Abstract Futures Tarot by Hilma’s Ghost

On By benebellIn deck review15 Comments

I was gifted this deck by the creatrix while at the Omega Institute Masters of the Tarot Conference and thought it might be fun to write up a first impressions walk-through. This is the Abstract Futures Tarot, illustrated by Dannielle Tegeder and Sharmistha Ray who together, make up Hilma’s Ghost. Tegeder and Ray are both Brooklyn-based avant-garde artists.

Hilma’s Ghost produces art that is conducting “experimental pedagogy, transcultural dialogue, and collectivity through the lens of feminism and spirituality to build community and reckon with patriarchal art histories that have excluded women, trans, and nonbinary practitioners.”

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Revelation Purchasers: Please Check Your LWBs!

On By benebellIn Spirit Keeper's Tarot7 Comments

A batch of the printed LWBs (Little White Booklets) have a pagination error. After page 22, it jumps to page 55. Fortunately it’s just a small batch. Most of the LWBs should be fine and when we did our QA-check, none of them turned up with this problem, so we think the impact should be fairly minimal.

In the mishap, after the 22 to 55 jump, the page jumps again at 86, jumping back to 55. (Total page count of the LWB is 88 pages.)

As far as we can tell, only a small batch of LWBs were printed with this mishap, and it’s the same mishap in all of them– after page 22 it jumps to page 55…

…then it continues from 55 to 86, and then after 86 it jumps back to page 55 again…

If you received a Little White Booklet with this page 22 to 55 pagination mishap, please e-mail us at abelldelivers (at) gmail (dot) com as soon as possible. We’ll gladly replace your LWB if you notify us of the issue within 30 days of receipt of your deck, if you purchased it directly from us. For this issue, we can even extend it to 60 days.

We are trying to assess the scope of the problem before contacting our factory. So please check your LWB. Also, if you have any friends who purchased an SKT Revelation second printing, please tell them about this issue and have them check their LWBs, too.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Symbolic Soul Tarot by Elisa Seitzinger

On By benebellIn deck review8 Comments

The Symbolic Soul Tarot is a black, white, and gold deck that’s brimming with Expressionist mystique. It was released late last year in 2022 by Lo Scarabeo. The artwork is by Italian illustrator Elisa Seitzinger, and the companion booklet written by one of our favorite Llewellyn editors Barbara Moore.

Packaged in a unique two-piece box structure departing from Lo Scarabeo’s norm, the production value is indie-reminiscent. The luxe, matte finish cardstock with metallic gold accents will tantalize.

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The Hard Slog to Continue Deck Doodling…

On By benebellIn Etteilla Tarot12 Comments

I don’t know why or how drawing the First Edition of the SKT was a dream-like experience and even the digital coloring process for the Revelation went along at good momentum and a consistent rate of progress, but then here with the Etteilla art project, it has been SO… @#$%^&… EFFING…. $#$@!!… HAAARRRRD!!!

And I can’t even articulate to you what about the process is harder.

Even though both the SKT and this Etteilla are solo indie projects, the SKT illustrations felt like channeling and downloading, whereas these Etteilla illustrations feel like I’ve been commissioned to do the work and there’s some tension, push and pull between whoever is masterminding the project and me, the commissioned illustrator.

With the SKT, anything and every element that needed to be aligned was aligned. With this Etteilla, I dunno… that’s not how it feels at all.

I use the commissioned art analogy because based on what I’ve heard from artist friends about that experience of being commissioned to create someone else’s vision, that slog is exactly how this effort feels.

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About the Eight Immortal Orders (SKT Revelation)

On By benebellIn Spirit Keeper's Tarot21 Comments

7/30/2023 UPDATE: There was a typo in the previous download. If you downloaded prior to 7/30, please re-download the below-linked handout.

Profiles of the Eight Orders & Their Attributes

Every deck from the second print run of SKT Revelation is initiated into one of eight lineaged orders, based on a synthesis of the Egyptian Ogdoad, the Taoist Eight Immortals, and the eight trigrams of East Asian metaphysics, though the cycle of eight is significant in Western occult and mystery traditions as well.

The docx file format is provided in addition to the pdf in case you want to cut and paste the text to integrate into your personal journaling or record-keeping.

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Antiviral Oil: Holistic Wellness Meets Occult Praxis

On By benebellIn Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, traditional witchcraft7 Comments

Let’s make it unambiguously clear that nothing herein is science or evidence-based medicine.

For the last three years, J and I have been routinely applying this multi-purpose antiviral treatment (in addition to getting vaccinated, boosting up the wazoo, and making prudent judgment calls with regard to masking). I sincerely believe this treatment oil has kept us Covid-free throughout the pandemic.

Oh, and not to mention, it’s great for my scalp, controlling dandruff, and promoting hair growth. Just a totally random incidental benefit. =)

You can convert the basic recipe into a mouth wash. Historically a myrrh mouth rinse was used after tooth extractions because the myrrh oil kills bacteria and sanitizes.

The base recipe also makes for a fantastic cologne. I get so many compliments about the scent when I wear this as a cologne.

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Tarot of the Vampires by Charles Harrington and Craig Maher

On By benebellIn deck review, tarot7 Comments

Everybody needs a vampire deck. Is a tarot collection even complete without a vampire tarot? 😉 And this one in particular is tantalizing!

The Tarot of the Vampires by Charles Harrington and illustrated by Craig Maher is sleek, modern, and cinematic. You might recognize Charles as the author of the Murder of Crows Tarot (2020), Tarot V (2021), or the Ferenc Pinter Tarot (2021). He’s also a frequent speaker at various tarot conferences.

In terms of a genre, this tarot is delectable blood-sucking dark urban fantasy horror. These illustrations reveal a secret world coexisting with ours– as Harrington puts it, “the world of the undead and their eternal dance suspended between Heaven and Hell.”

That world of the undead and eternal dance enthralls all the more in Tarot of the Vampires because of Maher’s art. Craig Maher is an impressively talented artist in the realm of fantasy and imaginative realism. His renderings of this vampire universe are masterful. The detailing in these illustrations is next level. Just you wait and see.

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Addendum Blog Post Response to “How to Spot a Fake Tarot Reader”

On By benebellIn Bell Chimes In, opinion, professional tarot, tarot community22 Comments

There was a TikTok video that kinda sorta went viral among tarot people. All my tarot friends were chattering about those “six ways” and so many feels got riled up. Heck, the fact I made my VR two weeks ago and am still talking about it right now with an addendum blog post shows I got a little riled up, too.

In my (probably misplaced) priority of trying to keep videos short and succinct, I didn’t flesh out the thoughts I had wanted to share. And then many tarot colleagues continued and extended the discussion, so now I have even more thoughts. =)

This is a follow-up or written sequel to my VR.

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The Masters of the Tarot Conference at Omega Institute

On By benebellIn cartomancy, conferences, divination, tarot, tarot community4 Comments
2019 Masters of the Tarot Conference. Left to Right: Me, Mary K. Greer, Terry Iacuzzo, Rachel Pollack, and Joanna Powell Colbert

I was first invited to present at the Masters of the Tarot Conference back in 2019. The Conference takes place every July at the Omega Institute in upstate New York, and was founded by Rachel Pollack and Mary K. Greer.

Opening ceremonies and introductions happen on Friday evening, with a starter workshop or master class as your night cap. Then the keynote speaker events begin first thing Saturday morning and go until Sunday noon. Interspersed throughout are discussion panels for Q&As and moderated topical conversations. The event ends with all of us having lunch together.

From the 2019 Masters of the Tarot Conference. Photo courtesy of Joanna Powell Colbert (IG: @joannapcolbert)

I’ve had an incomplete draft of a post-event write-up since July 2019 that I never got around to finishing and posting onto this blog. Sigh. And now the 2023 Conference has come and gone, which was the second time I’ve presented at Omega.

So this blog post is going to cover both the 2019 and the recent 2023 events.

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