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1. Which came first: Witchcraft or Queer Identity?
I’d have to say, Witchcraft. The questions of sexuality, its acceptance and recognition hadn’t risen until I got into my early adolescence - and that was well, well after I’d gotten into Witchcraft and cartomancy in particular (my mother likes telling the, almost apocryphal, story of how I conjured up a rainstorm, when I was two or three - but, damn, do I not remember that). To expand on that, I’ve been surrounded by Witchcraft and cartomancy for as long as I can remember myself. There were stories of witches, there were cinematic witches (I’ve always been a voracious cinefile), there were family traditions, of course - most of them concerning fortune-telling, and I’ve been brewing amongst them ever since I can remember myself. It wouldn’t be surprising, I guess, to mention that I got my first Tarot deck at the age of three (quite an early age, but, well, I was unstoppable in my desire of having it - and I successfully wheedled it out of my father’s colleague, a witchcraft-loving lady, who had the only American Tarot deck, a miniature yellow box Rider-Waite, in the city we were living in). I couldn’t read it, naturally, but I was fascinated by the imagery, so by the age of seventeen, when I actually started reading the Tarot (and had already been reading playing cards for some time), I knew the visual, iconographic side of the deck quite well.
So, yes, Witchcraft came first.
2. How would you describe your path as a Witch?
The question of path has always eluded and dumbfounded me, frankly speaking - and here I’ll have to take a wild theoretical detour. The notion of a “path” brings to my mind a very strict adherence to a certain spiritual or religious paradigm or doctrine. Witchcraft, as far as I understand it, based on certain historical sources, is the ability to command, compel, or alter the environment to your will in order to get your desired effect. As such, witchcraft is naturally a mercantile (for lack of a better word) procedure. Mercantilism of such witchcraft, with its “over-goal” (to paraphrase Stanislavsky) of bringing you what you desire, discerns it from a spiritual or religious doctrine - as ultimately one of any doctrine’s standout characteristics is the acceptance of a certain worldview, accompanied by adhering to a defined code of rules, and not an attainment of some physical result, desired at the moment. To sum up, I’d say that I consider my witchcraft to be a “craft” first and foremost - so you might call me a “mercantile witch”, who does what he wants.
3. Do you feel your sexuality has played a role in your Craft?
Yes and no, really. I wouldn’t say that it’s played a big, unequivocal part in it, but there comes a time now and then, when a certain desire or a certain goal is connected to sexuality or sexual identity. That doesn’t happen too often, but I can’t say that it’s not happened entirely. However, overall, I can’t say that sexuality has been my “guiding star” or compass in questions of either witchcraft or cartomancy. Yes, there were periods and questions that were directly influenced by it (for example, trying to find out, which cartomantic systems work best for same-sex readings, or which ones could be used in the context of bisexuality), but those are individual questions and not the general trends.
4. You focus a lot of your work in cartomancy, it seems. What is it that you like so much about cards?
First and foremost, cartomancy has been a family tradition for two generations at least. My late Grandmother read playing cards (to quote the proverb) like the Devil, and most of the times her friends would visit her, she’d get a deck out and read the cards for them. She also read coffee grounds (a very popular fortune-telling method in the Balkans). There was a true feeling of watching a master at work - Grandma made it look very simple, with lots of flamboyant, artistic flourishes and touches, and that combination of comfortable domesticity (every reading was done in her kitchen over a cup of coffee with mandatory, almost cinematic, puffing on a cigarette) and theatricality also appealed to me.
Then again, there’s the question of a rich, deep history of cartomancy, its cultural, societal importance - and that importance, I believe, is integral in understanding cultures of certain countries. I read a very interesting idea somewhere that cartomancy could be considered a mirror, in which the societal, cultural, and psychological notions of a given country are reflected. That is to say, cartomancy reflects the quotidian, the domesticity, the everyday world of its country of origin. For example, you can compare the French, the German, the Russian, the Spanish card meanings - and you’ll get four entirely different panoramas of what worried people, why they’d go to a fortune-teller, what sort of things could have ordinarily happened in their lives. As such, cartomancy is basically the “Ur-culturology”, providing an unprecedented glance into the world of a given country’s psychosocial underbelly.
5. Which would you say is the most relevant difference when using one deck or the other? Is just a matter of which you use for a certain purpose or is there a feeling that makes them different?
