The Menagerie of Love
love themed oracle deck
The Menagerie of Love is an oracle deck designed and created by me. It is a sixty-card deck covering everything regarding love. I created the deck years prior after looking through all the love decks that were currently on the market. There were several things I learned while on my spiritual/ self-love journey that I thought were important to have in a love oracle deck. I decided to finally finish this project in September in the form of digital collages. Read below to learn more about this deck and see all the cards!
What Compelled Me
After a lot of heartache, I devoted several years to figuring out why I was holding myself back in love and life. Along the way I learned so much valuable information from dating coaches, YouTube analysis channels all the way to spiritual teachers and mythology professors. Taking mostly a secular approach to card reading I wanted to give the power back to whoever uses this oracle deck. Instead of asking, “Why don’t they like me and what are they thinking about me?” I hope that from deep introspection and the little messages on each card the person reading my cards can ask instead, “Why do I want them so badly and what can I do to realize I deserve to be treated fairly and lovingly.”
I have a mantra I like to say when I am down, “I am the sun, the moon and the stars. I am everything and I am nothing. I am pure energy and bliss, and it is my mission to radiate that to those in my surroundings.” And this deck is just one of the ways I feel I can help lift people up just a little bit. I am just an artist trying to make my way around social media, but I hope I can do my part and throw some positive messages out into the void like others have done for me.
The deck is sixty-cards. Fifty-seven of those cards are a mixture of positive, "negative" and neutral cards. Unlike most oracle decks I feel like negative cards are very important since life always has its ups and downs, and I wanted this deck to reflect that. There are also three blank cards so you can write down messages that are important to you to make your deck more personal.
Each card is made layer upon layer of images weaving together a subconscious tale of the cards meaning. As you can see with the two examples here. I liked using sculptures since they are so expressive and sort of a blank slate to look at instead of actual people or objects and words.
I really enjoyed working on the finance card, if you look closely, you can see the story I was trying to create. Two hands meeting together over a piggy bank. Piggy bank symbolizing one’s money saving goals. Behind the hands is a stairway of silver ingots forming into a stoned pathway. Next to the two hands are globes to represent two different world views. Can the two hands with different priorities meet in the middle? I tried to put little messages into every card so you can find something new every time you use them.
This project was originally meant to be funded by a kickstarter, but it was unsuccessful. I really enjoyed this project and hopefully someday it will find its way to people. I am so lucky to have friends and family and people that don't even know me try to support the project. I am forever thankful and that was one of the best experiences I got out of this 5 month long project.