Rosa Obscura Tarot

Rosa Obscura Tarot - botanical symbolism and surrealist imagery

Human bodies flowing into plant roots. Faces from which flowers grow. A hand that extends into leaves. This deck by Croatian illustrator Orla Bird shows where botanical art and classical tarot meet.

The foundation is the traditional tarot structure with 78 cards. On top of that comes a 79th card: an extra Rose card that serves as a meditation card or focal point. The cardstock is 350 gsm with a matte finish that prevents glare and shuffles smoothly.

Victorian flower language in modern form

Each card is linked to a specific plant. Not a decorative addition, but a fully developed symbolic system. Bird bases her work on Victorian flower language, in which every flower had an established meaning.

The imagery is dreamlike and surrealist. Forms flow into one another. No hard division between body and nature, between human and plant. That suits the way Bird wants to show duality: light and shadow, elegance and roughness.

The rose returns again and again. Not as ornament, but as central metaphor for transformation and balance. The extra 79th card is a direct expression of that.

How this deck feels in your hand

The format is standard: 70 x 120 mm. The cardstock is sturdy but flexible enough to shuffle smoothly. The matte finish keeps cards from sticking together, which is especially useful during longer readings.

The guidebook gives a short explanation for each card about the linked plant and the classical tarot meaning. No long philosophical texts, but enough to understand the symbolic layer. The structure is traditional enough that you can use this deck with existing spreads.

Place the extra Rose card aside during a reading. Use it as an anchor point for your question or as a card to fall back on when you are uncertain between two interpretations.

About Orla Bird

Orla Bird is a Croatian illustrator who specializes in botanical and esoteric imagery. Her work has a recognizable style: soft in color, precise in line, with a preference for plant motifs that wrap around human figures.

Rosa Obscura is her first complete tarot deck. She designed it as a visual investigation into duality and shadow work, in which each card shows both beauty and raw reality.

Specifications

• Number of cards: 79 (78 classical tarot cards plus extra Rose card)
• Card size: 70 x 120 mm
• Material: 350 gsm matte cardstock
• Finish: matte
• Language: English
• Packaging: sturdy storage box
• Included: guidebook with card meanings and botanical symbolism
• Illustrator: Orla Bird

Questions we often get

What do you do with the 79th card?
You use it as you see fit. Some people place it aside as a focus card, others use it as an extra trump card in a reading. Bird gives no fixed instruction, so the function is yours to decide.

Do you need to know Victorian flower language to read this deck?
No. The guidebook explains for each card which plant belongs to it and why. You can simply use the deck as a classical tarot deck and see the plant symbolism as an extra layer.