One thing many students of tarot find fascinating is learning what some of the mysterious symbols on the cards mean. During the Renaissance, when the tarot was invented, people were largely illiterate and were therefore very literate in symbol recognition. Their churches told the stories of their faith in stained glass and granite images. These days, we as a culture lack a shared symbol system and even the popular Rider Waite Smith tarot includes many symbols that are meaningless today. Meaningless until we unearth the meaning. In Rachel Pollack’s brilliant Tarot Wisdom, she casually and conversationally reveals many symbolic meanings. If you are looking for an enjoyable and

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Dr. Kyra Mesich, author of the new Strength of Sensitivity. I've dedicated my holistic psychology career to helping sensitive people. It shouldn't surprise you that I'm highly sensitive; part of this quest has been to understand myself. I used to be a typical sensitive kid and young adult. I cried easily, got overwhelmed in loud or crowded environments, and the emotions of other people would sometimes exhaust me. Even after attending grad school for psychology, I still had no better understanding of why I was so sensitive and uncomfortable much of the time. Although we may go to universities to learn, it is life that presents us with our

In just a few months (August, to be precise), Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot by the knowledgeable experienced, and delightful writer Anthony Louis will be available. He covers the subject of tarot as completely as a concise overview allows and does so objectively, presenting background on the history of tarot as well as the various traditions. Throughout the book, he highlights some important gems from some of tarot’s most influential practitioners. In this excerpt, he shares an important observation by Aleister Crowley. Many people may miss Crowley’s wisdom because of his reputation. That is too bad because this is important stuff. Too many people think that by reading

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Melanie Marquis, author of A Witch's World of Magick, The Witch's Bag of Tricks, the forthcoming Modern Spellcaster's Tarot (available in September), and co-author of the new Witchy Mama. The weather is warming and the flowers are blooming, inviting us to get outdoors and bask in the beauty of nature. For parents, it's a time of relief as we can finally give ourselves as well as our children that much-needed fresh air and freedom we long for after the often insatiable boredom of huddling indoors throughout winter's bitter chill. Spending time outside centers us and relaxes us, recharges and rejuvenates us. It keeps us in touch with the