Not Your Typical Tarot...

Tarot cards and playing cards have the same origins from early Europe. The earliest surviving painted Tarot deck comes from 15th Century Milan, Italy. Records indicate a deck was first used for divination of the future in the mid 1700s and remains a popular fortune-telling method.

We all have a picture in our minds when we envision these divination cards, but they have become extremely diverse. Aside from the most popular Rider-Waite deck, cards exist depicting and centered around angels, Native Americans, gemstones, astrology, baseball, Wicca, animals, gummy bears, vampires, and many others.

And then, there are the gay tarot decks.

The Original Gay Tarot started it all. Created by Paul Chirumbolo, the deck was designed to "help gay men live and love and learn and grow by touching into the unique sources of creativity found within themselves." Its images combine both traditional and digital media, and has a companion book: THE Original GAY TAROT: Everything You Need To Know About Sex, Money, Power, Love and the Secrets of the Universe.

More widely known is Gay Tarot by Lee Bursten and Antonella Palatano. The deck replaces traditional male-female archetypes with symbols of male homosexual unions. It is also the product of Llewelyn Publications, a well-known and well-respected New Age company carrying a diverse range of occult and Wiccan books.

There is also the Brotherhood Tarot. This deck is limited to an edition of 2500 copies. The images are a combination of mythology and gay history, representing a more "Radical Faerie" influence.

And that is just a small sampling. various other gay tarot decks can be found all over the web. If you prefer a deck that is more gay and lesbian inclusive, there is also The Cosmic Tribe Tarot.

Regardless of your opinions on divination methods, it's a fascinating aspect of the paranormal realm. And some of the illustrations are quite lovely as well...

Divination Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery...

Fortune-telling has been around for centuries. People seek out an explanation for why they are the way they are and why their lives follow a certain path. From tasseography (tea leaf reading) to tarot, countless versions exist. Practically anything can be used to gain insight into the client as well as predict their future.

Including body parts.

Most people are aware of palmistry (the ability to tell information of someone's past, present, and future from lines on their hand) and phrenology (reading someone's head shape). But what about other, less-considered physical features? Believe it or not, it's all been done. And I do mean everything.

I thought I'd share a few of the most amusing ones with all of you.

First comes rumpology. Yes, it sounds like the fictitious work of a dirty mind. It is what it sounds like: divination of the buttocks. Ulf Buck of Meldorf, Germany caused quite a stir several years ago when the media picked up on his abilities. Buck, who happens to be blind, claims that the lines and wrinkles on someone's posterior tell a lot about a person. And he's not alone. In the US, Jacqueline Stallone will read your rear for a reasonable US$125 (126 Euros).

Next (surely a favorite for many people) is phallomancy. Yes, you heard me right: divination of the penis. Believe it or not, some people believe you can judge a man's character by it. Of course, I tend to believe you can tell a lot about a man without having him drop his trousers... but if it's in the name of science...

To be fair, there is also mammomancy or mastomancy: divination of the breasts. Obviously a perfect excuse for straight men and lesbians to feel up their girlfriends.

Believe it or not, all of these techniques have existed since ancient times. They aren't simply modern creations brought on by a lustful society. At one time, they were very much accepted and widely practiced. In our modern society, they tend to be met more with a chuckle and a little disdain.

As a society, we strive to move forward while accusing our ancestors of being incompetent and crude. We view ourselves as superior. More advanced. Better educated. We're slowly learning that the ancient world was far less archaic than we've assumed. Perhaps our blushing and tittering at these practices shows us to be far more childish than our predecessors. Or perhaps we are right to scoff at these "bizarre" practices.

Whichever it is, we can all agree that it's quite amusing.