Cover Reveal! Everyday Witch Oracle Deck

As many of you know, illustrator Elisabeth Alba and I have been working on The Everyday Witch Oracle Deck, which will be out on September 8th from Llewellyn. We had such a blast working on the Everyday Witch Tarot (which, incidentally, I just saw was on sale on Amazon for only $19.82 instead of its usual list price of $29.99) that we just had to find another project to work on together. If anything, this one was even more fun!

One of the best parts is being able to do the cover reveal. Llewellyn picked two cards that were both of our favorites, so we're especially excited. So with no further ado...

The kit cover:

The book cover:

And here is a picture of the back of the cards. Four cats, each representing one of the four elements. Which one is your favorite?

 And as a bonus, a picture of Elisabeth with all forty finished original paintings!
(If you look closely at her, you will see that she is busy creating something else...a little human being. Whoo hoo!)

We are both so proud of this deck, and we can't wait for it to come out. We hope you'll all love it too. What do you think of the covers?

Celebrating the Oracle with a Tarot Deck Giveaway

I'm sorry I haven't been around much. Between wrangling the new kittens and working on the Everyday Witch Oracle deck with fabulous illustrator Elisabeth Alba for Llewellyn (plus trying to get the garden in now that winter finally decided to give way to spring...) I've been a tad busy.

But I have to tell you, I am having a BLAST working on another project with Elisabeth. It's hard work, but so much fun. She has been coming up with some great rough sketches bases on my design suggestions for the cards. (There will be 40 in all.)

Check it out!

So I've decided to celebrate by giving away a copy of the Everyday Witch Tarot deck, which is what inspired us to come up with this project. After all, it has been a while since I did a giveaway, and we can't have that!

Besides, the tarot deck was recently released in SPANISH, which is very cool. Also muy bien! Llewellyn was kind enough to send me a couple of copies of the Spanish version, so if you win, you can tell me if you'd rather have it in English or in Spanish!

As always, all you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter form below. No purchase necessary, although if you want to tell your friends how wonderful the tarot deck is, I wouldn't mind :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sekrit Project Announce and Celebration Giveaway

So some of you may have seen me talking on Twitter about a sekrit project that was a possibility... Well, I'm THRILLED to announce that illustrator Elisabeth Alba and I have just signed a contract with Llewellyn to create the Everyday Witch Oracle Deck! Can  I get a woot? (And a bottle of champagne?)

Elisabeth and I had a great time when we worked together on the EVERYDAY WITCH TAROT
We had so much fun, in fact, that we've been looking for a project we could do together ever since--well, ever since we recovered, anyway. We finally had coinciding windows of time available and come up with the idea of doing an oracle deck along the same lines as the tarot deck. Oracle decks are smaller and simpler, and take no preparation or training to use. The deck will have 40 cards and a book that goes with it, written by yours truly.

Here's the sample card Elisabeth made up. Isn't it AMAZING?

Notice anything special about this witch?

 
 We are both incredibly excited to be able to announce this project. (And to get the band back together.) No release date yet, but probably some time in 2020.

To celebrate, I'm going to give away one copy of the Everyday Witch Tarot Deck! (Signed by me.)

 

Just fill in the Rafflecopter form below. And then you can join us in doing the happy dance to celebrate our good news. What do you think? Are you excited too?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Tarot Readings

Most of you know that I have my own (very cool, if I do say so myself) tarot deck out from Llewellyn, the Everyday Witch Tarot  (It's actually on sale on Amazon right now--usually $29.99, now $21.20 just FYI.)

 What you may not know is that I am also a professional tarot reader and have been for many years. I don't do it much these days, simply due to lack of time, but people have been asking about online readings for ages, so I finally added it as one of the levels of my Patreon. And figured out a way to do them online, through the Zoom.US site we use for the live Witchcraft classes.
So if you are a patron at the $30/month level, you will have access to me for a half an hour tarot reading a month (or a half an hour chat about Witchcraft, if that's your preference). That's a pretty good deal, since I charge more than that for in-person readings! (Be aware that there is a limit of 10 patrons at this level, since any more people would cut into the writing time too much!)

Don't forget that signing on at the $30/month level also gets you access to all the previous levels, including the $25/month level that includes the live Witchcraft class and rituals.

If you're interested, check out my Patreon here. (There are lots of lower levels too, if you want to be supportive but can't afford the higher ones.) DEBORAH'S PATREON

And thanks to all who already support me there--I am so very grateful. And so are these guys...

