Oracle decks have been one of my favorite spiritual tools for self-connection and inner growth. They make any daily routine or ritual much more meaningful and are very simple to use.
In this post, I'm sharing my finds of the most magical oracle decks for assisting you with your spiritual connection and self-care, as well as how I use oracle cards in my practice.
What is an oracle deck
Oracle cards are considered a divination tool, meaning they are used for spiritual guidance and as a way to shed light on situations or circumstances that a person might not be seeing or considering.
"To divine is to imagine the world rightly, to see past the illusion that we are separate from the entire fabric of reality." Gwendolyn Womack, The Fortune Teller
Merriam-Webster defines divination as "unusual insight: intuitive perception." As Gwendolyn states above, it is an illusion that we are separate from anything, and therefore everything in our reality is reflecting something back to us.
When we pull an oracle card, the card can be seen as a reflection of our current energy. There are many ways to interpret a card, which is why it's good to look past the guidebooks that come with most decks and practice interpreting the possible meaning each card has for you personally.
What an oracle deck is used for
Oracle decks are one of my favorite tools to use to connect with my higher self and spirit guides. I pull oracle cards anytime I'm wanting clarity on a situation, or even just guidance for my day.
Most often I have used my oracle deck to pull a card in the morning by asking what I most need to know for the day.
The second most common way I've used oracle decks is during a ritual or self-care time. The Moon Ritual bundle comes with several card layouts that I've used time and time again for personal and spiritual exploration.
You can use an oracle deck to connect with yourself, your higher self, your guides, your gods, your angels...whomever and whatever you personally believe in.
The difference between oracle and tarot decks
The main difference between oracle and tarot cards is really the structure. Tarot cards are more structured and detailed, and oracle cards are more open-ended and can come in any format.
For example, most traditional tarot decks have 78 cards per deck that correlate with numerology and astrology. Oracle decks on the other hand can come in any number and can contain cards with unique meanings not found in other decks.
Oracle decks give a more general overview while tarot decks can get much more detailed. Although I have to say, as an oracle card user, I have found very rich and deep meaning in my card pulls.
I prefer oracle cards for the very reason that they are more open-ended in interpretation Sometimes our minds can instantly go into fear when we're given a more detailed message that we don't fully understand, so with oracle cards there is less chance of this happening.
It's really just a personal preference and most people enjoy both kinds of decks in my experience.
Best oracle decks
I have scoured the interwebs in search of magical, beautiful oracle decks that I think are worth recommending. There are so many to choose from out there, but my advice is to go for the one that makes your eyes light up when you first see it.
Just like with crystals, you are intuitively drawn to the right deck for you. Read the reviews from customers and the description of the deck, but let your heart pick it out and not your mind.
1. Moon Witch Oracle Deck ™
This is the second edition of the Bestselling Moon Witch Oracle deck. This deck was inspired by the exploration of the Divine Feminine and the source of her powers: The Moon.
The deck consists of 42 cards and is divided into four suits: Action, Connection, Insights, and Message. Each card offers a ritual or spell to strengthen your connection to your higher self, which I love. There's also a guidebook provided (so it's beginner friendly).
2. Woodland Wardens Oracle Deck
Drawing on mythology, folklore, and literature, each card in the Woodland Wardens deck features an animal-plant pairing accompanied by a distinct and thoughtful message: the hare and the oak; the finch and the peach; the hawk and the thistle.
My sister-in-law brought this deck over the other night and we all pulled a card that was spot on for each of us. I highly recommend this magical deck!
3. Zodiac 108 Oracle Deck
This is a best-selling, highly-loved deck from Etsy star seller Kimberly Fisher. Her object-based oracle cards combine astrology, numerology and tarot with a plethora of meaningful keywords that enables anyone to go deeper while reading oracle cards without a guidebook.
The raving reviews from customers leave little doubt in my mind that this oracle deck has the potential to become your next favorite.
4. Believe in Your Own Magic Oracle Deck
Believe in Your Own Magic Oracle Deck
This gorgeous new oracle deck by Amanda Lovelace is based on her poetry series Women Are Some Kind of Magic.
Each card is like a re-written fairy tale where you are your own hero. I personally love how it showcases women of all shapes, colors and sizes, sending messages of empowerment and self-love just as you are.
