#cosmic ephemera oracle

[acapellapotato]

my deck finally arrived 😄

some keywords stand out more on the card than in procreate, so i might not need to add borders after all.

but i still would like to get thicker cards using recycled paper, if i can, & red or silver (rounded?) edges, a better box. nearly had to destroy the top of this one to get it open 😮‍💨

anyways, enjoy storm making a rare appearance. usually she turns her butt to the camera bc she's just like me 😂

Cosmic Ephemera Oracle

[glamourzombie]

Welcome to the first post of the year. I devoted my January to goal setting, planning and lots of work. Now that February is here, I am back to blogging! I have lots of things to share (though I don't know how often I will be able to share them). I want to start the blogging year with the Cosmic Cards by Julie Catona at Future Illustrations, a wonderful oracle deck with two magical expansions for the seekers out there.

This is a 50 card deck with two holographic expansions (10+11 cards), so a total of 71 galactic art pieces. In Julie's words, this is "a unique deck that is inspired by the wonder & magic of the cosmos [that] contains original artworks [which] are paired with a powerful & loving mantra, inspirational quote, angel or guide". Though there's the possibility of having the non-holo version of the expansions, I wanted the mix in the deck to add even more variety and mystery – and since the backs are the same in both versions, there’s no problem when laying them down!

It has a great modern vibe with a mix of illustration styles (from solid colours to magical gradients to photo manipulation) where stars and space environments abound, but which feel very familiar and close at the same time. There’s diversity in the characters that are present, including famous people as pop culture references are common. I like the contrasts that can be found: worldly and cosmic elements, natural and human-made elements and structures, and vintage images with futuristic elements feel like they were made to exist together. This entire harmonious clash is like a bridge between our conscious selves, or higher selves and the wisdom of the world (and beyond). It features a broad palette with rich saturated colours that catch your eye, which is more accentuated in the foiled cards.

The artwork is framed by a white border, which is wider at the bottom to hold the titles of the cards and the accompanying messages - and some cards actually include text within their artwork. I appreciate how the main titles are bolder and the messages are subtler, because that way I can choose to first approach the cards at a more intuitive level, and then expand if I wish to. And obviously, no guidebook is needed. The decks come in plain white sleeves and tuckbox, kimono wrapped in pink-purple paper, with palo santo and a few ephemera in a sturdy black box. My favourite addition is the Seed of Life Crystal Grid (with an illustration in the other side).The cardstock is nice and flexible, and though the edges of the holo version are slightly greyer, that is the only difference you can find - which is not noticeable once all the cards are shuffled.

The Cosmic Cards are a wonderful and visually striking oracle deck, with expansive images and messages that allow us to be open to receiving - but which also feels like an affirmation deck in the sense that it is supportive, assertive and reassuring. It reminds me of two beautiful verses by Antonio Machado: Caminante, no hay camino; se hace camino al andar ("Wayfarer, there is no way; make your way by going farther"). It gently nudges you to not follow a path, but to create your own. If you want to know more about Julie Catona's work, be sure to head over Future Illustrations!

[acapellapotato]

there's a 25% off sale on Printer's Studio this week. discount code - CM2023

[acapellapotato]

the Cosmic Ephemera Oracle has finally been approved 👏🏾💃🏾

now i can be anxious over how much i'll need to bribe instagram with just for anyone to actually see my post about it 🫠

any support (reblogs count) would be appreciated. if this deck gets enough support i'll switch to higher quality printers (maybe one that has a booklet option), place borders around the text, and redo the "Origins" card.

hopefully one day i'll be able to afford and have enough space to hold my own inventory

Printer's Studio is also running a black friday sale & the code is BF2023. valid til november 26th

[acapellapotato]

how is "work" showing up? is it the primary focus to the detriment of everything else? or has it become the focus bc someone doesn't want to be where they are? on the other hand, is someone showing the shallowest expression of themselves? are they shot down when they attempt to show their beliefs, which leads to only the most palatable version of themselves being given any air to breathe? Space for both wants should be made to see if a relationship (non-romantic as well) is still something that's wanted & how things can be brought back to center if so? and if not, to realize people changing isn't necessarily a moral good or bad. so no one has to be at fault if the rift was caused simply by time passing. there's no reason to continue if needs are stated but there's no willingness to accommodate those needs.

.

"wow i'm going to do a quick fun reading for my 1st reading in awhile"

*this fucker: how bout no*

deck: cosmic ephemera oracle

this is my deck & any support goes towards a 2nd printing w/ red or silver edges, thicker cards, borders around the keywords, matte fronts through a better printer. this version also has 2 bonus cards w/ just the artwork for the Occult & Mysticism

it doesn't show up that well at this angle but there is a face on the Occult card

past general readings

[acapellapotato]

tracking is a day behind but my deck is finally in the same state as me

maybe i'll get it a day early??

[acapellapotato]

constantly refreshing the order page as if it changed in the last hour

but at least the deck is finally in the US 🙃

[acapellapotato]

my deck finally shipped!

it's still awaiting approval for sell though, but this time i'm really gonna call bs if they say cards are missing 😒

oh yeah, i started an instagram page (cosmicephemeraoracle) i might get tiktok as well, but i haven't decided yet

[acapellapotato]

looking at the order page with a discount & no express shipping it came out to $52, not $28 so i'm mostly impatient bc there's a site wide sale people could be getting in on & if i'm aware of it i'll always mention a sale.

also i made an instagram page so i can message ppl & actually follow them back

@ cosmicephemeraoracle

[acapellapotato]

my deck order hasn't even finished processing, the design is still awaiting approval despite me resubmitting it in less than 5 minutes & every email that isn't related might as well not have entered my inbox then i get a job alert from linkedin about being a freelance video editor for Fox!!

[acapellapotato]

printer's studio literally removed the images for the last 2 cards & the card backs (even though all images were there in the preview 🤨) so the design got rejected so here i am at 3:30 aggravated bc now it could take another 2 days only for the images to magically get removed again

if it wouldn't clear out my account for just one deck i would just switch to aura printing now & hope the experience is better 😤

[acapellapotato]

still waiting for the deck to be approved ✌🏾🥲 but here are the two cards that will have a text-less version

[acapellapotato]

i ordered a copy of my deck but it's not supposed to be here til the 30th at the earliest. it's awaiting approval on printer's studio but they don't allow me to change the price.

the only thing i could do was set the markup to 0% 🥲 so whenever it's live the deck will be $46 but that will go towards using a different printer for higher quality cards. really wish i could've set it at $28 like i was planning (that's how much it was for me before shipping).

also decided on the name cosmic ephemera oracle since i do plan on changing the font if i can ever afford to print more. might keep the name bc i like it & i realized just now i could've put extra cards w/ meanings on them since there's no booklet option 🤦🏾‍♀️ my goal is the keywords & images would work well enough together though.