I think purpose and question play the most important role here - and I’m not talking about particular decks only, but also about the whole systems. As you know, cartomancy isn’t just the Tarot, despite its popularity and virtual omnipresence - there are playing cards, there also are various fortune-telling decks like Lenormand, Zigeunerwahrsagekarten (or Sudbinske Karte as they call them in Serbia), Kipper, etc. All of these have their own methodological or interpretational systems - mostly country-specific. I mean, even the Tarot is read differently in the USA or in France! So, the question of choosing a deck or a system, for me personally, depends greatly on what sort of question is posed to me. For example, if I have to answer some specific question with clear advantages and disadvantages to consider, I’m more likely to get Tarot de Marseille out of my card cabinet. If it’s a general prediction with a certain timeframe, I’ll probably throw a quick Sudbinske Karte Tableau. The question is the key here - certain systems excel in some questions, others work wonders with other queries. That, of course, demands a certain level of trial and error - but I think, with due diligence and analysis performed while studying a particular system, one can effectively pinpoint what question a system would be more suitable for.
6. Is there one certain deck you would recommend for those interested in practicing cartomancy?
No, I don’t really think there’s one “go-to” deck in the world. With the whole array and variety of systems I’ve mentioned before, a reader can easily find a system that would suit them - but I don’t think they should listen to people who would try to impose what works best for them. How should they know that that deck or that system would work for that particular person? For example, I absolutely love Maritxu Guler’s venerable El Gran Tarot Esoterico - but how should I know that a person, asking for my advice in choosing a deck, would “click” with it? Maybe they’ll be intimidated by the fact that El Gran Tarot Esoterico is entirely different from most of the mass-produced, popular decks? Maybe they don’t read Spanish and won’t be able to read Guler’s exquisite companion book, with its fascinating adaptation of Eudes Picard’s rare interpretational system? Or, again, Sudbinske Karte - yes, it’s a system that’s extremely popular in the Balkans, where my family is from, so I personally have a nostalgic connection to it and use it fairly often. But can I recommend it to others, despite my unconditional love for it? So, ultimately, I think it boils down to going through various systems and checking, which one “clicks” with you, your goals, your needs - as well as your sense of aesthetics. If there’s one thing my Grandma taught me, it’s that a deck (or a system) has to be not just a utilitarian tool, but it has to please you aesthetically, too.
7. Do you use other divination method besides cards?
Well, cards, of course, occupy the main place in the repertoire of my divinatory methods - but, yes, I do use certain other things. Coffee grounds readings (or tasseomancy) may be the second most common method I rely on, as it’s very popular in the Balkans and, of course, also has a familial history for me due to Grandma’s practice of it (all the roads lead to my Grandma, it appears). I tried to dabble in palmistry for some time, but my knowledge of it is pretty cursory, so I can’t say that I use it very often. I must admit, though, that I’ve had some very surprising results with it, so, who knows - I might return to actual systematic study of palmistry sometime in the future, as it truly is a fascinating and time-honoured divinatory tradition!
8. Looking back in time, let's say, five years ago, which is your most significant change?
I guess, graduating from the University (surprisingly, for a guy who spent most of his high school circulating between soccer practices and theatre rehearsals, cum laude) and getting a job that I enjoy a lot - that allows me not just creative freedom in it, but also the ability to pursue my interests and hobbies, without impeding in their way.
9. What are your plans for the future?
With everything happening these days, it’s rather difficult to make concrete plans for the future. I’ll have to be pretty general then - continue enjoying life, learning new things, not dropping out of sports, and, most importantly, curbing my laziness (at least in some microscopic, miniscule way - a guy can dream).
10. Which would be your advice for young, future Witches and Pagans?
Study. Study, study, and study again. Don’t fall for a promise of a “quick and dirty” witchcraft or divination - it’s never quick, it’s never easy, it always takes years and years of careful, methodical, systematic study of various sources (some of them in different languages, my regards to cartomancy!), and those sources usually differ greatly from the dummied down books one can find in your local B&N. Be prepared that sometimes spells don’t work, cards are wrong, various sources contradict each other (and you have to choose sides in theoretical or methodological arguments), and people may not agree with your ideas - and more often than not, those come from your own community, gatekeeping or telling you that you’re wrong a priori for having a different opinion. If you’re not afraid of any of the things above - my sincerest congratulations, you’re on the right way and ready to embark on a journey of a lifetime. Bon voyage!
You can connect with Daniel Kingston by Instagram.
Kinky regards, K!
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