5. Dreams & Incarnations Oracle Deck
Dreams & Incarnations Oracle Deck
This 52 card, intuitive oracle deck features original surreal and fantasy art by J. Edward Neill and card concepts, keywords, & guidebook by Heather Neill.
The focus for this deck is awareness of both the conscious (waking) and subconscious (dreaming) self. You'll discover dreamlike, surreal images, meant to guide you between the wakeful and sleeping worlds.
6. Wild Whiskers Oracle Deck
This is the second edition of Wild Whiskers. The new deck includes 60 animal illustrations, a booklet, a rigid box, and quality card stock with black edging! The cards feature gorgeous hand-painted watercolor images and an 8-sided instructional booklet.
The back of each card depicts an anatomical heart surrounded by folk art flowers. They're easy to shuffle and read, and can be used in multi-card spreads or as single cards for daily contemplation.
7. Wisdom of the Oracle Divination Cards
Wisdom of the Oracle Divination Cards
This magical deck is my personal go-to and has been for quite some time. The creator Colette Baron-Reid blends elements of the I-Ching, Norse runes, traditional tarot, and other ancient divination tools into this deck.
It is a 52-card deck and comes with a companion guidebook that will allow you to interpret messages about all aspects of your journey, with over 250 independent meanings that can speak to an unlimited number of circumstances.
8. Salt Water Spirit Oracle Deck
Water is the womb of the Earth, and holds a long forgotten ancient wisdom that has a deep connection to the divine feminine. As we enter the Age of Aquarius, the bearer of water, we see the divine awakening of the collective stirring.
This deck was created with intention to help clarify the world around you through a deeper perspective using ethereal artworks which awaken a deeper communication between spirit and the querent.
9. The Intuition Oracle
The idea that every human being has an innate ability to make good decisions based on their “gut instinct” is experiencing a surge of popularity in this time of instability and insecurity. This unique deck is an essential tool in developing that inner wisdom.
This 52 card deck corresponds to archetypes and universal symbols, which are meant to prompt meditative thought. An accompanying guidebook includes a variety of intuition-sharpening exercises to be used with the cards.
10. Nocturna Oracle
For this deck, creator Megan Wyreweden chose mostly plants and animals that are active at night. The deck starts with the "dusk" card as the beginning of night, and ends with the "dawn" card, signifying the first light of day.
An accompanying guidebook offers suggestions on how to interpret the cards, however this is optional, and you can derive your own meanings yourself she says.
11. Sea Soul Journeys Oracle
The Sea Soul Journeys Oracle deck provides mindful daily mantras to boost your mood, providing quiet yet potent signposts and connecting you more deeply to your intuition and to the magic and power of the sea.
The supporting guidebook contains expanded explanations and prompts for each card and provides ideas on how to use the deck in different ways, daily, weekly, monthly or randomly on a card-by-card basis.
12. Home Oracle Deck
This is a whimsical Oracle Cards Deck of 51 cards that each have a different message. It's a modern, beautiful and intuitive deck that is designed to help you connect to your inner wisdom and discover your own magic.
The deck is full of unique characters, and the artwork is heavily influenced by the early modern art style, Fauvism. It also comes with a beautiful Thai and English bilingual guidebook.
13. The Seed & Sickle Oracle
This is an oracle deck that centers on the cycle of sowing and harvest, exploring themes of productivity and rest. The cycle of sowing and harvest is one that we see reflected around us every day...there are times for productivity and there are times for rest. The Seed and the Sickle Oracle deck is designed to encourage reflection on both.
Each card carries two meanings; one for times when moving forward is important, and one to help cultivate your own well-being. Whether you are sowing seeds for your next big project or harvesting rewards for a period of rest, The Seed and the Sickle will accompany you on this journey.
14. Flower Medicine Oracle
The symbolic language of flowers has long been a part of world mythology, literature, and culture, and this beautiful deck will guide you to understanding flowers and what they mean.
This deck set includes an interpretation booklet and guide to the symbolism of each flower, a color psychology guide and a 'flower spread' guide to help yo use the cards. This is a truly beautiful deck designed for divination and self care.
