As part of my participation in Ethony's 31 Days of Tarot (and oracle), I'm sharing the Tarot decks I'm working with in 2017 (so far).

Universal Waite Tarot Deck

I really do love this deck. For all it's a recolored version of the traditional and perhaps foundational Rider-Waite deck for Tarot reading, which for some might render it a bit usual or even musty, I find it simply powerful.This is my go-to Tarot deck when I'm looking for answers that are pretty straightforward or straight-up. The energy of the deck lends itself to a streamlined response in many ways, even though the messages that may come through for clients may not read as streamlined.(They rarely do, to be clear.)And it's that same straightforward energy of the deck that can also be off-putting, at times. There's no "soft-soaping" with this deck. There's no gentle entry and careful wording to soften whatever needs to come through. It's put out there; all of it, and like it or not.That sort of messaging isn't for the hypersensitive sort of person. For the hypersensitive, or as I just heard, for the "wounded," there are other Tarot decks that will be more accommodating even while delivering what needs delivering.For instance...

Chrysalis Tarot

Even though it's based on the same Rider-Waite system at its core, the energy of this beautiful Tarot deck is completely, utterly, profoundly different from that of the Universal Waite.Its energy is easeful, as I just heard. There's an innate gentleness to it which lends itself to great heart-searching and - ooh - heart-shaping. Through the actions of heart-searching (and heart-shaping) the soul is tended to in the way of a garden.How beautiful is that? And speaking of beautiful...Aside from the obvious difference in artwork, the suits and even the Major Arcana cards shown here have different names from the Universal Waite (and Rider-Waite).

🔮 The suit of Mirrors corresponds with the suit of Cups.🔮 The suit of Scrolls corresponds with the suit of Swords.🔮 The suit of Spirals corresponds with the suit of Wands.🔮 The suit of Stones corresponds with the suit of Pentacles or Coins.🔮Merlin, The Hero in the Chrysalis Tarot, is The Fool in the Universal Waite.🔮The Phoenix is Judgment in the Universal Waite.

For an as-yet-unknown reason, these cards feel particularly in sync with the energy of 2017. Their earthiness, perhaps. Their feeling of progression, perhaps. Their shamanistic tendencies, perhaps.And perhaps it's all of the above that makes them somehow necessary to have on hand for readings this year.These are my most-used Tarot decks of 2017, so far.