Culture

Divination roundup: Sibyls of Africa, Child Tarot, New Era Elements

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TWH – North African sybils, Zen-like art, and pan-cultural perspectives infuse new tarot/oracle decks. Here’s a look:

The Sibyls Oraculum: Oracle of the Black Doves of Africa by Tayannah Lee McQuillar, artwork by Katelan V. Foisy, 44-card deck and 148-page guidebook (Destiny Books). The Sybils, writes Tayannah Lee McQuillar, “were women of the ancient world who were reputed to possess the powers of prophecy or divination . . .

Paganism

Finding the right deck for divination: a discussion

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TWH — With Samhain getting closer and days getting shorter, many Pagans turn to divination outside of their daily routines. Tarot cards are one of the most popular and most common forms of divination found in magical circles. With the 100s of decks available, trying to find one that fits into one’s practice and spiritual life can be difficult. Star Bustamonte, who is a professional tarot reader in North Carolina and the writer of the Wild Hunt weekly tarot, offers her tips on how to pick the right deck for your work. The Wild Hunt: There are so many decks out there. Does anyone know how many there are?  How does someone, whether they are new to magical practice or just new to Tarot, begin the search for a deck?

Culture

Column: the Coming of the Queer Tarot

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Pagan Perspectives

Tarot is a popular divinatory system utilized by many Pagans and Witches of all stripes. With so many variations available to the public (and more being created all the time), we have an opportunity not just to work with an artistic style that we enjoy, but – thanks to the advent of decks engineered with specific communities in mind – we can also “fine tune” the symbolic language utilized by tarot and apply it in a way that speaks more directly to our own experiences and peoples. Enter The Queer Community Tarot. The brainchild of J. Ryan of Queer Street Tarot, The Queer Community Tarot is set to be released this coming November. It intends to speak to LGBT+ practitioners using a common language.

News

Liz Dean, mother of Game of Thrones tarot

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ENGLAND — Game of Thrones, that epic, sword-and-sorcery TV series, has its Mother of Dragons. Liz Dean, a British writer, intuitive and tarot reader, is the Mother of Game of Thrones Tarot. One might say that it was in the cards that Dean would co-create the Game of Thrones Tarot with San Francisco-area illustrator Craig Coss. Fate nearly derailed her path decades ago as she climbed out of a London cab and promptly forgot the first tarot deck she had ever bought. Such an unfortunate event might have been seen by others as a dire warning to shun the “wicked pack of cards” (as some have referred to tarot).

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: University of Indiana, Asatru Folk Assembly, chaplain wanted and more

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INDIANAPOLIS — A panel about Paganism was organized at the university here, and appears to be have a success in terms of raising awareness about these minority religions. According to Rev. Dave Sassman of Circle Sanctuary, one of the participants, it included the only known Pagan affiliated with the school — associate profession Caron MacPherson — and had 40 to 50 people in attendance. Basic information such as the extremely wide variety of traditions that might be lumped together as “Pagan,” as well as dispelling stereotypes along the lines of human sacrifice were covered; panelists also shared something from their personal religious journeys. According to Sassman, “Only one Pagan was known on campus at the beginning of the panel, but by the end there were two,” as one student in attendance came forward.  In his eyes, that’s a success in itself. *   *   *

TWH – The Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), a national Heathen group based in California, was placed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s 2017 list of hate groups.