General questions
Which deck should I start with?
If you're new to tarot, start with No Clowning Around Tarot, which was made to teach. If you'd like an oracle deck, The Shadow of the Spectacle was built for curious newcomers.
What's the difference between a tarot deck and an oracle deck?
They look alike, but they work in completely different ways.
Tarot is one of the oldest card traditions still in use. It began in northern Italy in the mid-1400s, when an extra suit of illustrated "trumps" was added to the ordinary four-suit playing pack for a card game. People in France began using tarot for divination in the late 1700s. Whatever the artwork, every tarot deck shares the same 78-card structure:
- 22 Major Arcana, numbered from The Fool (0) through The World (XXI). They stand for life's big turning points and lessons.
- 56 Minor Arcana, in four suits of Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Each suit has ten numbered cards and four court cards, and together they speak to everyday events, people and choices.
That shared structure makes tarot a single language. Learn it once and you can read any tarot deck. In a reading, you shuffle, lay cards out in a pattern called a spread, and read each card through its number, its suit, whether it's upright or reversed, its place in the spread and the cards beside it.
An oracle deck has no fixed structure. Its creator decides how many cards it has, what themes it explores and what each card means, so every oracle deck is its own complete system, explained in its guidebook. Most oracle cards carry one clear message. You can draw a single card in answer to a question, for daily guidance or as a prompt for reflection, without first learning a system. Our three oracle decks each have 52 cards: The Mercurial Eye Oracle is built on the seven Hermetic Principles, Universal Circus Oracle on three circus rings, and The Shadow of the Spectacle on a journey down the rabbit hole.
People turn to both for the same reasons: to look at a question from a new angle, to listen to their intuition and to reflect. Tarot asks you to learn a shared language that has grown over centuries. An oracle deck speaks its creator's language and invites you to start listening right away.
No Clowning Around Tarot
Is this deck good for beginners?
Yes. Most tarot decks assume you already know how to read them; this one teaches instead. No special gift or prior experience is needed, only curiosity and a little daily practice.
Is it a traditional tarot deck?
Yes. It has all 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana numbered 0 through XXI and 56 Minor Arcana. The four suits are circus troupes: Wands are the Torchlight Troupe, Cups the Bubble Troupe, Swords the Tightrope Troupe and Pentacles the Big Ring Troupe. Every rank and suit stays recognizable to an experienced reader.
How big are the cards?
2.75 x 4.5 inches.
Is there a matching journal?
Yes, sold separately. The No Clowning Around Tarot Companion Journal follows the full 78-card system and includes 5 guided intuition exercises, plus spread logs for the three-card spread and the Celtic Cross. It's also available in a deck-and-journal bundle on our website.
The Hart & Hind Tarot
Is it a traditional tarot deck?
Yes. It has the full 78-card tarot structure: 22 Major Arcana numbered 0 through XXI, and 56 Minor Arcana in the four suits of Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Card titles, numbering and suit names follow standard tarot convention exactly. Only the pictures change.
Is it good for beginners?
It suits readers who already know tarot, since its symbolism reads true to an experienced reader. If you're just starting out, No Clowning Around Tarot was made to teach.
How big are the cards?
2.75 x 4.5 inches.
What makes it different?
The cast is a reindeer herd in a Tudor forest court. Kings and knights are broad-antlered bucks, and queens and pages are does. Every animal already found in the traditional imagery keeps its own species, and on all four Aces an antler holds the suit token in place of the traditional hand from a cloud.
The Mercurial Eye Oracle
Is this deck good for beginners?
A newcomer can read it intuitively, because every card has an upright meaning, a reversed meaning and a reflection question. It rewards readers who already know how to listen to a card and are ready to sit with paradox and ambiguity.
Does it include a guidebook?
Yes. Every deck includes its companion guidebook.
Is this a tarot deck?
No. It's a 52-card oracle deck built on the seven Hermetic Principles set out in The Kybalion: Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender.
How big are the cards?
2.75 x 4.75 inches.
Is there a matching journal?
Yes, sold separately. The Mercurial Eye Companion Journal has 7 sections, one for each Hermetic Principle. It's also available in a deck-and-journal bundle on our website.
Universal Circus Oracle
Is this deck good for beginners?
Yes. Every card has an upright and a reversed meaning in the included guidebook, so you don't need any experience to start.
Does it include a guidebook?
Yes. Every deck includes its companion guidebook.
Is this a tarot deck?
No. It's a 52-card oracle deck organized into three rings: the Inner Act, the private work of attention and courage; the Living Act, the show shared with others; and the Cosmic Act, the widest ring of endings, legacies and wonder.
How big are the cards?
2.75 x 4.75 inches.
Is there a matching journal?
Yes, sold separately. The Universal Circus Companion Journal is a backstage notebook with 3 sections, one for each ring. It's also available in a deck-and-journal bundle on our website.
The Shadow of the Spectacle
Is this deck good for beginners?
Yes. It was built for a curious newcomer rather than a seasoned reader. Every card carries its own message and a reflection question.
Does it include a guidebook?
Yes. Every deck includes its companion guidebook.
Is this a tarot deck?
No. It's a 52-card oracle deck inspired by a curious descent down the rabbit hole, with scenes such as a white rabbit, a grinning cat beneath an enormous moon and an unbirthday tea party.
How big are the cards?
2.75 x 4.75 inches.
Is there a matching journal?
Yes, sold separately. The Shadow of the Spectacle Companion Journal has 8 themed sections. It's also available in a deck-and-journal bundle on our website.