15. The Metaphysical Cannabis Oracle
The Metaphysical Cannabis Oracle
The Metaphysical Cannabis Oracle Deck is designed to help you tap into your intuition, encouraging reflection and opening the third eye through herbal healing. Written by Maggie Wilson, the first Black female cannabis sommelier, it combines her expertise with richly illustrated cards by artist Ejiwa Ebenebe.
A 78-card deck, printed on a matte-finish paper stock, this oracle will help you cultivate intentional rituals with plant medicine using deep spiritual symbolism.
16. Green Witch Oracle
Explore the hidden powers of the Green Witch and her sacred herbs, plants, and flowers through folklore, healing properties, garden magick, and hidden messages. These forty-four cards allow you to draw upon both the magickal and medicinal aspects of the garden.
Ethnobotanical and plant folklore historical facts are sprinkled throughout the guidebook enclosed, along with gardening advice and spells.
17. Astral Realms Crystal Oracle
The next deck on my wishlist! This 33 card deck is a portal into the esoteric world of crystal healing and celestial influence. It employs a trifecta structure that combines crystals, celestial bodies, and key words.
Included is an immersive companion guidebook that gives insight into crystalline energies and universal principles, written to encourage the reader to transform their perspective and elevate their tangible experience.
18. The Herbal Astrology Oracle
This unique 55-card oracle deck and guidebook helps you to discover the powerful connection between the healing wisdom of plants and their astrological rulers.
You can use these cards to assist with manifestation and a better connection with Earth. The little booklet that comes with it is very helpful, especially for beginners.
19. Oracle of Mystical Moments
I've owned this deck for a few years and have to include it on this list because of its unique imagery and rich meanings in each card.
Each of the 52 oracle cards captures a magical moment full of vintage charm. It also comes with a little guidebook that help you interpret your card pulls.
20. The Wandering Soul Oracle
In this deck the energy is of exploring past lives, searching for soul family members, recalling your blueprint, connecting with guides, meeting your gatekeeper, and more. This is teamed up with real world, practical advice.
This deck comes with 50 cards, plus an altar card, and comes with a booklet that sits seamlessly in the box with cards.
21. Angel Number Messages & Affirmation Oracle
Angel Number Messages & Affirmation Oracle
If you're into numerology or wanting to learn more about it, you'll want to check out this best-selling deck on angel numbers.
It comes with 53 gloss black cards with gold gilded edging, and can be used alone for guidance or to complement other oracle/tarot spreads.
22. The Faceted Garden Oracle
This deck was inspired by the symbolism and metaphor of the garden, and the artwork was intuitively hand-painted using a variety of collage and other mixed media.
This is the second edition of the Faceted Garden deck and comes with two new cards. It comes in a two-piece sturdy box with an accordion-folded guide that includes brief meanings for each keyword. The cards are easy to shuffle and edged with a holographic foil for a beautiful rainbow shimmer.
How to use oracle cards
Most decks come with a booklet that will tell you how to clear your deck and infuse your own energy into it, and they'll usually have some suggested spreads and general instructions on how to use the cards.
For me, this is what I do every time I sit down to pull cards:
1. To clear the deck, I usually hold the deck in my left hand, close my eyes, and knock on it with my right hand while envisioning it popping with white light. You can do it in any way you want, as it's your intention that clears the energy, not the actions.
2. I ask my spirit guides to be present and to help guide me towards what I need to know.
3. I shuffle my deck until I intuitively feel ready to stop, thinking of my question, and then pull a card that feels right. If I feel hung up, I picture all the cards being blank and remember that whichever card I pull will hold the message I need to see.
4. Turn my card over and begin taking notes. I look at the illustration on the card, observing what's in the picture: colors, symbols, numbers, and the feelings I get from it. I then begin reading inside the booklet.
Finding the message
With card pulling, you learn to read between the lines of the guidebook and feel into your intuition. Not every description is going to fit you exactly, so I look for words or sentences that I feel are for me.
Your spirit guides/higher self is showing you this card because somewhere, in the illustration or within the description, there is something for you to benefit from. So just look for it and if something pops out at you and resonates, that's your message.
One thing I like to do is keep my notes from all of my card pulls because it's nice to be able to go back over them a few days later or anytime I'm needing to hear the message again.
