Imbolc Dispatch

I’m not sure how to lay this egg, except to just come right out with it. I’ve been working on a really amazing esoteric oracle deck for the last couple of years….

This deck is based on charming images drawn by W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill, which are now in the public domain. These two men illustrated some of the most beloved children’s books in American literature: the fourteen Oz books by L. Frank Baum. Most people have seen the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939), but far fewer know that it was first a book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), and that it was followed by thirteen more. Together, these books were truly the Harry Potter series of their day.

The idea first came to me in 2017, though it wasn’t until the original illustrations entered the public domain in 2023 that the project truly came alive. It felt as if the images themselves awoke, ready to be reimagined for a new century. I began this project in earnest in the summer of 2023 by carefully tracing select original illustrations from all fourteen books in pencil on 16×20 archival paper, preserving the style in which they first appeared. After a couple of years of this tedious work on my own, in January of 2025, my brilliant and talented artist friend Cathey Miller began the process of artfully painting them, one by one, into a full deck of brightly colored characters, some of which are in color for the very first time. Some of them we all know and love: Dorothy, the Wizard, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman; but there are dozens more characters waiting to be introduced. Throughout this entire process, I’ve also been reading, studying, writing, and producing the companion book that will accompany the cards with another collaborator and friend - genius graphic designer Melody Tarver.
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The deck is essentially complete. In fact, I have a gorgeous prototype in my hot little hands! But it’s not quite time for their big debut. Soon, though. Very soon.

In the meantime, I’ve produced a Living Mandala Podcast series called The Living Mandala of Oz, which breaks down the process, the images, their categorization, and their color designations. It’s an esoteric oracle deck incorporating elements, chakras, colors, astrological components, enneagram types, and much, much more. My conversation partner for this podcast series is Dr. G. William Barnard, professor of Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University. Over the course of twelve episodes, we wax on and on about the characters, the symbolism, and the rich esoteric framework woven throughout the deck and the Land of Oz.

Like I said, I’ve been sitting on this egg for a long time, folks.

It’s Imbolc, and the stirrings of life are churning just below the surface, even while it’s still winter here on surface Earth. The moon is full in Leo and even though the big world out there seems like a raging dumpster fire right now, it still feels like the right moment to tiptoe out, take a deep breath, and lovingly release this project by gently tapping on the eggshell. Tap, tap, tap. Is this microphone on?

May it be so!