Birthday Bonanza Giveaway

My birthday is this week--Friday the 28th. I'm kind of in a funk, so not feeling terribly celebratory (nothing terrible, just life and stuff). It's my 57th (eek!) so not really a big deal. Other than a traditional lunch with a couple of friends, one of whom has a birthday on May 2nd so we always do a group thing, I'm not really observing it at all.

Which seemed kind of sad, so I decided to celebrate with all of you the same way I did last year: by giving away a gift to someone else!

Some people have asked me what I'd like as a gift. Pretty much what any author would like for his or her birthday, probably. Buy a book, or put up a nice review, or spread the word about a book you read that you liked. I admit, I'd love to see a spike in my book sales on my birthday :-) [Plus Berkley is about to make a decision on whether or not to contract for the 3rd Rider book, and it may not be going well, so a jump in book sales would be helpful.]

But it doesn't have to be my books. Buy any book by an author you like, even if it is just a .99 cent Kindle eBook. All book sales are a good thing. Review anyone's book; it doesn't have to be mine. Positive reviews help authors sell books, and as I might have mentioned, book sales are a good thing. (What can I say--I have a lot of friends who are authors too!) Or just tell someone about a book you read recently that you loved. Be pro-book, mine or anyone else's. Heck, go support your local library. That's what I want for my birthday. (Although cute cats and dragons are always on my list too...)

In the meanwhile, here's what I'm giving YOU for my birthday. A chance at one of three prize packs--winner's choice. With the help of Magic the Cat, I give you:

The Tarot Package

 A signed tarot deck with a limited edition tin, plus a broom pen.

The Signed Book Package

 A set of all three Baba Yaga books and the first Broken Riders book, all signed by me.

The Dragon Package

A cute stuffed dragon, a broom pen, and the signed book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction.

And really, you don't have to buy one of my books to help me celebrate, although you know I'd love that. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. As always, no purchase is necessary to enter, and you can get credit for things you have already done, like following the blog or following me on Twitter. Spread the word, since it's a party! I'm looking forward to spending the next year with all of you.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Snow Day Sale

Holy crap, it's snowing, people.

This is the first official blizzard in NY State since something like 1993, and apparently it is making up for lost time. They'd predicted 14-18" for my area (Delaware/Otsego Country) and I'd hoped they were wrong. Which they were, but in the opposite direction of what I'd had in mind. We're already at 16" at my house and it is still coming down like crazy, and not expected to stop until sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening. They have upped the expected snowfall total to "up to 30 inches." Can I just say, "NO, THANK YOU"?

This was at 10:30 this morning (it's about 1PM right now).

Outside the back door

There's driveway under there somewhere

Garden? What garden?

Yes, that says 12" -- at 10:30 in the morning.

Believe it or not, there is a driveway between those 2 rows of trees...

So, I'm not going anywhere today. I'll be working on Veiled Menace (Veiled Magic #3) and revisions for the 365 Day book for Llewellyn, plus obsessively watching April the giraffe, who is going to give birth any minute now. [Anyone else watching her? Here's a fun fact--the animal park she lives in is about 45 minutes from me. I plan to go visit her and her baby this summer.] Plus, maybe napping with cats.

If you've got a snow day too, what are you planning to do? Read, maybe?

Because the snowstorm is making me a little stir-crazy, I'm going to do something a bit different. I'm having an impromptu Snow Day Sale! Just because I can. Here's the deal:

You can chose one or more of these options, and email me at magicmysticminerva at yahoo to tell me you want to take advantage of the sale. Free shipping is only for USA folks, I'm afraid, but I'll figure out some kind of a deal for those who are out of the country on a per person basis. (Payment will be through Paypal. It's easy.)

Tarot Option 1: (Limited to THREE SETS ONLY)
A copy of the Everyday Witch tarot deck set limited edition signed by both me and illustrator Elisabeth Alba, along with one of her special tins to put the cards in. The double-signed edition would normally be $35 and the tin would be $15, but for today I will have these three sets for $40 plus $5 shipping (shipping would normally be about $7). These are going to go fast, so grab them if you want them.

Or you could get a set signed just by me (which normally sells for $30) for $25 plus $5 shipping. (Be sure to specify which option you want.) This would be Tarot Option 2.

Part Two of the sale is for paperbacks signed by me. This includes Wickedly Dangerous, Wickedly Powerful, Wickedly Wonderful, and Dangerously Charming. These books are normally $7.99 and you can choose either one book with free shipping, or buy one get one half price (no free shipping).

