Do you believe in magic?
I used to collect dandelion puffs, whisper my wildest wishes and blow, so that the wishes would actually reach the sky. I remembered that I wished that I could fly into the clouds into Carebear Kingdom and meet all the Carebears I watched on TV. I was the kid, who buried her nose into fairytale and mythology books. One, who owned a now dogeared copy of “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende, from the regular rereads. One who had posters of unicorns on her bedroom door and walls. One who read and watched “The Hobbit”, “Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter” too many times.
As an adult who is faced with the responsibility of the endless to-do list at work, bills, financial goals in real life, magic got shelved, gathered dust in the darkest corner of the closet and never to be seen again. After all, I am an adult and magic - fairies, wizards, spells, fantastic creatures of the imagination, myths, legends and such - is for kids. There are more important things to deal with in this lifetime.
Or so I thought.
I was hesitant the first time I had my cards read. There’s no harm in it as what could even happen from a stack of cards with pretty images. I enrolled the services of Chinggay Labrador of Practical Magic in the Philippines, who came highly recommended by a friend. I emailed a short summary of the situation and my questions.
Thoughts in my head were racing. My body was shaking all day, all night for the past month. I couldn’t sleep over the dilemma. Then I received Chinggay’s email two days after. I read, then reread her card reading for me. I was blown out of the water. How could she, who lived oceans awaay and I do not know beyond the static images on social media and her website even actually KNOW?
Is this magic?
I thought of one of my favorite cards of the entire tarot - The Magician. This is card number one. It is the actual beginning. The first step. One feels the action as one makes the downward stroke of the pen against paper to write the number.
On the card is a person in a red robe, the infinity symbol hovering over the head, with one hand, holding a double tipped wand, and the other pointed down towards the earth. A table is in front, on it are four things: a staff/wand, a chalice/cup, a sword and a large pentacle, which are exactly all of the suits of the Minor Arcana. The Magician is surrounded by a lush garden of roses and lilies in full bloom, both on the ground at his feet and above his head, cascading down. The background colored bright yellow as if the sun chose to shine with all its might on that very day.
Rachel Pollack, doyenne of tarot, explains that the person is akin to a lightning rod, open to receiving from above from the wand and uses its body to transmit the energy down below. I think of the infinity symbol as the infinite possibilities, ideas, inspiration available to us. And tools on the table are all the tools and resources that we have within reach, that are even already in us - our passion and ideas, emotions and relationships, intellect and truth and earthly wealth and bodily health. We are able to make a garden grow, be a light that brings happiness and cheer and make magic.
I always thought that I am a muggle, not a magical being. I very well may be one, but perhaps us, muggles forget that there is always magic inside of us, in all of us. It is not in some land far, far away nor in another planet that requires space travel. That inside our adult selves, there is that kid who believed that anything is possible. There is that seed planted that simply needs to be activated by that bolt of lightning.
That card reading in June 2021 by Chinggay really struck, stuck and electrified me. You could say that reading was the Magician card, the actual beginning of this tarot journey. More importantly, it was that thing that spurred me to pursue both my magical and writing journey.
I’ve always wanted to write when I was a kid. But, as with magic, adulthood got in the way. A lot of should’s that shepherded me into the career that was, but here we are today, writing about the magic of cards and more.
The Magician card is a great reminder for me as I embark on the maiden chapter of my writing “career” and whatever else is in store for me in the work and income generating aspect of my life. The placement of air quotes in between the word expresses my own discomfort in the word itself, my insecurity in my own capabilities to create whatever I want to in order to earn the income I need and deserve.
Often I forget the power of wishes whispered into dandelion puff balls. That I already made it up into the clouds inside airplanes, atop mountain peaks. I forget that I am living my own fairytale and never ending story as a Filipino in the diaspora from the Middle East and now in America. I forget that maybe I am the unicorn. That my experience in the advertising world, competitive swimming, home and professional cooking and baking, card reading, eating, moving to two countries across continents and more are the very tools that I have within my reach.
This is my magic and I am learning to love it all.
Speaking of magic, on top of the miracle that is Curly, a kismet connection that happened over the Twitterverse, Texas barbecue and Syrian sweets led me to this opportunity to share your computer screens (or smart phones!) on Twitch with the lovely Jenn de la Vega of Randwiches and the Attack the Pantry show. We will be talking about food and more. So mark your calendars on March 1st (Wednesday), 5PM EST, to stream our conversation.
What I’m reading:
I’m in the middle of reading the graphic novel “A Career in Books: A Novel about Friends, Money, and the Occasional Duck Bun” by Filipino American Kate Gavino. I’ve been following all her illustrations on the New Yorker and more and loving her storytelling. Great for a wannabe author like myself.
In relation to magic, I am now dipping my toes into Jyotish Astrology under the tutelage of my Tito who’s been doing this since forever. So I am reading his recommended pick “Beneath A Vedic Sky: A Beginner’s Guide to the Astrology of Ancient India” by William Levacy. I am excited to start this journey too!
If you’d like to read more about tarot cards and their meanings, head on over to what I’ve written below:
Major Arcana
Minor Arcana