Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 47

Are Spirits Detrimental to your Spiritual Path?

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Aaron Leitch, author of several books, including Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, The Angelical Language Volume I and Volume II, and Essential Enochian Grimoire.

I do love it when life serves up something truly novel!

You are likely aware of the modern debate over spiritual entities (be they chthonic, celestial, ancestors, angels, deities, etc.) and their relationship to magick. Some (such as myself) insist they are vital to magick, and are in fact even central to it.

On the other hand, we have those who believe spirits are entirely optional to magick, and one can perform all the miracles with the psionic power of one’s own brain. Personally, I fall into the first camp—and I bet you’re not at all surprised!

Classically, occultism was divided into three headings: Astrology, Alchemy, and Magick. (See Ritual Magic by E.M. Butler.) Astrology is the study and interpretation of the stars, and Alchemy is the study and transmutation of natural substances—quite often for the production of medicines. Magick, meanwhile, was defined as “working with spirits.” (As was the definition of witchcraft, for that matter.) This included ritual magick, spell casting, the making and consecration of tools and talismans, divination and skrying, and literally anything that involves the direct participation in or communication with the spiritual realm. It is your patrons and familiars who open the gates between here and there, who carry your spells to their targets, who charge your tools and carry out the functions of your talismans, who whisper answers into your ear, and more.

That’s not to say every single practice that can be related in some way to magick must involve the direct conjuration of a spirit. Nor am I dismissing the psychological and inner work that come along with a practice of magick—that is to say, the mystical side of the practice. (I firmly believe one cannot be a magician without also being a mystic.) From calm abiding meditation, mind training and study, and even yoga, there are certainly plenty of spiritual exercises that do not involve talking to a spirit. Of course, I do not consider those practices synonymous with “magick,” either.

And, yes, there are also plenty of spells that do not mention spirit conjuration. (And, for this purpose, I’m not talking about modern books written by authors who have already dismissed the necessity of spirits.) As is so often pointed out in this debate, natural magick and witchcraft very often involve the combination of various natural elements for their effects rather than directly dispatching a familiar. However, I must point out this kind of magick came from shamans and witches who learned it from their spiritual patrons. The reason those spells worked so well for them was because they received the instructions directly from the spirits, and they had the backing of those same entities in the spirit world when casting them.

If you purchase a book of spells written by someone else, you are simply following instructions their spirits revealed to them. But those instructions may not apply to you in the same way. For instance, perhaps one witch’s spirits wanted her to work with her hair unbound, but maybe your spirits want you to wear a particular headdress. Perhaps the grimoire you are using says to wear a purple robe, but your patron deity insists you should wear red. Maybe a spell calls for a wand of hazel, but your familiar prefers oak. By blindly following instructions written by others, without allowing your spirits to have a say, you could be greatly limiting your chances of success. Your truly powerful spells will never come from a book or another person (at least not entirely)—they will instead be those your own spirits will teach you, and for which you will have their support. Just because a spell doesn’t mention a pact with a spirit doesn’t mean it wasn’t written by someone who already had one—and who assumes you do, too.

Regardless of whether or not an individual spell mentions the involvement of some entity, I would be hard-pressed to find a single operation that is not *greatly* enhanced by invoking the participation of my familiars, helpers, and patrons. Whether they are communicating with me (often telling me how to make the spell better), opening the Gates for me, arguing in my favor on the other side, carrying my spells to their targets, guiding me through some astral realm, or simply standing beside me in my Temple performing a ritual along with me—my spirits are involved in everything I do.

So there is the usual debate, and where I stand in it. Nothing really new there. But, then, tonight I heard something entirely new. Apparently, there are those who believe working with spirits can be detrimental to your magical and spiritual practice! It was suggested that relying on them serves as a kind of crutch, stopping you from developing your own spiritual and psychic “muscles.”

