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Benebell Wen

@bellwen

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I write, read, doodle. Author of I Ching, The Oracle • The Tao of Craft • Holistic Tarot • I swear this is not a food blog. No DMs, please. 🇹🇼🇺🇸

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Two recent deck releases from @llewellynbooks created by AAPI authors!

The Witches’ of the Seasons Tarot by Pamela Chen @pamelaunicorn tracks the sabbats in the Wheel of the Year to the Major and Minor Arcana. The cards are illustrated by Damayanti Blankestijin. I might describe the style as femme Art Nouveau meets ethereal romantic fantasy that’s also contemporary fashion-conscious. Very much reminds me of colored pencil fashion illustrations. Also, I’m loving the companion guidebook aptly titled “The Seasonal Grimoire.”

Chen is the author and creator of several really cool works, such as the Witchling Academy and Tarot of the Owls, among others.

The Divine Cosmos Tarot by Amy Truong @mysticalamy takes you to four mythic kingdoms and brings astrology to life through the characters you’ll meet in these cards. The illustrator of this deck is Alexandra Cabal whose art style for this deck is reminiscent of early 2000s digital art. It’s bold, giving Art Deco, and has a vintage RPG video games aesthetic to it. This deck and book set is fantastic for beginners in tarot and astrology.

Truong’s early childhood engagement with cartomancy came through her grandmother, a Vietnamese immigrant, who would provide card readings for the local Vietnamese community.

Back in the day, there really wasn’t a whole lot of Asian American representation among tarot deck authors and creators. It is very, very cool to see more and more inclusivity and diversity in the metaphysical publishing space! by @bellwen

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6 days ago

Hongzao, red dates or jujubes, are one of the most prized everyday foods in medicinal cuisine. Asians put this in everything, sweet and savory.

It strengthens your vitality, is nourishing, and is also often used as a key healing herb in soul retrieval and mending soul fragmentation (in folk magic, it's the seeds, not the fruit, that we use).

I didn't think we were going to have a good yield this year, but the fruits were just hiding under the leaves. Once all the leaves fell and the branches were bare, hundreds upon hundreds of these little guys were revealed. Will take all of next week to harvest them all.

No filter. That's actually how red they are under sunlight. by @bellwen

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7 days ago

Spent the morning meal prepping. All veggies garden or local farm fresh. Rendered my own beef tallow and chicken fat to cook with. Medicinal herbs used. by @bellwen

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7 days ago

Nothing authenticates transmission like love. Here is something with a multi-generational world of meaning. It is a great honor to be part of such stewardship. I feel very fortunate to have received this pink calcite sphere.

To the kindred spirit: I will treasure this crystal ball, and even more, I will treasure what it represents.

Random note: how that beam of light in the background hits is kind of cool! by @bellwen

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8 days ago

Channeling my inner granny. by @bellwen

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8 days ago

My post-event write-up on the Forbidden Keys 2-day virtual conference hosted by @foolishfishbooks, which someone humorously called the "Woodstock of the occult." 🤣

17 presentations, each one in its own way addressing heterodox praxis. Topics ranged from Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman, Persian and Zoroastrian, Anatolian, Jewish and Solomonic, Christian and medieval European, Golden Dawn, Thelemic, to Japanese and Taoist magical traditions.

I was also reflecting on how different the vibes are amongst different community gatherings in this alt-space we occupy.

I would describe tarot conference energy as bright, upbeat, we’re obviously serious about tarot but we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and it feels like it’s in full-color. Though each regional tarot conference also has its own unique energy signature, which if you ever take me out for drinks, I'll go on and on unfiltered about my observations and impressions.

Whereas, by way of comparison, pagan conferences I’ve attended feel green and black with Celtic ornamentals, rose quartz, silver, and Renaissance cosplay.

While occult conferences feel black and red with hues of dark blue and gray, cloaks and daggers, heliotrope and frankincense, giving dark academia meets secret society convening in the basement of a dusty library.

But this one-- this one was pretty darn fabulous. Btw you can buy the recordings of these presentations! Highly recommend!

Read my full blog post here: https://tinyurl.com/keysbellblog by @bellwen

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9 days ago

Hour of sunrise. We don't often see morning clouds like this around here. Also, that one up top looks like a heart. by @bellwen

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13 days ago

Arranging artisanal chocolates in the four guardian directions.

Eastern Dragon is pistachio marzipan,

Western Tiger is bubbles champagne (by the time I thought to take such a photo I already ate the only white one; this purple one has metallic flecks of gold),

Northern Tortoise is mint chocolate cookie, and

Southern Phoenix is bourbon maple pecan.

Omg I am just going to be on a sugar high all weekend.

Stick with Me Sweets @swmsweets #asianownedbusiness #asianowned by @bellwen

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22 days ago

Mooncake for breakfast. Nothing says abundance of harvest like getting in 2000 empty calories before 10 am.

This one is red bean with chestnut, which is tastier than I would have expected. My personal favorite is white lotus seed paste. Everyone is supposed to like the ones with salted yolk in the center, but I don't. That salted yolk is always either too oily or too dry.

I don't know how our ancient ancestors really felt about mooncake, but in the 21st century it is the most ridiculous food item ever. by @bellwen

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22 days ago

My friend Jenna Matlin @jennamatlin has a new book out, The Tarot Book of the Dead: A Chthonic Journey of Death, Mediumship, and the Art of Guiding Souls, via @weiserbooks.

The book is structured as a journey through Major Arcana cards, work through themes of death, dying, and the mediator's role. It explores grief work in a way we really haven't seen in a tarot book before.

Beautiful healing rituals, reading spreads, and journaling exercises for you to work through. Equal parts theory and practice throughout. by @bellwen

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23 days ago

It's probably a *little bit* clickbaity. Because 20 million people out there claim relation to King Wen, though maybe not all claims are equal and here we've got some compelling lineage records. We'll get into it.

Anyway I very recently learned that the Wen 溫 Hakka clan descends from King Wen 周文王 and his son King Wu of Zhou 周武王, according to Chinese genealogical records.

Which is to say 100+ generations later I'm writing the English translation and annotations of my ancestor's received text. How synchronistically cool is that.

Wrote a personal essay sharing my findings.
tinyurl.com/kingwen

This calls for a Return to the Motherland trip, and apparently by motherland I mean Shanxi?

Have you ever gone down rabbit holes of researching family history? by @bellwen

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a month ago

Divination and spirit mediumship work is a calling. Grateful to have been called.

Weekdays and weekends, day job and during leisure, I'm grateful to be doing all that fulfills my soul.

In my day job context, we discussed how modern healthcare is about holistically addressing your medical, behavioral, pharmaceutical, and social health needs.

And that made me think, dang, shamanistic much? by @bellwen

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a month ago