I might spend a few days studying one specific card. I think about the number I pulled or what the colors or animals could possibly symbolize, especially to me. Different things symbolize different things to different people. If you and I both pull a wolf card, it will have a different meaning depending on what wolves symbolize to us individually.
This is an example of how I document my card pulls during moon self-care rituals.
In conclusion
Oracles decks are an excellent way to shed light on your current energy and to connect and receive messages from the other side. I highly recommend them for any spiritual self-care practice.
Do you pull cards and if so, do you have a favorite deck or special way of using your cards? I'd love to hear about in the comments below!
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this article and found something to take away with you.
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Mia
My current favorite is the linestrider tarot (although I`ve wanted to get the spirite de la lune oracle deck for a while now and I am pretty sure it wil be my favorite once I do buy it) and I use it a lot.
I usually shuffle until it feels right, then spread the cards face down on the table and run my left hand (the hand of the heart as my mother calls it) over it and pick those I feel a connection to.
Jessica Dimas
Spirite de la lune sounds really familiar...hmmm, I'll have to look it up. And yes that is my favorite way to pull cards recently as well. I love that your mother calls the left hand the hand of the heart, that's beautiful.
Ana
If you were considering starting to pull cards and using oracle cards which would you suggest (even if it’s not one of these you talk about)?
Jessica Dimas
I started with the Goddess Guidance deck and it's still my favorite one, so I would recommend that one!
Moonsparkle (ZM)
Your decks look good. 🙂 I have Daily Guidance from your Angels too, that's one of my faves and also Doreen Virtue's Magical Mermaids and Dolphins. Lucy Cavendish's Oracle of the Mermaids is good as well. I also just got Oceanic Tarot by Jayne Wallace for my birthday, so look forward to trying that out.
Jessica Dimas
I just got the Magical Mermaids and Dolphins deck, I'm so happy to hear that's one of your favs as well! I haven't used it yet, very excited to though. I'll have to look up Oceanic Tarot, that sounds good.
Sarah
My first ones and favourite are my ‘’Messages from your angels’ oracle cards, I simply couldn’t be without those! Thank
Melissa
Loving your website. I found you through Pinterest this week and joined your newsletter. I just ordered the goddess guidance deck yesterday and I’m happy to have found your recommendation here today. I’ve just started pulling tarot cards for guidance recently (I used to be into it years ago). Thank you so much for all of this info and I’m looking forward to all your interesting and genuine content!
Katherine
🙋🏻♀️INFP here 😁 I’ve never been drawn to Tarot cards - I think because it felt complicated. I’m a big fan of Doreen Virtue’s decks. Healing with the Angel’s was my first purchase , but her fairy deck surprises me with wisdom and insights. I’ve just started using her Unicorn deck this week and I’m loving the magical energy from them. I’m really loving all your content. Collette Baron Reid decks are on my list!
Jessica Dimas
Woot, fellow INFP! Yeah, I think I'm the same...tarot cards just seem too complicated. I'm going to have to look up the Unicorn deck, that one sounds fun!
Autumn
a good portion of your selection are Doreen Virtue decks. I refuse to give her any money. Idt it's right for her to turn her back & now denounce all things metaphysical saying they're evil, but still make money from them. Hopefully now that it's 2 yes later, you can update the list.
Jessica Dimas
Yeah, that was interesting what happened with Doreen. I do love her decks though! I like to think that her soul came to experience the contrast in her beliefs, and of course we all change over the course of our lifetimes. But I agree that I could update the list soon.
Sheila
Thank you for this post and suggested decks. I have been using Earth Magic deck for a number of years as well as The Answer is Simple deck. I am wondering what your opinion is on purchasing a deck for someone else? A friend began using oracle cards because of readings we would do together with my decks and now she does some on her own - one of your suggestions seems deeply connected with my connection with her, so I was thinking of getting it for her as a gift. Or should we always choose our own cards? I appreciate your guidance.
Jessica Dimas
Great question! I have gifted decks before to close friends. I personally think gifting a deck is totally fine and even an intuitive nudging on your part when you feel drawn to a certain deck for someone else. To me it's similar to someone intentionally gifting me a crystal or a book...I always feel that I'm meant to have the energy of that crystal or that there's something in that book for me to see. I think it's a very meaningful and useful gift idea.