Wow! I cannot begin to tell you how thoroughly I disagree with that idea! In my tradition, interaction with the spirits is exactly how you develop those muscles. First and foremost, you cannot hope to build a relationship with disembodied intelligences unless your psychic abilities are developed—and one of the first things a young aspirant should ask of their patrons is to aid him in perceiving and hearing them. The spirits most certainly can and will help you open your third eye and see (and/or hear, etc.) things you could not before. Even John Dee, who famously “lacked the ability” to skry the angels himself, actually saw them on more than one occasion after he had worked with Edward Kelley and the angels for a while.

And it’s not just about your spiritual guardians reaching into your skull and re-wiring your brain. They will also give you tips and secrets, or even guide you toward other sources of learning. Maybe they will bring a book into your life that contains useful exercises, or even put you into the path of a new teacher. One way or another, if you ask it of them, they will slowly and surely guide you toward increased psychic and magical ability. It is pretty much what they are there for!

The very idea that working with spirits would actually stunt such abilities runs counter to thousands of years of experience by shamans, wizard-priests, mages, and witches who found incredible psychic benefits in their spirit work. It also runs counter to my personal experience. Regardless of how many times I cast a circle, or charge a talisman, or hold an office in my Temple, or vividly envision an image in my mind—where it comes to psychic development (the ability to see and hear the spiritual), nothing compares to those moments when I stand before my Guardian Angel’s altar, hands upon her almadel (skrying mirror), with a completely open line of communication between us. Or, similarly, when I sit in front of my familiars’ altar, almond wand in my hand, and communicate with them. Those are the times my psychic muscles are given their best work out. It is hardly a practice that holds me back or causes my senses to atrophy.

Have you asked your Patron to make you a better magician or witch? If not—why not???

Our thanks to Aaron for his guest post! Visit Aaron Leitch’s author page for more information, including articles and his books.

Tarot Court Cards for Beginners

Tarot Court Cards for Beginners

Leeza Robertson helps us to really understand the court cards of tarot. So many of us say that the ranks of Page, Knight, Queen, and King are not relevant to our experience and make no sense. Leeza helps by exploring what these positions meant in their own context. Once we understand what these positions were like, we can better understand the cards. In addition, she provides interpretations for what the cards mean in the following categories:

As a person

As an archetypal influence

As a spiritual influence

As a messenger

Here is how Leeza introduces us to the Pages:

In the world of tarot, the page can go by other names. It can be known as the child, the maiden, the daughter or the novice card, as it is the youngest more naive member of the family. In decks created from the Thoth school of tarot you will see this card come up as the princess. Yet no matter which name this card seems to have, it’s energy is very similar. It is the card that indicates youth, lack of real world understanding and indicates that there is still a lot of room for growth and expansion. In this chapter the focus will be on the two main tarot schools and their depictions of this elemental child, the page and the princesses.

History, Myth and Legend

The Page – Historically speaking a page in the royal court would have been male, as a page was a squire in training. Pages tended to range in age from 7 – 12 years old. They were taken on by royal or noble families to work and train to become knights. Being a knight was the ultimate goal for any young boy at the time of feudal rule. We see this representation of the page in the Llewellyn Traditional Tarot. All the Pages in this particular deck are young males actively learning the ways of the suit or kingdom they have been employed in.

As Tarot has evolved so too has the representation of the page. In modern day tarot, pages are not just male, they can also be female. Gender itself is not as important as the many different ways the story of the page can be told. And it can be told in some many fabulous and creative ways. Both the Journey into the Hidden Realm Tarot and the Gaian Tarot show us page cards that are not limited by gender and give a unique twist on the tale of the tarot page.

The page historically was a tedious and boring job. The page was given the lowest of tasks around a castle or noble house. Their duties where mundane and often times mind numbing. But these tasks allowed the page to learn very specific skills in a very refined and regimented way. They did the same thing over and over and over again. This active repetition entrenched habits and behaviors into them in a way that no amount of telling or reading alone could ever possibly accomplish. This is something all the pages share in common. Which makes them wonderful study buddies.

The four pages of the tarot court are learning the lessons of their individual elements and they are starting from scratch. They are practicing day in and day out some of the most basic, yet essential skills they will need to progress to the next level of their growth or training. The pages remind me of the zen saying ‘ Before enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood carry water’. No matter where we are in our lives we never stop needing the most basic of skills and at some point we will always find ourselves back at the beginning starting once again from scratch.

