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Ostara Tarot:
A stunning oracle deck connecting the magical Spring equinox to reader's lives.
The Vernal equinox, Ostara, wakes the city after winter. Perfect for both novices and collectors. Includes cards and book.
Card 2 3/4" x 3 3/4"
The Vernal equinox, Ostara, wakes the city after winter. Perfect for both novices and collectors. Includes cards and book.
Card 2 3/4" x 3 3/4"
112 pages, Paperback
Published June 28, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 21, 2021
An interesting thing about this deck, it’s illustrated pretty equally by four different artist who went to school together and are friends. It’s named after the Ostara witches’ holiday or sabbat, which takes place after winter when spring begins and so many changes happen. That’s a fitting name for a journey through Tarot.
One negative for this deck is that the cards are stuck together so bad and this seems to be a very common issue, as you see it all over when you start googling. So know when you buy this you’re gonna have to get these cards unstuck somehow. Watch some YouTube videos LOL. It will help.
I have a lot of tarot decks and I generally read some of the guide but not everything, but I’m really enjoying this guide. I’ve already run into several different perspectives on the cards that help me see them in a new light. And the art is beautiful. There’s one artist I’m not too thrilled with but every single artist has some stand out cards. Overall this was definitely worth the buy.
One negative for this deck is that the cards are stuck together so bad and this seems to be a very common issue, as you see it all over when you start googling. So know when you buy this you’re gonna have to get these cards unstuck somehow. Watch some YouTube videos LOL. It will help.
I have a lot of tarot decks and I generally read some of the guide but not everything, but I’m really enjoying this guide. I’ve already run into several different perspectives on the cards that help me see them in a new light. And the art is beautiful. There’s one artist I’m not too thrilled with but every single artist has some stand out cards. Overall this was definitely worth the buy.
August 18, 2020
3.5 stars.
This deck was created by 4 different artists, so the art style is very disjointed. At times it feels juvenile and childish (with a cartoonish aesthetic) and then the illustrations become dark and a bit more mature. Example in case: go and look at the difference between the emperor/the empress. The emperor has a realistic and more pagan vibe, while the empress looks like she was pulled out of a children's book.
I also find this deck too hard to shuffle. It would have been better with a less thick cardstock, but that is a personal preference.
If you want a deck that brings you imaginative illustrations, a fantasy oriented aesthetic, and a playful/naive vibe, then the Ostara Tarot may be for you.
This deck was created by 4 different artists, so the art style is very disjointed. At times it feels juvenile and childish (with a cartoonish aesthetic) and then the illustrations become dark and a bit more mature. Example in case: go and look at the difference between the emperor/the empress. The emperor has a realistic and more pagan vibe, while the empress looks like she was pulled out of a children's book.
I also find this deck too hard to shuffle. It would have been better with a less thick cardstock, but that is a personal preference.
If you want a deck that brings you imaginative illustrations, a fantasy oriented aesthetic, and a playful/naive vibe, then the Ostara Tarot may be for you.
March 4, 2024
Such an interesting, beautiful and whimsical deck! The deck and guidebook comes in a flat, easy to store, sturdy box. But it splits the deck into two separate sections. I’m not a big fan of this, although it’s not a deal breaker. The cards and the book definitely make up for it!
The Guidebook.
This deck was designed and created by four different women, which is why I believe it’s so unique and interesting. Containing a great coloured guidebook, which gives the details of the images in each card, keywords and reversal meaning. The information is informative and helpful, without being overly complicated.
The Card.
The card stock is pretty good, laminated and standard tarot card size. Depending on how you like the shuffle it’s not very bendy, as it’s a harder laminated card but it holds up. I’ve had this deck a few years now and use it every January until after Ostara. The silver gilded has remained intact and the readings are accurate. Unfortunately, I have to give it 4 stars. As much as I love this deck, some of the images are had to make out. The artwork is beautiful but not all of the imagery is easy to understand or figure out, the guidebook helps with that. Done with a lovely mint green back, flowers, skulls and interesting artwork, this is a fabulous set! I would definitely buy this one again, if I wear out my original.
The Guidebook.
This deck was designed and created by four different women, which is why I believe it’s so unique and interesting. Containing a great coloured guidebook, which gives the details of the images in each card, keywords and reversal meaning. The information is informative and helpful, without being overly complicated.
The Card.
The card stock is pretty good, laminated and standard tarot card size. Depending on how you like the shuffle it’s not very bendy, as it’s a harder laminated card but it holds up. I’ve had this deck a few years now and use it every January until after Ostara. The silver gilded has remained intact and the readings are accurate. Unfortunately, I have to give it 4 stars. As much as I love this deck, some of the images are had to make out. The artwork is beautiful but not all of the imagery is easy to understand or figure out, the guidebook helps with that. Done with a lovely mint green back, flowers, skulls and interesting artwork, this is a fabulous set! I would definitely buy this one again, if I wear out my original.
