Oratovia or-ah-TOH-vee-ah

Christian journals and scripture cards, made by one woman in Nottingham.

In one sentence

In our Christian life, everyone's walk with God is different. Oratovia makes the tools to help you, and the people you love, keep walking it.

Where the name comes from

or-ah-TOH-vee-ah
Oratovia comes from two Latin words, orato (prayer) and via (the way of). Put them together and you get “prayer, the way of...”, and I've left that unfinished on purpose, because nobody prays the same way, and most of us don't pray the same way twice.
Which raises a fair question: what has a shop got to do with prayer? Not every prayer sounds like one. I'd never written a prayer down before I made New Beginnings, but I'd written plenty of honest thoughts, worries and hopes, and a lot of those were prayers, whether I called them that or not.

“...for we don't know how to pray as we ought.”

Romans 8:26 · WEB

Paul wrote that, and he wrote a good chunk of the New Testament. If he didn't always know what to say, the rest of us are in good company.
Everything Oratovia makes is for those moments: somewhere to write it down, a verse to hold onto, something warm on while you do it. None of it is the prayer itself. It just makes a bit of room for it.
Ordinary tools for an extraordinary faith.
🕯️
A wax melt warming
Sit with a cup of tea and let your shoulders drop for the first time all day.
📖
A page before bed
A proper page to actually write — not a cramped little box to scribble in.
🗃️
Scripture cards on the sill
Pull a card on the days when you need a word more than a whole page.

What you'll find in the shop

The Journals

The journals are the heart of Oratovia. Each one is a 40-day devotional built around a single theme, love, stillness, trust, rest, hope, peace, numbered so you can collect them as you go. Every one opens with a prayer written just for that book, because Scripture tells us we don't always know how to pray as we should, and sometimes it helps to be handed the first words. Then it gives you a proper page each day to actually write, not a cramped little box to scribble in. Made for real reflection, not performative journaling.

Scripture Cards

The Scripture Cards are boxes of verse cards, each paired to a journal theme, for the mornings you need a word more than you need a whole page.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:105 · WEB

Wax Melts

The wax melts are the newest addition, made to fill your home with warmth while you do the quieter work of sitting still. If you've never used a wax melt before, don't worry, they're not a snack (yes, that's a true story, and yes, it's why our FAQ exists).

What's next

Oratovia is still young, and I'm building it one honest step at a time, trusting that He who began a good work here will carry it on. There are more journals coming to complete the full series, a growing range of wax melt scents and styles, and a few ideas I'm quietly working on behind the scenes, things designed to help you connect, slow down, and hold onto hope in the ordinary moments of life.
Oratovia is a one-woman effort, built from my kitchen table in Nottingham, England, with a lot of prayer and more trial and error than I'll ever admit to.
If this has helped you today, even a little, that's all I wanted it to do.
Thank you for being here. Truly.
With love, Oratovia

Not just a shop

Oratovia sells things, and I'm not going to pretend it doesn't. But a lot of this site is free, and it's there whether you buy anything or not.

Scripture Explained

Pulled a scripture card and not sure what the verse means? When I'm struggling to understand a passage, I do what I was taught: look up what different writers have said about it and compare. Scripture Explained does that for every verse in the New Beginnings deck, with notes from writers like Charles Spurgeon and Matthew Henry. It grows with each journal, so every new deck gets its verses explained too.
Read Scripture Explained

The Voices

It helps to know who you're listening to. The Voices page introduces every writer quoted on Scripture Explained: who they were, what they did, and the difference they made for Christ. Fourteen so far, from Amy Carmichael to Billy Graham.
Meet the Voices

Support

Some days are heavier than any journal can hold. The Support page lists who you can talk to, from crisis lines and doctors to grief support and help with work, money and housing, for 14 countries. It's checked every month.
Find support

What's in the shop

The journals

New Beginnings is the first, and it's out now on Amazon in hardcover and paperback. It's 40 days over six weeks, written for anyone starting over, whether that's a new job, a new home, or a fresh start you've been waiting for.

It opens with a prayer to get you started, then gives you space to write your own. Forty days later, you go back to the prayer you wrote and see how it reads now. It won't promise you a breakthrough by day 40. Growth is usually slower and quieter than that.

See New Beginnings

You don't need the right words to start.

1
Check in
Each day starts with how you actually are. Calm, tired, heavy, grateful: pick the word that's true today.
2
Three questions
Three questions for the day, meant to be answered honestly rather than nicely.
3
Your page
A full page for whatever's left. A prayer, a few thoughts, or nothing much at all.

Scripture cards

A deck of 40 verse cards to go with New Beginnings, all from the World English Bible. Each card has a travel-poster illustration of somewhere in God's world, from California to Japan. Keep one on the windowsill, or tuck it into the journal, which has a space made for it.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:105 · WEB

Shop scripture cards

Wax melts and candles

Coming soon, made to go with each journal's theme. If you've never used a wax melt before: they go in a burner, not in your mouth. Yes, that's a true story, and yes, it's why our FAQ exists.

See what's coming

What's next

Each journal is the centre of its own collection, with scripture cards, wax melts and candles made to go with its theme. New Beginnings is the first, and six more will follow, one at a time. After that I'd like to branch out, but I'd rather do it with the people who use Oratovia than guess. As more of you get involved, what you ask for will shape what I make next.

Oratovia is just me, working from home in Nottingham. I write the journals, lay out every page, test the wax and answer the emails, so if you write to hello@oratovia.com, I'm the one who reads it.

Not sure where to start? The free 7-day guide lets you try a week of New Beginnings before you buy it.

Thanks for reading this far.
With care, Oratovia