Hello my dear reader. I wanted to write a bit here about my new tabletop game - Amor Fati: A Tarot-Based RolePlaying Card Game. It’s a roleplaying game, like D&D! But instead of rolling dice, you draw tarot cards and play them from your hand. Anyone can play cards at any time, and the cards they play drive the story being told.
I call it a RolePlaying Card Game.
I wrote Amor Fati with new roleplayers in mind, it’s presented in 5 short mini zines, designed to be cross-referenced during play. RPGs have a history of being overly complex for no reason. (I'm looking at you, Gary Gygax)
Instead of complicated nonsense, I wanted to make something simple yet original. I wanted to make something that skips to the fun part of telling stories with your friends. After several years writing and play-testing Amor Fati, I released it to the public at Philly Zine Fest 2022.
The digital edition of the game is available on my shop. And there is a handmade physical box set available while supplies last. If you’re interested in the history of magic and esotericism, a different look at the tarot, and humoral theory, I hope you’ll check it out!
Tarot, Tarocchi and Trionfi were originally card games before they were used as divination tools. There is a deep history in the connection between games of chance, casting lots and telling fortunes. In bygone eras these were rightly seen as dangerous but potentially rewarding activities that involve shaking things up and courting Fate directly.
PHOEBE HILDEGARD RECOMMENDS
- thee best ov the occvlt internet -
Dr. Justin Sledge, better known as youtube’s Esoterica, recently released a video on the apocryphal text known as The Gospel of Mary. If you, like me, are obsessed with Mary Magdalene, this is a must-see. And the text itself is really worth reading. LEST YE THINK that I’m trying to convert anyone to anything, think again! I’m simply interested in magic and spirituality from all angles, especially in powerful and necromantic ancient women. Early christianity was weird as hell though, there was no church structure, no one was sure that Jesus was the christ, some people were literally sleeping in tombs to speak with the dead, and women were at least as prominent as men, giving prophesy, healing, and teaching publicly…
In less well-known, well-funded, and less recent uploads, I recently came across this fantastic discussion on the life, magic, and artwork of Austin Osman Spare. Don’t let the crappy ms paint title card fool you, this is a beautiful discussion of one of the most enduring and mysterious occultists—visual artists of all time. If you don’t know Spare’s art, here is a sample:
This last one is not explicitly occult-themed, but I simply can’t stop watching this “video-album” from medieval music ensemble Murmur Mori. Their focus is on secular poetry from the middle ages, which is really cool because most music you’ll hear from this period performed today is liturgical church music. Fascinated by their eerie performance with lots of antiquated instruments and unnecessary hand motions.