Crown’s Book Review Guide

When I review books I look for the following: 
  • Author’s stating that their opinions and personal definitions are just that.
  • Author’s actual handle on writing and the editing process. Few to no grammatical errors, misspellings, off wording, or typos
  • Consistency in the material. Hypocrisy will be pointed out at once.
  • Flat-out misinformation or false or revised history.
  • Sourced material. Original material should be noted as well but if something is from elsewhere, it should be sourced or explained.
  • Privileged bullshit
  • Shaming of any sort in any way.
  • -Phobic and ableist language. Homophobic, trans*phobic, and other like phobias.
  • Hate speech, racism, sexism, ageism, and misogyny,
  • Cultural appropriation and fetishism.

I rank 0/5 to 5/5. I have never given a book a 0 or 5. I likely never will. The rankings are as follows.

0/5 – Absolute shit. There is literally nothing about this book that is good. It has every error listed above and issues may have been created for this book. The review likely consists of caps lock screaming and fire. It may have made me physically ill. I quite possibly contacted the Doctor and the TARDIS to get back my time.

1/5 – Crap. While the author may have managed basic writing skills, it still has a whole host of problems it at least provided information of some sort of made a point. You may wish to flip through the book if it was given to you or you find it at the library but don’t pay money or spend a great deal of time on it. I likely only threw the book a few times and set it on fire once.

2/5 – It’s OK. It has its issues but it also has some aspects to that that’s worth reading. Pay a low price for the book or pick it up at the library. Look carefully at the review before reading. I may have thrown the book or resorted to cussing in every language I can speak to verbalize any distaste for the book. If owned, this book levels out tables and chairs because it’s *just* the right size and you won’t really mind if it’s damaged along the way.

3/5 – Meh. This is a decent book. Still has its issues but most of them aren’t going to bother most people. The issues may be few in number and the book’s worth spending a bit of time on. It may not bring out brandy-new ideas, but it has a solid basic understanding on how shit works. Or, it may have a bunch of clever ideas but has some other shady shit going on in it. The book has some worth. While I still wouldn’t pay full price, if I spend a few bucks then I wouldn’t be sad and will have a nice, safe home behind a clutter of random bottles and crystals on a bookshelf where it can be referenced or reread on occasion. This book is to be recommended occasionally for specific topics. You may find yourself thinking “Whatever happened to X book? I think I loaned it to Billy but he never gave it back. Now he’s left for Mars so I guess it’s gone for good. Oh well.”

4/5 – You should be reading this. It may have an issue or two here and there but it likely has so much good shit in it that the few issues can be ignored or put aside. Paying full price wouldn’t bother me. This book sits securely on a clear shelf where I can reference it often and with glee. This book will be commonly recommended and may serve as a pillow in times of emergencies or while passing out during research. The kind of book that you ensure your friends return to you, even to the point where you text them at odd hours to annoy them enough to return it to you.

5/5 – The Preciousssssss. There are absolutely in no way any flaws.This book glows golden in my hands and whispers sweetly to me. Not only would I pay full price but I likely pre-ordered it and maybe even showed up for the midnight launch or signing if that was available. This book is never far from my hand, protected as if made of glass, has is graced only by satin or silk bookmarks. Not only will it be referenced daily, it will never touch a bookshelf but may sit in a special place of prominence, like a book stand or on a particular shelf dedicated to other excellent books. I would fight Gollum for this book and win.

Obviously, all reviews are mine own opinions and should be viewed as such. Furthermore, I write the reviews as I read the books so they tend to be long-winded and can be used as a walkthrough of sorts. If you have a book you want to suggest to me, feel free to drop an email. I can’t guarantee I’ll read them but I’ll consider it.

 

Originally posted on tumblr

Privacy of Tarot Readings

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When you get a tarot reading you’re asking someone else to sit down and read your most intimate parts of yourself. The reader might not know all the nitty gritty details, but they’re still involved with something personal, something private.

This is why I hold my client’s tarot readings (and purchases in general) as private and under the most strict confidence. It’s also why I don’t show my client’s readings or give context such as spread names or full photo shots for the rare photo I do show. Because it’s not my business to share and sharing client readings (especially without permission) is considered a faux pas for me. Your readings are yours and they are private. The same way that your purchases are private and your emails and convos are private. Asks are a little different as often their asking for advice or commenting on a community discussion but nine times out of ten I’ll reply to an ask privately if I’m able to. Because that’s a private interaction.

It’s a rather common practice to see tarot readers show off spreads or client readings. It’s a great way to get your services out there and it’s a great boost of confidence for those who are learning to read to see the readings in practice. And that’s exactly why I’m all for showing my own personal readings or the readings of clients who give the OK. Because showing off your readings and skill can be such a great boon for both you, your readers, and your clients. I share my own personal readings fairly often. I’ll share client posts, reviews, photos, and videos because they’ve shared them first.

I think the crux of the situation is that clients aren’t often even asked if their readings can be shared. As mentioned above, tarot readings are personal to the person so not asking is kind of like snooping through someone’s mail to me. You might not know the context of the bills or letters but you can make some pretty educated guesses just from the names on the envelopes. It’s one thing if you decide to tell someone what’s in the envelope (or the reading) and you’re welcome to share that with the world as the client but for the reader to share your private reading publicly without your permission first… I would see that as a breach of trust personally.

It’s not uncommon for people to forget that their clients are people too. You see this startlingly often in the medical field where doctors and nurses forget their patient’s comfort because to them it’s just another case or just another flu or broken arm. They forget that to the patient, to you, this is a big deal. And that carries over with readers as well. To you this might be just another reading but to the client, it could be vitally important. To forget that and share the reading reduces them to just another person and makes their interactions with you less personal and important.

Not sharing readings means that you have more work on your hands to get your name and business out there however. People can’t see how you read and don’t know what environment they’re in. Testimonials and sample readings can help alleviate that burden as can social media promoting. Simply sending an email to someone and asking for their permission can give you a great response. If a client says yes they’ll probably be exceptionally pleased that you even thought to ask and that might even be a talking point for them when they recommend you. You can also say something like “hey, I had a few great client readings today now here’s one for myself!” And then show a reading you did for yourself or something similar. It still gets your services out there but it doesn’t share your client’s privacy.

I was pleased to see this discussed by Freya Ray in her book The Ethical Psychic (review to come at a later date). Her opinions strongly mirror mine and I know a few other readers who also hold their client’s readings as private first. I know it’s been discussed before but I haven’t seen it come up recently. I think this is a discussion the tarot community should be having as we live in a world of instant gratification and it’s so easy to snap a shot of a client’s reading while at a coffee shop and post it to six different social media sources at once.

I think asking a client if you can share their reading should at least be an industry courtesy if not an industry standard. What do you think?

Gensoumaden Saiyuki Tarot Deck Review

The Gensoumaden Saiyuki Tarot, complete in box.

The Gensoumaden Saiyuki Tarot, complete in box.

The Gensoumaden Saiyuki Tarot by Minekura Kazuya

Status: Rare; Not reading with it.

Best for: Fans

Favorite cards: Don’t have any.

