Finding Wisdom in the Natural World: The Power of Bugs, Bones & Botany Tarot
Bugs, Bones, & Botany Tarot both in color edition, and b&w edition
🪲 There’s a rhythm in nature, a silent hum of life that thrives, decays, and is reborn—if you listen closely, it teaches innate power in the existence of all who call earth home. My latest creation: *Bugs, Bones & Botany Tarot*, was born from this very rhythm. It’s a reflection of my lifelong fascination with nature in all its forms, from the bugs crawling underfoot to the trees towering overhead. As a little girl, I often wandered through forgotten fields or shaded parks, collecting bones, plants, and insects, curating my own private study collection (much to my mother’s encouragement). Now, that same childhood curiosity finds its way into this deck.
🌿 A Tarot Deck Rooted in Nature’s Cycles
This deck is a visual and symbolic representation of the natural world’s flow. In *Bugs, Bones & Botany Tarot*, each suit captures an essential element of life:
- Swords are represented by bugs—creatures of the air, always flitting about and making swift decisions on the move.
- Cups are animal bones—once home to marrow, the source of blood production, holding echoes of emotions, just as bones hold echoes of life.
- Wands are plants—wild, passionately reaching for light, and capable of sparking fire, much like the growth of our ambitions.
- Pentacles are mushrooms—quietly weaving a web beneath the soil, symbolizing abundance and connection that supports all life.
Each card in the Major Arcana features one bug, one bone, and one plant, encapsulating the variety and depth of life’s endless cycles. Life and death are partners in an intricate dance called nature, where one feeds into the other in an eternal loop. This is the foundation of this deck, and the reason why it has a life of its very own.
(In the color edition deck) Major Arcana are turquoise, Cups are blue, Wands are fuchsia, Bugs are purple, and Pentacles are green.
🌲Personal Growth Through Nature’s Eyes
Bugs, Bones & Botany Tarot encourages deep personal reflection by reminding us that nature’s wisdom is our own. Every card is a mirror reflecting the beauty, strength, and complexity that exists not only in the natural world but in ourselves. It’s easy to forget our roots when we’re surrounded by the noise of modern life—too much metal, concrete, and technology. But this deck brings you back to the earth, gently pulling you into a world where the smallest bug has something to teach you, and every bone tells a story.
We are nature—flesh, bones, and spirit. The bugs, the plants, and the very cosmos all speak to the same cycles of life, death, and rebirth that we move through every day. By using this deck, you’re not just pulling cards, you’re pulling at the threads of your own existence, rediscovering the balance between your human experience and your natural ancestry.
🌷 Tarot Spreads Inspired by Nature’s Innate Wisdom
In nature, we find grounding, peace, and sometimes, clarity. Tarot, in many ways, reflects the same. If you’ve ever felt disconnected from the world around you or overwhelmed by the bustle of everyday life, using Bugs, Bones & Botany Tarot is like pressing your palms to the earth—it helps you find your roots again.
Here are three spreads inspired by nature’s wisdom, designed to help you reconnect and rediscover your place in this world. Pairs perfectly with Bugs, Bones, & Botany Tarot, or any deck that calls you back to nature.
Grounding Like a Tree Spread 🌳 (3 cards)
Use this spread when life gets hectic. Just as trees grow tall and strong, this spread helps you feel rooted in yourself amidst life’s storms. It’s perfect for moments when you need to pause and reconnect.
-Roots (Card 1): What grounds you? This card reveals the foundation or core energy you need to connect with to feel stable again.
Trunk (Card 2): What keeps you standing? This card shows what currently supports you, helping you stay strong and centered.
Branches (Card 3): Where should you reach? This card offers guidance on what you should focus on reaching toward, like a tree stretching to the sky.
2. Nature’s Guidance for Personal Growth Spread 🌱 (4 cards)
Turn to the plants and creatures of this deck to guide you toward growth, much like a seed growing into a mighty oak. This spread invites reflection on what’s holding you back and what needs to bloom. Use it when seeking clarity about your personal or spiritual growth.
Seed (Card 1): What potential needs to grow? This card reveals the untapped potential within you, waiting to be nurtured.
Soil (Card 2): What is feeding or nourishing your growth? This card shows the supportive energies or resources around you that can help your growth.
Weeds (Card 3): What is hindering your growth? This card highlights any obstacles, distractions, or limiting beliefs that may be holding you back.
Blossom (Card 4): What will you become? This card provides insight into the ultimate outcome of your growth or the energy you’re growing toward.
3. We Are All One Spread 💚 (5 cards)
Much like fungi and roots connecting entire ecosystems underground, this spread reminds us of our oneness with all living things. It’s perfect for moments of spiritual disconnection when you need a reminder that you are part of a greater web. It’s ideal for when you feel isolated or spiritually disconnected.
The Web (Card 1): How are you connected to the world? This card shows the energy or aspect of life that links you to the greater whole in a way unique to you.
The Mushroom (Card 2): What hidden support exists for you? This card uncovers the subtle, often unseen connections and support systems in your life, much like a mushroom’s mycelium network.
The River (Card 3): Where should you flow? This card points to the direction or path that allows you to move forward in alignment with the natural flow of your life.
The Forest (Card 4): What community or group will help you thrive? This card reveals the people, resources, or groups that will help you feel more connected and supported.
The Earth (Card 5): What grounding wisdom should you embrace? This card offers advice on how to stay grounded in your connections while navigating life’s cycles.
Each of these spreads speaks to the idea that nature doesn’t just exist outside of us—it’s woven into our very being. We are all connected to the earth and each other in ways both visible and invisible. These spreads were intuitively designed to highlight the themes of nature, connection, and growth that make *Bugs, Bones & Botany* Tarot so special. They can also help readers deepen their connection to themselves and the natural world.
♻️ Eco-Spirituality: Reconnecting with the Earth
Tarot can be a powerful tool for eco-spirituality—a practice that draws from our innate connection to the planet. You don’t need a secluded forest retreat to tap into this wisdom; sometimes, all it takes is stepping outside and paying attention. On busy days, I remind myself to slow down and notice the creatures around me—the bugs crawling on the pavement, the birds overhead resting on cables, and the plants growing in the cracks of the sidewalk. These things are constant, no matter how chaotic the human world becomes.
Bugs, Bones & Botany Tarot embodies this eco-spiritual connection. It’s a deck that reminds you to honor the small, sometimes forgotten aspects of the world—the bugs, the animals, the plants, the fungi—that are just as alive and integral to our existence as the forest, oceans and mountains we admire. Even when human life pulls us away from nature, this deck serves as a tether, pulling us back to the roots that hold us steady forevermore.
Finding Your Way Back to Nature—And Yourself
The beauty of Bugs, Bones & Botany Tarot lies in its aim to help you reconnect with the earth’s rhythms, even when you’re indoors. This deck is more than a beautiful tool; it’s a reminder that nature’s magic lives in you too.
When you feel lost or overwhelmed, remember the insects buzzing with purpose, the resting bones that once carried a soul, the plants that grow wild and free. You are part of that same cycle. So shuffle this 78 card deck, pull a card, and see what the natural world has to teach you today.
Bugs, Bones, & Botany Tarot is wholly created by me, Soni Graves, and is only available on Kickstarter from October 1st 2024-October 31st 2024.
To help bring this indie-published tarot art project to life, click the link below:
