Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 36

Orisha Tarot by Andrew McGregor

 

Learn more here:

http://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?...

If you are interested in the rich stories and mythology of the orishas and are already familiar with tarot, the Orisha Tarot is a wonderful way to learn. One of the great benefits of tarot is that once you know the basic language, you have a kind of Rosetta stone for learning other things by using themed decks.

The art is fresh and lively and draws upon the layered symbolism of the orisha tradition. The book tells the stories, provides interpretations, and includes solutions to various situations represented by the cards. Let’s take a look at one of my favorites, Oshun as the Lovers card.

Story

The king of a town wanted to wage war on the town of women. He asked his warriors to go and capture them. Shango, Babaluaiye, Ogun, and others all went and were turned back in defeat. The king then asked the female orisha to go. Yemaya said Oshun should go first, but Oya (being proud and fierce) insisted that she go first. Returning defeated Oshun was then sent. Being wise, she divined before going and was told to bring a calabash, a kind of gourd, she could play and sing along with. She made offerings and went singing about how she did not know how to fight. As she sang, the women in their town came to see what she was talking about. They put down their weapons and joined her in song. Together they all left the town of women. She walked them right into the city where the men were waiting outside. Together they all lived and became the followers of Oshun.

Interpretation

This is a card where we need to be clear about what we want. We cannot suppose that others know what we need or how to go about getting it. We cannot rely on traditional roles either. It may be that only through divination is the way forward known. It is also important to not fight. Confrontation won’t win the day when this card shows up.

 

Why It’s Okay to Mix Magic and Politics

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Michael M. Hughes, author of the new Magic for the Resistance: Rituals and Spells for Change.

One of the most common criticisms of the #MagicResistance came from witches who believe politics and magic should never be mixed. “Witchcraft is about the spirit,” one wrote to me. “Politics is of the mundane world. I leave politics out of my circle.”

While understandable, I find that sort of belief troubling.

Magic and witchcraft have always mixed. The historical record is full of examples of witches using magic against the powerful. Though it’s difficult to determine the historicity of many of the more well-known examples, it is clear that magic was often the last resort of people who had nothing left to lose. In the Americas, enslaved Africans used hoodoo and conjure magic against their oppressors, and the widespread practice of Voudon was key to the uprisings that drove out European colonizers in Haiti, creating the first independent country in the Caribbean.

Perhaps the most famous modern example was chronicled by the creator of modern Wicca, Gerald Gardner. Gardner wrote, in Witchcraft Today (1954), about the working known as “Operation Cone of Power,” in which he and his New Forest coven performed a ritual to keep Hitler from invading England. According to Gardner, the rite was so powerful that many of the older and more frail witches died in the ensuing days, knowing they were sacrificing their lives to save their country. Though some historians doubt the tale’s authenticity, it has become legendary in the Pagan community, and was even duplicated in 1971 by a number of California covens opposed to the Vietnam War.

Also during WWII, Occultist Dion Fortune created a series of workings that became known as the Magical Battle of Britain. She renounced the secrecy of her organization, the Fraternity of the Inner Light, so that even the un-initiated could join in the magical defense against Hitler and the Nazis as part of a “nucleus of trained minds.” Because the war had disrupted travel for many of her students, she mailed out regular meditations and magical instructions in the 1940s version of a social network. She died a few months after Churchill declared victory.

In the 1960s and 70s magical techniques were adopted by the counterculture in reaction to the Vietnam War. The proto-Yippies, led by Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, and Jerry Rubin, gathered with several thousand participants in a magical ritual to exorcise and levitate the Pentagon. Though the building did not rise (except for perhaps those on 250 mics of LSD), the event is seen by many as a turning point in the campaign against the war. Those heady decades also gave rise to groups like W.I.T.C.H., or the Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell, which adopted stereotypical Hollywood witch garb to challenge patriarchy and promote feminist values.

Magic and witchcraft have always been political, and always will be, because they are tools available to the oppressed and the marginalized who have no recourse to other options. Those who believe otherwise are ignoring their history. If you don’t mix politics with your magic, that’s fine—Paganism is a big tent. But as long as there are witches, shamans, magicians, and occultists, they will use their workings to change the social and political structures within which they live. We do magic because we see how things are, and realize they could be better. That’s just what magical people do.

