t sleep at all because of anxiety.

But even with that, I still thought the card to be beautiful. I loved the moth since to me, it represents night. And then the little roses on the blanket feel encouraging. As I sat with it, I noticed the moth is sleeping on a branch and I just found that to be so sweet. It really looks like a bed at first glance and those are the best kinds of decks. The ones that take time to unfold and requires you to truly be engaged with them to learn all of its secrets.

I also really love the Ace of Arrows. I would happily frame this one in my studio space. But in truth, I believe you could find several cards in this deck that resonate, especially if you love animals. I find myself finding a new favorite every time I look through the deck.

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 late summer and early fall for this deck. The artwork really reminds me of that time of the year where the sun has the golden glow but there’s a haze coming in too. If you know, you know. And every time I look at this deck, I think of those last precious summer days when the anticipation of autumn is creeping up your spine. But there’s also a lot of activity from nature during that time. Animals are moving about either migrating or preparing for hibernation or just enjoying the last warm days.

And of course, we think of spring and summer as the garden seasons but I think late summer and fall is when we experience the most abundance of plants which is why the harvest is during this time of the year. You get that sense of abundance in this deck so I think this time of the year is perfect. I chose Lammas for the same reasons. This is such a rich and abundant deck that reminds me of the harvest season.

I went with Earth for the element for obvious reasons. Between the plants and the animals and the landscapes, it's hard to see any other element being the right choice. The only other suggestion I might say is that this deck works with all of the elements. There are plenty of water creatures and air creatures. I don’t see a lot of fire influence though so probably not that but if you’re looking for a natural, earthy deck, then this is it.

For the zodiac sign, I went with the earth signs in general. I couldn’t decide between Taurus and Virgo but I knew I wanted an earth sign. Virgo always makes me think of Demeter but Taurus always makes me think of Mother Earth so much like the earth element, I think the earth signs represent this deck well. Plus, you get that grounded, nourishing energy one would expect from any earth sign.

Collective Pull

I pulled Three of Cups for you. There’s celebration in the air, but it’s not the loud, champagne-soaked kind. This is the quiet kind of communion: clinking of glasses, soft laughter, or the knowing look exchanged between those who’ve walked through the same fire.

The Three of Cups reminds you that even in seasons of descent like grief and heartache, joy can exist. It’s the fragile kind, the kind you handle gently because it’s born of what you’ve survived. Maybe this week isn’t about dancing in the sun but raising a glass with those you love the most and honoring the people who stayed when things got strange, who understood your silences more than your explanations.

There’s medicine in that. In gathering with those who’ve seen your shadow and chosen you anyway. The Three of Cups asks you to remember that celebration doesn’t always mean forgetting the darkness. It can mean finding light within it, together.

Who is this deck for?

If you love creatures at all then this one is for you. It’s hard not to love all of the furry and fuzzies here. You have everything from chickens to jellyfish to badgers, all among beautiful landscapes.

If you were a fan of Woodland Wardens Oracle then this will feel super familiar. Even if you don’t have the oracle but are a fan of Jessica’s work then consider getting this one. Its warm and cozy and has a gentle vibe that I think would be welcome on anyone’s altar.

Deck Companion

I chose Woodland Wardens for the deck companion. It’s by the same artist and I truly prefer to pair a tarot and oracle made by the same person. They will naturally share a similar language and in this case, the themes are more or less the same. So you’ll see a lot of crossover between the two. Similar animals, colors, symbols and textures. In fact, I think even the card backs are the same which is even nicer (double checked…similar but not quite the same). That means you could make them one big deck, especially since the tarot cards are actually oracle sized. I really love that idea because I prefer to read tarot and oracle together instead of one or the other. Having them in one solid deck would be amazing and then you can just pull them naturally.

Woodland Wardens