Divination: The Barbieri Zodiac Oracle

 

The Barbieri Zodiac Oracle

By Barbara Moore; illustration by Paolo Barbieri

The Barbieri Zodiac Oracle is a particularly beautiful astrology-based oracle deck created by Italian fantasy artist Paolo Barbieri, with the written interpretations by Barbara Moore. 

It was published by Lo Scarabeo and contains 26 cards. The deck combines traditional Western astrology with Barbieri’s highly dramatic, fantastical artwork. 

What makes the deck unusual?

Rather than concentrating solely on the twelve zodiac signs, the 26 cards represent three major components of astrology:

• 12 Zodiac signs — Aries through Pisces
• 10 planets and luminaries — including the Sun and Moon
• 4 elements — Fire, Earth, Air and Water

This gives the deck a compact but surprisingly versatile astrological vocabulary. 

The artwork is probably the deck’s greatest attraction. Barbieri takes conventional astrological symbols and transforms them into large-scale fantasy images filled with movement, mythical figures, celestial imagery and elemental forces. Lo Scarabeo describes the imagery as having an energy that is simultaneously otherworldly and material. 

The Zodiac Oracle was one of several oracle projects Barbieri created with Lo Scarabeo. His other decks include Chinese Oracle, Fantasy Cats Oracle, Unicorns Oracle, StarDragons Oracle and Dante’s Inferno Oracle. 

Barbara Moore’s contribution

Barbara Moore wrote the accompanying guidebook. Rather than treating the cards as fixed fortune-telling meanings, she approaches them through astrological principles and synchronicity.

For example, drawing Virgo can bring attention to themes such as analysis, discrimination, detail, practicality and discernment. Drawing Neptune can introduce imagination, compassion, intuition, spirituality, sacrifice and the possibility of confusion or escapism.

This makes the cards useful even when you aren’t an experienced astrologer.

How you can use it

One of the things I particularly like about this deck is that it can function as an astrological companion to Tarot rather than simply being another oracle deck.

The guidebook provides several reading techniques, including:

One-card reading

Draw one card for the central energy surrounding a question or situation.

Three-card reading

Explore a situation through concepts such as motivation, expression and the energy required for balance or healing.

Relationship reading

Cards can be used to explore your motivation alongside another person’s motivation.

Timing

The zodiac cards can help identify periods associated with particular signs, making the deck useful when you’re asking “When might this happen?”

Astrological-house spread

A larger spread uses the twelve houses of astrology to investigate areas such as relationships, family, work, money and personal development. 

Spiritual and magical uses

For someone interested in witchcraft, Tarot and magical correspondences, this deck has considerable potential.

You could use the element cards when working with elemental magic:

• Fire — will, passion, courage, transformation
• Earth — stability, manifestation, material matters
• Air — thought, communication, intellect and clarity
• Water — emotion, intuition, dreams and psychic sensitivity

The planet cards can also be incorporated into planetary magic. For example:

• ☉ Sun — vitality, confidence, illumination and success
• ☽ Moon — intuition, dreams, cycles and the subconscious
• ☿ Mercury — communication, learning and divination
• ♀ Venus — love, beauty, attraction and harmony
• ♂ Mars — courage, sexuality, action and conflict
• ♃ Jupiter — expansion, prosperity, wisdom and opportunity
• ♄ Saturn — boundaries, discipline, responsibility and karmic lessons
• ♆ Neptune — dreams, mysticism, imagination and spiritual sensitivity

The zodiac cards can then add another layer of personality and expression.

Using it alongside Tarot

This is where I think the Barbieri Zodiac Oracle really shines.

You could draw a Tarot card first and then use the Zodiac Oracle as a clarifier. For example:

The High Priestess + Moon

Could emphasise intuition, dreams, hidden knowledge and the unconscious.

The Magician + Mercury

Could reinforce communication, skill, intellect and the ability to turn an idea into reality.