The Gensoumaden Saiyuki Tarot deck was a rare find that I scored for a mere $15 on eBay back in 2005. A full 78 card deck in a hard plastic case (possibly the best tarot box I’ve ever seen a deck come in) in full color. The cards and book are in Japanese but at the time I didn’t care because while I was fairly mediocre at understanding Japanese I had the patience to sit through my dictionaries and find the meaning of the words I didn’t know. I’m severely out of practice right now to the point of uselessness so the deck just sits and is loved from a distance. (I’m relearning Japanese but it is slow going and myriad in heartbreaking nostalgia.)

A card by itself. This image is from manga.

A card by itself. This image is from manga.

The Gensoumaden Saiyuki is primarily useful for only fans of Minekura’s work. The art comes from all sources from manga splash pages and covers to art books she’s produced. There’s also a mix of characters from other manga she’s produced. I didn’t mind this surprise since I’m a fan of her work as a whole but it’s something to note. For those completely unknown to the series. It’s a retelling of the Chinese classic Journey to the West (which I’m also a fan of) and is not only a fairly long-run manga but also an anime. There’s also at least one novel running around too and several audio CDs.

The deck compared to your average sized Sharpie.

The deck compared to your average sized Sharpie.

The series itself holds a special place in my hear and I’d say was a catalyst for how I matured into an adult. It never bordered on pop culture paganism or magician status but still held incredible importance to me at one point in time and will have lingering affects throughout the rest of my life to be sure. That being said, I don’t really involve myself in the series anymore outside of keeping up with new updates as a whole.

The deck compared to a standard size Tarot deck, here the Chrysalis Tarot. You can even see how the cards arch in the box to the left.

The deck compared to a standard size Tarot deck, here the Chrysalis Tarot. You can even see how the cards arch in the box to the left.

The deck itself is a full 78 card deck. The cards are small though and very narrow. Length-wise, there’s the same height as a standard tarot deck but they’re almost half the size width-wise. The card stock’s OK. The backs are smooth and slick, coated perhaps in a plastic covering not unlike playing cards but the reverse side with the card image feels like the card stock of an average greeting card. My deck also as little flaws like a remnant at the top where the cards were once connected and there’s a mar on the card backs from the printing.

The largest physical flaw is the cards do not lie flat. You can see that plainly in the photos. They could be pressed into being flat if one cared to do so. I didn’t bothered. I believe it would be a futile struggle. I think the shape of the cards help facilitate the curve. Shuffling’s pretty much a nightmare due to the curve and I don’t think the card would last long under constant usage.

Look how the card curve and arcs here. That's due to the shape and card stock rather than usage which is more typical in tarot card curving.

Look how the card curve and arcs here. That’s due to the shape and card stock rather than usage which is more typical in tarot card curving.

The art isn’t entirely consistent either. As I mentioned, the art for the deck was collected from various sources over the course of Minekura’s career. The art quality varies accordingly. This is good for fans of her artwork and story telling as a whole because they can see often forgotten series showcased a bit (sadly, not my favorite Stigma which is gorgeous but I digress). You can see some of that in the photos but it’s fairly random what’s featured. I’m fairly certain the images were just grabbed from her artbooks which is A-OK as far as I’m concerned. This wasn’t specifically a project she set out to make but rather something that was produced in her series’ name.

The booklet that comes with the deck. (LWB)

The booklet that comes with the deck. (LWB)

Inside the booklet. Yup, still Japanese.

Inside the booklet. Yup, still Japanese.

It comes with a LWB that comes with spreads in it. However, I recall the book itself being a generic printing from the publishing company. Still, I remember being rather surprised the deck was even standard and had a book. It was fairly rare to run across at the time (from my experience).

As mentioned above, the deck and book is written in Japanese. However, don’t let that deter you if you want to use it oracle style. It could be easily done. But it is meant to be a tarot deck with the fairly traditional meanings. Would I crack open Waite’s A Pictorial Key to the Tarot to read these cards? Nope. I’d rather just go with what feels right. It has that kind of feel to it.

This is the kind of case you can toss in your bag with no worries about your cards. Perfect.

This is the kind of case you can toss in your bag with no worries about your cards. Perfect.

The best part of the deck in my opinion is the card box. I mean, the cards are great, especially for fans but the box can withstand some serious damage. Hard clear plastic, it’s divided into two size and fits perfectly. I do think the plastic box doesn’t help with the card shape however which is something to keep in mind.

However, this is a great box and I wish more companies produced boxes like this! It keeps the cards nice and safe, secured. Not only that, this box can take some damage. It’s not the easily cracked plastic that CD cases are made out of but not the super hard acrylic that baseball cards are kept in. it’s somewhere in between. Absolutely great for storing cards or tossing them in your bag where you know for sure that they’ll be safe from all kinds of damage like pen tips and even dampness.

A selection of cards from the deck. Note the art variations and even characters.

A selection of cards from the deck. Note the art variations and even characters not from the Saiyuki series (third from the right). Some of the cards aren’t even a north to south oriented card (second card from the left).

The deck also is lacking in soul. Decks that are created with divination in mind tend to have a more noticeable and outspoken soul to them. As an animist, I think anything can develop a soul and mine certainly have but you may feel a curious emptiness when handling the deck at first. This happens when decks are cobbled together and mass produced. (This isn’t to say mass printed decks aren’t good. Almost all of mine are mass printed and are perfectly wonderful. It’s just something I notice with decks that have the aforementioned criteria combined.) I actually doubt Minekura’s aware of the deck any more than she’s aware of her other series-related products. However, that doesn’t remove the personality from the art itself and the more you know of Minekura and the worlds she creates with her stories, the more the deck speaks to you. (Also, my heart goes out to Minekura. She’s had terrible luck with her health and I’m always hoping that she heals swiftly and surely.)

It does read well, however. As mentioned above, I tend to side more towards oracle style of reading than full tarot for this deck because of what I know about the series in question, the artist, and color symbolism. That’s just me though. I find it offers a clean, “no bullshit” sort of reading. Careful for word traps. The deck also tends to linger on self doubts and traumas more than you’d expect given the card images. (That relates more towards the deck’s subject material than anything else, in my opinion.)

Would I buy the deck again? Absolutely, if only for sentimental value and the fact that I haven’t run across it again online or in person. Would I use the deck? No. The cards won’t last long with usage. It’s one of the view decks that I’ve only used a few times for personal readings and won’t likely do so again. An updated version wouldn’t go amiss, especially since Minekura’s back to drawing and creating. However, this deck’s fun and worth picking up if you see it around, you’re a fan, and you read Japanese.

So you want a reading?

Let’s say you want a reading. Be it tarot, divination, oracle or whatever and you’ve even found a diviner you want to use. But what do listing you choose? What’s the best choice for you? How do you word your questions? What can you expect?

Let’s first talk about what divination can do for you. Divination can do a lot of things but mainly it falls into two camps: telling the future and introspection. These two purposes often coincide (for example, you might get a reading about your career but also glean some advice on what to work on so you can be the best for said career). Some readers specialize in just telling the future and others will only use it for introspection and will go so far as to say telling the future is impossible. I’m of a mind that both are good and can be useful depending on the kind of question you have. My own readings tend to be a mix of both future insights and suggestions, advice, or warnings on what you can change to help yourself or change a future foretold that you didn’t like.

I know what you’re thinking. “Wait? Change a future?” Yup. I believe and operate that for the most part you have the power and ability to change your future. Channel your inner Merida and change what you don’t like. That being said, I also believe that some things are bound to happen give circumstances so unless you wildly deviate from course they’ll happen. xxxHOLIC and CLAMP fans might recognize a term called hitsuzen which is similar. The end result is the same: by and large, you can take advice given to you by the cards and use it to help alter things to your liking. The future is not set in stone.

I’ve already written on what to expect once you purchase a reading insofar as my specific process but you can help your chosen diviner by ensuring and understanding the following things:

  1. Be ready to hear what’s being said. The answer might not be good or what you’re hoping for so you have to be ready for that too. Listen to what the reader says. If you’re asking for a reading, there’s an expectation that you want to be told what’s being read. If you’re closed to the idea that nothing can change or be helped then the reading is probably going to be useless for you. Going to several readers isn’t going to change what’s been read unless you change it yourself. If you’re not ready to hear what has to be said, then don’t ask.
  2. Readings are usually only good for six months and specific dates are hard to pinpoint. While some readers can divine far into the future and narrow down futures to the an exacted time and date for something to happen, many readers prefer not to go that route so you won’t be disappointed when something doesn’t happen. Many readers will only read six months out at most and many times only a few weeks in advance. I tend to use three to six months as an average time frame and give suggestions of a couple of months when dating things.
  3. Accept that the reader may get things wrong. Most of the time the diviner doesn’t know the details of your life so they speak in non-specifics or try to get as specific as possible without knowing those details first hand. Many readers can get some amazing details but there’s going to be times where they’re just off. It happens.
  4. We are interpreters of the cards not advice givers. While many of us can and do serve in a mentor position and some readers are even counselors, we are by and large not advice givers. While some readers will make suggestions or give advice, many readers do not. We just read the cards. That’s what you’re paying us for.
  5. We are worth our rate. It’s just rude and insulting to try and bargain with us. Don’t do it. We work hard to learn the cards and spend many hours crafting spreads and learning how to read for others. Many of us study for years to be able to read professionally.
  6. Every reader is different. Some readers will focus on the metaphysical or pretty imagery. Others will work on empowering you towards your goal. More still want to help you help yourself. There’s lot of different reasons to read and divine and every single reader uses their own experiences, personal symbolism, and knowledge to read the cards or divination tool different. No two readers will read exactly the same way. It may take some time to find a reader that matches up with your style.
  7. Know your questions. Sometimes you don’t know what you want. That’s OK but having specific questions to be answered can help cut down wasted time for both you and the reader. You might even want to write the questions down in advance. Check with the reader to see if they’ll even read for those specific questions. Some readers won’t read for health related issues or for a third party.
  8. Ask questions. If you don’t understand what the reader is saying or what a card means, ask questions! Ask them to clarify what’s going on so you really understand.

OK. Now you know what to look forward to, now to pick a divination style. There are hundreds of thousands of ways to tell the future. I’m not kidding there. I personally use a couple of dozen and have actively tried at least fifty or more. There’s so many different and awesome choices out there to pick from! Cards are a classic so when in doubt, it’s probably your best choice. Tarot is the best known system but oracle and lenormand cards can work just as well. Pendulum readings are excellent for yes or no questions. Scrying techniques, like crystal ball reading, water gazing, and so on give the diviner mental and/or psychic images and information. This can be very informative or very vague, depending on the reader and the question. If you’re a book lover and want some general fun advice, a stitchomancy/bibliomancy reading using a favorite book might be a good way to go. Lots are divination systems where the diviner tossings or randomly selects from a collection of objects and uses the correlations, associations, locations to one another and possibly even a metaphysical map layout to divine the future. These are usually highly individualized but that can lead to some pretty amazing results. (And yup, I do all of the above and more).

Now to determine how long or how many cards are needed. Traditionally, a reader has a timer set and you pay for their time (often by every fifteen minutes or an hour). There’s another method out there that I actually prefer: card number. You pay for the amount of cards drawn. I generally recommend selecting between five to seven cards for a reading. If a particularly complicated question, go up to ten. For me, a five to seven card reading is equivalent to fifteen or twenty minutes. Ten for me is about half an hour (therefore 20 cards is around a hour’s time). Too few cards and you don’t get enough information to do anything with and too many cards can become overwhelming or begin to repeat the information already said. It’s a careful balance and sometimes it’s better just to ask.

Some readers even let you pick out what deck of cards or divination tool to use. They might let you shuffle or touch the cards and others won’t. It depends on the reader or the sometimes even the tool itself. Ask first before touching. When picking a deck or tool to use the best advice is to pick the one you’re drawn to the most. Maybe the deck has some specific energy or the art style really appeals to you. Maybe you like dragons or the color purple. Whatever you decide know that while the tool chosen might have some influence on how the information is relayed (a gentler voice versus a brash voice with cards, for example), it’s probably not going to change what information is given.

So now you’ve set up a time or purchased a reading and now it comes to the part where you ask your questions. As mentioned above, be sure to check with the reader to see if there’s any questions they won’t answer. (I’m liberal when it comes to the questions asked of me whereas some others aren’t). The best way to word a question is to be clear and concise but to focus on what you can do. Here’s some examples:

“Am I going to die?” Well, yeah. We all do. This is a pretty rough question for a diviner to get and many won’t even attempt to answer it. A better way to word it is “I’m seriously worried about my health. What can I do to reduce my chances of serious illness or death?”

“Is Avery going to ask me to prom?” Yes/no questions can be difficult to divine. It may depend on the tool chosen or the reader themselves. A better way to ask this question is “What can I do to encourage or raise my chances of Avery asking me to prom?” This gives you information that you can do something with.

“I hate my co-worker. Will they get fired soon?” While worded appropriately, a better question would be “What can I do to get along better with my co-workers?” Again, this put you in a position to change things rather than just information that might not help in the long run.

“[Insert paragraphs of life story here] So what can I do?” Cut down on the background information. Often times having some information is useful so the reader can get specifics but many times too much information is just confusing and you may not get the question answers at all. I tend to reword long stories like that into useable questions for the reading.

Now that you’ve done all of that you just have to sit back and wait for the reading. As mentioned above, I’ve already described in an earlier post what my reading process is like. If in person, give the reader a second to really look at the cards and understand what’s going on. Ask questions but let them speak too. You might want to bring a notepad and pen or break out a note-taking app on your phone to jot down some information as it’s relayed to you. Online reading are by far easier for you. Simply wait until the reader sends the reading your way. Often times it’s sent through email with photos attached or in an assembled .PDF file. If you have questions, email the reader but be sure to check their policies. They may only allow a certain number of questions or clarification cards drawn before a new reading is required.

And that’s it! That’s how you prepare for a reading! Not too hard is it? So go out there and learn your future!

Summertime Offerings

Offerings are kind of a big thing in the pagan world. You might make an offering or a sacrifice for your deity on some regular basis. Or you might offer something to local spirits by way of thanks. Whatever your reasoning and purpose, practicality has to be tackled alongside the spiritual considerations when handling offerings.

