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The Uncrossed Path Blog
Welcome to The Uncrossed Path Blog, where each post delves into the art and practice of cartomancy, focusing on traditional approaches to tarot, playing cards, and Lenormand, grounded no-nonsense divination. Here, you’ll find explorations of cartomantic techniques, interpretations grounded in cultural and philosophical insight, and discussions that emphasize clarity over mystique. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a discerning seeker, these articles offer a rigorous approach to understanding the cards, with an eye on truth rather than trend.
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![The Gifts of Great Aunt Marija](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/27951e2e-cd41-4c1c-997e-f64200e63f33/FullSizeRender_VSCO.jpeg)
The Gifts of Great Aunt Marija
What does it mean to inherit magic? Is it about traditions passed down, or is it something we must create for ourselves? Reflecting on the life and craft of my Great-Aunt Marija, this piece explores the balance between honoring ancestral legacies and forging a unique path in magic. Through her story, I delve into the power of resilience, the lessons of the cards, and the sovereignty we claim as magicians.
![The Season of Detachment](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/d76fb6ac-ec84-42b2-9d10-b2d8e41b4f89/FullSizeRender_VSCO.jpeg)
The Season of Detachment
The fall is here. The vitality of summer is leaving us, as we descend deeper into the dark of winter. A season of transitions, of liminality which can be witnessed in the amber tree tops and the chill of rain on our windswept faces. It is also a season of letting go: just as we mourn the passing of summer, we mourn all the unfulfilled desires. More than ever, we are faced with time and our own temporality. But instead of embracing the nature of the season by acknowledging the losses, we cling to the empty husks of our missed opportunities, failed relationships, and all other unfulfilled dreams.
![The Power of Falling](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/ebfe4e37-a84c-45be-bb58-8c3025002f47/FullSizeRender_VSCO.jpeg)
The Power of Falling
A Rusalje ritual is an ecstatic dance practice from the Homolje region of Eastern Serbia, performed by the women called Rusalje (pronounced as ruh-sah-lye, “the falling women”). The practice, which is now largely extinct, used to take place on the holiday of Pentecost. It takes place on the 50th day after Orthodox Easter, colloquially known in Serbia as “Duhovi” (spirits) - a Christian holiday, dedicated to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. On this day, the people of Duboka village would gather in front of the cave, and start playing the music and dancing the traditional dances. All of a sudden, one of the women would fall to the ground in a violent trance.
![The Magic of a Bell](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/0ddade4c-1f91-459c-8ca0-970b427d5b92/B26061A5-0BB6-4CB2-8F75-B42910DD1BEE.jpeg)
The Magic of a Bell
Bells have a special place in my memories. Most of them relate to one of my favorite childhood holidays: The Lazarus Saturday, otherwise known as “Vrbica” (loosely translated as “The Little Willow” or “Willow Day”) in Serbian folklore. It is a holiday for which children need to don their best apparel and go to the church adorned with willow wreaths and little bells hung around their necks. As the holiday marks the resurrection of Lazarus, the willow branches are given out by a priest (in lieu of palm branches in Central Europe) to represent children greeting Jesus with palm branches, and the bells are supposed to represent the overpowering of death.
![The ‘Other’ Woman’s Longing](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/144dca55-c824-44c5-9d67-4ceb65256582/5FC9B0D1-FC2D-426F-B294-FB4346A7F4FE.jpeg)
The ‘Other’ Woman’s Longing
I was always of the meaning that it is not our job as fortunetellers to pass judgment as long as it is not related to the art of card reading. Whatever question is put on the table in front of us, we need to read the cards for it. And we need to do it to the best of our ability. In any case, petty bourgeois morals never held value for me anyway.
![How Does It All Work?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/1703161271095-3DSYHDLNWIHZFCDFRTKR/7127A0B2-EE86-47D4-8ECF-D8A927DA15D8.jpeg)
How Does It All Work?
I have been blessed to be surrounded by magic and divination ever since I can remember. That, of course, means that my first knowledge about fortune telling and magic was formed within the context of Folk Witchcraft practiced on the territory of Former Yugoslavia. One of my first memories concerns my mother and my grandmother reading fortunes from a coffee cup – their preferred method. My grandma did it full-on traditional style, while my mom still does it with a good dose of New Age stew. That’s why my coffee reading sessions with my mom mostly consist of her making grand narratives, me rolling my eyes, her telling me to fuck off, and then getting to the point. When she gets there, she is spot on, but she says she needs to trust her process which always brings her there. So who am I to say anything?
![Eyes Wide Shut - A Love Reading](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/b712435d-064e-4d13-8a15-a048472ea44b/IMG_3236.jpeg)
Eyes Wide Shut - A Love Reading
If you are lucky to be in a long-standing relationship, you most probably had moments of uncertainty that called for an immediate reflection. Or in simple terms, you most probably asked yourself “How are we doing right now?” Or the old favorite: “Where will we end up?” But when these questions do pop up, experience tells me that most of us simply ignore the situation, and comfortably push any concerns under the rug, hoping to continue the smooth sail. In that case, there will come a time when you will no longer be able to ignore the situation, and you will be forced to look into the mirror of your relationship. Is it already too late?
![Lack of Reciprocity](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/707a275d-cd45-4d04-b4b1-9f79afddd728/9342C3F8-76C6-4611-85DD-01EBCF0C2318.jpeg)
Lack of Reciprocity
“My sister abandoned me once again,” a client states in a bitter and disappointed tone. I gathered that this is a recurring issue, which the client confirmed. She wanted to know what is the core issue in their relationship, since the client’s sister has an easy time discarding my client from her life, only to come back and repeat the process all over again.
![The Eternal Revival](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/63884e0f-bb85-4db1-be4c-59804347f898/73EEA2D7-785F-44F5-B391-7419D14829E1.jpeg)
The Eternal Revival
“Fashion is dead”, we hear many cry out, alluding that nothing new has happened since the early 1990s. But I would like to point out that fashion, as soon as it died, transcended its ‘demise’ through a peculiar form of tightly timed reincarnation. What seems to happen is an almost regularly scheduled revival of old trends. At least where trends in the global West are concerned.
![A Quest For Power](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/7e3cd551-31ff-4280-b45d-0d270828817a/IMG_2427.jpeg)
A Quest For Power
Many of us would like to leave some sort of lasting mark on this world. This can, of course, take many forms. But what strikes me in the occult niche is that everyone is trying to ‘reinvent’ something which always turns out to be there already. Somehow we still believe that we can bring something ‘unique’, and ‘authentic’, against all odds and common sense. And not only that: we want to both bring it and dominate the damn room with it.
![On Justice and Brilliance](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/1692384341507-TIEKSOEMNV2FQM8LMCW0/4EA96405-C4AA-4268-B6AB-2B8A5A902FAF.jpeg)
On Justice and Brilliance
On Friday, enveloped in the smoke of rose incense, we raise a glass for Lady Venus, our creative efforts, and all the beauty that ensues.
![On 30’s and happiness](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a7e9090ffe78122e349ee1/1690106337487-G0VEF8C5FXX46X4DDS30/IMG_2041.jpeg)
On 30’s and happiness
A few days ago I had a chance to watch an episode of a new documentary series on the Dutch national program NPO3 entitled “30 en nooit meer…” (“30 and never again…) where every episode adds a different ending to the title, each covering what people in their 30s will allegedly never do or be again. The first episode focused on people in their 30’s and their (often futile) quest for happiness. The episode’s full title is “30 and never unhappy again”.