Death + Scorpio

Could intensify themes of transformation, endings, regeneration and rebirth.

The Empress + Venus

Could emphasise love, beauty, fertility, creativity and abundance.

You could even use it to investigate why a Tarot card has appeared rather than simply asking what it means.

My overall impression

The Barbieri Zodiac Oracle is a fascinating deck because it sits somewhere between an oracle, astrology teaching tool and magical correspondence deck.

Its biggest strength is undoubtedly the artwork, but underneath that artwork is a useful astrological framework. It can be used by a beginner who simply wants a daily astrological message, while someone with a stronger knowledge of astrology can explore considerably deeper layers.

One review particularly praised its versatility as both a standalone oracle and a supplementary deck for Tarot, including its usefulness for astrological timing. I would tend to agree .

If you enjoy Tarot, astrology, mythology and magical correspondences, I think this is one of those decks that becomes more interesting the more you learn about astrology. It would also make an excellent deck for exploring the relationship between Tarot, the planets, zodiac signs and the four elements.

Official Lo Scarabeo — Barbieri Zodiac Oracle⁠ link

About the deck’s creators

Barbara Moore and Paolo Barbieri

The author associated with the Barbieri Zodiac Oracle is Barbara Moore. Paolo Barbieri created the artwork, while Moore wrote the accompanying guide and interpretations. She is a well-established American tarot writer, teacher and deck creator with more than 35 years of experience with tarot. 

Moore’s interest in tarot began during college, where she was fascinated by the way tarot brings together mythology, psychology, history and art. Her study subsequently became both personal and professional. She has studied with respected tarot scholars including Mary K. Greer and Rachel Pollack, and has taught tarot extensively. 

She also became involved professionally with Llewellyn Publications, serving as its tarot specialist and later working as a consultant to both Llewellyn and Lo Scarabeo. She has been active in the wider tarot community, including the American Tarot Association and tarot conferences. 

Her books and decks

Moore has an extensive bibliography. Some particularly notable works include:

• The Steampunk Tarot — with artwork by Aly Fell
• Llewellyn’s Little Book of Tarot
• Tarot Spreads: Layouts & Techniques to Empower Your Readings
• Tarot for Beginners
• Your Tarot, Your Way
• Modern Guide to Energy Clearing
• The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals — co-written with Mary K. Greer
• The Art of Tarot Spreads, published in 2026

She has also written companion books and guidebooks for numerous decks, including Mystic Dreamer Tarot, Mystic Faerie Tarot, The Enchanted Oracle, The Gilded Tarot and Shadowscapes Tarot. 

Her approach to tarot

One of the things that distinguishes Moore’s work is that she tends to make tarot accessible rather than overly dogmatic. She encourages readers to develop their own relationship with the cards rather than believing there is only one “correct” interpretation.

That makes her particularly well suited to a deck such as the Barbieri Zodiac Oracle. Instead of simply giving a list of rigid divinatory meanings, her approach encourages the reader to consider symbolism, intuition, personal experience and the interaction between cards.

Her Llewellyn’s Little Book of Tarot, for example, combines traditional card meanings with practical exercises, prompts and alternative forms of divination. 

Why she is significant

Barbara Moore is not primarily an astrologer in the way that someone such as Liz Greene or Demetra George is. Her particular expertise is tarot, oracle cards, symbolism and divination. Her contribution to the Barbieri deck is therefore especially useful in translating the astrological imagery into something that can actually be worked with as an oracle.

In other words, Paolo Barbieri provides the magical fantasy imagery; Barbara Moore provides the divinatory framework.

Her career also connects the Barbieri Zodiac Oracle with the wider modern Tarot and oracle tradition, particularly the publishing world of Llewellyn and Lo Scarabeo. 

If you are interested in the witchcraft and magical side of Barbara Moore’s work, Modern Guide to Energy Clearing and her work on Tarot correspondences are particularly interesting places to look. 

https://www.instagram.com/barbaramoore07