Most people now accept that the fact that the Tarot cards do not go back to ancient Egypt, Atlantis, or some other source from thousands of years ago. Most knowledgeable Tarot researchers also acknowledge that the Tarot didn't evolve out of the Kabalah. In fact, the associations of the Kabalistic Tree of Life came long after the Tarot began. They were popularized by Eliphas Levi during the nineteenth century's "French Occult Revival." But when it comes to the designs of the Minor Arcana cards—the ones that are most like a deck of playing cards—most people think they're all pictorial and dismiss any deck that doesn't have images on every card. In actuality, it was only about 100

For many years, calling the illusions presented by stage performers "magic" could get you in trouble for pretending to be supernatural, even if what you were doing was comedic tricks for kids. As a result, many performers, rather than calling themselves magicians, used other terms such as "conjuror," "juggler," or "prestidigitator." Aleister Crowley came up with a different solution for making a written differentiation. He used an archaic spelling, magick with a final "k," to indicate the real practice and used "magic" to represent the entertainment. [The "k" also had another meaning for Crowley, indicating a reference to sex magick, but that's a different issue.] In my Modern Magick and

Inspired by the fast-approaching holiday where we all celebrate love in our own way, let's explore another pair of love-related cards. Last week we compared the 2 of Cups and the 10 of Cups. Today we'll compare the 10 of Cups and the 10 of Pentacles. These cards share a few similarities: They are both 10s, and consequently represent the completion or fulfillment of the suit. They are both passive suits, suggesting that they are shaped by life and reactive. They are both generally considered happy cards. They both represent family life, generally showing at least two generations. How are they different, then? The key is in the most obvious difference: their suits Cups

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Kerri Connor, author of Spells for Tough Times. So it's February. Chances are some of you have already dropped off your New Year's resolutions. I admit I am not one to make resolutions, simply because I believe they set us up for failure. Too many people that I know have made their resolutions and a few weeks into the new year, they mess up and decide to drop them altogether. They decide to put them off for another year, thinking that something will change, and then make the same resolutions over and over again. Have you ever fallen into this trap? I'm here to tell you don't have to do that. You do not have to wait until New Year's, or