Our thanks to Michael for his guest post! For more from Michael M. Hughes, read his article, “8 Self-Care Practices for Magical Activists.”

New Books for 2019

It feels like amazing decks have been getting most of the attention over the past few years. In the coming year, 2019, we have quite a number of great new books, in addition to some absolutely lovely new decks.

For those of you who loved the Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova, you will be happy to hear that her next book will be available in Winter 2019. Tarot Elements is a collection of tarot spreads based on the elements in tarot (spirit, earth, air, water, and fire). Many times, people want readings when their lives are (or feel like) a complete mess. This makes it really difficult to tease out the foundational questions or even to know where to start. Melissa’s approach allows readers to examine their lives in ways that pinpoint problem areas and provide guidance in resetting a life that has spun out of control. This is something that many readers have been waiting for for a long time.

Also available this winter is a book that I’m particularly excited about. My sweet and smart friend Jaymi Elford has written A Tarot Inspired Life. This book provides so many ways to make tarot a part of your everyday, real life. From plans to learn the cards to crafts incorporating or incorporated in using the cards to creating a year-long ritual practice, this book will delight the dilettante as well as the expert. It is truly inspiring.

The Spring of 2019 brings a bumper crop of three new titles:

Your Tarot Court by Ethony Dawn is a modern, fun, yet thoughtful approach to learning the court cards. Ethony takes you through a series of steps that build on each other, including exercises, that will help the court cards become part of your heart and mind.

Mindful Tarot by Lisa Freinkel Tishman is a calm and deep exploration of tarot. Lisa questions the basic premise of most readings: there is something wrong or broken in us that needs fixing. This approach fixates on the future and can be stuck in the past. Lisa leads us through a gentle journey of curiosity and kindness that is sure to be fresh and new for most of us.

And finally, joining the series that so many people are enjoying: Llewellyn’s Little Book of Tarot, which I was honored to be asked to write. It will be a sweet little jewel of a book, with short tidbits and activities that can be read and understood in a spare moment here and there. Instead of scrolling a social media stream, flip to a random page and savor a tarot tidbit. Adding to the “sampler” aspect of the book, it will be illustrated with as close to 78 different decks as I can manage!

The fall brings two more titles, very different from each other.

In The Language of Tarot, Jeannie Reed teaches her method for getting clear, accurate, and useful readings every time. She approaches the cards like words or phrases. When laid out in a spread, they form sentences or ideas that can be read logically. She also brings back to the forefront the idea of card combinations, something that was popular a few decades ago but has been neglected for other, usually intuitive, approaches. She does, of course, put her own spin on things.

Leeza Robertson, a tarot author and deck creator who is gaining quite a body of work, brings us a big, deep, juicy exploration of tarot pathworking. If you’ve ever wanted to work with tarot in a very deeply spiritual way, this book will be an excellent companion.

 

There Is More to Us Than we Know…Alternate Realities!

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Peter Smith, author of the new Quantum Consciousness: Journey Through Other Realms.

Have you ever wondered about other versions of ourselves that have taken a different path and live as another one of us?

Quantum Physics talks about alternate realities, where a decision we have made has taken us in two directions. The opportunity of this phenomenon is that we remain quantumly entangled with these other selves, because we share the same source (i.e., the timeline before it split in two).

For some years, I’ve been having conversations with these other selves as a way to trade learnings from the different paths we each took and my intention has always been to raise the vibration of both of us. Under a facilitated process that I call Quantum Consciousness I’ve helped many people discover wisdom and receive help from the “what if I had gone the other way…” questions.

We are incredible, multi-dimensional beings that carry greater learning and experience than we realize. What if we could combine the learnings of these “doppelgangers” as they have sometimes been called, with our own? Not just from the past, but also from future scenarios when we are caught at a decision point? What do these two futures hold? Which one would you prefer and select in the now, to make it your self-fulfilling prophecy?

So you might be thinking, how is this real? So I offer the two possible scenarios that makes it real for you, then more importantly, how to get there.

Scenario One is that you are tapping into two separate realities of your possible futures. You observe them and then decide which direction you want to create in this reality and timeline you are driving. This is all easily explained under Quantum Physics and expanding your awareness beyond the time and space of here.

