New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
A person sits at their kitchen table contemplating an intricate tarot spread, making notes, comparing cards, and pulling more. Meanwhile, another person waits for their bus, pulls out their phone, and uses an app to "draw" a card. They look at the image, arrive at a conclusion, and close the app. The first situation takes fifteen minutes to an hour; the second, just a few minutes. Time and complexity are just a few of the differences in their approaches to tarot. While the structure of a tarot deck is virtually unchanged, shifts in beliefs, practices, and cultural influences have changed tarot. The titles on cards differ depending on which tradition the deck follows: the ...
Divination is a practice that many mystics, magicians, and healers rely upon. It offers insight, guidance, and feedback along the path. With seemingly countless forms of divination available, there's at least one tool out there for everybody, from oracle cards to crystal balls and everything in between. As a crystal lover, I'm particularly fond of divination with crystals and gemstones, and there is no method of crystal divination more iconic than scrying. Scrying is typically practiced by gazing into or upon a reflective surface. Though spheres of polished crystal and glass are what many people imagine when picturing the art of scrying, virtually any reflective surface will do. When a ...
Many of us first learn divination by focusing on the tool in front of us: a tarot deck, runes, a pendulum, or set of oracle cards. We learn the meanings, practice our spreads or casting methods, and begin building a relationship with symbols. This is important work, and a good diviner needs practice and fluency with their chosen tools. But divination doesn't happen in a vacuum. Every reading takes place somewhere. You may be sitting at your kitchen table, walking through a city park, lying awake in a hotel room, or pulling a card before an important conversation. The place itself matters. The land, the room, the weather, the ancestors and histories of that location, and your own ...
Tarot may be read all over the world, but the way readers approach the cards can differ significantly between Europe and the United States. These differences are not about right or wrong; rather, they reflect different historical traditions that shaped how Tarot is practiced today. Modern American Tarot culture is strongly influenced by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Because every card contains detailed imagery, many readers are encouraged to interpret the cards intuitively. The focus is often on personal insight, self-reflection, and psychological growth. Tarot becomes a tool for exploring inner questions. In Europe, Tarot traditions developed somewhat differently. While the ...
