Cory Thomas Hutcheson

An excellent and fascinating read; I had no idea North America had so many rich traditions of folk magic. This book contains numerous essays on various cultural traditions, from practices of Italian Americans and French Canadians to the traditions of Hoodoo, Curanderismo, Powwow, and many others. It does not include any purely indigenous traditions, which would be worthy of a book of their own and which the editor claims (I think rightly) would be outside the scope of this one (although show more indigenous traditions have directly or indirectly influenced many of the practices within this book). Nearly all of the essays are written by experienced practitioners who are active within the culture and magical tradition being discussed. The result is a diverse collection that respects the past and looks toward the future, while exploring how magical practices and beliefs (even if they are often not recognized as such) have been a part of all cultures.

Each chapter includes some suggestions for further reading and a list of places to visit within each region of North America (though I do wish a few more Canadian places could have been included). Some of the authors include practical exercises; others do not. All of the essays appear to be well-researched and include a balance of scholarship and personal experience. I found this book most useful in how it demonstrates how magic can become an integral part of everyday life, no matter what culture you are from. show less

I'm often asked for resources and advice on divination with playing cards, and for a long time now, the New World Witchery Guide to Cartomancy has been my go-to recommendation. Fifty-Four Devils is the expanded and revised edition of that guide, and it is even more helpful than the original.

Playing cards can often be every bit as intimidating a method as tarot when you're starting out (personally, I found it more so), but Cory Hutcheson has distilled the necessary information into a readable show more and coherent method. If you're looking to get started in cartomancy, or just to learn more about the author's method, I'd definitely recommend this book.

Meanings are given for every card -- including the jokers -- and several spreads and sample readings are given. The information in here is great, and laid out in a well-organized manner. It should be relatively simple to pick up this book and a deck of playing cards and immediately begin to read the cards (though perfection tends to takes time, of course). That's what I did with the original guide, and playing card divination had been a struggle for me to grasp before then.

Especially valuable though, are the insights given to the author's personal reading practice. He goes out of his way to remind the reader that his method is only one method (something I appreciate very much, and wish was a more common disclaimer in these kinds of texts), but his own system is interesting. Seeing how he matches the readings to fairy tales or folk tales, for example, was incredibly fascinating! The additional folklore given on playing card divination (including a short story by the author himself which was very good) was also a nice bonus that I'm sure many will find inspirational, or at least entertaining. show less