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From Llewellyn's 2009 Magical Almanac. For current-year calendars and almanacs, click here. Because the ancestor world has a mythic connection with the underworld, it is an ancient magical practice to seek the ancestors’ help in consigning one’s cares to the chthonic powers—the powers of Earth. In the care of Mother Earth, negative energies can be decomposed, transformed,...

Miniature objects play a role in the material culture of magic and divination, because they can signify material goods as well as other things—including intangible qualities—that we’d like to manifest in our lives.  Perhaps the best known miniature is the dollhouse, which intrigues both children and adults.  A dollhouse can also be used in magic and divination, because not only does it convey the charm of the miniature, it also shares the symbolism of the house, and the house and its chambers provide metaphors for different states of being.  As such a symbolic structure, a dollhouse can serve as the basis of a tarot layout, in which the cards are inserted into its miniature rooms, and then interpreted in the context of the rooms’ different metaphorical associations.  Author Janina Renée presents the "Dollhouse Oracle," a way to use the tarot for insight into your life.

From Llewellyn's 2001 Tarot Calendar. For more Llewellyn tarot books and decks, click here. The imagery of the tarot can be used as the focus for rituals that help us concentrate on goals, channel archetypal energies, and shape the quality of our daily lives. The following rite uses the imagery of the Sun, Judgement, and Magician cards to activate the Sun within and put its creative energies...

About a fifth of the cards in a standard tarot deck are court cards, and these are commonly used to designate personalities. But being that we have to be many different things to many people over the course of our lives--and even over the course of a day--how can we use the tarot to better understand ourselves? Janina Renée, author of Tarot for a New Generation and Tarot Spells, illustrates how we can use the court cards to gain insight into the many facets of our personalities.

While the images of the Tarot often have obvious, archetypal meanings, often the less-prominent images of the cards in a spread can be just as telling of a situation. Janina Renée, author of Tarot: Your Everyday Guide and Tarot Spells, details how the imagery of the Tarot can be used for clarification and further illumination of readings and situations.

Many long-time users of the Tarot get set in their ways when it comes to the variety of layouts they favor for readings. Janina Renée, author of Tarot: Your Everyday Guide and Tarot Spells, details the "card tracking technique" that can be used for clarification on a card or cards that come up in a reading, amplifying meanings, and fishing for advice.

Novelty candles make fun and festive decorations for holidays and other occasions, and the most fanciful novelty candles are found at Halloween.  As figural candles (such as black cats, red devils, skulls, and the like) are also used in American folk magic, the availability of Halloween candles suggests many possibilities for imaginative spell working.  The following are some magical suggestions for Halloween candles.

Novelty candles make fun and festive decorations for holidays and other occasions, and the most fanciful novelty candles are found at Halloween.  As figural candles (such as black cats, red devils, skulls, and the like) are also used in American folk magic, the availability of Halloween candles suggests many possibilities for imaginative spell working.  The following are some magical...

Over time, many of us acquire an assortment of small but delightful trinkets, such as miniature animals or other little figurines, souvenir items, toys, miniature charms, and many other gewgaws. Along with these, we may also collect natural objects such as seeds and nuts, pebbles, and shells, as well as interesting bits of beach glass or driftwood and other found articles. Oftentimes these things give us pleasure because, aside from being colorful or whimsical, they convey some special symbolism or serve as mementos. However, if you’ve just been allowing them to accumulate in a junk drawer, you can take them to a new level of use, since these objects, or fetishes, have a traditional role in divination.

Over time, many of us acquire an assortment of small but delightful trinkets, such as miniature animals or other little figurines, souvenir items, toys, miniature charms, and many other gewgaws. Along with these, we may also collect natural objects such as seeds and nuts, pebbles, and shells, as well as interesting bits of beach glass or driftwood and other found articles. Oftentimes these things...

Each season brings its changes, but the fact of change is dramatically underscored in autumn. Those of us who live in northern climates are privileged to see some of Nature’s most breath-taking beauty in the vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow of fall foliage. The cooler temperatures invite us to spend more time outdoors; our senses are aroused by the smell of wood fires, windfall...

Do you need inspiration for a fun, unique, and enlightening get-together? Think about a party focused on Tarot Court characters. You and your guests can discover unknown characteristics about yourselves through creative art projects, dress-up games, and innovative readings. Enjoy!

In Ghana, they say, “It is better to bring luck than to be handsome.” In America, we don’t often think about bringing luck to our friends and loved ones; however, something we can do to spread blessings and good feelings is treat them to simple ...

From Llewellyn's 2008 Tarot Reader, by Janina Renée. Although tarot readers emphasize the positive aspects of the cards in a reading, there is no getting around the fact that the appearance of certain cards is alarming because of their potential predictions of bad things to come. Here, let me interject that, as someone who has written four books on tarot, I am certainly interested...

From Tarot Spells, by Janina Renée 46. For fertility of crops and general success in farming. This pyramidal layout symbolizes growth and upward movement. Note also the placement of the Sun and its significance to agriculture. The Empress is a card that denotes fertility in all things, including fertility of crops. The Seven of Pentacles suggests long-term projects, and can apply to...