The pages may just be children, but they have so much to teach us and share with us. All we have to do is listen and pay attention.

The princess – Unlike the page, the princess was not sent to go live at the castle or house of nobility, she was born and raised there. She was educated and groomed from birth for a very specific purpose. She already has a place in royal society and doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. But that does not make her lessons any less important then the pages. If anything she carries far more weight on her shoulders, especially if she is the only daughter that can be traded or married off to secure land, allies and better trade routes. Keep in mind that some princess were engaged before they could even walk. Alliances in the middle ages where crucial and matches would have been made long before the young princess had a chance to think about making any life decisions on her own.

To be honest the princesses of history had no say in their own lives. They were vessels to be bought and traded and very little more. Their lives were very rarely happy and they were bound by duty and honor. We don’t even have to look to far back in time to see how being a Princess can ruin your life. The life and death of princess Diana was a modern tragedy that shock the world and touched people who were not even part of the commonwealth governed by the British monarchy. But the sad truth is, what Diana experienced was far better then all the princesses who came before her.

In my humble opinion I think Disney has done a real number on the retelling of the princess story. Pick any Disney princess and you would think that being the daughter of the king or queen was the most magical thing that could ever happen to you. The truth is so far removed from the world of Disney it might just make you want to run away and rock in the corner for awhile. The reality is, princesses were usually doomed. Very few of them actually became queens and even less of them lived long lives. And god forbid if you came from a family that only seemed to produce girls. Being the last princess in a family of princesses pretty much meant you were handed off to whoever would have you.

The very popular book and TV show Game of Thrones, has done a much better job of showing court life than Disney every has. For throughout history a happy ending for a princess was not at all expected. Heck it wasn’t even expected she would survive past her wedding night. These poor scared young girls where married off to older, crazier, violent men. To be treated how their husbands saw fit. Often times this meant rape, beatings, being locked in ones room, starved and even offered to other members of court. Does being a real life princess sound fun to you? I think I would have preferred being a page!

To be fair, not all Princesses experienced a dismal experience. Some actually moved on to become powerful queens who challenged the status quo and become a part of the every growing female revolution. Elizabeth the first by rights should never have seen the throne. She was after all a princess from a second marriage and quite removed from regal succession. Let’s face it, she was lucky to have kept her head. But she did and become one of the most powerful female kings in history. Which means that despite the unknown future of the princess, she still needs to learn how to rule, how to maintain power and most of all how to lead. All important and necessary skills for navigating life in general.

Angels: You Just Have to Believe!

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Lucinda Gabriel, author of the new How to Talk to Angels.

So many people go through life feeling like they have to settle with what they have, feeling undeserving of better or not able to see their way to a better life. The Angels tell me we don’t get out of life what we deserve, but what we believe. The Angels tell me we are meant to live a healthy, joyous, and abundant life. Life wants to be good to us. Life loves us, but we have to believe it to see it.

The Angels tell me that most often, it is our lack of Faith in life, in ourselves, and in them that is keeping our goodness from us.

Let me give you a silly example. When I rented a new apartment last May, I bought a lot of things from the previous renter like the dishes, fridge, and stove, and even her bed. I had sold everything I owned a few years ago to follow the guidance of my Angels to move to Quebec City and this year, I had to repurchase a few things to furnish my apartment. Everything was wonderful except for the bed. A friend had told me that I should at least buy a new bed, but I couldn’t see how I could afford it. It took all I had in cash to furnish the apartment. So I slept in this soft bed for four months until one morning I woke up at 4am with the worst back pain. So I said to the Angels, “Ok guys, I can’t take it anymore! You have to help me find a new bed. I don’t know how you are going to do it, but I trust you have a way. Thank you for helping me get a new bed.”