Scenario Two is that you are just using your imagination, drawing on your subconscious mind. As a long time Hypnotherapist and consciousness researcher, I can tell you that the patterns and beliefs you hold in the subconscious will influence the free will that takes your life in a certain direction anyway. As you “imagine” the two possible outcomes, both are within your power to create. You just choose one and set that as a goal.

So here’s how to do it…

It is really helpful if you are an experienced meditator; otherwise, it is easier if someone helps you do this who has been trained in the Quantum Consciousness techniques or, at the very least, hypnotherapy.

Take yourself into a deep meditative state and expand your consciousness beyond your body. Move across time and space and explore each of the realities. Ask to be shown that other you and even have a conversation with him or her and ask their advice. Then return to the present moment and make notes on what you discovered.

It’s a technique that takes quite some practice, though can be a game changer for you.

Remember, there is so much more to you than just this linear, physical reality. Safe travels!

Our thanks to Peter for his guest post! For more from Peter Smith, read his article, “Through Space and Time, We Hold the Power to Our Own Greatness.”

Can Non-Greeks Practice Greek Polytheism?

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Tony Mierzwicki, author of the new Hellenismos: Practicing Greek Polytheism Today.

Back in June, Tomás Prower (author of La Santa Muerte and the new Queer Magic) wrote a guest Llewellyn blog post titled, “Can Queer Magic Be Used by Non-Queer People?,” in which he correctly stated: “You don’t have to be Greek to develop a meaningful and potent relationship with the Olympian gods” as a parallel to non-queer people practicing queer magic. So, do you have to be Greek in order to practice Greek polytheism?

There are precedents for non-Greeks practicing Greek polytheism in ancient times.

The Panathenaia, which was the main annual festival to honor Athena Polias, was very much a statement demonstrating the unity and grandeur of Athens. The lavish procession included resident aliens and foreigners, women, and possibly even slaves. (Slaves brought into an Athenian household would undergo an initiation ceremony conferring protection on them by Hestia, goddess of the hearth. They would then be able to participate in household worship.) The Eleusinian Mysteries were available to anyone who could pay the fees. Only murderers and those unable to speak Greek were excluded.

In this day and age, Greek mythology is very familiar to us because, for hundreds of years, a classical education was standard throughout much of the Western world. It is still a part of pop culture, with even today dozens of movies being produced that are based on ancient Greek themes. As a byproduct of the widespread awareness of Greek mythology and history, more and more people have become curious as to how the Greeks venerated their deities.

The Greek deities are very much like humans in that they have weaknesses and strengths, but are much more powerful and are also immortal. They sometimes have their favorite  mortals, but for most people it is important to secure their goodwill through a reciprocal relationship by providing them with devotion and gifts in exchange for blessings.

Veneration of deities can lead to us feeling a “calling” from one or more of them. This may take the form of visions, dreams, signs, or just a knowing that we have been selected. Deities select us for a relationship; we do not choose them. Having an intense interest in one particular deity does not guarantee being chosen, unless of course that interest is reciprocated. Not feeling a calling can either mean that we are missing the signs or that we should be focusing on all the deities equally.

Once a person feels their calling and initiates a relationship, who are we, as mere mortals, to stand in their way? Who are we to dictate who is worthy of such a relationship? Surely it is hubris to second guess the will of the divine?

In closing, it is pertinent to add that Article 18 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

So, yes. Non-Greeks certainly can practice Greek polytheism.

Our thanks to Tony for his guest post! For more from Tony Mierzwicki, read his article, “Discovering the Religion of the Ancient Greeks.”

The RWS Story

To see more, click here.

We are all so excited about this book. Sasha Graham is uniquely positioned to write a brilliant book on the Rider Waite Smith Tarot. She loves this deck with all her heart and knows it like she knows the lines of her hands. She is a scholar and a mystic as well as a brilliant writer.

Another bonus is that Sasha has created 78 spreads for this book, one for each of the cards in the deck.

But actually, Stuart Kaplan, president of US Games Systems and current publisher of the RWS deck, says it best, in his foreword to this remarkable book:

This book is quite unique to a marketplace selling hundreds of books about the Rider-Waite tarot deck. Sasha gathers the complexity and history of Pamela’s deck and presents it to the reader in an entertaining and understandable way. Pamela reached beyond the veil to reveal hidden worlds with her brushes and inks; Sasha does the same with her language and research. Sasha takes up Pamela’s role as storyteller and crafts a text that is grounded in practical tarot information yet reveals the divine nature of the creative minds that created it.