Here’s a few simple tricks, tips, and rules in order make sure both you and the offering recipient are happy campers.

Clean your space

  • Take a glance at your altar, shrine, or workspace. How long would it take to disassemble? Go ahead and time yourself. Regularly taking apart your shrine space and putting it back together (even if the layout is the same) will help refresh and renew the space. It’ll also keep you from putting useless stuff there.
  • Take 30 seconds to wipe down the surfaces of your altar, shrine, or workspace. This includes idolatry pieces like statues, table or shelf surface, and offering dishes.
  • Wash your offering dishes. It doesn’t matter that only dried rice or water was held in it. Wash it out.

Protect your space

  • Summertime can be the worst time for food and liquid offerings. Milk curdles, insects are attracted to offerings, and animals – and people – are everywhere. Make sure your food and liquid offerings are safely placed so children and animals don’t get to them.
  • Insects a pest? Grow plants like lemon balm, peppermint, or citronella around the altar if possible. If not possible, spray strips of cloth or rope with bug spray (I recommend natural but you do you) and hang or place it near the altar.
  • Have a lot of visitors this summer? Move all breakable items away from the edges. Introduce children to altar spaces and ask them not to touch unless you say it’s OK because it’s very important to you. Often times simply explaining the space and letting them touch or look at the items will keep them from grabbing and breaking something accidentally. This depends on the child, of course.

Use common sense

  • Leave out offerings of milk and honey for the faeries? That’s a great idea in the summertime right? You may wish to switch to something that’s not as easily spoiled in the heat for a while. Or, reduce the amount of hours the offerings are out for.
  • Ask the recipients before making any exchanges or substitutes for offerings. For example, my household fae dislike almond milk but don’t mind soymilk as a substitute for regular milk or cream.
  • Placement is key. Want to remember to make a daily offering? Put it next to the coffee maker or refrigerator. Make it memorable. I keep household spirit offerings next to the oven and by the coffee maker.
  • Always watch open flames. Always. Make sure there’s nothing for the flames to set fire to.

Substitutes and alternatives

  • Always ask before making substitutes for traditional or common offerings. You can even give a little explanation on why you’re making the substitute if necessary when making the offering.
  • Clear alcohol is a common offering that is generally accepted by many spirits and deities, including ghosts. It has the added benefit of not spoiling in heat or freezing in cold.
  • Water, especially purified water, is almost always an accepted offering. Only certain types of spirits, like those associated with fire, will disdain them. Deities are a hit or miss.
  • Nuts are often offerings and can last a long time.
  • Dried grains, rices, and beans are also great offerings but watch for worms and flies if left too long.
  • Non-food offerings like incense, music, art, actions and prayers are all offerings too. Don’t forget about them simply because there’s a focus on food items.
  • Can’t use candles or incense? Mist sprays made from light tisanes are great for cleansing and making offerings. LED lights work just as well for rituals unless you need to burn something (which I would then recommend waiting until you can safely and legally have a place to use a candle).

General altar and work space advice

  • Have a lot of stuff? Cycle it through by season or purpose to refresh the space. You probably don’t need all the stuff all the time.
  • It’s often desirable to have a beautiful altar or shrine chocked full with statuary, incense holders, associated objects, and offering pieces. Consider simplifying your space. Do you really need that athame out on the table surface or can it sit in a sheath until necessary? If you never put out food offerings but for special occasions then why have the empty offering plate there? Does that scrying ball need to be there if your deity isn’t associated or involved with divination? Consider what you have in that space and if it’s really there because you have no where else to put it or if it actively services your and their needs.
  • Use your terminology correctly. Work spaces are for you to do work on and doesn’t necessarily even have to have deities or spirits honored at all. An altar is where offerings and sacrifices are made. It’s general a table or shelf set up and can be a part of a larger shrine or temple. A shrine is a building or set up that will usually contain an altar or offering place. It is a holy space for the deities and spirits honored and is dedicated to them entirely. A temple is more of a place for worshipers to go whereas shrines have a tendency, especially in Western culture, to be reserved only for the priesthood or attendants of the honored deities and spirits. A temple could have a work space, altar, and shrine all in one place.Terminology does change somewhat depending on culture, especially the further east you go but this kind of language is something to keep in mind.
  • What you put on an altar or in a shrine should have meaning to both you and the honored being. You’re honoring them so having things they enjoy is just as important as having beautiful things you enjoy.
  • Take your time assembling your spaces. There’s a lot of beautiful inspiration out there and newbies have a tendency to want to rush out and buy all the things. Shop around and visit used goods store, flea markets, garage sales, and even online ads for things that would fit your spaces perfectly. You might even have earmarked some pieces for future altars that aren’t available yet from family collections.
  • Travel or pocket altars are incredibly useful if altars are important but you can easily assemble an offering from whatever when traveling.
  • Research, research, research. Look at what was historically offered for these beings. You don’t have to follow that strictly but knowing what those beings are use to and expecting can make introductions and foundling relationships so much easier to develop.

Simply put: don’t forget to use common sense when setting up your altar space.

Please, please, please remember that many times you do not need a permanent work space, altar, or whatever. It is not a requirement of most practices. You can make offerings without such spaces and you can easily work witchcraft without them.

Creating an altar can be extremely fun and making summertime offerings when fruits are plentiful is always a blast. But taking precautions is always ideal to make sure everyone’s safe and happy.

The Dreaming Way Tarot Review

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My favorites! The Queen of Swords, Page of Swords, the Hermit, and the Tower from the Dreaming Way Tarot

My favorites! The Queen of Swords, Page of Swords, the Hermit, and the Tower from the Dreaming Way Tarot

Dreaming Way Tarot by Rome Choi and Kwon Shina

Status: Currently reading with it

Best for: This deck loves to lay down some truth and to give you a boot when you need to get moving. We get along beautifully so I find the deck to be rather literal.

Favorite cards: Hermit, Queen of Swords, Page of Swords (with a bonus of the Tower!)

Acquired from: A beautiful surprise birthday gift from hellboundwitch

Probably my current favorite deck, I use the Dreaming Way all the time as my clients can attest. This deck is so soft and gorgeous. With a Korean manwha art style, it combines strong lines and simplified art style with incredible details and patterns in small form.

Dreaming Way deck back and LWB compared to a standard Sharpie.

Dreaming Way deck back and LWB compared to a standard Sharpie.

Published by US Games, the deck’s standard tarot card size with a fairly standard size LWB. The card stock is pretty much spot on in terms of perfect in my book. The deck shuffles easily and smoothly.The back of the deck is a vibrant patterned green which I love. It reminds me of eyes and gives the cards some flash when shuffling. I ended up crocheting a bag to match the card backs rather than the general theme of the deck because I loved the colors so much.

The Dreaming Way LWB

The Dreaming Way LWB

As far as the little white book goes, the Dreaming Way tarot is standard. A little blurb on the card itself plus it’s upright and reverse meaning, if you choose to read that way. I don’t tend to refer to this LWB at all unless I want to understand what a minute detail in the card might be when studying the deck.