I looked on Kijiji and even visited a lady who had mattress for sale. Her mattress was 18 inches thick, and I knew I would not even get it up the windy staircase to my apartment. So I went to visit my friend, and she suggested I go to the store to buy a new bed. “I don’t have money for a new bed,” I told her. “Then put it on payments,” she replied. I couldn’t believe they would give me a bed on payments because I was self-employed. But, I was desperate, and the worst they could say was no. So I went to the store and tried out different beds. There was this one perfectly comfortable bed. The salesman told me that I could make monthly installments of $60, so I told him I needed a little time to reflect. I lied down on the bed and spoke the Angels and asked their opinion. Sixty dollars may not seem like a lot of money to some people, but for me it was a lot at the time. As I lay there, a message came to me: “We told you a few weeks ago to cut your cable.”

I smiled as thought back to a few weeks earlier. I had received my cable and internet bill, and when I looked at the statement, I had received the message to cut my cable. I didn’t watch a lot of television and really it was a waste of money for me, but I was hesitant because my mother was supposed to visit and she enjoys watching her programs. I laughed as I realized that the Angels had this planned all along. So I got up from the bed and went to the counter and pulled out my credit card. To my amazement, in one quick swipe, I was approved for credit for my new bed.

Two days later, as I was getting ready to sleep in my new comfy bed, I realized that I had slept in a lumpy bed for four months because I lacked Faith. The Angels were ready to give me a new bed from the start but because I didn’t believe I could afford it, I did without. If I would have asked for a new bed from the beginning, believed that the Angels would help me find a way, I would have seen a way. Just the money I had spent on regular massages because of the uncomfortable mattress I slept on would have paid for a few monthly installments.

Lesson learned: When we believe it, we receive it. We have to believe it to see it.

Our thanks to Lucinda for her guest post! For more from Lucinda Gabriel, read her article “4 Simple Steps to Receiving Angelic Guidance.”

Two Llewellyn Titles Are Finalists for the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award!

Two Llewellyn titles have been named as finalists for the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Awards!

Foreword Reviews’  Book of the Year Awards were established to bring about increased attention to the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. During the judging process, books are judged based on their editorial excellence, the originality of their subject matter, accuracy, author credentials, and professional packaging, among other things.

Among the finalists are:

The Book of Sacred Baths , by Paulette Kouffman Sherman (Adult Nonfiction—Body, Mind & Spirit)
The Strength of Sensitivity , by Kyra Mesich, PsyD (Adult Nonfiction—Body, Mind & Spirit)

Finalists will be determined by a jury of judges consisting of editors and reviewers of ForeWord Reviews, booksellers, librarians, and other industry professionals. Winners will be announced at BookExpo America and on the ForeWord Reviews website.

Herbal Paper

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Anna Franklin, author of The Sacred Circle Tarot, The Fairy Ring Oracle, A Romantic Guide to Handfasting, and the new Hearth Witch’s Compendium.

Paper made from herbs can make your magical spells and talismans more powerful. It is infused with the powers of the herbs, and created with intent. Fibrous herbs suitable for making herbal paper include flax, nettle, rush, cereals, sunflower, pampas grass, broom, bamboo, camomile, cow parsley, dandelion, dill, fennel, iris, and mullein.

Simply put, herb paper is made by soaking vegetable matter until the fibres separate, collecting it on a mesh, trawling away the excess pulp, and allowing it to dry. You will require a basic pulp (see below) and two frames of equal size, one covered in mesh. A pair of picture frames, the same size and some old net curtain will suffice.

Collect 2 gallons of herbs, crush, cut and tear them into small pieces, and put them into a large pan. Add 2 pints of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1—2 hours until the plant fibres feel soft. Put the pulp into a liquidiser (2 tablespoons of pulp to one pint of water), and liquidise for 15 seconds. This can then be used on its own or added to some recycled paper pulp. If it is to make writing paper a little cold water laundry starch should be mixed into the pulp; this allows the paper to receive the ink.

Have the pulp in a large bowl. Stir it gently and do not allow the pulp to settle to the bottom. Hold the two frames together with the mesh covered one on the bottom, mesh uppermost. Slide them into the pulp, edge first, and then tilt until they are completely horizontal. Keeping them flat, lift them from the pulp. A layer of pulp should be retained on the mesh. Tilt very slightly so that some of the excess water can drain away, and then lay it on newspaper. Remove the empty top frame. At this stage petals can be pressed into the wet surface.

