Co-Creating A Gothic Witch’s Oracle
Since 2010, I firmly believed that my contribution to Goth culture, specifically its convergence with Neopagan Witchcraft, had been completed with the release of my first book, Goth Craft: The Magickal Side of Dark Culture, in 2007. I had followed up this first book with Shadow Magick Compendium, which I was actually given the chance to reprint, revise, expand, and make thrice better with Crossed Crow Books, under the title A Witch’s Shadow Magick Compendium.
Those two books became my “dark Craft” titles, and I didn’t expect a revisitation of the subject matter. However, when I was living in Hawai’i—where I was recalibrating my life after experiencing my own darkest years on record—a certain creative spirit wouldn’t let up. I had recently released The Empath’s Oracle, which itself was a completion of my “empath’s trilogy,” the first two being Esoteric Empathy: A Magickal & Metaphysical Guide to Emotional Sensitivity and The Everyday Empath: Achieve Energetic Balance in Your Life.
And then it came to me. My two “dark” magickal books also required an Oracle deck to seal the project as a complete triptych. This spiritual message was confusing at first because, like I said, I had never thought of revisiting Gothy stuff in future works. And yet, the energy was present, and something wanted to come through.
Driving back to where I was living in Kaua’i, I remember pulling over to the side of the road to jot notes on my phone. Card titles and themes were coming fast. I wish I had also made note of the lunar, solar, and astrological conditions of that time, but no worries. The cards were coming and I had no choice but receive the transmission!
Shortly thereafter, reflecting on card titles and themes for what was clearly going to be a Gothic Oracle deck for Witches (or is it an Oracle deck for Gothic Witches?), I was contemplating who to reach out to about artwork. It was then that dark photographic artist John Santerineross came to mind.
Originally from New York, John is an artist I’ve admired since high school as a young Witchy Gothling, a babybat fresh out of the broom closet. I had seen John’s artwork on the cover of albums for the darkwave band Attrition, and was mesmerized and enchanted by the truly dark and deeply symbolic multilayered art. It spoke to my spooky magickal soul.
At the time, I was pursuing non-digital photographic artwork as a creative medium and, in those early days of the Internet, decided to take the chance of reaching out to Mr. Santerineross for advice on how to improve my own teenage photo-art. To my amazement, he responded, was encouraging, and provided excellent points of advice.
Fast-forward twenty-something years: I decided to reach out to John again. He remembered that exchange from back in the day! On the phone, I discussed my visions and ideas for the deck, explaining that I couldn’t imagine any other artist helping it come to life.
To my surprise, he vibed with the project immediately, giving an unwavering “yes!” He explained that he had been approached dozens of times with ideas for Tarot and Oracle deck collaborations in the past, but it never felt right until now. What an incredible honor.
When pitching the envisioned deck to various publishers, it was met with rejection due to the photography’s edgy, unconventional, and potentially frightening imagery — not to mention the nudity.
What a pleasant surprise it was when Crossed Crow picked up the project without hesitation, taking no issue with the cards’ themes and accompanying artwork. They even decided to “free the nipple,” not requesting that the artist censor his material. This, also, was a pleasant surprise, because nudity, especially in photographic form, is exceedingly rare in Tarot and Oracle decks. But we Witches and Goth-types aren’t afraid of skyclad imagery; we’re prone to celebrate the beauty of the human form.
It didn’t take long to match up artwork with card titles. Upon moving back to my hometown of Missoula, Montana (I’m now looking at the Pacific Northwest for the future), I wrote the cards’ accompanying guidebook while John fine-tuned his artwork specifically for this project.
It was humbling to get written endorsement quotes for the project from a number of prominent occult authors and esteemed Goth-influenced bands; these can be seen on the deck’s Amazon page. (You can also order the deck directly from the publisher.)
A couple editorial revisions later, the ball was rolling at proper speed. Even now, holding a copy of the actual printed deck, it’s hard to believe that this unprecedented piece achieved its goal of manifesting in physical form. It looks better than I could have ever imagined.
Themes explored in this deck include:
Dark art and self-expression
The magick of makeup and fashion
Music as a healing force
Exploring labels, the ego, and self-identity
Death magick and ancestral work
Shadow spells and ceremonies
Body modification as sacred ritual
Social boundaries and conditioning
Contemplating gender and sexuality
Working with depression and anxiety
Self-confidence and personal empowerment
And a whole bunch more!
If you’re a Witchy type attracted to darker themes, I hope you’ll love the cards as much as I do. I should also drop a mention here that if you’re interested in receiving a no-BS (yet empathetic) Tarot reading, or if you need help crafting your own shadow spells, please check out my listing on the Malliway Brothers’ own Black Pages directory!
Thanks for reading, divining, and Witching away. The world needs us.