The book often reads like a novel and other times we feel we are in the hands of a mystic. Sasha’s research moves us to the original source of the deck. She returns us to Pamela and Waite’s original intentions repeatedly. Using her knowledge of the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, Sasha Graham presents a down-to-earth approach to understanding the Rider-Waite tarot deck in a fresh and lively manner. Each card is described in detail as it relates to the branches of the Tree of Life.

The result is a text as rich, complex, and entertaining as the tarot deck itself. This book is indispensable for the tarot lover. It is a rare text that can be read for learning and pleasure. Sasha, in her undeniably creative way, finishes her beautiful book with seventy-eight spreads. Each spread is based on one of Pamela’s cards so the reader may get to the good work of reading their cards and putting their newfound knowledge to use.

“Try” Is a Disease We Need to Cure

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Lisa Anne Rooney, author of the new Survival Guide for Those Who Have Psychic Abilities and Don’t Know What to Do with Them.

I’m very blessed to be able to work daily with the spirits around me. I learn something new every day, but there are a few lessons that come up often for myself and my clients regarding balancing ourselves body, mind, and soul. In my new book, Survival Guide for Those Who Have Psychic Abilities and Don’t Know What to Do with Them, I discuss many of them. But, I’d say the number one lesson I hear is: “We need to remove the word ‘try’ from our language!”

Spirit has explained to me that the word try is a disease that many, if not all of us, contract as very young children. It is airborne and comes from a place of love and kindness. As little children and throughout our lives we will hear from others to “just try it” or, “well, at least you tried.” Then we start saying it ourselves: “I am going to try to do that” or, “I tried my best.”

Spirit is always telling me that saying “try” gives us an excuse to not commit. It allows us to sit on a fence and be wishy-washy over things. By saying “try” we are already excusing ourselves from completing what we are doing or making excuses why we can give up. What we need to do is replace the word “try” with the word “Do!” In the words of that cute little green guy from Star Wars, Yoda, “Do or do not…There is no try.” Spirit and this wise Jedi agree: “do” and “do not” are both commitments—trying is not.

It doesn’t mean that we will not hit road blocks or stumble along the way (which, by the way, are both ways that we learn and grow). It means we will keep “doing” until we have had success. It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get back up! Doing our best is a completely different mindset than trying our best!

I have seen what changing that one word has done in my life. It’s a process, and I struggle at times to stop from using the word “try.” But, you will see very quickly how differently you will feel. Your mind becomes more focused, you start taking more pride in yourself for “doing,” and your confidence and self-worth will grow. As you begin to feel more balanced you will start, to attract positive things into your life!

For the next few weeks, I dare you to remove the word “try” from your language. Replace it with “do” and see how you feel. Making a commitment to yourself is an amazing feeling. You are believing in yourself, instead of doubting yourself! Nike knew for years what we had to do; it’s splashed all over t-shirts and posters. We just choose to ignore it.

So now it is up to you: will you believe in yourself, commit, and “do?” Or will you stay on the “Try” train?

Our thanks to Lisa Anne for her guest post! For more from Lisa Anne Rooney, read her article, “Why We Should Hone Our Psychic Abilities.”

The Courage to Leap: Beginning a Magical Practice

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Thorn Mooney, author of the new Traditional Wicca.

I can remember my very first ritual. It was a simple celebration of Samhain, more than a year after I’d picked up my very first book about Wicca. I was sitting on the porch, handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, the sun was going down, and suddenly I could just feel this inexplicable, magical push. It was Halloween! I wanted to be a witch! I had to do something about it!

I don’t really know what took me so long. I guess I was nervous, and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t mess things up. I felt like I needed to read a lot, study, and figure out what I was doing before I wandered into something I couldn’t handle. All the books I’d read said that magic was serious. Wicca was a religion. I needed to be respectful and cautious. What if I didn’t do it right? What if I angered some deity or made myself look silly?