When partially, dry use a palette knife to loosen the paper from the frame. Tip the sheet onto absorbent cloth. Further sheets of paper can be made in the same way and piled up between cloths. When you have finished, weight down the pile of herbal paper to squeeze out any remaining excess water. When completely dry separate carefully.

Our thanks to Anna for her guest post! For more from Anna Franklin, read her article “The Hearth Witch in March.”

Tarot at the Kitchen Table

Kitchen Table Tarot

Decades ago, when I first discovered tarot, there wasn’t much internet nor too terribly many books, so a lot of learning was done through experimenting, just laying the cards down and seeing what happened. Whether I was exploring with my sister or a friend, you can probably guess where we worked: the kitchen table. It was always the kitchen table. When Melissa first brought us this book, I knew it would be something special…and it is.

She has a chapter on taking good care of your tools…something most tarot books have. However many of us forget that our bodies, spirits, emotions, and minds are also part of the reading mix and need care just as much as our cards. Here is what she has to say:

Your state of being will affect your readings. This is important. Even the most experienced reader has bad days. You have to take care of yourself to give good readings. You’re the tool in this exchange. You’re the conduit. If you’re feeling broken down, your reading will be battered as well. Here are some ways you can be sure to give terrible readings:

Mental: Doing readings while you’re high or drunk just is a bad idea. How are you supposed to help someone find their path when you can’t even stand up on yours? Bad idea.

Emotional: If you’ve just suffered a crisis and are emotionally wrought – please don’t read for other people.

Physical: Pain can alter your perceptions. You might be cranky because of it. You might be distracted. Just be aware of your body and its limitations. If you have the flu, put the cards down.

Spiritual: If you are World Weary. If you have had too much bad news lately and it’s really getting to you, just reschedule the reading.

Once you find your groove, make new habits that help you before and after readings. I’ve been reading for a very long time, and my routine is still changing. I have a morning meditation time which is something that I’ve never done before. I choose a card for the day and journal about it, and then I feed my tortoise, Phil. It’s 20 minutes of my day that gets my head on straight and gives me time to wake up.

I know readers who will meditate before each reading, or will do a cleansing ritual. I’ve never prepared a lot before readings, but again, everyone is different. I am personally a very straightforward person, and this is reflected in how I approach Tarot readings. I just do them. I used the book to suss out the card meanings for about 10 years, but honestly? When I read for someone, about 20% of the information comes from the cards, and 80% comes from my brain. I hear names sometimes, I see pictures or scenes play out like a movie reel.

This works out in a few ways for me because giving readings is truly as natural as breathing. I’ve read for people at bars, on Venice Beach, in the grass, in the woods, while riding in a car, whatever. I’ve never had problems preparing to give readings or getting in the right headspace.

The problem is this: I’ve never learned how to properly ground and center my energy. Gasp! Scandal! Yes. This is truth. I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way from people who have been doing this longer than me, but I never really thought about it until a few years ago. The purpose of grounding and centering is to make sure that you’re on solid ground emotionally and spiritually, and that you’re going to be fine after the reading is complete. This is why you have your tarot cards. I gave a reading without my cards (bad, bad, don’t do this) a few years ago, and I was swimming in my client’s emotions. She drove home grinning and singing, and I drove home sobbing hysterically and calling my Reiki Angel – begging her to get it off, off, OFF of me. (and she did and I love you, Jenny). Our tarot cards are the conduit between our client’s selves and ourselves. They’re like a welder’s blast shield and keep you separate.

Whatever your spiritual path, I feel that learning how to visualize protection energy is extremely important in any stressful or emotional career. If you envision a shield around you, you not only have the visual to boost your confidence, but you’ve been still, taken the time to slow your breathing and have mentally prepared yourself for what’s coming up. It’s like putting on emotional/mental armor. I don’t know that my readings will change for this, but I know that I will. I’ll be stronger, and better able to do my job.

