Spreading Hope and Light: Fund Oracle Cards

Hello! My name is Aika Watanabe, and the little baby you see in the cover picture is my daughter, Reia. This fundraiser is how I am trying to not only pursue a passion, but to recover and move forward as a new single mother and bring some light into people's lives - especially my daughter's.

My Story

My journey to creating this oracle deck began a little over a year ago, when I found out that I was pregnant. While I was thrilled to finally become a mother, my partner at the time was anything but supportive. News of my pregnancy did nothing to curtail his emotional and psychological abuse, and it soon became obvious that I would have to leave in order to protect myself and my future child.

I made the painful decision to uproot my life in Hawaii and stay with my family in Ohio while I figured out my next steps. As I began to process the pain and trauma of the abusive relationship I’d escaped from, I turned to art to help me heal. Writing and painting this deck helped pull me out of one of the darkest periods in my life and reminded me of my self-worth and power.

That brings me to where I am now: I’m living with my brother and his family in California, and trying my best to navigate single parenthood, while struggling to provide for my daughter. Despite the fact that I’ve worked hard for my whole adult life, I’m finding myself in the frustrating and scary position of not being able to find work that wouldn’t take me away from my daughter, which I literally cannot afford to do. That’s where the oracle deck comes in.

By getting my oracle deck published, I hope to not only create a better future for me and my daughter, but also spread the hope and empowerment that creating this deck has given me. But in order to achieve that dream, I need help raising funds to cover the publication costs.

About the Oracle Cards

Oracle cards are a spiritual tool to receive intuitive messages during times of difficulty or indecision.

The oracle deck I created is called The Empowered Empath.

I was inspired to go with this theme for the cards because I wanted to help other sensitive, empathic people stand up for themselves and feel more empowered.

Therefore the deck has cards about following your passion, trusting your intuition, setting boundaries, calling back your power, and finding support from others (among many other themes). I hope that whoever decides to use these cards can be guided back into their power and never be taken advantage of or hurt by others. I hope that all of the sensitive souls that have big feelings and big hearts can learn to speak up for themselves and ask for what they deserve.

Finally, I hope that in the same way I was able to follow my intuition and find the strength to get out of the situation I was in, others will find the same hope and strength to help themselves after using my cards.

The Plan

Once I have my oracle cards printed, I will do my best to distribute them to bookstores, metaphysical shops, and sell them online via my own website and Amazon. I also plan on sending sample decks to different publishers in hopes that someone will want to publish, distribute, and market more of them.

If this is all successful, not only will it create a stream of income for me and Reia, but I will be able to continue following my passions and continue to make other decks in the future.

The Costs

500 decks (the minimum amount I can order) at $6.80 a piece = $3,400

Shipping cost: about $660

ISBN+Barcode fee: $150

Shipping to publishers/distributors: approximately $200-$300

Transaction/GoFundMe fees: $500

Website fee: $12/month

Your donation will not only keep my hope alive, but it will fund the creation of something that will give many others hope and light. Thank you!