An Almanac of Birds: 100 Divinations for Uncertain Days

From Maria Popova, the acclaimed writer behind The Marginalian, comes An Almanac of Birds, a beautifully crafted collection of 100 poetic divinations designed to offer inspiration, perspective, and comfort in the face of life’s uncertainties.

Part poetry, part meditation, and part invitation to trust your intuition, this extraordinary deck reimagines the traditional practice of divination through the language and imagery of birds. Drawing on the illustrations and texts of 19th-century ornithological classics, including John James Audubon’s Birds of America and John and Elizabeth Gould’s Birds of Europe, Popova transforms fragments of natural history into evocative reflections on what it means to be human.

Born during a period of personal uncertainty, the project began as a creative experiment inspired by Popova’s love of birds, language, and the unexpected wisdom that emerges when reason meets intuition. Each card grew from a process of gathering words, sitting with their possibilities, and allowing meaning to unfold. The result is neither a poem nor a prescription, but a gentle prompt to see familiar questions from a new perspective and discover insights that may already lie within us.

Housed in a book-shaped keepsake inspired by 19th-century ornithological volumes, An Almanac of Birds invites readers to draw, shuffle, and revisit its 100 cards whenever they need a moment of clarity, reassurance, or wonder.

Thoughtful, artful, and deeply comforting, this unique collection is a companion for navigating the beautiful uncertainties of everyday life—and a meaningful gift for anyone seeking wisdom, inspiration, or a deeper connection with the natural world.