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Symbols, both ancient and contemporary, can be a treasure trove for creating fresh divination positions for layouts. Even symbolic shapes have informed tried-and-true spreads; the Celtic Cross and Horseshoe Spreads spring to mind.

I've been doing a monthly podcast for over seven years now. It's the same thing over and over. GRIN! Well maybe it changes a bit. I pull a card for each sign of the Zodiac to offer my interpretation of the upcoming month. Recently I've added a card of the month as well.

When your doubts overwhelm
When you act out your fears
When failure drags you down
Call on Magni, son of Thor

Tarot and magic is an interesting subject. It's also a fairly old one or so I am led to believe. I wanted to share another super simple spell that can be done at the new moon. September's new moon is on the 24th (or 23rd depending on your time zone).

In my practice, I was taught that the New Moon esbats were a time for doing healing work. Sometimes we had a bowl for names of those we were doing work for. Other times we simply spoke their name into the Circle. New Moons were one of my favorite esbats with my training coven because they were a quieter working.

Using Tarot in a New Moon esbat for healing is not a precise science. There are 78 choices after all. And let's not get started on the number of combinations.

When I was a solitary practitioner, I rarely thought of the gods beyond “which one would be right to invoke for this spell?” In hindsight, this was pretty selfish and a ridiculous way for me to treat deity. We don’t make demands of our gods… and when we do, we usually reap a quick and brutal lesson to not do THAT again. Fortunately, the gods that I invoked, summoned, and stirred were kind to me when I was new to the Craft and I didn’t have to learn a harsh lesson.

Earlier this year the Chrysalis Tarot by Toney Brooks and Holly Sierra made its way to #1 on my must have list. I had been following the creation of this deck on facebook and checking in regularly with Toney's blog. Not long after I wrote my must have post I finally got a copy of this gorgeous deck in my hands.

Holly Serria the artist for this deck went above and beyond with the packaging. Everything about the packaging was done with the consumer in mind. The littlest details made a huge impact as I unwrapped each layer. It did not surprise me at all to find out how quickly the first release of this deck through U.S Games sold out.

There are so many legends about wishes in our culture. Which one of us has not make a secret wish on our birthday candles?  Who hasn’t wished on the first evening star?

So often, these are the first spells we cast as children.