I am Danielle Barlow,  a painter, illustrator  and incense maker, living and working on Dartmoor, in the south west of the UK.

I grew up here in Devon before training in the creative arts, and then in horticulture, and I've always juggled these two passions, fascinated by how these skills helped to connect our ancestors very profoundly to the land in which they lived. These days I work primarily in ink and watercolour. Deeply rooted in this ancient landscape of ours, my work draws heavily on folklore and mythology, and explores the deep connection, both physical and spiritual, between people and the land they inhabit.

I have spent the last 5 years creating The Green Wheel Oracle Deck, a set of 45 cards from my paintings. This is a set of divination cards that can be used in several ways:  to offer insights into situations, to suggest new ways of looking at things, and also to help you journey deeper into an awareness of the rythyms of the land and the skies.

The deck is divided into three sets: The 8 Wheel cards, which follow the wheel of the year, and mark the 8 celtic festivals - Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Midsummer, Lammas, Autumn Equinox, Samhain and Midwinter.  The 13 Moon cards, representing the thirteen lunar months of the year, and 24 Companion cards, depicting animal and plant allies.

Finally, after years of work, it is ready to be put into production. I am working with a local print company, and we plan to produce a set of beautiful full coloured, high quality cards (89mm x 127mm) which will come with a cloth bag and a small book explaining how to work with the cards, in a beautiful presentation box.

Why do I need your help?

I want to produce this myself, rather than handing it to a publisher, because it's an intensely personal project, and I want to retain control of the content. It's taken me five years of hard work, with no financial return on the project, and I'd like to publish it myself.  What I'm doing here is launching it as a pre-order - so that the advance payments will fund the printing. I know that many of my customers have been patiently waiting for years to get their hands on a copy of this deck, and so I am offering the Green Wheel Oracle at a special pre-order price of £35 plus postage (please check the pre-order perks to make sure you choose the one with the correct postage for your country). This pre-orders should be ready to post by the end of November, meaning it can be ordered in time for Christmas. The size of the print run will be determined by the funding raised, but I am hoping to make an edition of 1000 units, which I plan to launch on the retail market later in the New Year.

What's the money for?

I need to raise £10,000 to bring this to production:

£7000 for print and production costs

£1000 covers the percentage to Indiegogo, campaign costs, and pre-production samples (plus a small fee to my 12 year old nephew, Ruan Scott for his expertise and hard work in video creating and editing and tech advice!)

£2000 approx will cover the postage and packing of pre-orders and perks

What am I offering in return?

As well as the options for pre-ordering a deck, there are lots of exciting perks you can buy too!

• Special 'limited edition' sets of the Green Wheel Oracle, including extra tools for working with the deck, such as incense to use with the lunar months, and a beautiful handmade casting cloth
• Small sets of Altar cards and incense
• Limited edition large giclee prints of the 8 Wheel Cards
• An incense making workshop (in the south west of UK) for up to 6 people
• Some original paintings from the deck to be released for sale later in the campaign

What happens if I don't meet my target?

All the pre-orders and perks will be fulfilled, however much the campaign raises, BUT I will have to make a much smaller print run, and therefore am unlikely to have decks to sell after the pre-orders or to launch into shops in the New Year.

And if I go over?

There is so much more I can do with more funds! My priority will be framing the original artwork for exhibition and launch of the Green Wheel Oracle. This will cost about £2500. Extra funds would be put towards the launch and marketing campaign, and updating my website.

Other Ways You Can Help

I know it's not always possible to contribute financially, but that doesn't matter. You can make a huge difference to this by sharing it as far and wide as you can. Please use the indiegogo sharing tools to spread the message as much as you can.

Thankyou SO much .