Grounding is essentially settling down. After doing energy work, after readings, after finishing a huge non-mystical project – where does that energy go? Well, nowhere, really, unless you send it away.

Have you ever had so much energy that you can’t stop moving? I’m a bouncer. I bounce and fidget constantly. If I don’t pay attention to it, I literally don’t stop moving. Sometimes, though, especially when I’m about to do a reading, that kind of Tigger behavior is distracting and inappropriate. It’s especially bad for me after I’ve done a lot of readings. I can’t concentrate. I can’t stop talking. I call my poor friends and blather on and on about my day. I’m annoying as hell.

To help you remember how to ground yourself, so you’re not as annoying as I am, I’m going to use the four elements as teachers.

Here are a few things you might do to get ready for your readings or wind down from them, organized by Element. Weird, but it works:

1. Earth - Stomp your feet on the ground. Go running or walking. Lay down in the grass. Garden. Put your hands in the dirt. When I was a social worker, I would stop outside of my car before I left for the day and stomp my feet like crazy to get all of that (sometimes very negative) energy off of me before I got home. Pet your animals. Have really good sex.

2. Air - Breathe! Yoga breathing is outstanding. This kind of breathing by Dr. Andrew Weil works great for me – you breathe in for a four count, hold for seven, and exhale for eight. It feels great. You can read or meditate, too.

3. Fire - Use a candle to meditate. I would say smoke, because that worked for me for a long time, but smoking is bad for you, so light a candle and stare at it for a bit. Send your energy to the wick and imagine it getting turned into smoke and blowing away.

4. Water - Take a shower. Take off all of your jewelry and put it in water to disperse any energy it’s collected. Take a bath. Go for a swim. Stand in the rain.

Are You An Animal Magnet?

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Melissa Alvarez, author of Your Psychic Self, 365 Ways to Raise Your Frequecy, and the new Animal Frequency.

Many people are animal magnets. If you attract animals wherever you go, then you’re one too. Whenever I go to pet stores I always have animals pull their owners over to me so I can pet them. I always ask permission first, though, just in case the owner doesn’t want me to touch their animal. The owners usually say something along the lines of, “I can’t believe he came to you like that. He never goes to anyone!” to which I just smile and say, “It’s okay. I love animals.” And I do love them. All of them.

As a kid growing up I used to stop and pick up every stray I found. I lived way out in the country, and back when I was a kid people would just dump their animals on the side of the road when they no longer wanted them. It broke my heart; so, if I saw one, I always stopped. They’d come to me right away. Then I’d take it home and either keep it or find it a new home after an exhaustive search for its owner (which I usually never found).

These days, animals often find their way to our property, and I have helped each of them find their way back home. This makes me feel good to be able to get them back to their owners, who are usually devastated that their animal was lost. Many times the animals just get so excited to be outside that they don’t even realize they’ve wandered too far from home. I’ll also help search for missing animals by following the animal’s energy trail. There have been times that I’ve found them, and other times when I haven’t been successful, even though I wanted so badly to find them.

Animals sense your energy. When your energy is aligned with the animal kingdom, they feel that you’re a kindred soul. That’s why they will pull their owners over just to say hello to you. When they’re lost, they’re frightened. When you make an animal frequency connection to them, they know that you want to help them get back home and they’re happy to accept your help. Animals can also tell you when someone doesn’t have your best interest at heart because they’re sensing the person’s true energy inside. It’s always a good idea to listen when your pet doesn’t like someone that you encounter.

If you want to become more of an animal magnet, you can develop a deeper connection to animals through animal frequency. When you exchange your energy with an animal, they can share information that will help you in wonderful ways. You just have to be willing to identify, attune, and connect to the animals around you. There will be some animals that enter your life specifically to deliver a message to you and other animals who will guide you throughout your lifetime. When you see animals as messengers, as guides, and teachers, you will understand their purpose and their messages will come through loud and clear.

Our thanks to Melissa for her guest post! For more from Melissa Alvarez, read her article “Four Ways Your Energy Animal Can Appear to You.”

