Tarot Deck Review: The Bottanical Deck

WHERE PURCHASED: I backed this particular deck on Kickstarter in early 2019.


CONTRIBUTER(S): Jessica Bott


PUBLISHED BY: Jessica Bott


AVAILABILITY: It should be available on Jessica Bott's website. She also has an Instagram.

ABOUT THE DECK: This deck is a plant-themed tarot and oracle deck consisting of 22 Major Arcana cards represented by Trees; 4 suits of Minor Arcana cards represented by, variously, Flowers (Cups), Crops (Pentacles), Spices (Wands), and Cacti (Swords); 60 Oracle Cards divided into five suits represented by, variously, Poisons, Herbs, Medicines, Mushrooms, and Carnivorous; and 2 single cards, The Unknown - Seedpod, and the Ace of Tea. And, yes, Bottanical was spelled that way deliberately by the deck's creator, using her last name of Bott.


GUIDEBOOK: This deck comes with a guidebook particular to the deck. The cards are listed by their names or nicknames (also on their cards), along with their scientific names, keywords, and factoids about the plants depicted.


CARDSTOCK: It feels thick enough that I continually check the cards to make sure two aren't sticking together. A little stiff, but flexible enough for me to use my preferred shuffling method without too much difficulty. Picking these cards up from a flat surface is a little easier than with other decks I have, and I don't feel like I'm abusing the edges if I have to employ my fingernails to do so.


WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS DECK: I find the deck absolutely beautiful; even organisms which I wouldn't normally find attractive have been depicted in such a way that I can see the beauty they possess. The colors are vibrant and varied—this is not a monochrome or black & white deck by any means. The cards have a matte finish which isn't coarse at all, and the finish actually aids me in my preferred method of shuffling.


WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THIS DECK: The design of the labels at the bottoms of the cards means they don't always lend themselves to easy reading. My first experience with this deck, in going through the guide book to match the cards to their listings therein, was complicated by it being night time and my living room, where I viewed the cards, being lit by a fluorescent light. This poor lighting and the poor contrast, made some of the plants' names and other designations somewhat difficult to read. Personally, I would not use this deck in a dimly-lit room or a place where the ambient light isn't bright enough to make all the colors in the cards pop.


 CLOSING REMARKS: While I feel the white background to the cards' labels could be made more opaque for easier reading, I love this deck. The Bottanical deck is unique and colorful, and I'm sure will be fun to read with, whether or not I use the extra Oracle cards that came with it.


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