• Author: Lucy Cavendish
• Publisher: Blue Angel Publishing Australia
• Publication Date: 2026
• RRP: AUD $49.95 / UK £16.99 / US $25.95
• ISBN: 978-1-922574-48-0
• Country of publication: Australia
• Reviewed by: Cosmic Snail Tarot Kim Goldsmith

At the start of this new release book published by Blue Angel, Lucy Cavendish specifically requests you use one of her oracle decks. To deepen your practice she also prescribes the use of a Book of Shadows and Light/Journal/Magickl grimoire to document your readings, thoughts and experiences along the way. I sorted through my rapidly expanding oracle deck collection and realised I have three decks by Cavendish: Into the Lonely Woods (a gift from my Aunty), The Faerytale Oracle, and Oracle of Shadows and Light (both bought second hand). I really love Dan May’s artwork for Into the Lonely Woods which reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are and includes sad and lonely creatures just struggling through their existence, seeking hope in small things. However, I have not been resonating with the doe-eyed damsels illustrated by Jasmine Becket-Griffith that populate the Oracle of Shadows and Light. Having this book to review, however, offered me a challenge to try connecting with this deck following guidance from Cavendish.

My homework was to pull a card a day to get to know the deck. This is such a simple exercise, but it is really helpful when learning about your oracle deck. Since there is not a standard formula for meanings in oracles, as they are bespoke, it is really an important way to memorise what the cards mean. I am sure many of us wouldn’t dare using an oracle deck for full spreads to a client because of the fear of flicking back to the guidebook each time. Oracle assists you step by step in gaining the confidence to do just that.

At the end of each chapter there is an Experientials and Experimentals to help you practice and consolidate what you have learnt about oracle decks. For example, Chapter Four: The Silence that Speaks, is about learning to avoid attachments and conserving your energy when reading for others. Clearing your deck, and building familiarity with it by doing 3-Card and Celtic Cross readings are suggested. Cavendish recommends two novel exercises – one is to ‘dance a card’. Try to imagine you are the card and let your body feel into it through movement. The second is to find a card that is really tricky to understand and try to describe it as if you are the character in the card – ‘switching perspectives’. I have never met Lucy, but her book and decks really emanate a playful, cheeky energy which I enjoy a lot! This is not a stiff, academic book on functional use of oracle decks at all. 

The formatting of Oracle reminds me of a scrapbook. There are different text sizes, fonts and images throughout, and each page jumps straight into a new topic, sometimes with minimal connection. I feel like we might be entering into the highly alert and agile brain of the author.

Lucy Cavendish is a prolific author, with numerous oracle decks to her name, including Les Vampires, Oracle of the Dragonfae, Oracle of the Shapeshifters, and The Solitary Witch Oracle.  Most of her decks have their own section in the Oracle book, which includes an explanation of how the oracle deck developed and activities you can use to get to know that deck. This publication, however, is in black and white, including the images which, sadly, are small. In the section that dissects the meaning and symbology of particular cards from her oracle decks, it would have been great to have had these in colour, particularly if you don’t have that deck, so you can read the image clearly. Cavendish also doesn’t go as deeply into numerology, colour interpretations and ‘decoding symbols’ as is suggested in the blurb for the book, which I would have found useful. However, it is a great survey of all the ways you can interpret and consider the different elements in any chosen oracle deck, so you can read more deeply and broadly instead of limiting yourself to reading the guidebook. I also enjoyed the small biographies of famous historic oracles scattered throughout the book, demonstrating how diverse and wide-ranging an oracle deck can be.

Since using this book I have grown quite fond of my Oracle of Shadows and Light deck and use it daily for profoundly accurate predictions for my day ahead. I just needed time and a new point of view to see the value in it, which is exactly what this book by Lucy Cavendish aims to do. Having said that, I have read Oracle cover to cover and I am still finding it hard to put into words what type of book it is. It is a pastiche of anecdotes, memoirs, and tarot journal entries from the author, giving us an insight into her personal tarot and oracle journey. In the midst of all that, there are sections that offer a backstory for the creation of several of her popular oracle decks, as well as assignments for those decks that help you connect to its specific energy.

There aren’t as many books on working with oracle decks as there are tarot decks at the moment, so this book is a good addition to your spiritual library, as it stretches the possibilities of how to use your oracle decks beyond a card of the day reading. Not only that, it shines light on how you, personally, can embody comfortably the role of an Oracle – helping you grow into a  person who offers counsel to yourself and others in times of need.

To purchase this book, please visit: https://blueangelonline.com/shop/books/oracle/

Or your regional online bookstore.

For more on the author, please visit: https://blueangelonline.com/lucy-cavendish/

Or discover more about Lucy by finding her on social media, and listen to The Witchcast.