Interview with Alejandra Luisa León, creator of the Lioness Oracle Tarot

Indie Tarot is happy to bring to our community a short interview with Alejandra Luisa León (she/her) creator of the Lioness Oracle Tarot, The Vision of the Muse oracle and The Stars Divine astrology decks. 

I had picked up Alejandra's three decks one day and created a simple spread using a card from each deck. This has been part of my explorations in combining decks and systems when doing readings. It made me curious about ways Alejandra might use the decks together and so I reached out to her for some insight and inspiration. 

Welcome Alejandra!             

For those in our community that may not be familiar with the decks you have created, could you tell us a bit more about each of your decks and how you use them together?

The Lioness Oracle Tarot is in the standard Tarot format: 78 cards of major and minor arcana, with an abstract quality due to the hand collaged images. Vision of the Muse is an oracle deck of energetic states of being that can aid you in choosing the best focus in your daily life. The Stars Divine is an Astrology deck that can point to specific happenings in the stars that are guiding your development. 

They were all collaged by hand using found paper images. I have to be creative with what comes to me, and what I find. There is magical synchronicity woven through all three of my decks because of that. Most of the time, I feel that the decks are making themselves and I am just their vehicle. They wanted to be here. 

When used together, they create a synergy of information that can create a clear picture of your most useful guidance moving forward.

With that idea of the synergy of information by using them together, do you have a favorite spread that combines your decks?

Yes. I use 5 cards from The Lioness Oracle Tarot: 

1. Where the querent is currently
2. The challenge
3. The gift
4. The past influences
5. The potential future

Above I pull 3 messages from The Stars Divine

Below, I pull 3 messages from Vision of the Muse

I like to think of The Stars Divine messages as which Star aspects are currently guiding the querent related to the question or situation. The three Vision cards are like 3 Muses, or 3 messages from guides/Spirit.

I tried this out as a generic reading rather than about a specific topic. What I really liked was the sense that the messages above and below provided context to the overall reading and which areas of life seemed to be of focus at the moment. I could also imagine that some people might like to intentionally pull cards from the Stars Divine based on their astrological knowledge. Mine is quite limited, so I decided to pull them at random. I look forward to continuing to explore ways to use these decks together. 

One of the things I find intriguing is that all of your decks use collage. I notice when I use decks that there are times I want the imagery to be clear and tell a story while at other times, I need a more abstract approach that invites me to see things differently. From my perspective, your decks are more abstract but with recognizable elements and themes. What was the creative process that you used as you made each of the decks? 

I make a pot of tea, put on music, light candles and incense, say a prayer/state an intention if I feel called, and then get to work. Some days may just be sorting through my found image collection, while other days will turn into the assembly of images. 

Were there any specific cards that were particularly difficult or easy to create?

When making The Lioness Oracle Tarot, I struggled with the 6, 7, and 8 of swords. This was a magical part of going through the process of making a Tarot deck. I was always in the cards I was making. So I was overthinking them, when it is in my nature to flow with my work and channel the outcome. So once I stopped doing that, I flowed, and the result was three abstract images that for me represent the energies of those cards. 

It's fascinating to hear the awareness that allowed you to move through the creative birthing process. 

Something else that interests me is how identit(ies) play a role consciously or unconsciously in the creative process and how they might be reflected in the final art. Are there ways you see this in your own work?

Absolutely. The roses are connected to my matrilineal name of Rose, and the plant magic on my mother’s side. The Lions/Lionesses and cats are connected to my name León (Lion in Spanish), as well as my Sun sign of Leo. My love of color is there, and undoubtedly there are ways in which my personality and essence come through in my choice of aesthetics when I don’t even think about it. 

It sounds like there is a lot reflected in your work of both the conscious and unconscious variety.

I have really enjoyed hearing more about your decks and your creative process. Before we close, I was wondering if you have any advice for those who are beginning their journey with tarot?

Have patience with the journey. It takes practice. Trust your intuition. You often know way more than you think you do. Journal about the cards you pull if you can. It helps. So does meditating on them if you prefer that. Have fun with it. Know that the Tarot will always be a learning process. Even when you become an “expert”. 

Thank you so much Alejandra! 

Indie Tarot currently has all three of Alejandra's decks: The Lioness Oracle Tarot deck, The Vision of the Muse oracle deck and The Stars Divine astrology deck in stock.