• Author: Fiona Horne
• Artist: Miriam Ocaña Pérez-Cerdá
• Publisher: Rockpool Publishing Australia (Distributed by Simon & Schuster)
• Publishing Date: 17 March 2026
• RRP: AUD $26.95 / GB £19.99
• ISBN: 9781922468017
• Reviewed by: Kim Goldsmith, Cosmic Snail Tarot

The Coven Oracle is a deck designed for solo witches or those who are part of a coven. A coven, for those who don’t practice witchcraft, is a collective of witches who come together to do spellwork and rituals on important festivals such as the Sabbats. It is often a private, sometimes secret, community of likeminded souls who share a similar outlook and spiritual practice. Horne is also releasing a related book at the same time as the deck Coven: Where Witches Gather, in which you will gain skills and knowledge to establish a coven or find your path as a solitary witch.

Miriam Ocaña Pérez-Cerdá prefers simple traditional drawing media like pen and ink, but also uses digital drawing tools. The illustrations throughout the deck are consistently strong, gestural line work with a distinct black and white contrast. Miriam teaches anatomical drawing so there is a strong sense of three dimensions and physicality to the card artwork. For instance, the horses in Card 29, ‘Trickster’s Blessing’, look like they will gallop straight out of the card.  The compositions are lively and dynamic, and remind me of film or TV stills, which makes sense as she is starting to work in that industry. I have to say that I do prefer the illustrations by Veronica Ferreira from The Lost Oracle, which were reminiscent of wood block prints. However, I think if you are interested in working with black and white decks you are going to gravitate to the clear and expressive style of the Coven Oracle. I think this deck would visually pair well in a reading alongside decks like the Hermetic Tarot, Wild Unknown Tarot, or Sacred Web Tarot, but will be an excellent complement to any deck in your collection.

The card stock is silky matte and 130mm x 90mm so a little wide but very easy to shuffle. Each card is bordered with black and includes a card number, title, and then three key words. This means you can use the cards without the guidebook if desired. The card backs are black with a grey ornate floral design, reminiscent of wallpaper. The deck is edged with metallic green just like the box foil. The box and book cover are green and black, and the deck fits snugly in the box. The entire deck design is well edited and looks coherent. I like that Horne matches the oracle decks to her published books – nothing like a great deck and companion book combo!

The oracle companion book is black and white, and 160 pages. It is formatted so each card has a message and activity ‘For the coven’, which can be used communally, as well as an individual message ‘For you’ if you are a solo witch. This extends to the selection of oracle card spreads. There is a Seasonal Coven or Solo Check-in Spread perfect for Sabbats, Coven Conflict Spreads, New Moon and Full Moon Spreads and many more that can be used with other people or alone.

The deck is not just for witches. Horne encourages anyone who has a ritual practice to use the deck. The deck and book are designed in an inviting, inclusive way so that anyone would be comfortable to work with it. However, it would be a particularly useful tool to use within your coven if you are part of one.

I don’t identify as a witch but there are so many layers to this deck and useful instructions for blessings, spellwork and spreads that I could easily incorporate the deck into my daily journaling and tarot practice. I look forward to reading the book when that is released to understand more about the use of cards in witchcraft. This is going to be the perfect new year gift for any of your established or budding Wicca friends in 2026.

About the Author: Fiona Horne is an internationally renowned modern witch and former lead singer of the Australian ‘90s pop-indie band DefFX. The Coven Oracle is the companion deck to Horne’s book Coven: Where Witches Gather which will also be released in March 2026. Horne recently published the Lost Oracle Deck (read the TABI review here) which won 1st Runner Up for Artistic Achievement at the 2025 TABI Carta Awards. Other publications include: The Lost Book of Spells, Witch Magick Oracle Deck, Dark Magick Oracle Deck,and Teen Magick: Witchcraft for a New Generation.    

About the Artist:  Miriam Ocaña Pérez-Cerdá is an upcoming Spanish artist-illustrator who works in pen, ink and watercolour and also works on conceptual art for the film and television industry.