One thing that’s worth taking a second to glance through is the introduction to the Minor Arcana. It’s about two pages in that tiny book but I liked the way the ideas there were expressed with the characteristics of the suits as mind, body, and soul.

Dreaming Way Tarot's King of Wands, Magician, Five of Swords, and King of Cups

Dreaming Way Tarot’s King of Wands, Magician, Five of Swords, and King of Cups

The deck reads as a RWS deck but it’s not entirely a carbon copy. There’s some original and smart thinking that went into this deck if you look at the details. Take a look at the King of Wands in the above (kind of blurry) photo. There’s a lizard on his clothing. Wands are generally associated with fire so the link to salamanders is there, ready to be made. The King of Cups (above photo) is also smartly done. A king standing alone awash a sea eyes closed from the dangers around him? Speaks of a man who feels and trusts his feelings despite any mocking or danger that might comes his way from such trust. Even the poses of the characters have meaning. This is mostly true of all decks but it’s showcased in a subtle (and not so subtle in some cases) way here. Of course, that’s just my interpretation but I really like how each card has just a slight difference that makes this deck special.

Fool, Two of Swords, Queen of Wands, High Priestess of the Dreaming Way Tarot

Fool, Two of Swords, Queen of Wands, High Priestess of the Dreaming Way Tarot

This deck reads extremely well. I find it a very intuitive deck that has a lot of offer. Incredibly intimate and emotional (look at all the water references) it has a punch of creativity, movement, and quiet energy in most of the cards. Wands are everywhere in this deck and the intricate backgrounds combined with little details such as the Torah the High Priestess is holding makes the deck worth a second look.

The deck’s great for honest, gentle truths (but it can still throw a mean punch when needed) and is great for introspection and exploring the details of a situation without being smacked over the head with over the top symbolism.

The Dreaming Way Tarot's Devil, Eight of Cups, Lovers, and Page of Wands (another favorite!)

The Dreaming Way Tarot’s Devil, Eight of Cups, Lovers, and Page of Wands (another favorite!)

One thing to notice is that there’s some interesting interpretations of the cards here. I love the Devil here. Instead of a gruesome visage it’s a winged and horned woman wearing a her straight jacket like a cloak holding chained lovers. It speaks more of the chains we create for ourselves rather than a connection to sins which I wholly enjoy in this deck.

The Lovers here is another interested card. Winged beings are shown in the deck, such as the Devil, Temperance, and Judgment card but in those cases the Devil has bat-like wings and Temperance and Judgment have more of the feathery angel wings. But the Lovers is different. Here we have butterfly fae like wings. The birth and change of something that was brewing into something beautiful. There’s a bit of a leap of faith reference in there too with the fae’s closed eyes. It’s very much on purpose and a warm, lovely Lovers’ card. The hard choices that the Lovers’ card is there too though. Notice only sky background. What would happen if one of the potential lovers let go? Would they fall in love or fall out of it? What would that choice do?

Dreaming Way Tarot's Hanging Man, Star, Seven of Cups, and Moon

Dreaming Way Tarot’s Hanged Man, Star, Seven of Cups, and Moon

The Hanged Man and Moon (above) are other great examples of the slightly different interpretation. The Moon has no direct association to water here in the card and instead the spectacles-wearing figure is playing with the Moon’s common card companion, the crustacean. Here, the crab is traded for a lobster. This, to me, plays with the less emotional impact of the Moon cards and more of the confusion and mystery of the card. Looking past the confusion, illusion, and unnecessary fear and seeing the clarity and truth behind it.

The Hanged Man has clothing hangers on the branches. Do you see them? Not only that but notice the figure’s tie is perfectly upright despite the bonds that hold them still be affected by gravity. Here the halting a take a moment of contemplation while at a standstill is clear. Donning off the nonsense and looking at the truth is implied. Beyond this, growth is possible once you work to free yourself and get moving again.

Another set of favorites from the Dreaming Way Tarot. Four of Swords, Seven of Swords, Page of Cups, Page of Pentacles

Another set of favorites from the Dreaming Way Tarot. Four of Swords, Seven of Swords, Page of Cups, Page of Pentacles

Issues with this deck include a lack of noticeable POC and the fact that the colors don’t show up well in photography. At all. The text on the cards pairs well with the deck but the combination of text and soft color palette seems to mess with camera focus. This is especially true is you have more than one card in the photo.

Overall, I highly recommend the Dreaming Way Tarot if you like introspective decks and the art is pleasing to you. It’s one of my favorites and every time I use it we build a much better rapport. While you can easily jump in and read the deck, it’s definitely worthwhile to spend some time and pick out the differences in the cards and what’s similar to other decks to see how this one reads. It’s a great all purpose deck, especially if you do a lot of soul searching or introspection.

Dreaming Way Tarot by Rome Choi and Kwon Shina © US Games Systems

Introducing Divination Tool Reviews!

I’m really excited to announce this new, on-going series of blog posts! Diviners use all sorts of tools to get their readings from looking up at the sky and watching birds to using a tarot deck. There’s thousands upon thousands of different tools out there, especially in regards to cartomancy methods. A lot of diviners end up with large collections of decks they hoard and adore.

However, not a lot of people actually post about their experiences with various decks or tools and that’s really a shame! Divination tools can be expensive and if you make a purchase and end up not liking it, the tool itself can be hard to rehome. Reviews can make decisions far easier in terms of whether or not a deck will mesh with you personally.

Each deck tool I use is one I personally own and use. This doesn’t mean each and every tool will be the same. My aventurine pendulum won’t be the same as yours due to lots of reasons such as where it was mined, shaped, and sold from. It can all vary and that’s part of the fun! I’m an average consumer in terms of tools, especially since I’m willing to try a bunch of different divination techniques involving a lot of different tools. Some things I’ll make myself and others I’ll shop around or save for. It’s fun and should be fun. Hopefully my reviews help a little.

What will each review include?

Each review post will include images of the tool in question. Physical specifications such as the size of the tool, the material and quality, where it’s purchased from, and a discussion on my experience with the tool itself. Discussions such as art style, feel of the tool, any associated books or items that the object came with, and favorite aspects of the tool.

Each review will then be cataloged in the “Tarot and Oracle Decks” page, as you see linked above. (The page title is something of a misnomer since there’s more than just cartomancy tools in there but shh.) As a bonus, that page will be cleaned up to be more user friendly because it’s kind of ridiculous right now.

Posts will be using the tag #divination tool review and the category Divination Tool Review.

Home Construction, Witchcraft, and You

I’ve lived through a fair amount of construction. You’ll hear that living through construction isn’t fun and they’re right. It’s always a hassle and always difficult to live through. There’s always someone in your home, there is constantly dust and dirt everywhere, entire rooms will be out of commission, things will be misplaced, and worst yet, you have to have pants on or even be presentable at some ungodly hour in the morning. Shudder.

Now long-term readers will know that I live in an in-law flat at my mother’s house. My mother’s house isn’t new. Built in the 1940s, it sits between two crossroads on the top of a hill overlooking a swamp turned middle school. (No, I’m serious.) The previous owner did a lot of work themselves – poorly. The garage was clumsily doubled, we’re fairly certain one of the bedroom’s was added, the finished basement was roughshod, the kitchen linoleum floor was caulked down, the upstairs tub isn’t sealed properly and leaks into my closet at times… oh the list goes on and on. We once watched an electrician climb up a ladder, open up a ceiling light, and then fly back down, shaking their head in fear and horror.