Be a Part of Tarot History with Lo Scarabeo’s Kickstarter Campaign

As many of you are aware, we are the exclusive North American distributor of Tarot decks from Italian publisher Lo Scarabeo—we could not be more proud to carry their beautiful decks!

And now, Lo Scarabeo has launched the third and final Kickstarter campaign to support the final release in their trio of expansive tarot books!

The first two books in the series, Tarot Fundamentals and Tarot Experience,  are two of the most complete books ever published about Tarot. A labor of love more than ten years in the making, the third volume, Tarot Compendium, will complete the trio. (Discover more about the history behind the series in this article from tarot expert—and Tarot Compendium contributor!—Barbara Moore!)

Edited and compiled by Sasha Graham, with content by Giordano Berti, Barbara Moore, Mark McElroy, Riccardo Minetti, Marcus Katz, and Tali Goodwin, Tarot Compendium is a 560 page volume in full color with an embossed hardcover!

Want to be a part of this fabulous Tarot project? Check out the main Kickstarter page of the project for more info, videos, a sample chapter, and pictures—as well as what YOU get for your contribution!

Stay tuned as the project reaches its stretch goals and evolves into the best possible finale to the series!

The World of Shadowscapes

The world of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s Shadowscapes Tarot is so beloved that it keeps growing!

With breathtaking art that weaves together Asian, Celtic, and fantasy styles of artwork, Stephanie’s Shadowscapes world is available in a number of new ways!

The Latest: The Art of Shadowscapes Tarot

Discover the process behind the deck! Filled with full-color paintings, sketches, personal reflections, and card meanings, this companion guide to Shadowscapes Tarot provides new insights into a groundbreaking deck that continues to redefine the possibilities of tarot.

 

 

The Original: Shadowscapes Tarot

This is the tarot kit that inspired it all! Surrender to the fantastical world of your deepest dreams . . . where butterflies float upon shifting mists set aglow by the rising sun. A place where twisting branches arc across shimmering skies, willowy fairies dance on air, and tree spirits sing from a hallowed oak. Delve into the shadows of your dreams—and awaken to truth.

 

 

 

The Stand-alone: Shadowscapes Tarot Deck

With its overwhelming popularity, the Shadowscapes Tarot, is available as a stand-alone deck. In place of the full-sized guidebook that accompanies the complete kit, this deck comes with a pocket-sized booklet that includes snapshot interpretations of the cards’ symbolic meanings by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and unique spreads by award-winning tarot expert Barbara Moore.

 

 

The Creative: The Shadowscapes Coloring Book

Looking to flex your creative muscles while meditating through the act of coloring? Check out the Llewellyn’s Shadowscapes Coloring Book! Lovingly drawn by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, these 60+ colorable illustrations feature scenes from fairy tales, myths, and folklore found in cultures around the world. Immerse yourself in the imaginative realm of Shadowscapes. Each page has perforated edges for easy removal and is suitable for display in a standard frame.

 

 

The Calendars: Llewellyn’s 2017 Shadowscapes Calendar and Llewellyn’s 2018 Shadowscapes Calendar

Featuring the unforgettable artwork of renowned artist Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Llewellyn’s 2017 Shadowscapes Calendar and Llewellyn’s 2018 Shadowscapes Calendar will both fill your year with dream-like beauty infused with universal symbols found in fairy tales, myths, and folklore from cultures around the world. These calendars invite you into a magical world unlike any you’ve encountered before. It also includes major US and British holidays as well as new and full moons.

Enter Stephanie’s Shadowscapes realm and be immersed in beauty, creativity, and imagination.

The Art of Shadowscapes

Art of Shadowscapes Tarot

So many people absolutely love Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s gorgeous Shadowscapes Tarot. One of the only complaints we hear about it is that people wish the images were larger. While we can’t make the cards larger, we can share the Major Arcana in this glorious book.  In addition to the illustrations, Law shares some glimpses into her sketchbook and notes on her creative process. But instead of telling you, let’s take a peek!