New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
From Where Do the Cards of the Tarot Originate?Mystery shrouds the origin of Tarot cards, but ancient oracle decks have been found in a wide range of places, from Hungary to India to China. Some historical sources credit the traveling, wandering musicians and performers who roamed (originally) from India to Persia to Egypt for carrying cards and methods of divination with them. Today's standard Tarot decks contain seventy-eight cards: twenty-two Major Arcana cards and fifty-six Minor Arcana cards. The twenty-two Major Arcana include the zero card, The Fool, and then progress through twenty-one archetypes such as the Empress, the Magician, Wheel of Fortune, Judgment, the Tower, the Sun, ...
As we approach All Hallows Eve, we start to notice that monsters are suddenly everywhere: at the movies, on television—and making guest appearances in advertisements for just about any product from soft drinks to luxury cars. Werewolves, zombies, vampires, and all manner of monsters are suddenly staring back at you from the window of the convenience store, the lobby of your local bank or perhaps even your own front yard. The Monster Next Door Academics, cultural historians, and those who study our enduring fascination with monsters often point out several reasons for the perennial lure of such fantastic beings. Monsters represent the ultimate “other.” They’re a ...
The Green Witch Tarot is a dream come true for me. I have been reading cards for people for over fifty years, and in that time I have developed my own style that I have been able to adapt to most any deck. This lengthy experience of working with the cards and interacting with clients has helped me develop my approach to the tarot. Throughout these years, I have collected numerous tarot decks whose styles appealed to my interests in history, art, subject matter, historic, and literary references. But still I desired a tarot deck that spoke to my personal vision, one that distilled the basic components of the Craft in to a coherent whole and could relate to the various aspects of the ...
Witches and Pagans are, on the whole, voracious readers, both of religious and non-religious books. Have you often found that some of the most spiritually-affecting works are fiction? I certainly have. Sometimes when I've read enough of technique, ritual and theology I turn to the fiction of Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, and Francesca Lia Block to make me feel magic again, rather than just tell me about it. Each of these authors seamlessly weaves magic and the otherworldly into the everyday realities of modern life. Here at Llewellyn we have several brilliant authors who have tried their hand (quite successfully, I might add) at this kind of fiction in addition to their works on magical ...
