Following the tragic murder of George Floyd, mainstream media began to slowly recognize the erasure of Black experts in media in general, including Black practitioners in modern and Hellenistic astrology and mysticism. Veteran Black astrologers like Sam Reynolds and millennial leaders like Kirah Tabourn, founder of The Strology, Mecca Woods whose horoscopes and articles have been published in Refinery29 and Essence, and Adama Sesay, founder of Lilith Astrology among others, have all been highlighted as bright stars and great resources.
Black mystics, of course, date far back into ancient times in African dynasties. Nonetheless, since the rise of modern mysticism in mainstream popular culture in the 1960s and 1970s, white voices and practitioners have dominated as their knowledge was amplified above all practitioners of color.
Since the 2020s, social media platforms like Instagram have given Black mystics opportunities to expand their audiences and attract clientele in an unprecedented fashion.
Signs & Skymates: The Ultimate Guide to Astrological Compatibility (Running Press)
West African astrologer Dossé-Via Trenou has created a definitive guide for astrological compatibility. “Signs & Skymates” will enlighten readers about their relationships with family, friends and themselves through Via Trenou’s comprehensive style that uses “whole-chart houses” to find compatibility between people’s astrology charts.
Compatibility is found when two people’s birth charts are compared and even overlaid upon one another to find the commonalities, synchronicities, differences and clashes between two people who are in a relationship. The book encourages “readers to expand their ideas about each sign—including the ones in their own chart.” Whether you are very experienced in astrology or just learning, this book will assist you in discovering the nature of your interpersonal connections.
Black Tarot: An Ancestral Awakening Deck and Guidebook (Hachette Books)
Written by Nyasha Williams and illustrated by Kimishka Naidoo, “Black Tarot” is a new tarot deck that has infused the images of classic tarot figures with African features. Williams has written a guidebook that offers deep mystical interpretations that will help any seeker in search of answers to the mysteries of their lives.
Each card features original illustrations by Naidoo that are beautifully intimate and detailed. Ancestral Illumination: A Guided Journal for Black Tarot is “a stunning companion to ‘Black Tarot: An Ancestral Awakening Deck and Guidebook,’ [which helps] you connect with the divine.”
Black mysticism is a facet of the Black American culture that has gone largely unrecognized. Black spirituality, which has deeply respected roots in the Christian church, can be recognized for its diversity. Astrology and Tarot as ideologies and forms of divination are not religions, but spiritual pathways to self-discovery.
https://dossevia.com; IG: @dossevia
www.nyashawilliams.online; IG: @writingtochangethenarrative