Every single time we attempt something in this house, no matter how small, something expensive and catastrophic happens. A simple clogged kitchen drain turns into the house’s main line being snaked because of the way the plumbing was designed. Adding a ceiling fan becomes rewiring half the house. Changing cable companies requires three teams of people all to stare in vague disbelief at the house. Every single home improvement we do is a major event. Despite the trouble, each year we try to do something for the house. Sometimes those home improvements are laying down new flooring ourselves or updating appliances and other times it’s the more construction side of things. This year it’s windows and gutters. The star of the show is a window that takes up half the wall in the double parlor. We’re turned into into a bow window with a little shelf for plants and knick-knacks cats.

But what does this have to do with witchcraft?

Let me talk to you about windows first. Windows are doors. They are gateways. They are reflective surfaces. They are both outside and inside. They allow you to see the world without being involved with it. Windows are the shit. Glass is pretty damn amazing all things considered and I could do a whole rant on the amazingness of glass but I’ll put it aside for today. Windows, like doors, can be used as entrance ways for spirits and magic, especially if you treat windows as a door. When I cleanse the house I cleanse the windows the exact same way I cleanse the doors and corners. They are spaces where two things are separate by very little, like veils between worlds.

So when mum said “we’re going to do the big window this year” I sighed and thought “well, shit.” This means I had to break down the protections on this huge double window in our living room that we haven’t been able to open for the eleven years we’ve owned the house. So I spent a few evening tearing down the protections and holding them out in a temporary state until the installation could be done. Plus I had to take down the barriers to ensure that any constructors workers that are psychic-inclined don’t get a massive headache from my barriers (known to happen as I do some powerful protections). Then it took several days to ensure that the new window protections meshed well with the old protections. I also cleansed the window and area from any crap it came with during the install.

The room's mostly done in this image. There's still some touch up needed. The wall colors are silver (inset) and a marine turquoise green.

The living room is now a great place to hang out.

And one doesn’t simply add a new window to a room without considering repainting said room. So I did that too. The inset transformed from red into a silver-white and the peach walls melted into a marine turquoise green. The room is now cool and clean feeling. It came out really nice all things considered and now I’m really pleased to say this will be the perfect space to do readings for clients that come to the house. Plus, I was able to install some of my older gaming consoles so it doubles as a joint gaming location for the household. Which makes it even sweeter. It still has some work that needs doing (touch up paint) but usable again which is super nice. The photo to the left is the new room. I just wish I had a before picture to show you the stunning change.

Gutter boxes laying across the side yard and waiting for installation.

Gutter boxes laying across the side yard and waiting for installation. Get use to seeing this and more if you’re doing construction.

Then we turned our attention to the gutters. Actually, the installation of the gutters is being done as I type this, huddled over my computer sipping on too much coffee as the crews started at the lovely time of seven-thirty in the morning. We are not morning people and there was much bitching involved with this wake up call.

Gutters are a pain in the ass. Not only did I need to take down anything hanging on the exterior wall that could fall down, but I had to do some major landscaping and  deal with the fact that my gutters are changing. Gutters are potential streams attached to your house. Water helps conduct of a bunch of things including energy. With new gutters up, I’ll had to ensure the corners where the gutters hang were well protected magically. I had to crawl into the depths of the house to find each corner and protect it. Luckily I didn’t have to climb on the roof but it was a near thing. (I don’t mind climbing roofs but the ground was muddy and ladders don’t do well in the mud.) I did have to dodge some possums that live in our garage attic. We usually stay out of each other’s way but I scared the shit out of them when I climbed up to do the spells. It was worth it as I can now incorporate a potential running source of water into its own self-standing protection during storms and inclement weather.

That wasn’t the only change going on though. When you start doing work on one part of the house, you tend to start looking at the other parts of the house and think “well, that looks like shit. I bet I could change that.” Which is what happened to me.

In order to do the gutters I had to hack down my grape vines and climbing roses off the garage trellis. This is the backyard spring clean up in progress.

In order to do the gutters I had to hack down my grape vines and climbing roses off the garage trellis. This is the backyard spring clean up in progress.

During install

And here’s during install. There was a lot going on. A lot of ladders. Still not done with the yard spring clean up. Sigh.

I already mentioned I had to do some landscaping. When the previous owners built the trellis and planted the grape vines, they also put a gutter on the garage roof (which you can see there in the photo hanging down a bit. I damaged it during my demo). I have three mature grapevines and a climbing rose bush that propagated itself so now there’s something like four of them along that back wall. I kind of let the vines do their thing for years and they were in some dire need of trimming and shaping. So I hacked them all down to what you see in the photo. It was several days of tiring hard work. It wasn’t just cutting them down. I had to cut each vine piece into a size that would fill a lawn bag. I’m already at ten lawn bags as of this writing and I’m sadly not done. I also had to rake out the leaves on the patio and the leaves on the memorial garden on the other side of the garage (my bittersweet nightshade is a monster that will not be tamed). I also had to beat back my Audrey III in the front yard. In the summer we let it the creeping jenny wind around the front porch and provide some serious shade but every few months I have to go out there and hack it down to size. Creeping jenny will go everywhere if you let it so I had to make sure it didn’t make it’s way down to the mailbox. Followers on my instagram saw my work in progress a while back as I tackled Audrey III. It worked out though since I needed to clear out the front anyway so they could put the gutters up on the porch.

I’m still not done yet though. Although the garden’s now coming along nicely and will be pretty damn sweet come the summer, I’m also tackling three more painting jobs. The dining room (actually the second half of the living room since it’s a double parlor) and the greenhouse/storage/exercise room, and my staircase into my apartment are also being painted. (Yellow, green, and multicolored, respectively). I might even do my own kitchen/sitting area too if I still have enough fucks to give by that point…. Yeah. Half a house later and I’m satisfied with the house. Until next year that is.

I know I’m not the only witch to deal with construction so here’s my tips on how to survive, witchy-style. This list will also work for those of you apartment dwellers who have landlords that drop in with a “hey, we’re going to be doing work on your place. Deal with it.”