August 17, 2018
The illustrations in this tarot deck are absolutely beautiful, I'm so glad that I ended up picking this deck up and I'm excited to work with it in the future. The guidebook was quite helpful, and interesting to compare with another of my guidebooks, as the meanings differ in some ways and are similar in others.
August 15, 2021
The art in this is wonderful, however I can not in all good conscience responsibly give this a good review when I had to ruin over 20 of the cards edges in order to unstick them. If your metallic edging has not been quality tested enough to preserve the integrity of the cards when unsticking, then you haven't done enough quality testing.
I've purchased a lot of high end decks with high end metallic edges. I had to unstick nearly every card in the Majestic Tarot for example, but no edges or cards ever got ruined in the process, nor was the process so impossible I ended up getting my fingernail between the art and the back instead of the edges themselves. As a result, I can now tell certain cards when I fan them or see them in the deck, which means it's now impossible to do true randomised tarot reading in the style that I'd like.
This is a big issue! Please don't use things like 'fancy borders' if - during the process of packaging, they're going to get so stuck together that you can literally hear a tearing sound like pulling masking tape away from a box, with every card being unstuck. They resisted being pulled apart right to the very end.
It might seem like a little quibble, but it's basically ruined the whole purpose of the deck for me, which was not to just look at pretty art, but to use it as a functional tarot deck and not be able to tell one card from another due to damaged edges.
Additionally, the deck doesn't fit as a whole in the box, it must be split into two.
These are major practical oversights that test decks sent out to clients could have overcome easily and quickly. No idea why the edging was so bad. But would NOT recommend this deck to anyone who wants truly randomised tarot cards when reading, because there's no guarantee you'll be able to unstick the cards without damaging them, no matter how finely you work. I have never seen this issue be so bad with any of the metallic-edged decks I've used in the past. It feels disrespectful to what tarot is about, honestly, and therefore disrespectful to the artist's whose work is represented here, because I feel like they threw their lot in with someone who just didn't desire to tick the boxes when it came to making sure this could function well as a *tarot.*
I've purchased a lot of high end decks with high end metallic edges. I had to unstick nearly every card in the Majestic Tarot for example, but no edges or cards ever got ruined in the process, nor was the process so impossible I ended up getting my fingernail between the art and the back instead of the edges themselves. As a result, I can now tell certain cards when I fan them or see them in the deck, which means it's now impossible to do true randomised tarot reading in the style that I'd like.
This is a big issue! Please don't use things like 'fancy borders' if - during the process of packaging, they're going to get so stuck together that you can literally hear a tearing sound like pulling masking tape away from a box, with every card being unstuck. They resisted being pulled apart right to the very end.
It might seem like a little quibble, but it's basically ruined the whole purpose of the deck for me, which was not to just look at pretty art, but to use it as a functional tarot deck and not be able to tell one card from another due to damaged edges.
Additionally, the deck doesn't fit as a whole in the box, it must be split into two.
These are major practical oversights that test decks sent out to clients could have overcome easily and quickly. No idea why the edging was so bad. But would NOT recommend this deck to anyone who wants truly randomised tarot cards when reading, because there's no guarantee you'll be able to unstick the cards without damaging them, no matter how finely you work. I have never seen this issue be so bad with any of the metallic-edged decks I've used in the past. It feels disrespectful to what tarot is about, honestly, and therefore disrespectful to the artist's whose work is represented here, because I feel like they threw their lot in with someone who just didn't desire to tick the boxes when it came to making sure this could function well as a *tarot.*
March 5, 2021
The Ostara Tarot deck and book come in a sturdy magnetic-closing box suitable for permanent storage. The deck was created by four artists cooperating artistically such that the entire deck is coherent with a pastel color pallet, and similar artistic styles. You will probably not be able to discern which cards were produced by each artist. The deck is themed to the spring/pagan festival of Ostara, which became Easter after Christianity dominated Europe.
The 2 and 7/8” by 4 and 7/8” cards are the perfect size for easy riffle shuffling. The cards feel good in the hands and seem able to withstand repeated use. The card backs are reversible-friendly. The accompanying book, full color, 110 pages, is approximately 5 ¾” X 5”. There is a full color illustration of each card. For the majors, each has an entire page of explanation and a separate page of illustration. The explanatory material includes helpful key words, a discussion of the card’s meaning and a paragraph on the reversed meaning of the card. This is far more than the standard little white book included with most tarot decks. The major arcana are not numbered, letting the card reader make any distinctions regarding Strength and Justice in the order of the trumps, although in the book they are presented as Justice in the number eight position, and Strength in number eleven.
