Bestiary of Women Oracle Deck

Bestiary of Women Oracle Deck from creator Hanna Tricoire

"A bestiary (from bestiarum vocabulum) is a book filled with beasts and fantastic creatures. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. 

In this project, I wanted to focus on a collection of mythical women across the world and from many different times and cultures. I found many (over 120) women, goddesses, and folk tale heroines, with animal features and grouped them into categories based on the animals that accompany them. 

They were then divided into four elements that mostly represent them- air, fire, water, and earth.

In this Oracle deck and the Bestiary of Women book, you will find their stories, geographic location, and a reflection on their life and meaning in the ancient and contemporary world. 

Bestiary of Women Oracle Deck Details:

• Cards: 100 cards 70x110mm, 300gsm cardstock, matte finishing.
• Booklet: 72 pages, 70x110mm, perfect bound (fits inside the box)

The deck is designed in a way, that you can use it as an Oracle or Tarot or both at the same time. 

78 of the cards have additional meaning - of the typical tarot cards. "

The suits of Minor Arcana are as follows:

• Cups are Fish Women, and represent the element of water
• Swords are Bird Women, and represent the element of air
• Wands are Snake Women, and represent the element of fire (they are reptiles and amphibians)
• Pentacles are Mammal Women, and represent the element of earth.
• Additionally, 22 cards were selected to take the roles of Major Arcana, some of them for reasons personal to me :) but most are based on the women's story."

Bestiary of Women Oracle Deck on the Riffability Scale -  0 too many cards for me to attempt a riffle shuffle!

See my blog post for more about riffle shuffling and the riffability scale!