If you want one of the Llewellyn books, I'll take 25% off of a signed copy, since they all vary in price.

All books will come with a few goodies, like bookmarks, magnets, postcards, and whatever else I feel like tossing in at the time :-)

No, the cat is not included.

The sale will continue as long as the snow does, which is expected to be late afternoon or evening on Wednesday the 15th, so if you want to take advantage of my storm-crazed brain, do it now! And be sure to spread the word...

Stay warm and safe, everyone who is in the path of this one.

Elisabeth Alba and I finally Meet!

Last Monday, the 16th, I got a visit from the lovely Elisabeth Alba, who illustrated the Everyday Witch Tarot. Believe it or not, this was the first time we'd met in person, even though we'd worked together for over two years! We had a great time (with her husband, artist Scott Murphy, and their dog Rayo)--and we signed a bazillion copies of the tarot set. Okay, maybe it just felt like a bazillion, but she had her 30 limited editions and I had my 10, plus we both had extras to sell on their own (or gift to friends).

She posted about the visit on her blog HERE

She's actually even nicer in person than she had been via our thousands of emails and Facebook messages. And as a few people pointed out, we actually resemble each other! Here's as few pictures from the day.

[In an aside, people seem to be really loving the deck, which makes us both VERY happy.]

They're here! Rayo is as excited as I am.

You can see my original painting of the Ace of Cups on the wall behind us.

What do you think? Do we look like we could be related?

Signing the box and the books.

Still signing!

Her pile was bigger than mine, if you can believe it!

Trying to get Rayo to sit still long enough for us to get a picture. Ha!

It was a real treat to finally meet up, and hopefully it won't be the last time. It turns out that Elisabeth and Scott are both beer lovers like me, so I've invited them to come back sometime to tour the local Brewery Ommegang and just hang out. (They live in Massachusetts, about 3 hours from me, so this may take some planning.)

The Tarot Deck is OUT! Deborah's Limited Edition

Happy New Year!

And a very happy one it is indeed for those of us who have been waiting for the arrival of the EVERYDAY WITCH TAROT -- it got back from the printer early, and even though it wasn't supposed to be out until January 8th, it is available NOW from Amazon, Llewellyn.com, and probably anyplace else, including your local Indy bookstore, who can special order it for you.

Huzzah!

Plus, it is #1 in New Releases in the Tarot category on Amazon, which needless to say makes me and illustrator Elisabeth Alba very happy!

Day one

 As some of you know, Elisabeth came up with a wonderful limited edition (30 only) set that includes signed bookplates (we're getting together mid-month so we can sign them together!), an original mini-sketch by her, a tin for the cards, and more. It sold out in the first couple of days, which was great, but a few people were sad that they hadn't been able to get one. We don't like sad around here!

So I've been hinting on Facebook that I was going to try to come up with a limited edition of my own, and here it is. Right now, there are only 10 sets available. I had the bags (large enough for both the deck and the book, plus all the other goodies, in case you wanted to keep them together) made up especially for this by one of the artists at my shop, and the little notebooks (to keep track of your readings) made special by another artist. The bookmarks are from the shop too, as are the candles. I didn't want to order too many, in case people weren't interested. But I have enough of the cool cat material to make another 10, probably, if the demand is high. Once that runs out, we've hit the limit for sure!

Here it is: The set includes the tarot deck itself (with the book signed by me, and also by Elisabeth if it is ordered before her visit and you don't mind waiting for her to get here), the bag, the cute little book--it has a kitty on it too!--with a broom pen to write in it. There is also a mini-smudge stick, a candle, and a small amethyst crystal, plus a kitty bookmark to use with the tarot book.

All these limited editions will be slightly different. As you can see, there are variations in the bags (different fringes), two different colors of candles, two different kitty bookmarks, and of course, the crystals are all individual. I'll take requests for preferences as long as I have the ones you want.

Variety is the spice of life! These are going to be one-of-a-kind.

Each set will cost $60, including the $30 card set itself, plus shipping. (Probably about $8 if you are in the States, more if you are outside the country.) I have no idea if anyone will be interested, or if they will disappear as fast as Elisabeth's set did. I guess we'll see! But I did want to offer something to the people who missed out on hers, and my set is a bit more magic-centric, as it were.

If you want one of these, email me at magicmysticminerva@yahoo.com -- first come, first served.

So, I admit I'm curious...did you get a set of the tarot cards? If so, have you received them yet and what do you think? Elisabeth and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out.

