manifestingalignment - Tumblr blog

manifestingalignment · 1 year

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I’m back - with a Review of my Tarot Collection!✨

Hey Tumblr fellows! It’s been awhile! Last year was a pretty deep year of shadow work for me so I haven’t been around the blogging space in a little while. I also discovered the Fediverse which is where I spend most of my social media time now. It’s amazing!

This year is my 30th birthday and my hubby is gifting me a new tarot deck, so I thought it might be fun to do a review of the tarot and oracle decks I’ve collected over the past 8 years and share them with you! And perhaps you’ll discover some that you’ve never seen before to add to your own collections!

1. Age Of Aquarius Tarot by Yana LéVie

(Ordered on Etsy, will review once it arrives).

I love the aquatic feel of this deck so much. But what makes this deck really unique is it has 88 cards! It features the major and minor arcanas, and a THIRD arcana has been added to this deck called the Universal Arcana (hence, the additional cards). The guidebook also seems really beginner friendly but I'll review this deck properly once I actually have it in my possession.

2. The Starchild Tarot (Akashic Edition) by Danielle Noel

(Ordered from her website).

I purchased this one for it's art style, it was the second deck I ever owned. The images are absolutely stunning. Reading the symbolism in this deck isn't quite as intuitive as other decks and would likely be more difficult for beginners without the guidebook, but some are decent. It's truly a beautiful deck to own for those who love this art style and pastel tones. The guidebook is also fairly detailed and includes upright and reversal meanings, as well as some associations.

3. True Black Tarot by Arthur Wang

(Ordered from his website).

This deck is so polished, I've never touched cards softer than these ones, and such great quality! A lot of love went into the production of this deck, both in the card stock and the imagery. This is one of my more symbolic decks and I use this one primarily for shadow work. My only grievance with it is the way the cards are labelled. The Minor Arcana card labels are just Roman Numerals and it can be confusing to find some of the cards in the guidebook at times. Arthur Wang recently created another tarot deck I am looking to get in the future called Ephemera, which looks to be just as stunning as his True Black Tarot, except instead of a black theme they are white and gold. It's a brand new deck that just finished funding on Kickstarter and is due to be released this Spring.

4. Spirit De La Lune Oracle by Marissa Rankin and Rachael Tarantella

(Ordered from their website - 🚫 I DON’T recommend buying from them. 🚫 )

This is probably the most unique deck I own, as the cards are round, but also, it just has such a unique system and each moon phase and mandala are so beautifully detailed, both in the artwork and in the guidebook. It is a very well done deck, but I don't recommend buying from them directly unfortunately as I had a really negative experience with them in the past. I'd suggest getting this deck from a third party seller if possible if anyone wants it. I purchased a planner from them awhile after purchasing the deck because I loved the deck so much. It was very late arriving in the mail and my husband and I were in the process of moving residences. Had it arrived on time it wouldn't have been any issue, but it didn't arrive before we moved and so I reached out to the seller explaining the situation to see if anything could be done. They were really nice about it in the beginning and offered to send a replacement to our new address, but then after that message they gave me the silent treatment for weeks, they would read my messages asking for an update, but wouldn't respond. They just completely ghosted and never fulfilled the replacement as they had said they would. As a business owner myself, I felt this was handled really poorly, that if they weren't genuine about sending the replacement they shouldn't have said they would do that and then go unresponsive and not follow through. So as much as I still love and use this deck, I can't encourage others to buy it from them, because should it get lost in the mail or any other unfortunate circumstances arise, there will be no help from them and they will ghost.

5. The Constellation Tarot by Iryna/Artismymagic

(Ordered on Etsy).

This was my very first tarot deck and I absolutely love it, though, in hindsight it is really not a good deck for beginners at all. I am a very visual person and LOVE the artwork in this deck, but it is very difficult to read on an intuitive level unless you know what certain constellations mean as many are what make up the major arcana in this deck. The guidebook also is not a very detailed and not great quality. That might have changed since I purchased it years ago as she did make some updates since then. I still love this deck and use it occasionally, and have had a lovely experience with the creator Iryna. She made some updates to the packaging since I purchased it years ago and mailed me the new box to keep my cards in.

