Work Your Light is a relatively new oracle deck on the scene, coming from a collaboration between Rebecca Campbell, author of Rise Sister Rise and Light is the New Black and Danielle Noel, creator of the Starchild and Moonchild Tarot. A truly dynamic duo, both Campbell and Noel bring a wealth of insight and inspiration to the project, an oracle created to “help you light up the world with your presence.”

Does the deck deliver? When it comes to this, the deck can absolutely help you access your own guidance and intuition (especially counting on the artwork alone). But there may be other considerations you may want to go over before taking the plunge and adding it to your collection. What level of wisdom and inspiration is behind the cards? Will I be able to read for other people? And most importantly, will I really connect with this deck? Here’s our impressions.

Overall Look And Feel

The deck’s overall look and feel is stunning. It is hands-down one of the more beautiful decks on the market right now and is generating a lot of buzz. The images are also very high-vibe and have an aesthetic that incorporates the divine feminine, new age concepts, and sacred landscapes within and without that make this deck dreamy, ethereal, and cosmically powered.

The deck is also divided into five suits, which represent the function those cards are meant to perform in a reading (confirmation cards, inquiry cards, action cards, activation cards, and transmission cards). The cardstock is thick, sturdy, with a smooth matte finish, and the deck comes in an equally sturdy box for easy safekeeping. The artist and creator also get props for including women of colour in the deck, as well as providing a wider range of messages than typically seen in oracle decks.

Working With the Cards

PROS

Besides the artistic quality of the cards, it’s the balance of light and dark that was most striking with this deck, as well as the level of nuance within the card explanations and guidebook itself. So many oracle decks focus only on the positive and light aspects of spirituality and spiritual development. Which is fine, but after a while everything begins to look and sound the same. It can feel inauthentic, especially when the topics you’re dealing with aren’t all that “love and light”. And while the deck is very much focused on raising your vibration, I was happy to see a tower-like card called “The Crumbling,” as well as cards like “The Initiation” and “Align Your Life” (because while uncomfortable, these experiences are nonetheless part of the spiritual journey). As mentioned above, it’s nice to see women of colour throughout the deck, and overall the imagery is awe-inspiring.

CONS

One thing that was frustrating was how the cards were organized in the table of contents of the book, which was by the 5 suits mentioned above. While in theory organizing the deck around these suits is a nice idea, in practice it made it more difficult to look up the individual card meanings in-the-moment (unless you’re reading off-book). And even though the ordering of the cards within their suits may have been intentional and well thought out, because the cards are not alphabetized in the table of contents, color coded or numbered in any way, it can be difficult to navigate, especially when starting out. For this reason, we definitely recommend going through the cards one by one with the guidebook before jumping in to do readings.

Another thing worth mentioning is some of the card names falling flat, which may be a problem for some people. For example, the card “Trust The Niggle” seemed a little awkward in terms of word-choice, and the card “Anna, Grandmother of Jesus” may not jive with people who have negative associations around Christianity. And though there is a good attempt at diversity when it comes to representation in this deck, the Work Your Light oracle deck isn’t really that diverse. When it comes down to it, the cards are feminine, soft, and speak to a type of spirituality that may not appeal to everyone. For this reason, the deck may to appeal to everyone. Nothing too major, just a few things to keep in mind.

Overall, the pros outweigh the cons with this deck, and as always, trust yourself! If you’re awestruck, as we are, by Noel’s imagery and intrigued by Campbell’s approach, we definitely say check it out. It’s in our Tarot section here.