This is a wonderful sequel to Jack Chanek’s Tarot for Real Life, a down-to-earth primer that de-mystifies the tarot, whereas here in Tarot for the Magically Inclined: Spells and Spirits to Stack the Deck in Your Favor, we delve straight into the mysteries of the tarot.
Continue reading “Tarot for the Magically Inclined by Jack Chanek”
You’re probably quite familiar with the “For Dummies” learning series that were popularized in the 90s. The book series published by Wiley & Sons de-mystifies difficult subjects and is known for accessible, easy-to-understand, plainspoken writing. Wiley could not have chosen a better author for the task than my dear friend Charles Harrington.
Although the “For Dummies” series catches a kitschy rep, this is in all seriousness a legit, no-nonsense, superb beginner’s book on tarot and oracle decks — and I love the dual coverage this compact yet comprehensive book packs for you.
Continue reading ““Tarot and Oracle Card Reading” from the For Dummies Learning Series”
I’m a huge Thorn Mooney fan. I’ve been following her work since, gosh, over a decade ago when people were still uploading grainy YouTube videos of late-night ramblings about the Craft. Witches Among Us: Understanding Contemporary Witchcraft and Wicca (Llewellyn Books, Oct. 2024) is her third book.
In writing Witches Among Us, Mooney wears dual hats: that of the religious studies scholar and that of a longtime practitioner with experience in multiple traditions. In reviewing Witches Among Us, I’m wearing the hat of someone who is witch-adjacent. I do believe I am within the target readership because I am not part of the in-group of contemporary witchcraft or Wicca, and therefore I am reading this book to learn more about that group.
Continue reading “Witches Among Us by Thorn Mooney – Contemporary Witchcraft and Wicca”
“When rationality runs dry, it’s Red that will reconcile this world, a hue vibrant and vital inside its brown.”
And so opens Chapter 1, Zero, of Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy by Christopher Marmolejo. This is going to be a tarot book like no other. I can tell already. :: hearts for eyes ::
“To be born, this work broke open my heart, and so let this reading be opened by my blood offering, a requisite pound of flesh…”
Marmolego’s writing is going to draw out your feels, that’s for sure. Either you will be fully onboard this train or you will be left scratching your head. You’ll see what I mean. Let’s continue.
Red Tarot is not an easy read, but it’s not intended to be. It’s filled with dense layers covering symbolism, mythology, history, present day politics, literature, and so much more. This book is about shedding red light on each card in the tarot to reveal it as a prism of political praxis, inspired after Prof. Sandy Grande’s Red Pedagogy.
Each tarot card entry draws from four key disciplines:
This is achieved by weaving in the teachings of Toni Morrison, bell hooks, Paulo Freire, and José Esteban Muñoz.
Continue reading “Red Tarot by Christopher Marmolejo (North Atlantic Books, 2024)”
By “questionable” I mean authors whose morality, political beliefs, sociopolitical affiliations, or credibility have been put under compelling scrutiny.
Perhaps more so than any other subject area of interest, when you navigate religious, spiritual, and occult spaces, you have to conscientiously assess and process where you stand on this point. While the issue of where you stand on condoning the reading or the publishing of works by questionable authors is ever present, it floated to the top of my thoughts recently with this announcement by the publishing house Inner Traditions:
To explore this case study, I recommend clicking on the above IG posting and reading the comments, because I’m not going to re-post the nutty alt-right supporters who resorted to name-calling, homophobia, misogyny, and mocking people’s pronouns. There are also a few very long and thorough comments, too long to fit in a single screenshot, so I won’t be re-posting those either, though they’re worth a read.
Challenge of the announcement with all of the above aforementioned was predictable. What kind of took me by surprise was the strength and volume of voices who were saying, “This is totally fine. Hey liberals, stop being such babies.”
I have so many meandering and tangent thoughts.
Continue reading “Should We Read the Works of Questionable Authors? On Julius Evola.”
Rev. Liên Shutt is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist priest, educator, and licensed social worker who was born into the Pure Land traditions in Vietnam, then did their meditation training in North American Zen and Insight (Vipassana) Buddhism.
A co-founder of Buddhists of Color and Access to Zen, Rev. Shutt facilitates the Engaged Four Noble Truths program, a restorative framework for meeting any given critical need, especially when applied to oppressive forces and systems. In 2020, that program was called upon to help meet critical needs emerging as a result of the pandemic, and after the murder of George Floyd, to help facilitate ways Buddhist practice can address racial justice.
“This book is for all who have been hurt and harmed by the system of white supremacy and other systemic wrongs,” writes Shutt, “and for those seeking restoration and healing.”
Refuge in the Storm is a collection of 24 essays by Buddhist chaplains, spiritual leaders, psychotherapists, medical providers, and scholars who share their perspectives on crisis counseling, be that personal or global crisis.
We begin with a poem by Mushim Ikeda, “Five Irises for Mary Oliver.” One line in particular might resonate with you:
We aren’t always reduced to our entangled thoughts, our anguish.
Praying with my friend this morning, he said Thank you, he asked Help– we bow down and rise up.
Crisis is a disruptive event or relationship. A disaster, per the definition published by the American Red Cross, is “an event of such destructive magnitude and force as to dislocate, injure, or kill people, separate family members, and damage or destroy homes.” Disasters produce a ripple effect– the numbers of people affected on a fundamentally spiritual level is far greater than the number of people killed or injured.
When faced with crisis or disaster, how do we lean in to Buddhist tenets to help us emerge from it?
Continue reading “Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care (ed. Nathan Jishin Michon)”
This is a TarotTube tag started by @Kelly Bear but I’ll be participating via blog post. =) I was tagged by the lovely and precocious @JessReadsCards. The prompt is to share 5 tarot decks, 4 tarot books, 3 tarot spreads, 2 tarot reader habits or tarot reading paraphernalia, and 1 piece of advice (or alternatively, 1 tarot card you’d like to embody).
Ack. You can see my Invisalign attachments in the above photo. And of course now that I called it out, it went from 50% chance you’d see it to 100% chance you’ll see it. Also, shameless off-topic plug for my new book, I Ching, The Oracle. The first few months after an author has released a book, you’re just gonna have to brace yourself for a lot of promo. =D
The Tarot & Astrology Handbook: The Quintessential Guide for Harnessing the Wisdom of the Stars to Better Interpret the Cards is a beautifully done reference guide to interpreting the tarot through the cards’ astrological correspondences. This is a handbook that unveils new depths of meaning in the cards by examining them through an astrological lens.
The author, Argus Kaldea, is an astrologer and tarot reader based out of Greece. You might have heard of him or seen his popular videos on TikTok as @MoonPriest.
Not only will you learn the astrological correlations connected to all 78 cards in the tarot, but also how to integrate these two tools– tarot and astrology– together. The tarot reader will learn astrology, and the astrologer will learn about the tarot.
Continue reading “The Tarot & Astrology Handbook by Argus Kaldea of MoonPriest”
I’m a huge fan of T. Susan Chang’s work. I loved Tarot Correspondences, which I’ve reviewed before here, have and cherish my copy of Tarot Deciphered, co-authored with M. M. Meleen, creator of the Rosetta Tarot and Tabula Mundi Tarot, two of my all-time favorite decks, ever.
So I’m thrilled about the opportunity to review Chang’s latest book, The Living Tarot published by Llewellyn Books. Unlike her previous publications, The Living Tarot is written with the beginner in mind, and more pertinently, how the modern reader can find personal, everyday meanings to the 78 cards.
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