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Between the 17th and 19th centuries, many Indigenous Americans and people of African descent intermarried and socialized more often than is acknowledged by mainstream history books and scholars. These interactions produced not only a multicultural people but also a body of knowledge that is known today as Hoodoo or Rootwork. Celebrating the complex American Rootwork tradition, The Hoodoo Tarot integrates esoteric and botanical knowledge from Hoodoo with the divination system of the Tarot. Structured like a traditional Tarot deck, each of the 78 cards features full-color paintings by magical-realist artist Katelan Foisy and elegantly interprets the classical Tarot imagery through depictions of legendary rootworkers past and present as well as important Hoodoo symbolism. In the accompanying guidebook, Tayannah Lee McQuillar provides a history of Hoodoo and its complex heritage, including its roots in multiple African and Indigenous American ethnic groups as well as its European influences. She explores the traditional forms of divination used by rootworkers, including cartomancy, explaining how pairing the Tarot with Hoodoo is a natural fit. For each card in the Major Arcana and the four suits of the Minor Arcana (sticks, baskets, needles, and knives), McQuillar provides an in-depth card meaning that draws on both Tarot and Hoodoo tradition. She shares the history of the rootworker or symbol featured, any associated magical plants, a related scriptural quote, and guidance and advice based on the card's meaning. She also offers instructions on card spreads and shares sample card readings. Offering a divination system rooted in the Indigenous and African experience in North America, The Hoodoo Tarot provides a hands-on way to honor and explore the magic of Hoodoo for personal growth and spiritual inspiration.… (more)
User reviews
I also like how it’s Black. When I first got into paganism and esotericism, for me it was much about “the lily-white maid of Astolat” and all that stuff that I didn’t realize could be Southern as well as Ancient British. Really I was /that/ Pagan Romantic and I didn’t like anything that wasn’t Pagan and British, which made me unsure about tarot for a while after I started to grow out of that. So this Black Southern Christian Tarot was perfect for me to get back into esotericism.
I really should make a point of studying those plants. I also really liked the Black historical esotericists who make up the Major Arcana and I liked reading about them. I guess the one part I found kinda funny was how she makes the Moon card masculine and the Sun card feminine. I know that some cultures do this and so it’s possible and occasionally done, but it’s goofy for me because I think that femininity is the more secretive one. I guess as a Black Intellectual you have to feel called to alternative consciousness. I did agree, though, that it is possible for there to be a Moon man and a Sun woman because these things overlap; I just don’t think that Moon man is the masculine man.
And certainly it bears mentioning that I did the ancestor reading spread described in the book and it worked well for me, although my ancestors are all white, mostly Anglo-Irish.
So it’s greatly great.
N.B. And Miss Ida’s plant, Jersey tea, grows up north here! It’s even named after my own state! And I always love that High Priestess energy; girlie guards the mysteries. ^^