Grace Cavanaugh ~ Staff Writer
So something that many people equate to Tarot readings is magic. Harry Potter had a divination class with reading tea leaves and looking into crystal balls, and I would bet one of my Tarot decks that he had a section on Tarot readings with Professor Trelawney.
One of my new favorite classes in Dungeons and Dragons is a Cardcaster. The Cardcaster is someone who can use spells by pulling magic out of certain Tarot cards. I have not actually gotten to play as this character yet, but I have her information and I cannot wait to break her out in a future campaign.
Spells and Tarot go hand in hand, so says my Tarot reading book. Forty-two pages of spells that require flowers, Tarot cards, crystals, and any number of things. A whole section is devoted to love spells that call for incense, candles, certain Tarot cards, and everyday objects like spoons and sugar.
I personally want to believe in magic. There is something fantastical about magic that makes the world seem like a better place. Even though there was a psychopathic narcissist who could not feel love and was killing people willy-nilly, I wanted to jump into the pages of Harry Potter and learn spells and potions.
There was a book trilogy I started to read in high school called The Magicians by Lev Grossman that put magic in the real world. The characters were random people from New York City and beyond who could do magic. It made magic seem real and close, like any day I could be chosen to go to a magical college.
I think my fascination with magic spilled over into my writing, because there is always someone using a spell or something magical happening in my stories. Like I said, I want to believe…but I cannot.
There is something about magic that, if it were real, it would not seem so, well, magical. If everyone were walking around, waving wands and incense and crystals, magic would not be so cool or wonderful. It would become as ordinary as an iPhone or a car, and that would be a tragedy.
Until I am faced with absolute proof that magic and spells work, I am fine with continuing to read about magic and watch shows with magical characters. I can dream of a world with magic, but for now, I am okay living in a mundane world without it.