balm in gilead

From Aunt Caroline Dye to Memphis Minnie, playing card divination is among the most enduring spiritual practices among Black Americans.

Yet there are few guides to learning the practice. Those that exist were written by those outside the tradition, contain information of poor quality and, most importantly, are not by playing card diviners.

Playing Card Divination: An Ancestral Introduction is a guide to the fifty-four cards through a Hoodoo lens. Written by a rootworker and diviner with twenty-five years of experience, the book is a practical, tactile starting place for those learning to read playing cards for themselves and others.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners was a beautiful reintroduction to divination in Hoodoo for many Black Americans. It coincided with the growth of cultural interest in African Traditional Religions and African Diasporic Religions, from #HoodooTok and #BlackWitchtok, to recent books about Hoodoo and conjure that have been able to jump from communities of practice to mainstream success.

Playing card divination is a source of empowerment and protection in a world that doesn’t value Black life or Black spirits. Learning to read playing cards can offer connection to our ancestors, protection in an unjust world, clarity of mind, and a personal connection to Black religious lineages.

Playing Card Divination: An Ancestral Introduction seeks to deepen the understanding of card reading within Hoodoo for those new to the tradition, and to those looking to expand their skills as a diviner. With a mix of history, card meanings, and actionable tactics for telling the future, readers can expect to come away with a grasp of how to read the cards effectively.

Playing Card Divination: An Ancestral Introduction is a companion to those learning to read playing cards that makes information simple and accessible without sacrificing praxis and accuracy.

Nervines: Resource Your Intuition in These Dangerous Times—A 36 page full-color introduction to the world of nervine herbs through the lens of earth solidarity.

Read an Excerpt here: https://blackmedicineblackmagic.substack.com/p/resource-your-intuition-in-these

Plants Against the Patriarchy: Invoking the Magical Allyship of Plants Descriptions of many species of plants and their applications, specifically in the way they help deal with our capitalist society's toxic masculinity-driven culture. It includes simple yet beautiful art from iris mae misciagna for all the various plants. From sunflowers to lemon balm, this zine is for y'all looking for a fun read with some attitude or the medicinal remedy for those douche-bags down the street.

Tarot isn’t just for divination—it’s also a great way to connect to your creativity. Discover how tarot can help you stay inspired and make your best work with this practical guidebook. For modern mystics of any level—from the seasoned cartomancer to the total novice—Tarot for Creativity offers a fresh take on the rich tradition of the tarot. In this unique and practical guide, tarot reader and life coach Chelsey Pippin Mizzi explores each of the standard 78 tarot cards and provides an accessible explanation of how their symbols and archetypes relate to creativity, four prompts to encourage creative experimentation and self-discovery, and a spread to help you integrate each card's message into your work.

When this book was first published nearly 40 years ago, it became an instant classic and inspired a whole generation of tarot students. Rather than merely providing a catalogue of esoteric symbolism, this book offers a modern psychological interpretation of the symbols on each card, drawing on mythology and the long history and tradition of tarot to give each symbol more specific and thorough meanings. Including a concise history of tarot, an introduction to common varieties of tarot cards, and offering an endlessly useful reference point for beginning and advanced tarot students alike, Seventy-Eight Degrees to Wisdom has been called the 'bible of tarot books' with good reason. (Medium Discount)

The Saturn Return Survival Guide is the perfect companion for those seeking guidance as they enter this turbulent time. Every 27 to 29 years, Saturn returns to the sign it was in when you were born - a cycle called the Saturn return. During this phase, you will typically break down in order to rebuild, and question everything from your career to the past to relationships and even finances. It's a time of deep reflection, turmoil and self-doubt. But after Saturn passes into a new sign, you will also experience great clarity and calm as you enter into a new chapter of your life. Understanding this cosmic rite of passage can help you to advance into your next stage of adulthood and the Saturn Return Survival Guide is the definitive guide to navigating this turbulent time.

Rituals are among the most powerful tools we have to create meaning and cultivate wellbeing in our lives. In Rituals for Life, you can learn to live a more intentional life, enriched by your connection with nature. The book explores the essential components of ritual and how to use them to bring happiness and inner peace into your every day life. Includes instructions for thirty rituals, some for every day and others for specific moments and occasions, that you can adapt for your own needs, as well as an exploration of the roots and purposes of ritual. Beautifully illustrated by Luisa Rivera, this inspiring book is a guide more authentic and soulful way of living.

Addressing the intensified climate crisis and social chaos, this book explores how nature-based spiritual practices can aid in saving the planet. It combines Indigenous, African Diaspora, and Pagan traditions from around the world, including Maori, Taoism, and Tuvan Shamanism, among others. The book emphasizes the spiritual disconnection between humans and the environment as a root cause of these issues. It offers guidance on celebrating ancestors, exploring the astral plane, practicing energy healing, and adopting sustainable lifestyles to enhance our connection with nature and foster a more balanced and awakened humanity. This book may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.

Hetero and cisnormativity is pervasive - often far more pervasive than we care to admit. This book throws that out the window when looking at how to read tarot - providing practitioners with a guide to reading tarot in a way that speaks to them.

Discover the real you with Moon Signs - the ultimate guide to life's emotional journey.Your sun sign, or star sign, dictates the brushstrokes of your personality, your outer self. However, your moon sign reflects the cauldron of emotions, fears, anxieties, longings and obsessions bubbling below the surface – your true, inner self.This fun and approachable guide shows you how to read and interpret your lunar journey, with chapters detailing strengths and weaknesses, love and compatibility, rituals to harness the power of each moon sign.By tracing the moon's journey through your birth chart, you can begin a reflective, inner exploratory journey towards astrological self-discovery and self-empowerment.

This beautifully illustrated, soothing guide invites readers to explore the world of dreams through a collection of bedtime rituals, dream symbols, and intuitive practices. Unlock the powerful wisdom of dreams. This enchanting book teaches readers to listen to the wisdom of their unconscious mind and tap into their innermost desires through the art of intuitive dream interpretation. The book provides a range of rituals—energy practices, crystal work, affirmations, and more—to prepare the dreamer for slumber, promote peaceful sleep, and enhance dream recall. An A to Z guide decodes 40 common dream symbols and scenarios. Packed with beautiful, ethereal artwork and essential wisdom on the history, traditions, and techniques of dream interpretation, LUMINOUS DREAMS is an essential bedside companion for modern mystics, meditation enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to discover the hidden power of dreams.

Inspired by a vintage book, this delightful guide deciphers dreams to predict the future. It compiles over 1,000 dream symbols and reveals what they portend for the dreamer. This gilded, faux-leather book is irresistible to pick up; its content is so compelling, it's impossible to put down.

Everyday Plant Magic is a modern guide to enhancing your life through the magical energy of nature, from choosing the right plant for your spiritual needs to understanding where best to place it and how to harness its power. Featuring 45 plant profiles, which will showcase each plant’s magical properties, from healing to stimulating and purifying to energising, learn how they can be used to cleanse a space of bad energy or added to a potion to help calm the mind. Also discover how their placement in the home can enhance magical energies like prosperity, good health, success and relationships. Feng shui tips, along with a highlight on crystal companions for harnessing additional magical energies from nature, are also included.

Find gravitational stability and embrace your natural radiance with this intergalactic guide to self-care. Cosmic Care brings readers on a dreamy journey through space to reveal tips that will help them unlock their inner glow. Featuring the visionary art and signature style of Robin Eisenberg, Cosmic Care is an escape into a vivid, immersive universe that’s simultaneously familiar, relatable, and out of this world. Filled with vibrant illustrations and never-before-seen art, Cosmic Care offers feel-good advice to relax, find peace, stop and smell the bioluminescent flora, and bring out your stellar luminosity. • Pairs bite-size pieces of advice with vibrant illustrations • Blends the earthly and the extraterrestrial • Offers a unique take on traditional self-care The formation of a star begins with gravitational instability, but with a little cosmic care, it evolves into a luminous celestial object—and you can, too.

This book is about learning to reimagine your past, working with the stories available at your disposal. Working with these narratives, to maybe help you better understand your own unconscious cultural beliefs and analyzing how they may, can, or don't serve you.