Maxine Gadd's Zoologica - round steampunk cards with alchemical symbolism
Round cards force you to look differently. There is no fixed top or bottom. That small difference changes how you read a spread.
Maxine Gadd's Zoologica is an oracle of forty round cards combining nineteenth-century steam-age aesthetics with alchemical transformation processes. The cards are richly illustrated with mechanical and mythical creatures. The edges are hand-painted in bronze. The box and guidebook have subtle pearlescent accents.
What you see on the cards
The imagery draws from the Pre-Raphaelite and Romantic traditions. Maxine Gadd paints with detail and abundance. Machines become creatures, animals gain mechanical parts, and alchemical symbols such as lead and gold recur as themes of growth and transformation.
The cards themselves have no fixed orientation. You can rotate them during a reading. That opens space for interpretation that goes beyond the classic distinction between upright and reversed.
How you work with them
The round shape asks for a different approach. Many readers pull one card per day and focus on the part of the image that first catches the eye. By slowly rotating the card, the perspective shifts. What was foreground becomes background.
The 144-page guidebook explains the symbolism and possible meanings for each card. Leela J. Williams, who wrote the texts, explains alchemical concepts clearly without assuming prior knowledge. That makes the deck accessible for those with little experience in this type of symbolism.
Lay the card in front of you and rotate it a quarter turn after each question. Notice how the composition changes and which details suddenly carry more weight.
About Maxine Gadd and Leela J. Williams
Maxine Gadd is a British artist whose work is deeply rooted in nineteenth-century Romanticism. Her illustrations for Zoologica combine technical precision with dreamlike compositions.
Leela J. Williams previously wrote titles such as The Spirit Guide and Spellcraft. Her strength lies in making esoteric concepts accessible without oversimplifying them.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 40
- Shape: round
- Card finish: hand-painted bronze edges
- Guidebook: 144 pages, full color
- Language: English
- Packaging finish: pearlescent accents on box and guidebook
- Concept and text: Leela J. Williams
- Illustrations: Maxine Gadd
Questions we often get
How do you shuffle and lay round cards?
You shuffle them as you would rectangular cards. When laying them out, you can place them in any direction. Some readers pay attention to where the card 'naturally' points, others rotate consciously during the reading.
Is the guidebook suitable if you know nothing about alchemy?
Yes. The texts explain symbols such as lead, gold and transformation processes without assuming prior knowledge. The focus is on what the images can mean in a reading, not on historical alchemy.