The Five of Swords card shows five swords stuck in the ground with an ominous looking snake hanging off the collective hilts of the swords. This reminds the reader of the adage, attributed to Confucius, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
The Judgment card (usually the most ominous in a deck) shows an angel with a sword passing judgment on the spirits of the dead.
The Eight of Wands card, “Swiftness,” is depicted by a peregrine falcon with eight sprouts growing out of its chest. Most likely the eight sprouts are to represent the eight Wands normally shown on this card, but this particular image does not work for me.
The meanings given of the cards loosely follow the convention of Rider-Waite-Smith, but many images are far different, such that most card readers will have a learning curve with this deck. Those who strongly resonate to the imagery of the R-W-S tradition will find this deck lacking.
The most outstanding features of this deck are the artistic vision, complete in all 78 cards and the accompanying book, and the increased interpretative material in the book. Most readers will like this deck; certainly the deck is a visual treat.
I received this deck as a gift.
The 2 and 7/8” by 4 and 7/8” cards are the perfect size for easy riffle shuffling. The cards feel good in the hands and seem able to withstand repeated use. The card backs are reversible-friendly. The accompanying book, full color, 110 pages, is approximately 5 ¾” X 5”. There is a full color illustration of each card. For the majors, each has an entire page of explanation and a separate page of illustration. The explanatory material includes helpful key words, a discussion of the card’s meaning and a paragraph on the reversed meaning of the card. This is far more than the standard little white book included with most tarot decks. The major arcana are not numbered, letting the card reader make any distinctions regarding Strength and Justice in the order of the trumps, although in the book they are presented as Justice in the number eight position, and Strength in number eleven.
The Five of Swords card shows five swords stuck in the ground with an ominous looking snake hanging off the collective hilts of the swords. This reminds the reader of the adage, attributed to Confucius, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
The Judgment card (usually the most ominous in a deck) shows an angel with a sword passing judgment on the spirits of the dead.
The Eight of Wands card, “Swiftness,” is depicted by a peregrine falcon with eight sprouts growing out of its chest. Most likely the eight sprouts are to represent the eight Wands normally shown on this card, but this particular image does not work for me.
The meanings given of the cards loosely follow the convention of Rider-Waite-Smith, but many images are far different, such that most card readers will have a learning curve with this deck. Those who strongly resonate to the imagery of the R-W-S tradition will find this deck lacking.
The most outstanding features of this deck are the artistic vision, complete in all 78 cards and the accompanying book, and the increased interpretative material in the book. Most readers will like this deck; certainly the deck is a visual treat.
I received this deck as a gift.
July 24, 2017
The Ostara Tarot , owing its name to the pagan vernal equinox, marks the midpoint of spring and ushers in a time of light, rebirth, and new growth. In this deck, you will discover a journey that loosely follows traditional Tarot symbolism, while also exploring themes of wilderness, surrealism, and feminine intuition.
The Tarot is a tool for self-exploration, and this deck questions the user’s relationship with the earth beyond our concrete city life. The illustration pays homage to the natural world and those romantic moments in history where we return to nature. Mysticism and fantasy grow green in our hearts and beckon us home to the forest.
This is a 78-card Tarot deck and guidebook connecting to Vernal equinox to the reader’s life. It has the traditional symbolism with contemporary themes, teaching core lessons and diverse messages.
My favorite card is The Fool, beginnings, innocence, trust, and freedom. A girl rides her broomstick through a sky filled with birds, getting dangerously close to the sun. The Fool is shown at the beginnings of her journey, symbolizing unlimited potential. This card tells us that each day is an adventure. The Fool tells us that now is the time to be “foolhardy” and to set out on a new adventure without worrying too much about the consequences. It is easy to hum and haw about the dangers of living, without ever actually going for what we want. This card tells you to trust and enjoy life, and that we will only grow through experience.
I was given this deck from Schiffer Books for an honest review.
The Tarot is a tool for self-exploration, and this deck questions the user’s relationship with the earth beyond our concrete city life. The illustration pays homage to the natural world and those romantic moments in history where we return to nature. Mysticism and fantasy grow green in our hearts and beckon us home to the forest.
This is a 78-card Tarot deck and guidebook connecting to Vernal equinox to the reader’s life. It has the traditional symbolism with contemporary themes, teaching core lessons and diverse messages.
My favorite card is The Fool, beginnings, innocence, trust, and freedom. A girl rides her broomstick through a sky filled with birds, getting dangerously close to the sun. The Fool is shown at the beginnings of her journey, symbolizing unlimited potential. This card tells us that each day is an adventure. The Fool tells us that now is the time to be “foolhardy” and to set out on a new adventure without worrying too much about the consequences. It is easy to hum and haw about the dangers of living, without ever actually going for what we want. This card tells you to trust and enjoy life, and that we will only grow through experience.
