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Beltaine and Samhain, for some of us, are what Christmas and Easter are for lax Christians. Even if you don’t go to every spiritual gathering throughout the year, there are certain holidays you really like to celebrate with your community.

Note: Websites tend to reduce photographs to make webpages load quickly. This often blurs details in the photos.

If you know me well, you’ve seen me use anything at hand for divination. Everything around me has an opinion. (May not always be a good opinion, but a lot of the time it is.)

Divination is part of my every day, throughout the day. I’m constantly trying to communicate with my Gods, whether  divining for myself or for clients in classes and private sessions. This oracular thread woven throughout my hours is one reason I love making divination tools. Making a deck or other divinatory tool and then using it inspires me and opens me to the Divine in new ways. 

Given my use of anything nearby for fortune telling, and my interest in making oracular tools, it’s no surprise that, after I’d spent a couple of years making a pen and ink alphabet (with some watercolors thrown in), it occurred to me to make the letters into alphabet oracle cards for myself. Or if you prefer, “Alphabet divination cards.” Are you asking, “What is alphabet divination?” The answer is: I had no idea what it was until I made the idea up. I’ll explain:

It is murky out there. It has been this way for a long time. There are roiling atmospheres of complicated astrological conditions that will persist for years. There are currents and crosscurrents of cultures, ideologies, and religions moving and colliding into whirlpools and riptides. And all that is churning while the icecaps are melting.  There are pundits, prophets, and profiteers with axes to grind. It seems a safe bet to put your money on cynicism, apocalyptic narratives, and apathy as respite.

We all know many people find romance on dating websites and apps. Use your witchy tools of a pendulum and a whispered spell for swift and accurate swiping! If you don’t already have a pendulum they are easily gotten at any metaphysical shop or mind, body spirit bookstore. You can also make your own with a footling strip of string or leather cord with a small rose quartz with a pointy end. Knot the quartz onto your cord and test it to show you which is “yes” and which is “no.” That is easily done by putting your elbow on a table and holding the pendant in your raised hand, Still the pendant and hold it over the photo on the app for people of interest to you. and then ask it to indicate yes and no. When you feel sure, swipe away!  When you have found a person of interest, craft your note and speak this spell.

God of  love, fly my  letter hence at the speed of light.

As a long-term fan of The Gaian Tarot, I eagerly awaited receipt of the new Herbcrafter’s Tarot deck illustrated by Joanna Powell Colbert and written by Latisha Guthrie. I knew from the first card that I was in love. The illustrations for the Herbcrafter’s Tarot are exquisite and breathtaking. Even the precise detail of the illustration on the back of the deck as a whole is enchanting. It has become my favorite card-back illustration of all time, the little tincture bottles, butterflies, and sprigs of herbs prompting a sense of discovery and joy every time I touch one. Instead of immediately shuffling the deck and drawing a card, which is how I usually approach a new deck, I made the decision to approach The Herbcrafter’s Tarot card by card, day by day, even (mostly) resisting the urge to peek ahead at the cards to come. It is truly a deck to be savored and I knew from the third card that I could recommend it wholeheartedly to others.

Drawing inspiration from the shared Celtic heritage of the authors as well as from Latisha’s Mexican-American heritage, The Herbcrafter’s Tarot is a sister deck in many ways to The Gaian Tarot. Like a traditional tarot deck, it includes 78 cards. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana follow an herbcrafter’s journey. The Minor Arcana cards are divided in four suits, aligned with the four elements: Air (Swords), Fire (Wands), Water (Cups), and Earth (Pentacles).  Each card contains a detailed colored pencil drawing in photorealistic style. Each card is alive with vibrant detail and thoughtful connection, most of the illustrations containing very subtle nods to the original major and minor arcana cards of traditional tarot decks. Depending on the suit and type of plant, some of the herbs are shown in the act of being prepared or harvested, in use in baths or teas, or in their native environment. The People cards for each suit, depicting the hands of women healers at work, have been titled according to the archetypes each woman embodies as she “matures into her craft from wonderer to warrior to midwife to teacher.” The skilled, creative, intuitive hands of Hijas (daughters), Adelitas (warriors), Madres (mothers), and Curanderas (healers) are represented in the People cards. Accustomed as I am to the faces and personalities of the people depicted in full in The Gaian Tarot, I did find myself sometimes missing that human component and wanting to see who is “behind the scenes” of the beautiful herbal layouts, nature mandalas, works in progress, and the gnarled hands at work in The Herbcrafter’s Tarot. The inclusion of scenes, plants, and hands rather than faces is intentional, however, because the primary perspective of the deck is from that of the plants.

Written May 28, 2019

 I did divination for myself, to gain new insights—or be reminded of old ones—about self-care when working hard. The reading was for me, but I post it below in case you find it helpful.

The following italicized paragraphs provide background, so the reading makes sense to you: 

Exhaustion exacerbates multiple sclerosis symptoms badly. The final parts of curriculum development for an online course can be seriously exhausting for me because of how I tend to approach those final stages of creating an online course. I’m learning to approach those final stages differently, and have come a long way, but still have progress to make.

Choosing a crystal ball should not be undertaken lightly: this is a deeply personal tool that has its own energy and will also become imbued with your energy. Think of it as a container for a great deal of your energy and make sure it feels right for you and you alone. Do not allow anyone else to touch your crystal ball. If by chance it happens, simply place it in a bowl of sea salt overnight and it will be cleansed of outside energy and influence.

 Highly polished and glasslike spheres of beryl and quartz crystal have been in use for many thousands of years. Healers, shamans, witch doctors, and medicine men have been using the bones of the earth for divination since time immemorial. The Celtic folks and Druids favored beryl as their scrying crystal of choice. Beryl still has a well-earned reputation as the stone of power. The Middle Ages and the Renaissance saw a far-flung use of crystal for seeing the future. The mythical wizard Merlin, of Arthurian legend, kept his crystal ball with him at all times! Pure quartz crystal balls are quite pricey but are worth the expense if you are serious about harnessing your intuition and using it for the good. Most people I know who use crystal balls, including many healers and teachers, see cloudy and smoky images, so do not expect your experience to be like going to the movies! Each and every crystal ball is unique and has its own energy. Here are a few examples: