Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle by Siolo Thompson, 40 Cards & Guidebook

One plant per card. Each of the 40 cards pairs a plant with a keyword and a message, so a single draw gives you a clear focus for the day and a plant ally to learn about.

A 192-page guidebook. Siolo Thompson's guidebook covers the lore behind each plant, journaling prompts, and simple rituals, which turns a quick pull into a full practice.

Compact, easy format. Forty cards shuffle easily and read fast, which makes this a good travel deck, altar deck, or first oracle deck for someone new to cards.

• Cards: 40-card oracle deck
• Guidebook: 192 pages
• Creator: Siolo Thompson (art and text)
• Publisher: Llewellyn
• ISBN: 9780738757537
• Card stock: premium
• Weight: about 1.6 lb

The Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle is used for daily guidance and plant-spirit work in hedge witchcraft, the solitary, folk-rooted practice named for the hedge that once marked the edge of the village and the start of the wild. In that tradition the hedgewitch is the neighbor who knows which plant to pick and what it means, and Thompson's deck is built in that spirit: practical plant lore, offered warmly, without a formal lineage behind it. It is a modern eclectic deck, not the property of any one culture.

You can use it as a plant-a-day teacher, pulling one card and reading its lore before you start the morning. You can use it as a companion to spellwork, drawing a card to ask which plant wants to be part of a working. And you can use it beside your herb jars as a way to remember why each plant sits on the shelf. Over time the 40 plants become friends, which is the oldest way there is to learn herb lore.

1. Look through all 40 cards once before your first reading and note which plants you already know. Those will read most clearly at first.
2. Cleanse the deck by passing it through the smoke of a dried herb, resting it beside a selenite wand overnight, or shuffling slowly while you speak your intention.
3. Pull one card each morning. Read the keyword, then the guidebook's lore and prompt, and carry the plant in mind through the day.
4. When planning a working, draw a card to ask which plant ally wants to be included, then check your herb shelf.
5. Try the guidebook's rituals for a card that keeps returning. A plant that shows up three times in a week is asking for attention.

The guidebook gives you the lore. Your own noticing gives the cards their voice.

• Magickal Herb Oracle: Enchanting Secrets From the Garden (Rockpool Oracle Card Series) by Cheralyn Darcey: Cheralyn Darcey's herb oracle, a natural second botanical deck once the first forty plants feel familiar.
• Flower Folklore Oracle by Catherine Caprinoi: flower lore in oracle form, for readers who want the blossoms as well as the leaves.
• Herbal Magick: A Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore, and Divination by Gerina Dunwich, Arin Murphy-Hiscock: Gerina Dunwich's guide to herbal folklore and divination fills in the stories behind the cards.
• Green Tree of Life Leather Journal with Latch, 5" x 7" | Grimoire: a green leather journal for the daily prompts.
• Mugwort Cut, 2 oz (Artemisia vulgaris): the classic divination herb, for a pre-reading smoke or a pinch kept in the box.

What is the difference between an oracle deck and a tarot deck?

An oracle deck has no fixed structure; the creator chooses the number of cards and their meanings, while a tarot deck always has 78 cards in Major and Minor Arcana. The Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle has 40 cards, each a plant with a message, so it reads faster and more freely than tarot.

Is the Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle good for beginners?

Yes, the Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle is a good first oracle deck. Forty cards are easy to learn, each card names its own keyword, and the 192-page guidebook explains the plant lore behind every message. There is nothing to memorize before your first pull; you can read with the book open beside you.

How do I cleanse an oracle deck?

Cleanse an oracle deck the way you would cleanse a tarot deck: pass the cards through incense or dried-herb smoke, rest them overnight beside selenite, or shuffle slowly while speaking your intention aloud. For a plant deck, a sprig of rosemary swept across the cards is a fitting choice.

Do I need to know herbalism to use this deck?

No, you do not need to know herbalism to use this deck. The guidebook teaches the folk lore of each plant as you go, and the messages stand on their own. Many people find the deck is how they learned their first forty plants, one card at a time.

What is a hedgewitch?

A hedgewitch is a solitary, folk-rooted practitioner, named for the hedge that once marked the edge of the village and the beginning of the wild. The hedgewitch is the neighbor who knows the plants and their meanings. Siolo Thompson's deck is built in that spirit as a modern eclectic oracle, not a formal lineage.

What comes in the box?

The box holds the 40-card Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle and Siolo Thompson's 192-page guidebook with plant lore, journaling prompts, and simple rituals for each card. Card dimensions are not listed on this page; if you need them for a pouch, ask us and we will measure a copy.