Now in the shop: L’Étoile! Do you see the Star? Egyptomania was rampant in occult circles of the 18th and 19th centuries. This Star Card is adapted from Les XXII Lames Hermètiques du Tarot Divinatoire (1896) by R. Falconnier, illustrated by M.O. Wegener, son of the Swedish-born French photographer, Otto Wegener. Now that the Tower…
Tag: occult
Fundraiser: Occulture
Thanks to the monumental skills of Stephanie the Queen of Everything, I now have a Threadless store with merch to sell! First up a LIMITED TIME OFFER for fundraising TOUR MERCH to help pay my way to Berlin for Occulture where I will be spreading the gospel of Leonora Carrington, of course! You can get…
CFP: Divination, Witchcraft, and The Occult
Call for PresentationsDivination, Witchcraft & the Occult *SPECIAL TOPIC*Popular Culture Association Conference8-11 April 2026Atlanta, GA, US The broad interest in divination, witchcraft, and the occult has been part of popular culture for centuries. Scholars’ discomfort with the topic is often palpable: they tend to focus on intersections that feel more legitimate, e.g. legal ramifications (laws…
Review: The Conjure Man Dies
Rudolph Fisher’s 1932 novel The Conjure Man Dies evokes both the Harlem Renaissance and Golden Age mysteries as well as embodying in important ways the more authentic voice of the streets that Dashiell Hammett had begun to make sing. Of course Fisher’s voice remains distinct from all of these: a polymath who studied to be…
Recent Reads
I have been diving into eighteenth century France for some reason (…circumspice) and my reading has veering into the historical, albeit through fiction. No surprise: I learned most of my history from fiction — books, television, films — because Americans are not generally taught history so much as a narrative of Manifest Destiny. Which is…
Madonna of the Wasps
MADONNA OF THE WASPS My neo-giallo novella is out as an ebook with a spanking new cover by S. L. Johnson (AKA the Queen of Everything including cover art). Madonna of the Wasps involves a cult, an ancient knife, some art students, and a woman who thinks she may have found a way to live forever….
Get Some Magic: Cronework CD
My contributor copy arrived of the very cool CRONEWORK cd from FU&Yr A-Sides and Difficult Art & Music. Wow, it’s a terrific collection and no, I’m not just saying that because I’m on it. It offers a real range of music all tied together with the theme so these are magical works that engage with…
Review: Trance by Appointment – Gertrude Trevelyan
TRANCE BY APPOINTMENT Gertrude Trevelyan Boilerhouse Press Trance by Appointment is the story of Jean, an otherwise ordinary working-class London girl. But Jean has what her mother calls “the Sight.” She sees what no one else can: the future. At first, under the patient guidance of Madame Eva, she learns to control this talent and begins…
Occulture 2025: me & Leonora!
I am delighted to announce that I will be part of the OCCULTURE CONFERENCE in Berlin this October! What an amazing line up to be part of! This is so exciting and I am really looking forward to having another opportunity to explore my obsession with Leonora Carrington amongst people who will be just as…
Review: The Lady and the Beast – Deja Whitehouse
When I visited the Tarot exhibit at the Warburg Institute, one of the joys was to see Frieda Harris’ original art for the Thoth deck. Probably second only to the Smith-Waite deck in popularity amongst English decks, the Thoth deck art doesn’t really get much of an outing. There are different reasons given for this–preservation…