  1. Be certain you know when they’re coming, going, and to have all your paperwork in order. Put a “notice me!” type spell on paperwork you’ll need (and some pens!) so you can locate it in the chaos to follow.
  2. Secure any breakables, expensive stuff, and well-liked things. Thievery isn’t unheard of. Put down some badass “do not touches” on stuff and some extra protection on things you want safe. Plus thieving spirits will get into everything since your protections will be moved around too.
  3. Get a box and put your witch shit in it. This depends on you but if you’re not out about your craft and you want them to not know of it, get a box and tuck the most damning stuff in it. Stick it in a closet somewhere. Put your altar in a second box by itself. I highly recommend, especially for long-term constructions, moving the altar to a room that won’t be touched or to empty out a drawer somewhere and put the altar in that. If you’re open about your craft and don’t mind people knowing (like me) then just make sure your witchy stuff isn’t going to get knocked over or trip anyone. (I’m looking at you, cauldron).
  4. Cleanse the house before anyone comes in. This gives you a baseline for finding out if anyone’s hauling in new stuff or any negative energy that might come in. Plus it’s nice to have a breather before the chaos. Also, clean. It’ll cut the clean up after the construction in half.
  5. Make sure the new parts of the house mesh well with the old parts of the house. Each house has its own personality and spirit. Some spirits are livelier than others so make sure the house knows what’s going on and what to expect. [UPG]
  6. Determine if your protection spells need to be altered, adjusted, or taken down. My home protections are layers upon layers. Most are designed to be “dropped” at a moment’s notice for reasons I won’t get into here. My household is made up of misanthropic hermit-hobbits so we have excessive protections to ward off… well, everybody. Most people don’t do that apparently so YMMV but you may need to put aside some protections for the mean time. If you do, remember to boost your personal protections and any protection spells for individual people or things that may need it.
  7. Cast a luck spell. Not only will this help things go smoothly but it may speed up the time of the construction or save you money. Do any other necessary spells before construction begins and plan any regular rituals you might hold around the construction if possible. If you do big spells or spells with lots of components, start making those things now and put them aside. (If you use an anointing oil for example, make that before you begin construction)
  8. Find the devices and items you use every day and enchant them with a “notice me!” spell. I do this for all my remotes as well as my cellphone but you might also find it useful for things like medication, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and so on.
  9. At the end of each construction day, take ten minutes to meditate and de-stress. Your home will be in chaos. Your home’s energy will be tossed around and feeling like crap. Find a corner of your house that is completely untouched by the chaos and go there. This might not be possible depending on the construction but try to find some place where you can have a moment.
  10. Keep your regularly scheduled woo and non-woo stuff on track. Do normal things. This will be one of the hardest things to do but it can be the most encouraging and supportive for you. Make your bed. It doesn’t matter if the entire family’s crashing on a mattress on the floor but the simple act of making the bed look neat will give a visual and mental reprieve from the chaos. Plus, you’ll have somewhere to sit and put stuff that you’ll need to find again in five minutes.
  11. Unfinished houses are in danger from spirits and woo the most. Protect them as much as you can. Try not to leave walls unpainted or spaces without where things can be tucked without your knowledge. Cleansing, divination, and knowing the energy of your place will help find anything amiss. [UPG]
  12. Enchant as you go. I placed charm bags in the walls of my flat when it was rebuilt. I use water or chalk to trace out protection symbols on walls and floors before they were finished. When painting, each coat has a new enchantment on it, depending on what my purpose is. If you’re a DIYer, definitely enchant as you go. Remember that blood is powerful but so is sweat and the energy you put into something.
  13. Determine if you’re setting up a permanent spell, a spell that will need to be maintained, or if it’s something that can be taken down when/if you move. For example, as mentioned many of my house protections can be dropped. Some of those protections are part of the house now and will never be taken down without someone going out of their way to do it intentionally, even if I moved. Layering protections like that can help but adding new bits to your home puts a discrepancy in between the protections. Make sure everything melds together smoothly when needed.
  14. Blessing your new space might be a thing you want to do. I tend to roll it into my protection rites and it’s less of a blessing more of a “Welcome to the Crossroad-Shire! We drink blood on Tuesdays and perform necromancy on Fridays. Pants are optional.” YMMV. (I’m kidding about the blood).
  15. Sweeping out the negative energy with the dust and dirt will be helpful. Expect to do this actively for a week after construction. Dust will be everywhere.

Here’s some non-witchy pro-tips for the construction-minded folks out there:

  • Always have a contingency money set aside in case something goes wrong. I personally recommend and go with half of whatever you’re paying to have done available or on hand. Excessive? Sure. But if you don’t need the money then it can be plopped right into a savings account or spent on something nice.
  • Many window companies will outright refuse to price windows individually or do only a few windows at a time. If you do have a company come out, see if they’re guarantee a price or do some windows at a time.
  • Avoid using companies that don’t do the work themselves. Trust me. You can bitch all you want to the place you ordered your fancy new door from but they won’t give a shit because it’s on the contractor they hired out and that contractor is magically not insured or just poofed from existence.
  • Rhode Island is one of the worst fucking states in the U.S. for construction. Hands down. We’re notorious for it. If you’re in the New England area, triple check any construction companies as they might be from Rhode Island.
  • Make duplicates of your paperwork and keep it ALL in one place. Ideally, this should be the place where all of your important paperwork is kept whether a safe, deposit box, filing cabinet, or a beat up box tucked under your desk.
  • Stock up on foods and drinks you don’t need a kitchen for. Even if your construction doesn’t take place on the same floor as the kitchen you may find yourself so stressed from dealing with the construction or people that you can’t be bothered to cook.
  • Secure your pets and children. This should be incredibly obvious but it needs repeating.
  • Buy an extra set of cables for your devices. There is literally nothing worse than misplacing your charging cable or was finding it in the sink under a pile of soaking dishes. This will invariably happen after the stores are closed in your area and your phone is at 10% battery.
  • Have at least one set of shoes tucked under your sleeping space. Shoes are some of the first things to be misplaced in the chaos of construction. Hide an all-purpose set of shoes in your car for extra protection.

Now, here’s an unpaid promo. I cannot recommend enough Power Home Remodeling Group. They’ve always been polite, clean, and friendly. Always professional, enthusiastic, on time, and on top of their paperwork, they have excellent customer service. Plus the work they’ve done so far has been amazing. They’re the people we’re going through for all our windows, the gutters, and whatever else we can use them for. So if you need windows, doors, or gutters and you’re in their area, I’d use them.

I bought an online reading. Now what?

Sit back and relax! Within a few days you’ll receive your reading via email or etsy conversation.

When a reading is purchased online, I review the request and schedule a time to do your reading. Sometimes this is immediate and other times it may be a day or two after the purchase is made. An average day for me will be described in a later post but essentially, my work is just like everyone else’s work. I sit down at my reading table with a cup of coffee or tea and set to work.

The first thing I do is consider your order’s requests and unique circumstances. You can also request a specific deck if you want (etsy even has the option to select the deck when you place the order) but if a deck isn’t selected I’ll pick one out. Sometimes a deck is chosen because of the nature of the reading or even the personality of the client. Other times I’ll use whatever deck “feels” enthusiastic for the specific reading. If you’re a repeat client, you may find a deck used numerous times with your readings. Some decks prefer certain clients and will produce better results because of this.

When I read for my clients, I think of the person who made the request. Sometimes I only have a name or pseudonym to go by and other times I have information such as birthdays or pictures. My readings don’t seem to lack with however much or little information is given so give however much information you’re conformable with. The more information simply allows me to put the cards in a more specific context. When I physically read, I take a second to clear my mind then I shuffle the cards thinking of you, your situation, and the specific questions to be answered. I shuffle until it feels right to stop and then lay the cards out.

I’ll look at the cards and make a perfunctory reading. This preliminary step usually includes any feelings I get or general keyword meanings the cards provide. Sometimes the cards speak easily and this first step goes into all the details that are included in the full reading. Other times the cards need to be parsed for specific details and connections. Think of this as taking notes. This is a “quick answer” and is the first impression I have with the cards drawn.