ONE MONTH until Tarot!

*Cross-posted at Elisabeth Alba's blog

Only one month left!!! ONE MONTH!!! It’ll be here before we know it. 2017 is looking up! Elisabeth and I can hardly contain ourselves, we’re so excited to see the Everyday Witch Tarot in person. So we’re going to throw another GIVEAWAY!

But first! We’d like to announce that we are now taking pre-orders for the Everyday Witch Tarot Special Edition. “Special Edition?” you ask. “What’s that?”
Here are the details!

There are only 16 spots left, so order yours today for the special price! After publication on January 8th, the price will go up to $90. See that dragon sketch above? One of our early collectors requested “dragon” for her keyword. Elisabeth had a lot of fun with that one!
One thing I love about this Special Edition is that I get to meet Elisabeth Alba in person! We’re going to meet up in January after the deck comes out to sign everything together. I’m really excited! There will definitely be a blog post with photos of the meeting, signing, and merrymaking.
And now for the GIVEAWAY!!!
This time I'm is giving away either Llewellyn’s Witch’s Coloring book OR the Hip Witch Tarot – your choice of one! Elisabeth is giving away a signed print of the Ace of Cups. Good luck, and start counting down the days with us until January 8th!

Signed print of the Ace of Cups

Winner's choice of coloring book or this funky tarot deck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Less Than Two Months Until Tarot Release!

Elisabeth and I are totally pumped about the upcoming publication of the Everyday Witch Tarot! What a long process… to finally see the finished product and hold it in our hands will be amazing. We’d like to share two more images from the deck, as well as throw another GIVEAWAY!!! See bottom of post for info about the giveaway.

It’s been a tough few months. We thought the Tower and Strength cards from the Major Arcana would be appropriate cards to share during this time.

“Chaos and destruction—things go boom.”
Sometimes things have to crash and burn to make room for something new and better.

Deborah writes, “The Tower is one of the cards people find most frightening, since it always denotes some kind of chaos and major change (usually one that doesn’t show up in a positive manner). My take on it is a little different, as you can see from what I wrote in the Everyday Witch Tarot book. I’m not saying that things don’t look BAD when this card shows up…just that we need to look past the obvious “towering” that’s going on, to see if there is a glimmer of light visible through the smoke.”

From the book: A fairy tale tower lies in smoking ruins. To one side is a witch with a mischievous look on her face, a wand hidden behind her back with tiny sparks shooting out of it. A black cat peers cautiously out from underneath some nearby bushes. The witch is wearing a black pointed hat and a black cape, and both the cape and her long dark hair are blowing in the wind created by the explosion. The feeling of the card is wild and chaotic, but not depressing. In fact, you suspect that perhaps this witch has purposely blown things up. You just can’t for the life of you figure out why.
Life rarely runs smoothly, but there are times when it seems as though our entire existence is crashing down around our ears. Jobs are lost, relationships implode, we lose friendships that we treasured. Some of this is just Life. After all, as everyone knows, Stuff Happens. But much of the time, that chaos and destruction has to occur to make room for something new and better. Take heart. Try to see the positive in even the worst situation. You can survive the blast.

Things to consider – Depending on where this card falls in the reading, the explosion may already have happened, you may be in the midst of the chaos, or disaster may still be on its way. If the tower has already gone boom, what can you learn from the experience? What new and positive things can rise out of the ashes of what you have lost? If you are in the midst of the mess, how can you cope better or who can you ask for help? If the crisis is on the horizon, how can you prepare better, now that you know it is coming? Look deep and you may find that you already knew there was something you had to let go of, no matter how difficult the process might be. What can you build out of whatever remains?

“I am power, hear me roar.”
You are stronger than you think.

Deborah writes: Strength is one of my favorite cards in any deck, and especially in ours (I just love the way Elisabeth drew it). It is a good card to get along with The Tower, since it shows that you have the strength you need to deal with whatever is going on.”

A witch in a black hat points the wand in her right hand off to the side, pushing away a powerful storm. Light is streaming out of the wand, and a funnel cloud can be seen moving away, taking darkness with it. The rest of the card is light, and the witch is so confident in her magic that she isn’t even looking in that direction. Instead, her attention is directed at the giant lion to her left, which she is feeding a cookie to with her other hand. At its feet sits a black cat, looking proud, as if it is saying, “It followed me home, can I keep it?”

There is a lot of power in the Strength card, but it isn’t because the witch has more magic than anyone else, or can turn you into a toad without a second thought. (Although both of those may be true.) Her power comes from confidence in her own abilities, and knowing that the universe makes all things come right in the end. Even her cat has that kind of confidence, and views the huge lion as just a slightly larger member of the family. The Strength card reminds us that we have what it takes to triumph, no matter what comes our way.

Things to consider: If this card appears in a reading, it is almost certainly there to remind you of your own inner strength. It is saying, “Yes, yes you can.” You may feel overwhelmed or uncertain, but whatever you are facing, you have the strength to endure, and in the end, triumph.


Take heart, everyone!
And now, finally, THE GIVEAWAY!!!

We’ve got two items for two lucky winners! Deborah is giving away the mini Tarot to Go! set, and Elisabeth is offering a lined hardback notebook featuring the art for the 9 of Pentacles on the front! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Tarot Deck Update and 2-Prize Giveaway!

If you've been around here for a while, you know that I and fabulous illustrator Elisabeth Alba have a uber-cool tarot deck coming out from Llewellyn on January 8th. (See the Everyday Witch Tarot Deck on Amazon.)

We're planning to do an update every month until the deck comes out, along with some cool giveaways, including signed prints of Elisabeth's wonderful art for the cards. Elisabeth is doing this month's update, along with some input from me. Enjoy!

FROM ELISABETH:

In four more months, the Everyday Witch Tarot will be published by Llewellyn! Deborah and I are super excited. So excited, in fact, that we're revealing the process behind another card, AND having a giveaway (see bottom of post for details)!

We'd like to share the Judgment card, which is also used on the cover of the kit box. Everyone has seen the image by now, but here's a bit of the work that went into making it.

 

Here is the original Rider-Waite version of the card that ours is based on:

Deborah: "I tend to look at the Judgment card in a more positive way than some. Not so much as a judgment ON you, but more how you judge your own life. Do you like what you see? This witch is clearly following her own path with joy, which is what I was trying to represent with this card."

Elisabeth: The image description Deborah gave me was, "A witch in a black hat dances merrily down a path playing a flute [think Pied Piper] with her black gown hiked up to show her striped stockings, a black kitten bouncing in her wake, chasing a butterfly which flits in amongst the musical notes from the flute. A shining light beckons from the direction they are heading in. The mood is of anticipation."

I began with rough 'thumbnail' pencil sketches, and once a composition was approved I moved on to the drawing and digital color rough to figure out how I wanted to paint it.

Before doing the drawing, I took photo reference of myself pretending to be the witch in the image. I wanted all the figures in the deck to have accurate anatomy and feel more lifelike and dynamic, so I took a lot of photo reference!

I also looked at photos of canyons, shrubs, and playful cats.

Here is the image after inking on watercolor paper. Unfortunately I don't have any process photos mid-paint, but this is what I painted on top of!

Here is the final painting, and below is the text from the guide book that comes with the deck.

“Here we go again.”
Where has your path led you and where will it lead you now?

A witch in a black hat dances merrily down a path playing a flute with her black gown hiked up to show her striped stockings, a black kitten bouncing in her wake, chasing a butterfly which flits in amongst the musical notes from the flute. A shining light beckons from the direction they are heading in. The mood is of anticipation.

The Judgment card is often perceived as something ominous due to the traditional picture that features naked dead people being summoned by the Angel Gabriel’s trumpet. What isn’t clear is that this call is less about “being judged” by someone else and more about taking a look at your own life and finding it unsatisfactory. Our witch on the card is following some music that only she can hear, playing along as she moves happily down the path towards rebirth, renewal, and letting go. She is light of heart and feet because she has put down old grudges and hurts that were dragging her down. There is joy in finally heeding the call to the life you are meant to be living.

Things to consider: Are you following your own music, or dancing to someone else’s tune? The Judgment card reminds us to listen to our own inner wisdom. It can also be a suggestion that we are judging ourselves too harshly, or taking others judgment of us to heart. If this card shows up in your reading, it may be an indication that it is time to let go of the old and embrace the new. Rebirth and renewal await, if you are willing to go down the path that will take you to them.

And the Judgment card on the cover of the kit... The team at Llewellyn did a fabulous job with the design. We couldn't be happier!

Elisabeth and I are having a double giveaway!!!! Two winners will be picked! Use the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of the blog. We are offering a copy of Llewellyn's Witch's Coloring Book (which has some images from the deck that you can color in yourself!) and a signed print of the Judgment card! The print is on archival matte 11x14 paper, signed by Elisabeth!

The Everyday Witch tarot deck can be pre-ordered now direct from Llewellyn at https://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738746340 or on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Witch-Tarot-Deborah-Blake/dp/0738746347.

And if you can't wait four months for a new deck, you might want to check out The Modern Spellcaster's Tarot by Melanie Marquis with illustrations by one Scott Murphy (aka, Mr. Elisabeth Alba). It looks so cool, I can't wait to get a copy for myself!

*No purchase necessary

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tarot Cover Reveal and Giveaway!

As many of you know, I have been working on a tarot deck for Llewellyn, along with illustrator Elisabeth Alba. It is an insanely long and complicated process, and the deck won't be out until January 2017 (and it isn't even up for preorder yet)...but we finally have COVERS to share with you, and we couldn't wait!

Here is the cover for the set (on the outside of the box). The card they used here is Judgement.

Here is the cover for the book I wrote, which will come with the deck. The card they used for this one is the The High Priestess.

And here is what the back of the cards will look like. I LOVE this design!!! Isn't Elisabeth's art fabulous?

What do you think? I hope you're as excited as we are.

Of course, I can't do a giveaway to celebrate, because the cards aren't out yet...or can I? (Bwahahahaha...)

If you've read some of the earlier posts about the creation of the deck, you might already know that when I was writing the book, I bought a bunch of other tarot kits for research. So I'm going to give away one of those--a cool card and book kit called Tarot for Everyone. It came out in 2008 and it isn't even available anymore, so I suppose you could consider it a collector's item. (The kit is open, of course, since I looked at it while I was working on my book.)

As always, all you have to do to enter is use the Rafflecopter form. [No purchase necessary, not associated with Facebook in any way, yada yada yada.]

Tell me--do you own one or more tarot decks already? Are you excited about this one?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nine Months Until the Tarot Deck! Guest Post by Elisabeth Alba

This is cross-posted from the blog of Elisabeth Alba, who illustrated the Everyday Witch Tarot I wrote for Llewellyn. Here's what she had to say as we hit the (more or less) nine month mark before the deck is released:

Hi All! Well Deborah and I don’t know the exact publication date yet, nor can we share the packaging design, but at least we have less than a year until publication! We’re so excited! We thought it was time to share another image.

The 5 of Wands… when I first read the description that Deborah wrote, I was dreading working on this image. The description: “Five witches in black hats (some tilted crookedly in the heat of the moment) and various color capes are standing around a cauldron. Each holds a parchment scroll (or a toad dangling by one leg, or some herb) in one hand and a wand in another, and they are clearly arguing about who has the best recipe for whatever spell they’re working on. To the right, five cats of different colors are hissing at each other. Unnoticed by the witches, the potion in the cauldron is beginning to seep over the edge and onto the ground and small flames are springing up. The mood is of unnecessary and unproductive argument among people who truly agree.”

The Wands had a few multi-character cards, AND this one included five cats to boot! A daunting composition to figure out.
Here is my rough sketch. You can see I made a few adjustments from the description:

Then I took reference for the witches, using myself as the model for all five of them because I was in Europe at the time and had no one else I could use. The reference is pretty hilarious…

In the end though, it became one of my favorite cards and I love the colors. Here’s the final image (followed by the full text)!

“I know best! No, I do!”
Sometimes it is hard to work with other people. Other times, it’s impossible. “These witches are the best of friends and all of them are skillful and knowledgeable. Just think what they could achieve if they could actually cooperate. Unfortunately, each one is sure that she has the best recipe, or knows the most powerful ingredients, or which direction to stir the pot in. Now they’re so busy arguing, nobody is stirring the pot, and you can almost see the explosion that is sure to come. Let’s hope they come to their senses in time and remember that they can achieve much more working together if they can all just stop trying to be the one who is right. Things to consider: If the Five of Wands shows up in your reading, it probably means that you are dealing with some kind of chaotic situation involving other people. Family, co-workers, friends—whoever it is, they clearly aren’t playing nice together. Are you? Maybe you can be the peacemaker, the one who helps everyone to come together in a more productive way. Maybe this is a situation that can’t be resolved, and you would be better off walking away. Sadly, you can’t make other people behave reasonably, but you can make sure that you aren’t making things worse by letting your ego or pride get in the way of cooperation. You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

The deck will be published by Llewellyn Worldwide in January 2017.
Meanwhile, you should consider pre-ordering the Modern Spellcaster’s Tarot, written by Melanie Marquis and illustrated by my husband, Scott Murphy!