Sacred Bee: the cards of Kelly Burton
Kelly Burton and the Sacred Bee collection
Are you ready to meet the Sacred Bee tarot and oracle cards, four decks that grew out of one small studio in Boulder, Colorado?
Picture an early morning there. Sunlight falls through the studio window, cards lie spread across the desk, and hexagon patterns and sketches of bees and butterflies cover every surface. This is where Kelly Burton works.
From graphic designer to deck creator
Before Kelly drew her first card, she worked as a graphic designer. You can still see it in her precise lines, strong colour palettes and geometric patterns. But Sacred Bee is about more than looks.
“For me, it’s about connection, between humans and nature, between intuition and understanding.”
Kelly publishes independently under Sacred Soul Productions and funds her projects through Kickstarter and BackerKit. Each campaign gathers hundreds of backers, so Sacred Bee is more than an art project: it is a community. If you enjoy work from independent makers like this, have a look at our indie tarot decks.
Four chapters of the Sacred Bee tarot and oracle cards
- Journey of the Sacred Bee (2020): A 78-card deck built on the Rider-Waite-Smith system, with added keywords. Abstract patterns, hexagons and bold colours. The Kickstarter raised over $29,000, more than triple its goal. Friendly for beginners, with enough layers for experienced readers.
- Wisdom of the Sacred Bee (2021, reissued 2025): A 68-card oracle that works with five elements: earth, water, fire, air and aether. Cosmic and round, the cards look like miniature universes. Intuitive readers like it a lot. A revised second edition came out in 2025.
- Keeper of the Sacred Bee (2022/2023): Kelly’s completion of the Bee trilogy. 78 cards, darker and more refined than the first two. It pulls the threads of the first two decks together into something more complete. A good fit for advanced readers who want a rich symbolic universe.
- The Flight of the Butterfly (2025): A new chapter. It steps outside the bee theme but keeps the same spirit: transformation, change, emergence. The deck is inspired by the myth of Psyche, and the metamorphosis logic of Sacred Bee carries on in a different form.
“Each deck opens a different door, yet together they tell one story: connection, transformation, and our place in the larger whole.”
Keep learning?
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Get the guideIf you like makers with a story of their own, these articles are worth a look.
- Indie tarot decks in a new light
- Sam Guay: images that do not explain, but open
- Uusi Cards: when beauty leads the way
Looking for a deck from an independent maker, or an oracle with a voice of its own? Have a look around.