Usually I’ll take photos between the drawing the cards and finishing the reading. This is because when I read I tend to pick up the cards and study how they work together and how they speak to the situation being asked about. Putting them back is never as pretty as when the cards are first laid out so the pictures are taken before this step. For each reading, I tend to take three to four times as many photos as the amount you receive and pick through the best of them to send to you.

I’ll go through the reading, fleshing it out with the information the cards give me and any psychic impressions and tidbits I’ve gathered intuitively, completing the reading in depth. While you may recognize a common meaning of a card, each reader interprets that differently with every reading and situation, the information the reading gives you isn’t going to be quite “by the book”. This is a good thing! If a by-the-book answer is what you were looking for, then you wouldn’t need a reading! Then I go through to make sure I didn’t miss any details and fill out the “format” for my readings. (For example, writing the introduction greeting and salutation is done at the end.) The file is saved on a secured cloud server in a folder dedicated to you.

I’ll then go through and edit the photos of your reading. Editing the photos is usually a simple process. I crop the photos down, adjust the lighting and contrast to make the colors pop while staying true to the cards, and add in a watermark. Then I’ll pick my favorite ones and save the files as .jpgs in the cloud folder, labelling them accordingly.

Finally, I’ll send you a copy of the reading and the photos through etsy convo or email and mark the order complete. If you request the reading to be sent though email and you placed the order through etsy, you’ll receive a second copy of the reading through convo (unless requested otherwise). I can and sometimes do make the reading into a .PDF on request.

That’s it! Sometimes the process is switched up depending on the situation as each and every order is unique and different but that’s generally what happens. Seems like a simple process but it can take several hours depending on the size of the reading to complete. I highly prefer that my readings are done in one sitting so finding the time to properly sit down and read the cards may be challenging (who doesn’t have a busy life these days right!?) but worth it in the end. I hope to have sample readings up soon for everyone to explore.

When you receive your reading, keep an open mind while reading it as some of the information may be hard to face truths or advice. It is up to you to put the information in the reading to use and in context. Sometimes the reading involves seeing the future or future events that haven’t occurred yet. I’d recommend putting the reading away and going back to it at a later date then. Since we make our own choices and our lives aren’t written to any great extent, your future can change from what’s been foretold because of the choices you’ve made! Usually this affects the timing of when events will occur but sometimes it will render foretold events moot. If I see that this may happen, I’ll say as much. You may also find there are times where you aren’t asking the right questions or have a reading that doesn’t reveal much information. This is because you’re at a crossroads of a sort – a decision must be made to proceed. If I see this in your cards, I’ll say as much. I may be able to parse out the details or the right questions to be asking.

I’m perfectly happy to discuss my reading process so feel free to ask questions! I’ll be happy to answer if I can!

Aggression cleansed at the crossroads

I glance at my phone in surprise because the person calling can’t have left my house more than a minute ago, if that. I answer with a smile in my voice, thinking they had forgotten something. Instead I get this:

“When I was coming out of your house and passed through the gate is slammed a bunch of times and I heard footsteps follow behind me to my car. Then I saw a face in the mirror standing outside my car by the headlights.”

I pause, taking it in. “I’m sorry.” I say immediately because it is a serious issue for a guest to be harassed when leaving my home. I may live on the crossroads but my guests should always feel safe coming to my home.

“Don’t apologize. I just thought you should know.”

I swallow down a second apology and after a few more minutes we end the conversation. I glance towards my window and extended my senses. Yes, something was there, something new that hadn’t been there this afternoon when I dealt with a different, friendly spirit that afternoon. This new thing was aggressive, tumultuous and dark, filled with a confusion of emotions. Not one of mine.

My brother and I are both practitioners. Both of us are mediums and channel spirits at will, we both see them and sense them as naturally as breathing. I have always preferred the non-human spirits but my brother’s craft is that of a necromancer. He works almost exclusively with the dead. Our home is located at the top of hill between two crossroads, one of which is a corpse road. We live directly behind a funeral home and down the street from a swamp. Since we both share a household we split the duties of dual crossroad keepers. I care for the non-humans and tend to the cleansing of the crossroads and keeping the household wards, as well as serving as seer and vigil as needed. He keeps the human spirits, of which we have a great many passing through and serves as backup and exorcist when needed. It suits us and our practices.

Since this aggressive spirit wasn’t one of mine, I climbed up the stairs and tapped on his door. “Test the boundaries.”

“What?”

I repeated my friend’s story to him. He sighs and has me fetch out his equipment since I was closer. He shifts around his violin and murmurs to himself, checking. He sighs again.

“It’s one of yours, isn’t it?” I asked. “We can’t have it attacking guests. That’s just rude.”

“I don’t know. I think some of my friends could use a spiritual kick in the ass.”

I laugh, because he’s not wrong. We negotiate a price for him taking care of the problem I noticed (rather than me doing it myself) and he gets ready to go cleanse the crossroads and chase the spirit away while I set about doing the dishes. The spirit was being tricky. It kept moving between the front and back of the house, causing my brother to have to cross the house twice to find it. During that time, I dropped my active barriers, offering one room of my house as refuge for the spirits that would be cleansed from the crossroads.  I felt the house flood with new energy but the spirit my brother hunted was too distracted to take advantage. Other spirits didn’t take up the offer, including the one spirit I warned my brother against sending away.

Finally my brother stepped outside. I felt him issue a spiritual challenge of sorts followed by a dull response. Then two pulses of energy and the crossroads were cleared. My brother came in and announced it was done. I nodded, thanked him, and we set about making dinner.

A while later I returned to my flat downstairs. Many spirits had slipped back through the hole in the wards to return to the crossroads, to go about their business now that we’re not interrupting them. Others hid. I bent over and glanced under my bed where a small, fat spirit with a large face quivered, just under the blankets.

“Is he gone?” The spirit asks.

I smile kindly, voice soft, non-threatening, and very fond. “Yes he’s done. He’s not that scary. We just needed to get rid of that aggressive guy.”

The spirit understands and I straighten as the spirit comes out. Others move from corners and make their presence fully known. The room plunges into the cold but I ignore it and turn towards the affected crossroad.

“Hm, he did empty it, didn’t he?” I reached out and pushed my energy out towards the crossroad. The cold, empty feeling of the crossroad warms significantly and the spirits begin to move towards it, pleased. No one thanks me but the feeling of gratitude is there. I didn’t expect anything else. The crossroad’s reset and now it’s filled with energy and life, the way it should be.

“You really are a good [redacted].”

I whip around as a different spirit than I expected stood behind me. It was of the same class, so to speak, as the one from this afternoon and the one I told my brother not to cleanse. I drew myself up and nodded.

“I do my best.”

“It’s good enough.” It says and moves towards the busy crossroad. There was a finality to its voice, a hint that I was examined and passed a test, even if I didn’t personally cleanse the crossroads. This was going to be a new thing, clearly. This class of spirits has taken an interest in me. Internally I sighed and sit down to eat my pizza.

[Another episode of living at the crossroads. Commentary paraphrased and certain names and titles redacted but the events and essence of conversation was real.]