It sounds a little ridiculous in retrospect, but over my years of writing, teaching, and hanging out in Pagan spaces, I continue to be amazed by the number of people who have similar experiences. Getting started—performing that first spell or ritual, saying that first prayer, starting that first magical project—is really, really hard sometimes. A lot of newcomers wait (sometimes for years) before building up the courage to actually practice, whether they’re aspiring Wiccans, witches, magicians, or devotional polytheists. There’s even a popular myth that still floats around that states that you can’t really be a witch until you’ve studied for a year and a day (I tell you more about where that idea comes from and how people get it wrong in my new book, Traditional Wicca: A Seeker’s Guide).

The message to beginners is subtle but clear: Don’t dive in! You might get it wrong! We’re all watching if you screw up! Become an expert first!

Spoiler alert: you are going to screw up. But it’s going to be okay! Great, even. And you can’t become an expert without screwing up. A lot.

If you’ve been on the fence for a while and are nervous about taking the leap, I’m here to give you a shove. Do the thing! Whatever it is. Try the spell, cast that first circle, perform that ritual, say hello to that god or spirit. The worst thing that can happen at this point (provided that you’re taking all those mundane precautions like fire safety and not running off alone into the woods at night) is that it just won’t work the way you hoped it would. In fact, it almost surely won’t. But what it will do is give you courage to do it again. For many beginners, the fear to try will evaporate after that first hurdle. Mine sure did.

You don’t need permission and you don’t need to already be an expert. All you need is courage.

Our thanks to Thorn for her guest post! For more from Thorn Mooney, read her article, “5 Misconceptions About Traditional Wicca.”

A Year of Tarot at a Glance

To see more, click here.

Last year, Llewellyn’s new Tarot Calendar was a great favorite among our customers and so we’ve brought it back for another year!

This one, for 2019, features all new cards and new content. Some of the decks represented include: the Mystical Manga Tarot, Lo Scarabeo’s Mystical Tarot, the Fey Tarot, Tarot in Wonderland, the Mystical Cats Tarot, and of course the Rider Waite Smith Tarot.

You can get yours now, hot off the presses!

UFOs Are Real

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Nomar Slevik, author of the new Otherworldly Encounters.

The term “unidentified flying object” (UFO) was created during the 1950s. Depending on who you ask, the term was coined either in 1953 by Donald Keyhoe or in 1956 by Edward Ruppelt. And it may be interesting to note that both gentleman served in the U.S. military (the Marines and Air Force, respectively).

Since that time, the acronym UFO and other terms, such as flying saucer, spaceship, alien craft, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), unidentified submerged object (USO), and more have all become synonymous with extraterrestrial beings. What researchers and investigators of the phenomenon keep in mind during said research and investigations is that this in not always the case. In fact, it is mostly not the case.

Misidentification plays a large factor in reports of unidentified flying objects. Chinese lanterns, drones, military crafts, airplanes, helicopters, flocks of birds, bees, and so much more have played a crucial role in the UFO. mythos. Misidentifications occur, and it is typically not intentional on the part of the observer. Most witnesses are going about their day or evening without any thought of the extraterrestrial phenomena when an encounter occurs. Suddenly, a light in the sky seems much too bright, it may appear to hover, or blink out inexplicably. They may tell a friend or loved one of what they saw and the experience will inevitably lean towards aliens.

The greatest factor in misidentifications or for that synonymous connection is pop culture. Sci-fi movies starring legions of ridiculous-looking aliens riddled theaters and drive-ins, beginning in the 1950s. Movie-goers went in droves to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Alien, Star Wars, Star Trek; even Superman is an alien! Not much has changed today, especially with recent films It (the clown is from a dimension outside of space called the Macroverse; technically an alien) and A Quiet Place, which starred super hearing aliens that have taken over the world.

Because of these factors, as a society, we have grown generally accustomed to see the world through this lens. Something foreign to us is called “alien;” Ancient Aliens has become the History Channel’s most watched program and has just started its thirteenth season! And the mainstream media is now reporting and discussing UFOs at an all-time high since the New York Times article on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program came out in December of last year.

So, are there weird lights and shapes in our skies that are unidentified? Lights and shapes that we can literally call UFOs? Of course! We see them every day, but it doesn’t mean that they remain unidentified. Often times they are mundane, other times they are natural or man-made, but some you never know. The investigation starts with a UFO, where it may lead you

is the true unknown.

Our thanks to Nomar for his guest post! For more from Nomar Slevik, read his article, “Investigating a UFO Encounter .”