Deck Review: The Revelator Appalachian Oracle Cards
- Author & Artist: Byron Ballard
- Publisher: Self-published/Independent
- RRP: USD $60
- ISBN: n/a
- Reviewed by: Gwen Enstam @goldenpomt on IG
For episode 28 of TABI’s Tarot World podcast, Victoria and I interviewed Byron Ballard, Appalachian witch, folklorist, author, and artist. It was a fascinating discussion, and if you haven’t had the chance to listen to it yet, I would highly recommend it. You can find it on Spotify (or listen wherever you get your podcasts):
One of the things we discussed was Ms Ballard’s new Oracle deck, The Revelator, which she very kindly sent to us for review. And I am absolutely delighted to be the one to review it. The Revelator is unlike any deck I have ever worked with – Tarot or Oracle – and I am so excited to share it with you.
First, the bad news. Only the first half of The Revelator has been published so far, although Ms Ballard promises that the second half is coming soon. Having said that, the good news is that when I was working with the deck, it felt complete and weirdly (in the literal sense) intuitive, so I can only imagine how powerful it will be when we have the second half.
The Appalachian region of the US extends from Mississippi and Alabama in the South to New York. It includes parts of twelve states, and all of West Virginia. But the area we are talking about – the specific part of Appalachia where Ms Ballard and her ancestors have lived for generations – is in western North Carolina. As she explains in the podcast, the culture here is a blend of traditions from Scots Irish settlers, Cherokee nation natives, and enslaved peoples. The Revelator illustrates aspects of this alchemized culture, and it goes deeper: this is magic – what you might call kitchen magic, with maybe a little hoodoo working in around the edges.
The Revelator currently includes twenty-four cards. I love Quilting Art and so really fell hard for the backs of the cards and the backgrounds for the front illustrations, which give us four different quilt patterns – one to go with each suit: Hearth Fire pattern for the Seed suit, Harvest Home for Bulb suit, Pretty Little Green Snake for the Holey Stone suit, and Lucy Blue for the Bone suit.
The colours are stunning and I really had to restrain myself from taking dozens of pictures for this review so you could see them all. But I hope that the images give you some idea of how vibrant and evocative they are.
The Revelator comes with a foldout pamphlet guide, which gives both upright and reversed meanings. The Gingham Dog is one of two Bonus Cards, and it’s a good example of the symbolism woven into these cards: there is, of course, “The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat”, a child’s poem about how petty arguments can tear us apart, and there is also the close, domestic association of gingham fabric. What better imagery to use for a message about a trusted friend, and whether their intentions are in our favour … or not.
In TABI’s podcast with Ms Ballard, she mentioned that a friend told her the deck pulled no punches. This is very true. But I would say it’s not unkind. There is just no glossing over anything. I shuffled the deck (they shuffle beautifully) and drew three cards, just asking for a message. You know, sometimes that kind of question gets you a mess, but not here. My message was Plow (Holey Stone suit), Dirt Road (also Holey Stone suit), and Yella Root (Bone suit). ‘Don’t be afraid to dig deep’, ‘Travel, new horizons’, and ‘Look for the silver lining’ are a perfect reminder that the best inspiration can come from what didn’t work. Dig deep, past the disappointment and difficulty, perhaps. Root yourself and then look up. Everything we learn helps us, even when it wasn’t a fun experience. The overarching message of these cards to me was, “I see you”. It doesn’t get much better than that.
This personal touch is expressed the entire presentation of The Revelator. It comes in a cotton drawstring bag, which just by itself is a treat that doesn’t come with many decks anymore. The cards are wrapped in cloth and tied by hand with a piece of white twine that also holds an elderberry twig, for ‘luck and good health’ – a physical connection to Appalachia and its magic that I plan to keep with me.
For purposes of transparency, I will admit that I was biased toward this deck from the start. Not just because I enjoyed recording the podcast with Ms Ballard so much. I have long-settled family in western North Carolina too, and The Revelator speaks a language that I am already fond of, even if I don’t speak it fluently. But with this deck, you don’t have to be familiar with Appalachian culture in advance because it reaches out to you. If you are a little familiar with Kitchen witchery, all the better but, really, who isn’t a kitchen witch? What is cooking and healing if not a particular kind of magic? As the leaflet says, ‘Trust your gut’. And let The Revelator get to work.
More on the Creator:
Byron Ballard https://www.myvillagewitch.com/ is a western NC native, a teacher, an amateur folklorist, writer, and Tarot reader. She has served as a featured speaker and teacher at several festivals and conferences, including the Sacred Space Conference, Pagan Spirit Gathering, Starwood, Hexfest and many others. She serves as senior priestess and co-founder of Mother Grove Goddess Temple and the Coalition of Earth Religions/CERES, both in Asheville, NC. She podcasts about Appalachian folkways on Wyrd Mountain Gals
The first half of The Revelator Appalachian Oracle Deck is available from the Asheville Pagan Supply Shop https://www.ashevillepagansupply.store/products/revelator-oracle-deck