I was given this deck from Schiffer Books for an honest review.
December 31, 2018
I love these cards, every illustration is beautiful beyond belief. The Artists that collaborated on this deck have done an amazing job at keeping a mystical feel with more a brighter contemporary illustration style.
I found the only major down side to this set is the box. The outside design is nice and rigid and the magnetic closure is great...but the inside...the inside is a mess. There's no permanent packaging for inside the box, just some scrappy cardboard divider tubes to attempt to keep the cards in place. Which is a pain in the butt when trying to take out and put back your cards. But this would all be fine if you're someone that keeps their cards in a separate deck bag.
I will say that when you first take the deck out, make time to go through and separate each individual card because the sprayed edges have caused the cards to stick together during manufacturing.
I found the only major down side to this set is the box. The outside design is nice and rigid and the magnetic closure is great...but the inside...the inside is a mess. There's no permanent packaging for inside the box, just some scrappy cardboard divider tubes to attempt to keep the cards in place. Which is a pain in the butt when trying to take out and put back your cards. But this would all be fine if you're someone that keeps their cards in a separate deck bag.
I will say that when you first take the deck out, make time to go through and separate each individual card because the sprayed edges have caused the cards to stick together during manufacturing.
October 29, 2019
I've had the digital version of this deck for quite a while, and I love it! The art just resonated with me, and the story of each card is so fun to read. And after using it for so long, these cards feel like home for me. So I decided to get the physical deck, but then my mom hated them and sold them away.
This deck will always have a special place in my heart. And if you love earthy, meaningful, comic-style decks, this deck is a great pick.
This deck will always have a special place in my heart. And if you love earthy, meaningful, comic-style decks, this deck is a great pick.
October 1, 2017
The images are amazing and remind me of childhood tales of animal kingdoms and fairy fantasies. I love everything about this deck, from its silver edges to the soft, pastel-coloured box, and the well-designed guidance book. And more importantly, how it works with my other deck. I'm so glad I have this <3
November 18, 2018
Gorgeous deck. My current choice for daily journal spreads.
The descriptions are spot on and the art is lovely.
The descriptions are spot on and the art is lovely.
July 18, 2020
Gorgeous cards, but I have trouble connecting with cards. High quality and packaging
September 14, 2021
An honest review by a pro Tarot reader for 17 years ~
TLDR: Full-color deck/guidebook with inconsistent art and designs. Pretty but inconvenient packaging/deck storage. The Pagan theme was not apparent, the meanings are not easily gleaned from the imagery, and there's little to no diversity.
Impressions:
there was a somewhat inconsistent quality to the art that made the deck feel disjointed (I unfortunately feel this way about all collaborative art decks I've seen so far)
creators stated this deck has Pagan elements that emphasizes our relationship with nature, and while it did have animals and nature scenes, I personally didn't see much that felt Pagan to me, it's just more like a whimsical fairy tale adventure
each suit by one of the four artists
creators stated that an animal or family was assigned to each suit, though there wasn't much of a narrative connecting them that I could see
short explanation of each image with upright and reversed meanings
full-color guidebook
silver-gilded edges
decent cardstock with very glossy finish that isn't photo-friendly
minimalist borders with only Major names and Minor numbers/Courts
inconsistent borders with titles appearing on the top or bottom
Euro-centric people, little to no diversity
not an advanced deck with any emphasis on Hermetic elements, Western Astrology, Hermetic Qabalah, etc.
TLDR: Full-color deck/guidebook with inconsistent art and designs. Pretty but inconvenient packaging/deck storage. The Pagan theme was not apparent, the meanings are not easily gleaned from the imagery, and there's little to no diversity.
Impressions:
there was a somewhat inconsistent quality to the art that made the deck feel disjointed (I unfortunately feel this way about all collaborative art decks I've seen so far)
creators stated this deck has Pagan elements that emphasizes our relationship with nature, and while it did have animals and nature scenes, I personally didn't see much that felt Pagan to me, it's just more like a whimsical fairy tale adventure
each suit by one of the four artists
creators stated that an animal or family was assigned to each suit, though there wasn't much of a narrative connecting them that I could see
short explanation of each image with upright and reversed meanings
full-color guidebook
silver-gilded edges
decent cardstock with very glossy finish that isn't photo-friendly
minimalist borders with only Major names and Minor numbers/Courts
inconsistent borders with titles appearing on the top or bottom
Euro-centric people, little to no diversity
not an advanced deck with any emphasis on Hermetic elements, Western Astrology, Hermetic Qabalah, etc.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews