• Deck title:                    Shadow of Darkness Oracle
• Author and artist:        Sirian Shadow
• Publisher:                   Rockpool Publishing Australia
• Publication Date:        Oct/25 (AU/NZ), Sep/25 (US), Oct/25 (UK)
• RRP:                           AUD $34.99
• ISBN:                          9781922786562
• Reviewed by:              Kim Goldsmith, Cosmic Snail Tarot

The Shadow of Darkness Oracle is not a typical deck. Reminiscent of 80s tattoos or heavy metal t-shirts, winged and skeletal demons burst out of the centre of each card, often brandishing scythe or sword. The aesthetic style is intentional – Sirian Shadow aims to subvert the dominance of light, soft imagery that abound in mass market oracle decks so that anyone can use this deck to sit with and work through pain, doubt, or blocks.

There are some artists already out there creating decks that look at the shadow side of life. Travis McHenry of the Occult Tarot fame has several decks exploring demons, their history and invocation, as well as decks that play on the seedier aspects of human life like the Hieronymous Bosch Tarot. In addition, Monica Bodirsky’s tarot and Lenormand decks invite us to face our fears and anxieties about life, albeit with a more humorous hand-drawn style. When reviewing the Shadow of Darkness Oracle, I created tarot spreads that combined it with Bodirsky’s Shadowland Tarot, and the energy between the two was quite complementary. Both decks offer insights on how to move through hard times in your life. While Travis McHenry explores the history of demons as entities external to us, the Shadow of Darkness Oracle asks you to face your ‘inner demons’. ‘Demon’ in Sirian Shadow’s lexicon, are projections of our darkest troubles. These demons either obstruct our best intentions, disallowing us to blossom to our full potential, or alternatively, encourage us to stay stagnant, wallowing in unhealthy thoughts and behaviours.

Shadow of Darkness is direct, and challenging – not at all wishy-washy as some oracle decks can be. The chosen words on the cards are provocative, particularly combined with the dark and demonic imagery. It is through discomfort that we all grow and learn the most, and working with this deck supports you along the way. On this note, I think that it is important to use this deck when you are in a safe space and feeling prepared to delve deep. If using these cards to read for others I would ensure you have created a nurturing and supportive space, and give the querent some healing rituals to accompany their reading like a sound bath or meditation. The card imagery alone may be disturbing, particularly for someone experiencing bereavement or feeling vulnerable, so use your best judgment before pulling out this deck. On the flip side, the whole point of this deck is to confront your fears, so these cards may be exactly what that person needs to catalyse positive change in their life.

With regards to the production values, the card backs are black with human and demon skulls over a red circle. The edging is metallic red and the finish is satin. The size of the cards is standard for Rockpool, and the box has a small front opening that snuggly fits the cards. Also, I have no trouble shuffling the deck with smaller hands.

The guidebook has a glossy cover and the pages are matte and fade from black to white with a colour image of the card at the top of the page. Sirian Shadow introduces his concept for the deck, and breaks down the difference between the ‘Protection’ and ‘Encumbrance’ cards in the introduction. A double page is reserved for each card description, including keywords, a message, and then an explanation of the energy of the card and how to overcome it. The text is reassuring but frank, reading like a pep talk from a close friend. There are rarely any specific suggestions for activities or rituals to take in response to the card, just general guidance.

The three suggested spreads are unique to the deck and are very helpful in making the most of the cards in a reading. ‘Touched by Darkness’ is a two-card spread to identify what the key issues may be in a situation. ‘Face the Darkness’ is a three- card spread that helps you go deeper into a problem and work out what is blocking your path, what hidden mechanisms are at work, and how to move ahead. Finally, the ‘Through the Darkness’ spread is for intuitive readings that help you work beyond setbacks towards a resolution for your setbacks.

While reviewing this deck, I regularly used an ‘Encumbrance’ or ‘Protection’ card as a central theme for a tarot reading so I could understand what was blocking flow in my life and how to move past it. I didn’t try this myself but I thought a ‘Protection’ card could be selected as a talisman to carry with you to repel negative energy. An ‘Encumbrance’ card representing the strongest block in your life could be used as a centrepiece for an altar or the focus of a spell for unblocking energy. It also occurred to me that every time you pull The Devil card in a tarot reading it might be worth stopping and pulling a card from the Shadow of Darkness Oracle to investigate what aspects of the Devil are at play.

I wanted more specific actions I could take to understand the keywords of the cards, so the guidebook left me wanting a little more direction. There is an editing mistake where cards 1 – 20 are called Protection and Projection cards, and I am not sure if the artist considers these terms interchangeable or not. This confuses my understanding of the function of these cards. I was surprised that Sirian Shadow didn’t capitalize more on the powerful ideas behind the ‘Protection’ and ‘Encumbrance’ cards. As rituals or actions to work with these themes could easily have added more versatility to the deck, I decided to create the below spread:

“From Dark to Light” Spread by Cosmic Snail Tarot:

• Focus on a challenge or obstacle in your life right now.
• Separate the Protection and Encumbrance cards into two piles.
• Shuffle each pile and pick one from each based on intuition (you can do this with the cards face up or down).
• For the Protection/Projection card write down the negative influences on the situation (people, places, habits, attitudes).
• For the Encumbrance card write down how aspects in your card might be blocked or hindered by features of the Protection card.
• Pick another oracle or tarot deck that you feel has a positive energy to it and that has lighter/brighter colours than the Shadow of Darkness Oracle (I like my Kitten Chops Playful Hearts Tarot Deck for this but the transformative themes of Sirian Shadow’s Earth and Bone Oracle would be perfect).
• Pull out one card from your chosen ‘light’ deck for each negative influence identified.
• Visualise these cards as the counteractive energy you could use to move past the limiting beliefs or blocks.
• Leave these cards in a special place in your home and spend a month writing down little ways you are working on transforming yourself, your attitude and situation from dark to light.
• Consider in your writing and meditation how you can integrate and learn from both the shadow and light sides of the situation going forward.

The messages in the Shadow of Darkness Oracle are a wake-up call to face dark energy within yourself and fight against it. The crux of this deck is that we are all vulnerable, we have ugly demonic sides to ourselves that are better acknowledged and brought to light rather than hidden to fester. Despite what it first seems, the Shadow of Darkness Oracle Deck is sensitively made, honest, and expands the possibilities of what an oracle deck can be.

About the Author/Artist: