Oracles of February

Here we are one month into 2024: February, the month of love and Winter weather. We’re all (somewhat) recovered from the holiday season and the multiple ice/snow storms. We are so happy to be back in the studio working on projects!

Feeling grateful for our community, our friends, our fans, our fellow artists. We made it through the past few years with hard work, quick pivots, true luck… and most of all, with your support! Thank you!

So obviously we’re feeling a little lovey-dovey and we decided to lean into the “month of love” theme. And we mean ALL the love (not just romantic partnerships). It seems like a great opportunity to make sure you let those in your circle know what they mean to you.

And if you’re like us (which given that you’re reading the Oracle blog, there’s a strong chance you are)… then the way to your heart is through science, nature, and magic!

So here are some gift ideas for the curious at heart:

  • Send a bit of fun in the form of a fortune scratch-off card.

  • Set the mood with Smells Like Spells incense. Beauty, intelligence, success, and vivacity.

  • Our bookish friends might enjoy Magic Flowers by Christine Blystone. Part plant folklore and ritual reference, part poetic memoir; Magic Flowers “asks us to dare to love a thousand times — especially when we don’t know if we’ll ever bring some of our deepest desires to fruition.”

  • Why give a regular bunch of flowers when you could honor your love with a beautiful Curioscape art piece by Atropos Curios. Beautiful glasswing butterflies alight upon poppy flowers and lavender over a bed of crystals and a skull cap nestled within a hinged glass curio box.

  • For the loved-one that truly has everything… the heart from the famous two-headed calf!

We’ve been working in the studio creating some fun Valentine-themed gifts. A sweet spin on our signature insect specimen mini-domes make lovely mementos. The Bee Sweet dome has a bee pinned in “mid flight” just above a small rosebud, a moment frozen in time while the Romantic Weevil cheerfully holds up his rosebud.

And because you all loved our Oracle Holiday Ornaments so much… we made Oracle Valentine Sets! Set of three specimen vials each individually labeled with a cute message card. Three styles: friendship, sweetheart, and just-for-fun/suggestive.

Love Oracle? (Awww… we love you too!) Now we can all rep our favorite taxidermy studio everywhere we go! “Science is Magic” illustration of a fox skeleton and dermestid beetles by our very own Melissa Chepren and printed at Oddities Prints in KC. Long-sleeve sweatshirt (with bone motif on the sleeves!) or T-shirt styles available. Warm weather or cold, we’ve got you covered… literally.

- Laura

Oracles of January

2024 is upon us!!! And my goodness it’s coming in with some Winter chill! The beginning of the calendar year has always been a time of ritual, traditions, and superstitions. We are closing out an old year, giving ourselves permission to move on from what has passed and open up our path forward.

Many traditions suggest that one should burn a candle over New Year’s Eve past midnight until it burns itself out for prosperity and good luck. Lighting candles to amplify an intention can, of course, happen any time of year. Simply choose a candle style that speaks to you.

We love all kinds of candles here in Oracle. If you love scented candles… Smells Like Spells has poured soy-wax candles with fragrances “based on old customs, traditions and the belief that every plant or aroma has its own magical purpose.” New to Oracle, we now carry Calamus & Honey!

Their 7-day Pillar Candles are dressed with oils, herbs, curios and prayed over by people practicing a variety of magical traditions including but not limited to Santeria, Southern Rootwork and traditional Witchcraft. Their oils are also perfect for anointing taper candles! And… although I’m most certainly not impartial here… the Moth & Candle limited edition Year of the Dragon tapers are pure hand-dipped beeswax ritual tapers dressed with cedar, juniper, palo Santo, and a dragon blood stone crystal.

If you’re like me, pen and paper play an important part in my new year preparations. Open Sea Design Co. has made these luxurious Spell Cards so you can track the various aspects of your ritual. And Arin Murphy-Hiscock (author of The Green Witch) has released a guided Grimoire… part guide, part journal and magical record book, this hard-bound volume gives you just enough guidance and ritual instruction to get you going in your spell crafting journey.

The Calamus & Honey oils are a fun and quick way to tap into your selected intention(s). This year I am focusing on Road Opening work… making space to move forward in the direction I hope to go. I keep my bottle of Road Opener on my bedroom shelf with my incense and crystal collection. When I feel like I’m going to be working on projects and need some extra ease in the process I dab a quick spot on my wrist and go about my day. So whether you too are seeking new horizons, open roads, a bit of fast luck, or your crowning success… Calamus & Honey has an oil for it! Plus the labels and floating ingredients look so magical!

An overwhelming majority of New Year’s traditions from around the world focus on driving out the old unwanted energies, calling in the desired energies, and protecting that balance throughout the year to come. This stunning Epidote and Quartz crystal cluster makes a unique addition to any collection. Epidote is often associated with abundance and prosperity while Quartz both clears energy while amplifying intention.

Our “paw”quets (dried floral bouquet with a taxidermy paw) act as lovely gifts of beauty and protection. As many of our parts are the result of conservation and abatement programs we do typically have plenty of paws. We take them through a full cleaning and mummification process before hand-sealing the ends and doing finishing touches. We dry the bouquets here in the studio ourselves before assembling these unique nature bouquets. The claws on the paw or foot, in this context symbolize protection while the flowers symbolize beauty. They can be hung on the wall, especially near doorways or windows, or can be displayed on a shelf or altar.

Or stop in and have us help guide you with your intentions for the new year!

The Oracle team, left to right:

Melissa, Alessandra, and Laura

What rituals or practices do you like to do to start the year? Let us know in the comments… we love to know how you all work with the items you get at Oracle!

- Laura

Holiday Guide - Staff Favorites & Holiday Market! (Part 3)

Continuing in our Holiday Guide - we have our Staff Picks! Between Laura, Melissa, and I - our choices magically aligned and hopefully speaks to you too! But we cannot stop there, since all our items in the shop our handpicked and curated to artists we truly love. We made a list of all our featured artists! Until then, here are our ‘Team Picks!”

Laura’s top pick is East End Press’s array of Paper Garlands; From dancing skeletons, to turtle doves, who’s to say they aren’t all Holiday themed? Beyond these picks, a cup of tea like a Ritualcravt Blend or a new tarot deck?! How could you go wrong…

…

Melissa’s top pick is our adorable beetle domes! Especially our precious double beetle love bugs (link below) - we have so many choices you have to look at them all and there’s a price point that fits everyone’s budget. Beyond these picks, our crystal zine to brush up on some crystal or a cute taxidermy ornament (to be premiered!) might be the way to go!

…

Alessandra’s (hello, it’s me!) top picks are a little all over the place; from Dreamwing’s real monarch necklace to our cockatoo skeleton - I really can’t choose! Honestly my best suggestions for gifts are either something made by hand (literally the most heartfelt gift imo) or something to do together (maybe a class or a craft/kit to do together?) OR something that would be a great help to their current collection or hobby; a tool can sometimes be the greatest gift (I know I still cherish a tweezer set I was gifted years ago), like a pinning board or ento pins! Our FSW Taxidermy Protection Spray (link below) is also a great tool to help maintain any avid collector collection. OR! A great birding book or new sketchbook to take on your next hike?? All great add ons to any naturalists’ lifestyle.

And of course, sometimes gifts are hard or budgets are tight - Best thing you can do this holiday season, especially to support your favorite small businesses is to like, share, and support <3 sometimes the best gifts are the support alone and the gift of quality time spent together instead of a physical gift - Happy Holidays and hope to see you soon. All gratitude and love to you all for being an integral part of the Oracle Family,

xo, A.

Holiday Market
:: Featuring Artists ::

ceramicist & illustrator Sweet Destructor, illustrator & zine artist Linnea Nierman, and jewelry & metalsmith Amuck Designs!
Dec 16th & 17th :: 12-5pm

Holiday Guide & Small Business Saturday (Part 2)

Saturday :: Nov 25th :: 12-5pm

Featuring Broom Artist & Maker Amanda Lee of PleaseSendWord
STUDIO CLOSED :: Nov 23rd + 24th

This Holiday season, we are highlighting some of our favorite artists, makers, and our favorite in-house products through a curated gift guide (to hopefully help easy off some of that holiday pressure)! We made sure not to leave out any Oracle Family member; To our little witch or naturalist, to our scientists, gem hound, or especially to our artists or folks that prioritize maybe some quality time to learn something new… We made sure to think of something for everyone (even have some fun/funny gifts, because who doesn’t need a cheer-me-up right now?)

The Oracle


Probably a tough subject to try to find a gift for - because they have it all! Maybe looking into something unique or something to add to their craft - something rare and unique - where science meets magic

ideas for you: (1) Smells Like a Spell, ritual candles and incense (2) Fortune telling scratcher cards (3) Raw rose quartz - a rarity! (4) Entomology specimen domes (5) Freeze-dried taxidermy rattlesnake (6) Gary Staab bronze dart frog (7) Eclectic Curiosities specimen art (8) Articulated spines of beaver, bobcat, fox, or otter - all things that would help connect to nature and beyond! 

The Naturalist


When the night gets long, help a naturalist or that witch in your life bring some of that sunshine back by indulging in some nature and color - Something to cozy with, but gosh, maybe some quality time or a night of tarot cards might do the trick

ideas for you: (1) Cleansing selenite bowl (2) Aura Quartz or palm stones (3) Ritualcravt protection or home cleansing kits (4) Ritualcravt veil tea (5) Ash Miyagawa rabbit pelt for tarot spreads (6) For Strange Women Botanical Oracle (7) Dreamwings real butterfly wing jewelry (8) Entomology domes (9) Sunstone tower (10) Fawn freze-dried taxidermy

The Scientist


The curious always needs the outlet of discovery - pull their nose out of that book by giving them another book or start a little book club! There's always something around to help them with their next project - or tools to inspire the next best thing

ideas for you: (1) Entomology learning kits (2) Bare Bones of Articulation zine or Intro to Bug Pinning (3) Bone vials (4) Cabinet of Curiosities pin collection (5) Dikdik Skull (6) Mini Articulated domes (7) Taxidermy Protection Maintenance Spray to protect your specimen collection from pests (8) Bismuth (9) Atropos Curios Curioscapes (10) Entomology or nature based books - feed that knowledge hunger! 

And last but not least; our Oracle Club Members! From Bug Clubs to now Bone Club and just being part of the family, we have a variety of kits, domes, but especially exciting upcoming classes... but sometimes a gift card is the way to go!

ideas for you: (1) Ibis Skull (2) Fox Articulated Dome (3) Paw Articulation Kits - learn the Basics of Bone Cleaning & Articulation (4) Atropos Curios curioscapes or any custom projects (5) Online or in-store gift cards! (6) Oracle framed specimens - there is a few classes on the horizon so save a spot in an upcoming class!

We are adding more and more new items to the website daily, so stay tuned for more.

This Saturday (Nov 25th - 12-5pm) we will be kicking off the Holidays with Small Business Saturday, hosting broom artist and maker Amanda Lee of PleaseSendWord! She will be showcasing some beautiful one of a kind brooms and other creations that you should not miss! So swing by for a hot cup of cider and purchases over $50 get to go home with a free gift! 
 

xo, Oracle

Oracle Holiday Guide (Part 1)

This Holiday season, we are highlighting some of our favorite artists, makers, and our favorite in-house products through a curated gift guide (to hopefully help easy off some of that holiday pressure)! We made sure not to leave out any Oracle Family member; To our little witch or naturalist, to our scientists, gem hound, or especially to our artists or folks that prioritize maybe some quality time to learn something new… We made sure to think of something for everyone (even have some fun/funny gifts, because who doesn’t need a cheer-me-up right now?)

So please stay tuned as we slowly dive into each category & especially don’t miss out on joining us - Small Business Saturday - Nov 25th - We will be hosting broom artist Amanada Lee from PleaseSendWord and purchases over $50 get a free gift! Support your community and shop local this holiday season!

xo, A

Oracle's Card of the Month: November '23

For November I pulled the Rose card from the For Strange Women Oracle deck. A card of romance and relationship. Roses have been associated with love since ancient Greece. The red rose is sacred to Aphrodite. It was said that all roses used to be white until Aphrodite cut her ankle on a rose thorn while running to save her lover, Adonis. Her blood stained the roses she ran past red thus connecting them to her and passion.

The Romans considered roses to be symbolic of romance, secrecy, and luxury. Roses were put in the bedroom and petals were thrown at celebrations. Even today roses continue to be an icon of romance and are given as a token of affection.

As the winter approaches it may be a good time to call in some romance. Fill your space with warmth and glamour. Light candles, burn a sensual incense, drape luxurious furs over your furniture, display flowers and art. Romance isn’t only for lovers.

Pink Amethyst is a rare form of Amethyst found in Patagonia. It is said to bring emotional balance and overall peace through calm, understanding, and grace. Crystal towers with sparkling caverns and soothing hues make for a simple romantic touch to any table or shelf.

Ethically/sustainably-sourced furs add a luxurious and tactile element to your environment. Persian Lamb, Rabbit, or Muskrat pelts look lovely as a surface covering on tabletops.

In the Oracle studio we love highlighting the beauty of nature in our art. One particularly romantic piece is our framed snake and florals assemblage. Some traditions associate serpents with desire. This taxidermy snake is nestled in a cushion of lush green foliage and soft pink flowers.

Things made by hand have an intrinsic romance to them. November 25th is Small-Business Saturday… and we’re hosting a slow craft pop-up! Please Send Word will be in the shop with their handmade goods.

November marks Oracle’s 10-year anniversary! We’re celebrating this month by featuring the individual work of our 3-person team. It’s a Pop-Us (get it? Instead of pop-up it’s a pop-US). Art by shop owner and lead taxidermist Alessandra Dzuba, assistant taxidermist and lead illustrator Melissa Chepren, and me… studio manager and lead writer Laura Pensar. Drop in and help us celebrate a decade of Oracle Natural Science!

This November, fall in love with the changing seasons… get cozy AND sensual (they aren’t mutually exclusive after all)! Cheers! - Laura Pensar for Oracle Natural Science