Deck Review – The Seed & Sickle Oracle Deck by Fez Inkwright

Welcome to Dark Reads & Deck Reviews, today we are going to take a look at The Seed & Sickle Oracle Deck. Many thanks to Liminal 11 for sending me the deck for review!

About The Deck

The Seed & Sickle is an Oracle Deck that centres on the cycle of sowing and harvest, exploring themes of productivity and rest.

One to wither, one to grow;
One for the sidhe and one for the crow.

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 Sickle Oracle deck is designed to encourage reflection on both of these.

Each card carries two meanings; one for times when moving forward is important, and one to help cultivate your own wellbeing. Whether you are sowing seeds for your next big project or harvesting rewards for a period of rest, The Seed and Sickle will accompany you on this journey.

From Fez Inkwright, creator of the illustrated folklore books Folk Magic and Healing and Botanical Curses and Poisons.

Packaging

Well I must say I always love a Liminal 11 box, they are always really well made and practical.

I really do love the attention to detail. This deck has a dusk and dawn theme and it has been beautifully incorporated into the box as well.

The box is sturdy and has the classic Liminal 11 magnetic flap at the bottom of the box, the inner box then pulls out with cards and guidebooks fitting snuggly.

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I appreciate this is a lot of images of the box, possibly got carried away but I have to share one more! Just look at the barcode!!!!

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The Guidebooks

Yes I said guidebooks! This deck comes with two guidebooks depending on what type of reading you are doing.

I must admit I was worried that this might be a gimmick for just reading reversals but this is not the case at all. The meanings in the two guidebooks are completely different.

The Dawn guidebook is for readings for times when you may be starting a new project or for expansion, growth and movement.

‘Familiar plants have new meanings in the first rays of the sun, and the cards teach lessons about growth, productivity, and not letting moss encumber you.’

The Dusk guidebook is for guidance on your mind and body in a more holistic sense.

‘These readings are for stillness, self reflection and stability – an inward projected energy. Familiar plants have new meanings in the dim light of the rising moon, and the cards teach lessons about recovery, mindfulness and letting the moss grow peacefully.’

I’ll share a card and the meaning given in each guidebook. It is very cleverly written. I really enjoy how different these meanings are for the same card, you really get so much from this deck.

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Each guidebook has a soft cover with 192 pages in each. They are full colour and include a quick reading guide which gives quick keywords for each card, a full page guide for each card, guidance on how to read the cards, some spreads and how these cards can compliment a Tarot reading.

The Cards

The Cards are standard Tarot size, they are full bleed, full colour and they have a durable matte finish.

As with previous Liminal 11 decks the card stock is really good, fairly thick but still riffle and overhand perfectly. They have a lovely feel to them and no sticking together.

The deck is arranged into 4 suits. One for each season of the year. I’ve chose 4 cards from each season to share with you.

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

The Seed & Sickle Oracle is a beautiful and unique deck. I love the colour pallet and the art style is just stunning. This really is a deck not to be missed.

This is the only Botanical deck I own, simply because previous my knowledge hasn’t been particularly strong in this area. It has been lovely to discover and work with this deck I feel like I have learnt so much! The guidebooks are really well written and in my experience I have had really interesting and meaningful readings from this deck.

Although the deck goes through all 4 seasons I get really strong autumn vibes from the deck which is perfect with the release date coming up on the 9th of November.

You can pre order a copy directly from Liminal 11 or via Amazon.

About The Creator

From Fez’s Website

Fez Inkwright is a Bristol-based illustrator who has provided work for a wide range of publishing houses and game companies. Her main focus lies in conservation, folklore, and tattoo design, with heavy occult and ethnobotanical themes.

Fez has authored and illustrated a number of books and cartomancy decks, primarily exploring the importance of plants and insects to the development of human culture and religion. These books include Bees: A History, published 2018; Folk Magic and Healing, published 2019; Botanical Curses and Poisons, published 2021; the Seed and Sickle oracle deck, to be published November 2021; and the Citadel deck, to be published November 2021

Fez focuses on the significance of parts of our ecosystems that are often overlooked, such as common weeds and hedgerow plants, and aim to raise awareness of their vital importance to the health of our planet. Through donating a percentage of sales to environmental charities, she has raised thousands towards local conservation efforts.

Previous clients include Channel 4, Liminal 11, Illumicrate, Cunning Folk Magazine, Quarto Publishing, Barrons Educational, Rainbow Publishing, ChangYou/Zoenix, and Gemma International.

She has been nominated for Eagle awards for her comic book cover illustrations, and more recently Kindred Spirit’s Emerging Voice 2021 award.