Blog
The Calendar of the Trees
Did you know that the trees once had their own language? Ogham (pronounced 'OH-am') is a set of angular letters representing twenty trees. Also known as the Celtic Tree Alphabet or Celtic Runes, it was in use from the fourth to the seventh centuries CE; today, it...
Nature’s Hidden Charms: In the Press
This gorgeous article comes from Planet Mindful (Nov/Dec 2021). I love that the magazine took an extract from Nature's Hidden Charms, and selected some natural charms to illustrate, too.
Talking to Herbs – A Charm for Healing
In Nature's Hidden Charms, I talk about the Anglo Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, a tenth-century remedy against infection and poison. If you like a bit of specificity, here's the list of ingredients - which were made into a paste using the juice of the crab-apple and old...
Making Magic with the Seven of Cups
I do love this Seven: a mysterious figure conjuring seven chalices from a cloud. This, Tarotistas, is the card of fantasy, imagination, self-delusion and distraction. And the mystery man, seen only in silhouette, presents all manner of beguiling things - from a cupful...
Astro-Tarot: The Magician and a Nursery Rhyme
Were you born on a Wednesday? You’re not full of woe… you’re full of magic
The Devil and Beyond
We know the drill: the Devil equals temptation, lust, affairs, addiction, abuse, debt, control issues, material entrapment; contracts with the self or with others, all of which are unfulfilling. In readings, it’s tempting to see the Devil’s enchantment as external,...
The Real Ghost Voice
Hearing your own voice in nature – and being hijacked by public service announcements
The J Word: Getting Justice
Justice’s sword is perfectly upright, the scales of balance exactly level, which gives a visual right angle and a handy metaphor: the right angle, or outcome.
Major to Minor: Surprising Relations
When writing The Ultimate Guide to Tarot, I included in each major arcana profile a subheading, ‘Reflections’ – a list of minor arcana cards that echo the meaning of the major: Death’s reflection in the Ten of Swords. The Devil in the Eight of Swords (you get the...
Season 8 Episodes 3 vs 8: In Cards
It's taken me many moons to process the mid-to-final episodes of Game of Thrones. Back in early May, I was teaching tarot in Australia when that cinematic masterpiece, 'The Long Night' aired; we'd rented a beachside studio in Perth, brought along a projector and,...
Season 8 Episode 2: In Cards
Episode 2 - what a battle warm-up! Here's a recap of some of the storylines, told via our Game of Thrones Tarot. 'Arise, Ser Brienne'. As GoT Tarot artist Craig Coss says, 'We always knew she was a knight.' Here's how Craig depicted Brienne as Knight of Coins: loyal,...
Season 8 Episode 1: In Cards
Bran and Jaime, Samwell and Dany, and the truth… all in the cards.
Double-Decking: Tarot Overlays
In the latter days of our Game of Thrones Tarot project, artist Craig Coss sent me a hand-cut deck before publication. Which meant I could get reading right away (after I did my ecstatic dance and phoned everyone, that is). Since then, December 2016, I’ve been reading...
Fate on a Plate: The Pizza Readings
There’s a woman standing on stage in a small, dark theatre in London. With a flourish, she holds up a Kellogg’s cornflake box, and rips it to pieces (luckily, no cornflakes inside). She looks at the debris and asks for a volunteer. A million hands go up – this is The...
Shadow Messages: The Magpie Rhyme and the Minor Arcana
In Game of Thrones, Bran Stark sees the Three-Eyed Raven in a vision-dream, which leads him to discover his future identity; visitations from the Raven trigger revelations of the past, present and future. The bird as cosmic messenger goes back to ancient Roman...
Dropping the Virtues
Re-read your cards without the virtues, and reconnect that narrative…
What’s with the Tarot Kings?
I love getting reader questions. Michael recently asked me about the elemental association of the tarot’s four Kings. (Each King takes the element of his rank and the element of his suit, which give us clues about his character.) Michael had been discussing...
On the Clock: Finding the Magic Hour
Welcome to my Magic Hour. It’s 10.40am on a bright morning by the sea in Sunderland. From 10.30am to around 11.30am every morning, I feel a shift in energy – an opening up of possibilities, a creative surge. (Here I am, writing!) It’s the hour of the day that holds...
Tarot on a Plate: The Deconstructed Reading
Deconstruct your reading like a Masterchef pro, and find that magical third space…
When the Lyrics Get You: The Led Zep Spread
When you can’t get lyrics out of your head…and you have to make a tarot spread
Hitting the Target: Tarot Shots
Hitting the Target: Tarot Shots Last week I went to an air rifle range. Yes, me. Uncomfortable with speed as I am – I have an aversion to jet skis and even riding a bike downhill – I found myself agreeing with the Prof that it might be ‘a laugh’. Me, the Prof, a...
Angel of the North I Salute You
Picture Credit: Owen Humphreys, PA/Telegraph Online Angel of the North I Salute You Towering over Gateshead, the Angel of the North looks over the roads and train tracks that lead to the heart of Tyneside. Owen Humphrey’s amazing photograph of our steel...
Why I Love Game of Thrones Tarot LOVERS
Why I Love Game of Thrones Tarot LOVERS Today, when a US journalist asked, ‘What’s your favourite card in the whole Game of Thrones tarot deck?’ I was momentarily stumped. ‘Favourite’ has a load of connotations for me, as in which baby out of all the cards...
Oh, Solitaire
Oh, Solitaire… ‘A man comes. He travels over water. He brings violence and destruction.’ Remember that reading from Solitaire, tarot-reader extraordinaire, in Live and Let Die? I’ve never forgotten it. The film had voodoo, an evil drug lord, tropical...
Fretting!
Fretting! Today we have a sea fret! Since moving to the north-east coast three months ago, I’ve heard dark mutterings of ‘frets’ – thick, spooky fog that comes right off the water and gets you imagining bad-tempered sea gods and the like. The Fret’s a...
Discovering the Origins of the Tarot: Saturnalia
The Duke’s Tarot Inheritance: Saturnalia The Tarot’s ‘characters probably evolved from the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which took place around Christmas time each year. This is also the principal theory of the often-quoted librarian and Tarot researcher Gertrude...
Discovering the Origins of the Tarot: The Ghosts of the Visconti
Discovering the Tarot’s Origins: The Ghosts of the Viscontis While there’s much debate on the origins of the cards - and many accusations from the church that they were ‘the devil’s picture-book’ - most evidence points to the cards’ early origins in Italy...
Three Powerful Ways to Read Your Tarot Cards
Three Powerful Ways to Read Your Tarot Cards Try to work directly with the cards rather than sit with a guidebook next to you. The reason for this is that to read tarot, we need intuition and creativity (a right-brain function, the sphere associated with...