Tag: Runes

Chinese Oracle Script Divination Cards

On By benebellIn cartomancy, divination, I Ching, oracle deck, personal, Taoism31 Comments
2019 July 2 Update

A revised and improved Version 2.0 of this free divination deck is now available. Go here or click on the banner below.

Chinese Oracle Bone Divination Deck, Version 2.0, Free Deck + Book Set

2015 September 24: Original Posting

Instagram Pic Cards Snapshot

While writing my forthcoming second book, tentatively titled The Tao of Craft, I had to do some intense study of oracle bone script. That’s where the knowledge for the card content comes from. All citations to the amazing references I used are in the book, but one person I want to thank right away is Richard Sears, who runs ChineseEtymology.org. Now, as for the inspiration, that’s a little harder for me to convey.

On a morning I was to drive my parents to the airport, I thought I heard a voice speaking to me in my room, while I was sleeping in bed, and that woke me up. Then after that, no matter how hard I tried to go back to sleep, I couldn’t, so I relented, booted up my computer, and in that same sitting, a complete first draft of this deck was done. I talk more about the conception of this deck in the accompanying 55-page Guidebook. The deck itself is made up of 33 cards.

Card Images Snapshot
Screenshots of the first 18 cards

These cards are not for sale, but I am offering a free license for you to use them. Keep reading for now. (Or skim and scroll down. Whatevs.)

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Edible Rune Divination: Black Sesame Shortbread Rune Cookies

On By benebellIn book review, divination, holistic food, personal14 Comments

Rune Cookies 01

These black sesame shortbread rune cookies look like beautiful stone runes but are also absolutely delicious to eat. I am so excited to be sharing this recipe, which comes from a book I’ve been loving, Kyotofu: Uniquely Delicious Japanese Desserts by Nicole Bermensolo and Elizabeth Gunnison Dunn. It’s published by Running Press.

The recipe in Kyotofu is just for straightforward black sesame shortbread cookies, a fantastic recipe, and then I took it a step further and turned these cookies into runes. Now, I don’t know much about runes or rune divination, so bear with me here and I welcome any corrections in the comments section.

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My Review of the Haindl Tarot

On By benebellIn cartomancy, deck review, divination, tarot20 Comments

Haindl Tarot - 01 Box Package

I heard about the Haindl Tarot not too long ago through the grapevine of tarot readers I know. Yet this deck was first published back in 1990. Hermann Haindl (1927-2013) is a German artist known for his surreal art and incorporation of mythology.

Hermann Haindl in his home, 2009. © Hermann Haindl. Image Source: http://erhard-metz.de/2009/03/22/portraets-hermann-haindl/
Hermann Haindl in his home, 2009. © Hermann Haindl. Image Source: http://erhard-metz.de/2009/03/22/portraets-hermann-haindl/

Rachel Pollack has penned companion books for this deck that come highly, highly recommended by pretty much every tarot practitioner I know. I haven’t dived into them yet, but will. At this stage, I’m interested in connecting with the deck directly to see what I can glean, and then I’ll be consulting Pollack’s books on the Haindl.

Haindl Tarot - 02 Box and Deck

The Haindl Tarot is a truly remarkable deck for any tarot enthusiast to work with.

For the Majors, each card corresponds with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet per Qabalistic tradition, from The Fool as Aleph, Key 1: The Magician as Beth, Key 2: The High Priestess as Gimel, and so on. Each card also corresponds with an Anglo-Saxon rune. At this point in my personal tarot practice, I don’t work much with Hebrew alphabet or rune correspondences in tarot, but the astrological correspondences on the bottom right corners of the cards excite me.

Preview of Select Majors. Click on photo to enlarge.
Preview of Select Majors. Click on photo to enlarge.

The paintings are surreal with subdued, subtle coloring. I’ve filtered these photographs to add greater contrast for clarity purposes, but in hindsight I wish I hadn’t. Now you can’t see the light, ethereal quality of the original coloring. In person, the art is not quite as bold as they seem to appear in these photos. The art seems to mirror the stream of consciousness of our minds, which results in an incredibly powerful and evocative tarot deck to work with.

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