The idea to create the Tarot of Flowers came to me the way your eye sometimes catches the bright tail of a shooting star across a night sky. It was such a clear spark, asking to be brought in to being, and the writer inside me glowed with excitement. Here, within the tiny book-like space of an oracle deck, I found a space where I could bring together my love for flowers, ancient wisdom and folklore, empowerment and healing, and the meaning-weaving craft of writing.
A BIT OF BACKGROUND
Some of you know me well, but in case you're new here I'm Jen, founder of Nectar & Bloom, where we offer transformative floral education for your mind, soul, and body. My passion is to empower floral artists and flower enthusiasts into holistic success and fulfillment by providing education and immersive experiences that support the creative process alongside the creative person.
I grew up on an organic produce farm in the midwest, where my big sister and I grew flowers alongside our parents' business that we sold as bouquets at local farmers markets. I moved to California for college and graduate school where I studied writing & storytelling, then pursued an academic career as a professor of English while studying yoga and other healing modalities, when I realized that I wanted to create a business of my own. Eventually I brought it all together in Nectar & Bloom, where I create my art and serve my community.
It has been a colorful journey and an adventure growing my business, and now I am thrilled and so grateful to have built this avenue through which I can support and guide others on their creative and entrepreneurial journeys as well. I am also thrilled to be sharing such a special project as the Tarot of Flowers with you now.
HOW THE TAROT OF FLOWERS BEGAN
The Tarot of Flowers came to me as an idea that asked me to bring it into being on New Year's Day in 2019. My husband Carr and I had taken a little trip out to Joshua Tree to celebrate the new year in the desert, and I was excitedly journaling about my intentions to start building ways to move my floral work closer to my callings as a writer and healer.
I love Tarot and oracle decks, and I suddenly felt wildly inspired to create one of my own that shared the metaphoric wisdom of flowers. I wanted to provide others with guidance and insights from the wealth of healing energy that flowers possess, so I started by slowly building a manuscript of all of the flowers I wanted to include. I crafted descriptions of each flower by combining my knowledge from working with them first hand with my research about their origins, growth habits, and folkloric meanings. I also worked in the incredible perspectives I've gathered in my studies of yoga, Reiki, Ayurveda, and other healing modalities.
Over time I decided to shape the deck around the archetypal structure of the Tarot, a 78-card set with 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards that have specific suits, numbers, and meanings. As a writer, I found this to be exactly the element to guide my final flower selections and to further deepen the flower card meanings I had been creating.
TEAMING UP WITH MY SISTER
While at first I wasn't sure exactly how I would have the deck illustrated (or photographed), it eventually dawned on me to ask my talented sister, who is an artist as well, if she would be open to joining me on the project to illustrate it. When she said "yes," the project took on a whole new meaning. It was the best thing that could have happened.
Though we didn't think about it at the time, my sister and I had worked together before (all those years ago growing and selling flowers on our parents' farm), so working together was not new. More importantly, she and I have this deep energetic cohesiveness, I think, that makes it easy for us to understand one another. Perhaps it comes from being close in age (she is only 2 and a half years older than me), or perhaps it has to do with a closeness we shared from when we were two little girls who wanted to be twins.
At any rate, where we are alike, we are so aligned, and where we are different we are very complementary. I'm a bit more extroverted, outspoken, verbal, perfectionistic, a project starter, and for lack of a better word "poetic." She's a bit more introverted, unstoppably patient, so skilled with all modes of drawing and painting, collaborative, a finisher, and practical. We are both especially happy when working, especially on a meaningful creative project.
I can safely say that the Tarot of Flowers would be next to nothing without the talent and teammate of my sister. I am so grateful for her exquisite original artwork, as well as her input and support throughout this process. It's been a super meaningful project for me, to say the least, and it's sweet to think that here we are, grown women sisters making an experience for others in the language of flowers together, just like we did as little girls growing and arranging flowers on summery days on our parents' farm so many years ago.
HOW TO GET OR GIVE A TAROT OF FLOWERS DECK
The Tarot of Flowers is currently available on our Nectar & Bloom website in the online shop. The presale is open now for our limited first release, with shipping expected in May 2024. The deck comes with a 200+ page illustrated guide booklet, 78 illustrated cards, and all the guidance you need for understanding Tarot and how to read your cards; plus it is all contained within a smooth matte collectable box with slide-off lid that we hand-picked for its durability and beauty. I am so excited to have this beautiful experience in your hands!
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This post was inspired by an interview my friend Kelli of The Flower Remedy asked me to do for her blog. Read more about The Flower Remedy and Kelli’s beautiful mission with flowers here.
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