6. The Weaver Tarot (Journeyer Edition) by Threads Of Fate

(Ordered from their website).

This is such an aesthetically pleasing deck. The cards are beautiful holographic with foil and I think it is decent for it's symbolism. It comes with a reference card that is really helpful to show what different card symbols mean that they repeat throughout the deck. As much as I fell in love with the aesthetic of this deck, I never really ended up connecting with it. I didn't connect with the language within the guidebook and felt there were some inconsistencies with the symbolism. Just not a good frequency match I guess. Hoping to maybe one day trade it for a different tarot deck I want more. There’s no doubt this is a stunning deck though, and the quality is incredible!

7. Isis Oracle by Alana Fairchild

(Purchased on Amazon).

I will NEVER NOT recommend this deck! This deck is by far one of the most detailed decks I have ever owned and connect with on such a deep level. This is one of the decks I always turn to when I need loving guidance or spiritual "mom" advice. It isn't just about the artwork with this deck, but the guidebook is so incredibly detailed. The messages for each card are several pages and every card includes a ritual that connects with it and the message it brings to help you go inward with it. This is just such a special deck. This is one of those rare decks that you can just tell the creator of the deck made it from deeply spiritual place, that her spiritual process was incorporated throughout the entire process. I have never encountered that with any deck before, not like this. It feels like many of these messages were channeled. I just love this deck and can't recommend it enough.

8. Starlight Frequencies Oracle by Leah of ShopDarkMoonCrystals

(Ordered from Etsy shop).

I am so glad I got this when she first released this deck because this version of the deck is no longer in production. The creator of the deck released this version in the beginning but decided to go in a totally different direction with it, so the new version looks nothing like this one. But I really like this version better than the new one. The backgrounds have really soft color gradients with holographic accents on each of the cards. It is a very minimalistic deck, giving only minimal guidance in the guidebook, but it was intended this way as this deck was meant to be more for intuitive practice.

9. Forest Of Enchantment Tarot by Lunaea Weatherstone and Meraylah Allwood

(Ordered from Amazon)

This deck is one I had my eye on for awhile before purchasing. I fell in love with the artwork because it reminded me so much of the fairytale storybooks I used to read as a child. So much love and creativity went into this deck. The suits have a different name than traditional tarot decks, and the artwork is so detailed and has so much symbolism. You really gotta study the images in this deck as there are so many hidden details and symbols within the artwork. There are two decks in my collection that really speak to me and seem as though they really come to life, and it is this one and the Isis Oracle previously mentioned. These two decks are my main go-to decks, because they feel so kindred to me. Highly recommend the Forest of Enchantment Tarot!

10. Lucid Dreams Tarot by Britta/St.Soleil

(Purchased on Etsy, though, their Etsy shop was shut down. This deck can still be purchased from their website)

In my opinion, this is the best tarot deck for beginners out there! It has the upright and reversal meanings right on the cards, as well as the astrological symbols, zodiac and elemental keys. The guidebook is incredibly thorough as well and includes the meanings to everything on the cards, including a guide to numerology in the tarot! The artwork in this deck is heavily based on the Rider-Waite tarot, though, in my opinion the artwork in this deck is so much more appealing and just looks so elegant! I highly recommend this deck to any beginner. As for their Etsy shop being shut down, this was due to them being overwhelmed with orders a couple years ago during the holiday season. The decks were a few weeks delayed in being shipped out, which resulted in a whole bunch of people leaving negative reviews and requesting refunds in fear they wouldn't arrive in time for Christmas. People still got their decks but all the refund requests and negative reviews due to delays I think got them shut down. I still recommend purchasing from them because they are honest, they just got overwhelmed with more orders than they could handle I think for the season. The deck can be purchased from their website.

11. Archangel Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue

(Purchased at a thrift store)

Under other circumstances I probably wouldn't have purchased this deck, but I found the Angel Card Reading Kit that still had the DVD for it inside, and it was such a cheap price I couldn't pass it up! Though it's not my particular taste, the artwork is pretty though and I have had some really amazing experiences with it. In 2020 I made a Vision Board and drew a card from this deck for the year, and the card I drew was the Writing card with Archangel Gabriel. This felt like such a divine message for me as I did go on to do a lot of meaningful writing that year and helped a lot of people through it. Ever since it has been my go-to deck for angelic messages and guidance and will remain a permanent part of my collection.

There is a bit of controversy with Doreen Virtue. A few years ago she switched he path to Christianity and discouraged the use of divination. A lot of people betrayed by her for this and got rid of decks they owned by her. Personally, her change in spirituality doesn't bother me. I understand why people feel this way about her work now, but the way I see it, everyone is on their own journey and as we grow on our path, we change. Just because she switched paths and no longer supports divination and her old work doesn't mean that what she made in the past no longer has value. I've come to love this deck, and her lifestyle change has nothing to do with me or the value this deck has brought to me on my journey. To each their own!

Thank you so much everyone for reading and I hope you guys have maybe discovered some new decks here that you've never seen before! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer!

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manifestingalignment · 2 years

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Taking Time For Shadow Work

I’m going to be taking time away from social media for shadow work, so this post will be my goodbye for a little while. What brought this about was I was watching a workshop video by Teal Swan, she was diving into some shadow work with a girl from her audience, and as I listened to what the girl was feeling and experiencing, I noticed a lot of those same traits and feelings within myself that I never really had the answers to before for why I felt that way. She always felt she needed to challenge other people, that she was always seeking answers and trying to find her purpose and she could never find it. She always felt let down by other people, that things in her life were always failing her, that she didn’t trust herself.

These are a lot of the same issues I see within myself. The common issue that these feelings stem from was revealed in the video that it comes from growing up in an environment where you didn’t have any power and lacked a lot of control over your own life. I grew up in a very religious household and had a very controlled childhood. My dad especially was very hard hearted. My mom tried to soften him but she often couldn’t get through to him. I remember my aunt gifted me a furby for my birthday and I absolutely loved it so so much. It was my favorite toy. For whatever reason, it gave my dad bad vibes and he threw my furby in the garbage in front of me. It broke my heart. The same thing happened with other toys I grew really fond of. I loved playing the Nintendo 64 a lot growing up. My dad thought I loved it too much, so he sold it. I was forced to go to church growing up, whether I wanted to or not. I was told what to believe in, I was told what to like, what not to like. A lot of things I felt drawn to as a child I couldn’t play with because my parents associated it with evil in some way. Not everything of course, but I can think of many instances. There were some other things I think contributed to how I am today that are a bit too personal to post online, but I just think a lot of childhood trauma is starting to surface right now. So growing up, I often felt powerless, had a lack of control over developing myself and the things that I genuinely liked, I grew up always seeking others approval in order to like anything or be anything. I was molded to only interact and develop interests for the things other people approved of, I think it severely damaged my development for sense of self. And I think a lot of this has carried into my adult life, that is why I struggle so deeply with finding what I am truly passionate about or why I am always challenging others for power. It’s because I severely lack power within myself from my upbringing and I think the only way I am going to heal this part of myself is if I start from scratch, get totally away from social media, go into hermit mode, and really re-discover myself from a place of independence without any kind of positive or negative influence from other people. I need to learn how to source power and joy from within myself, and feel a sense of pride from my accomplishments on my own because I myself am proud of them. Not to try and make others proud of me for doing them. This is the lesson I have learned and now it’s time to put it into practice. ♥

I wish you all well. :) Thank you for following this account. I may be back in a few months, but I really can’t confirm the duration. I just gotta take this journey for me so for now this is goodbye. ♥

#witchblr #shadow work #healing #spiritual healing #childhood trauma #spirituality #shadowwork #witchcraft

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