Shared Post | Ooligan Press Books as the Major Arcana
You may already know that Stephanie Johnson Lawson and I are both former Oolies. That’s what we call the graduate students who run Ooligan Press. One requirement of us was to regularly write blog posts, and we had an absolute blast doing it. One of my favorite posts explored the intersection of tarot and the remarkable books published by Ooligan. We’re excited to share that with you here.
Read the full blog post** below.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the stay at home orders of Spring 2020, I began learning the art of tarot as a way to engage my mind that I also felt was therapeutic. As I was thinking of all the different books that we here at Ooligan Press have published, I realized that many of them carry themes that can be embodied in many of the Major Arcana cards. Take a look and see if your favorite Ooligan title is listed and what your tarot match might be. Chances are there might be a fun message for you from the cards as well!
Faultland—The Tower
The Tower is all about shaking foundations and allowing the things in our lives that are crumbling to crumble and fall away. No one knows what this is like more than the Sparrow family in Faultland. Caught in the wake of an earthquake that lays the city of Portland in waste, the family’s already shaky relationships are put to the test. The beautiful thing about the Tower is, however, that while things fall apart, it has a lovely way of revealing what strong and sure foundations remain.
Cataclysms on the Columbia—Death
Like many tarot cards, there is a nuanced balance of positive and negative energy, and it all depends on the context of the reading. The bestselling Ooligan title, Cataclysms on the Columbia, details the shifting and the forming of the landscape that those native to the river are well familiar with. In the same way, those familiar with the Death card know that it is all about the cycle of life ending, but in every ending there is a new beginning and a continual shifting of energies to keep sustaining life.
The Gifts We Keep—The Wheel of Fortune
In The Gifts We Keep by Katie Grindeland, Emerson is no stranger to sorrow. She deals with loss and healing and plenty of unknowns. Yet, like the Wheel of Fortune, the path that the characters take is bound to flip. What goes up must come down. Through the course of the novel, their fortune does turn out for the best.
Breaking Cadence—Justice
Rosa del Duca’s award-winning and compelling memoir about her journey as a conscientious objector deserves none other than Justice. The Justice card is all about unbiased decisions that are not swayed by anything other than truth when deciding what is fair and just. While del Duca’s path may not be for everyone, this book lays out, in no uncertain terms, why it was the necessary path for her.
Iditarod Nights—The Lovers
The dog-sled romance by Cindy Hiday seems to have an obvious choice: the Lovers. There is no doubting the potential of a relationship between Claire Stanfield and Dillon Cord, who both have complicated and intertwined histories. In spite of competing against each other in the Iditarod races, the two become allies and friends and have the choice of how far they want to take their relationship. Much like the Lovers card beckons, there are choices and sacrifices with the potential for beautiful results.
Odsburg—The Magician
Matt Tompkins’s award-winning allegorical fiction, Odsburg has all the makings of magic and an unveiling of what holds the city of Odsburg together. Woven together with both mystery and humor, Odsburg is nothing short of fantastical. Like the Magician, Tompkins is able to unearth tremendous potential within the citizens and city of Odsburg in order to transform what was once unknown into the known.
Laurel Everywhere—Strength
Erin Moynihan’s protagonist is everything that the Strength card represents. True strength is about the quiet resolution. As Laurel Everywhere‘s protagonist struggles to cope with grief, she taps into the wonder that is human resiliency and the gift of having a good support system. Laurel embodies the old adage: you never know how strong you are until you have to be.
Finding the Vein—The Moon
Like the Moon card, at the core of Jennifer Hanlon Wilde’s mystery, Finding The Vein, is the sense that nothing is what it seems. This whodunit novel gives a home to several notably diverse characters at Heritage Camp and highlights the fact that human beings contain a complexity of multitudes. Whatever illusions we have about those characters is sure to be challenged in brilliant ways in this book.
At Ooligan, we hope that as you read and engage with these incredible books, you will see the greater themes that the Universe is speaking in and through them to their dear readers. Be sure to check out the Ooligan Press website to buy the book that matches your tarot card!
**A version of this blog was originally posted on the Ooligan Press Website on June 10, 2022.
As we prepare to launch the upcoming Altered Tarot deck to accompany The End of Love, it’s clear that tarot is a central theme at Unencumbered Press right now. This blog post not only reflects our past experiences but also ties in seamlessly with our current creative endeavors. The intersection of tarot and publishing continues to inspire us, making this content especially relevant as we move forward with our latest projects.
Wondering what Major Arcana card I think best fits for Altered Tarot: The End of Love?
Altered Tarot: The End of Love—The High Priestess
Altered Tarot: The End of Love is filled with reflective, intimate poetry and haunting photography that invites readers to sit with the past and do the shadowwork necessary to disentangle from its wounds and prepare for the future. The photography is rich with motifs of the duality that exists in the world and in ourselves—dark and light, black and white, masculine and feminine, the healing and the harm, and so on. The High Priestess comes into play as the poetry walks readers through that healing and coming to terms with the Divine Feminine and reconnecting to the subconscious mind and intuition, revealing the things that might have otherwise been hidden and asking us to make use of it all. In turn, the high priestess gifts us with sacred knowledge and understanding that can only come from delving into the depths of hell (like Persephone) and emerging into the world of light, rebirth, and new beginnings.
Altered Tarot: The End of Love also touches on and embraces all of the cards represented in the traditional 78-card deck. I just happen to feel that the High Priestess card best represents the poetry and photography held within its pages. It is in no way limited to a single card, nor is any book, for that matter. We would love to hear your thoughts! What would you choose if you could ascribe any card to this book? Let us know in the comments below.
