Origin Story (Or: How I Ended Up Painting 84 Watercolors)
I’m a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment (yes, that’s the actual state motto, and yes, it slaps). Southwestern desert landscapes aren’t just deeply personal—they’re home.
The desert landscape and the melting of cultures deeply influenced my spiritual perspectives and my internal landscapes. Basically, the desert raised me, and I have the emotional complexity to prove it.
I started painting watercolor in 2019, so when I began painting the card images for this deck in 2024, I was more than a little intimidated. But my main purpose was to capture my experience of the Southwestern desert through animals, plants, and landscapes. Stock imagery? Not in this deck.
Unique Perspectives (What Makes This Deck Different From the Other 38 in Your Cart)
This oracle deck features 84 unique watercolor illustrations: 44 oracle cards and 40 affirmations. I’m not aware of another deck that combines oracle with affirmations, but on my healing journey it’s helped me hone in on what areas of my life I need to focus on each week. Because sometimes you need “Coyote says work on your boundaries” and “You are worthy of soft landings” in the same pull.
This oracle deck is sold separately from the guidebook, because the cards don’t rely on my descriptions of them. They’re open to whatever interpretation you want to place on them—I’m not the boss of your spiritual journey. But if you want to go more in depth with my personal interpretations shaped by my desert-raised background, the guidebook is a perfect companion. Think of it as the director’s cut.
How To Get the Most from Desert Medicine (Without Spiritual Bypassing Your Way Through It)
I do a 3-card pull each week for general guidance, or a one card pull every day during particularly rough patches. That way I can actually sit with what each card tells me instead of pulling seventeen times until I get the answer I want (we’ve all been there).
You’re welcome to interact with this deck however you want—I’m not a spiritual fundamentalist—but you’ll get the most out of it by meditating on the messages you receive and giving them time to settle in your soul. Self-development takes time.
This desert oracle deck was created for healing shadows, not pretending they don’t exist. In the past, I’ve grappled with setting healthy boundaries, navigating sketchy judgment, and curbing poor impulse control. I’ve used my life experience to create this oracle, drawing inspiration from the practices and places that have helped me.
The journey to recovery from trauma is rough and healing is awkward, so I created the oracle deck I wish I had. No toxic positivity. No gaslighting yourself into “choosing joy.” Just honest desert wisdom for the messy, non-linear path we’re actually on.
Where To Buy (And Why Shipping Takes A Minute)
I’ve partnered with DriveThruCards, a US-based printing company you can order through. Your order will ship out in about 2 weeks. I know the shipping time is longer than the instant gratification we’ve all been conditioned to expect, but this is because they print on demand—which is way more eco-friendly than sitting on pallets of unsold inventory.
Please remember the oracle deck is sold separately from the guidebook, so you can choose how you interact with the oracle. The guidebook is available as a 5″x8″ book or as a hyperlinked digital PDF, because some of us are digital natives and that’s valid.
The desert’s calling. You coming?
