The Archetypal Tarot Podcast Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quakenbush

Your Archetypal Tarot Podcast Host, Cyndera Quackenbush here!
After spending decades with the Tarot, I find myself still tapping all their mysteries and layers of interpretation. Here and there, the Lenormand started to tap at my window and I got curious what this divination system was all about.
I got my first Lenormand deck years ago, and drew my first card (a practice I later learned was not suited to Lenormand readings). What card did I get? The Coffin. Not long after that the pandemic began. Life (and death) happened…

 


It wasn’t until I came across Lenormand expert Erika Robinson, that I was introduced properly to this method and how it could be used for readings.
This podcast unveils Lenormand for all listeners and Erika even gives me a reading on the show! Her warmth and clarity is stunning.
Here are a few of my takeaways from our conversation:

As the title of Erika’s book suggests, Lenormand can be seen as a language of divination. The way the cards work together in a spread is like interpreting a sentence, or (my favorite thing) telling a story that speaks to your question. Who better than Erika, long-time English teacher and writer, to break this down for us?


Cards are rarely picked for 1-card readings. Cards are best interpreted in relationship to each other in a spread.


There is a beautiful simplicity inherent in the Lenormand. Meanings can be memorized and fortunes told even with a regular deck of playing cards.


Erika is just a wonderful person - fun to chat and connect with! Her reading was insightful and dead on.

Check out Erika’s latest publication, The Language of Lenormand and her beautiful deck, Lenormand of Hope:

 



Thank you Erika for coming onto the Archetypal Tarot Podcast!

This delightful dialogue with Kara Simons introduces her new book You Belong Here: A Story of Otherworldly Help in Finding My Place, which will launch its Kickstarter campaign on May 7th.
Kara recounts her journey of breaking away from a restrictive and damaging belief system rooted in Mormon theology. Her experience of being torn away from deep family connections at a young age paved her path toward a direct connection with the other world. She found guidance from the forces and animals of nature, which lead to the creation of her Prairie Majesty Oracle and Song of the Grandmothers.
Kara is a mother of 3 and a practicing lawyer too, so you get a well-grounded and practical perspective that is rare in the spiritual canon. Have you ever felt you might need a spiritual lawyer to come and draw up some contracts for greater self-awareness and boundary setting? With Kara’s guided questions at the end of each section of her book, search no further!
This autobiographical book is not just a beautiful read but a gateway of encouragement and allowance for each person’s deeper access to spirit. Please join the Archetypal Tarot Podcast in celebrating the bravery of Kara’s work - you can sign up to receive updates at the following link:
https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/46e707e0-76b3-4db2-8993-607cbd3d7eeb/landing

For the Archetypal Tarot Podcast’s special Women’s History Month edition of the podcast, we’re featuring the art and interview of Rachel Phillips!
Though her work doesn’t (yet) appear in the form of tarot decks or grimoires, Rachel’s creations tap into the communicative powers of photo manipulation and the magic that such manipulation has on our own reflections of time, ancestry and the journey of women as both the viewer and viewed.
Rounding out the end of last year, Cyndera had the chance to go and visit Rachel’s exhibition Holding Time, Tracing Light held at San Francisco State University’s School of Art and Design. 

Cyndera at the life-size Ghost Light Theater Projection! She had so much fun playing with shadows and pretending to be part of the art!
 


Cyndera had originally been drawn to Rachel’s artistry in the form of her collection called Divinations.
In the 1860s, Cabinet Cards were all the rage. Having your photograph taken more frequently (not just once or twice a year) allowed for the introduction of photography to the modern world. These pictures on stiff cardboard, often lost the names of the person’s portrait over time, holding just the company of the photographer. In Rachel’s transfer print play, she brings to life once again the faces of the past while dreaming into their “divination” method dictated by imaginative shadows and images:

 


Divination by Celestial Bodies, 2014

 


Divination by Cards, 2014

 


Divination by Sharp Object, 2016
Well, that was an appropriate year for sharp objects, as it turned out, so we are convinced Rachel’s intuition via art work is spot on!
To see Rachel’s full body of work online, visit https://treadwellpress.com/
Stay tuned for the Archetypal Tarot Podcast release of the video for paid subscribers on Substack, where you can catch a glimpse of Rachel Phillips herself, along with her incredible Ghost Light Theater alit in the background!
Also, a very happy birthday to Rachel this month, we're so glad she was born!

Archetypal Tarot is thrilled to release this latest podcast with guest Dr. Giavanni Washington about her new oracle deck, The Black Goddess Within. It was inspiring to meet a woman who has followed her ancestral wisdom and is blazing a powerful path of healing through conversation and connection through the imagery and words of her oracle.
This deck, for Every Body, features photographs of real woman embodying the goddesses of Africa in its many territories and elements (beautifully bedecked by illustrator Marla Warner). Meet stunning mermaids in the deck along with warriors, healers and other divinities of different ages, body types, abilities, skin tones and gender expressions. 
The deck links the Black body to her storied, ancestral and mythology past in the roots of Africa. Past and present are bridged offering specific healing to Black women in particular, and any who wish to welcome the deep expressions of these goddesses within their modern lives.
This deck welcomes and challenges us to see beyond the veils of a white-valued society to the many-faceted aspects of Black Beauty, Black Divinity and Black Joy.
Many thanks to Dr. Giavanni for joining the Archetypal Tarot Podcast 3 You can find out more on her website and even draw a card online!

The Chinese 5 Elements Oracle is a deck to accompany you in the adventure that is and will be 2024, and also in the new cycle we find ourselves according to Chinese Metaphysics. 2024 launches “the Age of 9” which is the last cycle of the 180-year great cycle of the Nine Periods. It is said to bring back a rise in Yin Energy, ruled by the Fire trigram Li which is associated with spirituality and middle aged women (never been so excited to turn 40 this year!!)
The Lunar New Year itself will welcome the Wood Dragon. We met with Vicki Iskandar, creator of The Chinese Five Elements Oracle, in this podcast to discuss what we can expect from this cycle and symbolism.
Surprisingly, Vicki’s words on this card and cycle were all about joy.
In 2024, we find ourselves in an election year, not just in the United States, but with over 50 countries deciding between authoritarian and democratic leaders.
Already we see divisiveness and tension playing out with over 110 armed conflicts through out the world - how can we possibly participate and cultivate joy?

"Joy, associated with Fire element, is the key to raising our frequency. This is especially critical in the Age of 9… As the world becomes more divided, those who are able to cultivate inner joy will be the ones who’ll keep moving up on the path to bring light to others; fear and negativity may push others to spiral downward."
~Vicki Iskander
Many of the messages within The Chinese Five Elements Oracle are designed lovingly to stoke your inner joy. From the messages of Heaven and Earth to the charming illustrations provided by Candice Soon, you are sure to find that special spark that is uniquely your own joy.
Happy 2024! Happy Lunar New Year! Happy Age of 9 to you!
To glimpse imagery from this glorious deck in the Video Interview, along with other perks, please become a paid subscriber on Substack!

If you were to walk a Tarot path and see each familiar card, Major and Minor, with a recognizable human face, you will have stumbled onto the Unfolding Path universe!
In this interview, Athene and Cyndera discuss spiritual belief and creation as well as how she makes the tarot images tangible and relatable in an intuitive way. Athene shares her journey with us, which in turn becomes a tool that can welcome communication with the beyond to inform our own paths.
The imagery included in this deck features animals, plants, and a cast of modern and diverse people—all with a mystical touch. Each suit is represented by a different color palette while characters of varying color, size, ability, and age create a beautiful community. This 78-card deck and guidebook is the perfect compass for those seeking self-discovery.
ATHENE NOCTUA is the artist and creator behind several oracle and tarot card decks. Her creative process is deeply meditative and forms a key pillar of her spiritual practice. Placing herself at the service of Spirit, she works to create divination tools that open a channel of communication between us and the Divine. Living deep in the English countryside on a renovated canal barge, her art is inspired by the energies and cycles of life in the natural environment around her.
For the Video version of this podcast, subscribe to https://archetypalstories.substack.com/