Inspiration definitely came from Rookie’s aesthetic, which resonates strongly with me as it’s very DIY, zine-like. I grew up in the 90s so I have a soft spot for collage.

Chinggay Labrador, creator.

Today, I’m excited to welcome a brand new deck to the Little Red Tarot family: The Practical Magic Tarot!

This colourful, cut-and-paste collage deck is light-spririted, accessible and fun to use – and is designed to give simple, easy-to-understand readings (with the help of concise interpretations given on the cards themselves). Creator Chinggay Labrador describes it as a ‘to-the-point’ deck that helps you “move from overwhelm to calm, and then to clear, self-empowered action.”

Intrigued, I reached out to Chinggay to learn more about her approach to tarot, her ideas about intuition, and the inspiration behind this lovely deck.

Hey Chinggay! Could you tell us a little about what inspired the Practical Magic Deck?

The deck started as a creative exercise just for myself. I work as a freelance writer, but had a pretty stable retainer job that was slowly taking more and more of my time. I felt like I wasn’t doing anything creative anymore, so one night, I downloaded some of the collage kits at Rookie and did my own version of the tarot. I had so much fun with it, I finished in about five (sleepless) nights!

The files were taking up so much space in my hard drive that I uploaded them to the cloud and forgot about them. Months later, I was looking for some files and found my folder of tarot collages and thought, why not get them printed? My sample print was not the most polished but it felt amazing to hold the cards in my hands. I showed them to a friend / life coach and she told me to try selling them. That’s how it started!

Inspiration definitely came from Rookie’s aesthetic, which resonates strongly with me as it’s very DIY, zine-like. I grew up in the 90s so I have a soft spot for collage.

I especially love the way that you promote the Practical Magic Tarot as a deck for getting really practical with your intuituon. I wonder if you could tell us a little about how you interpret ‘intuition’, what that means to you, and how you work with yours?

Intuition is that niggling feeling inside that just knows what’s up and gives you simple, direct and uncomplicated answers. A lot of people (myself included) have such a hard time figuring out if what they’re hearing is their intuition or if it’s them just trying to justify what they want to hear / what they want to happen.

The best, most practical advice I’ve received came from Aurora M. Suarez, the friend who convinced me to start selling my deck: if you’re hearing a list of reasons why your “intuition” is right and why you should follow it, then that’s probably your ego. If all you hear inside is “Do _____”, no ifs and buts, then that’s intuition.

I often hear from tarot beginners who are struggling to understand how to access this mysterious source of inner knowledge – do you have any tips?

We’re so entrained to turn to logic that connecting with intuition can seem extra tough and almost impossible at times. The “starter” aspect of my deck has catchphrases that are meant to jog your subconscious. The first thing that comes up when you pull the 4 of Swords, for example, whose catchphrase is “Stop Thinking For a While” is what it means. Try not to question it.

If you don’t resonate with the cards or the meanings, then don’t force yourself to come up with something. I always tell people who ask me about the cards that they shouldn’t take it too seriously. There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re not connecting! Give yourself a break and come back to the cards when you feel like it.

One tip I always give is to just pull one card a day so you don’t overwhelm yourself. My version of the daily draw is to pull a card in the morning, write it down and forget about it. The next day, I check which card I pulled and I go over what happened during the day and that’s when I see how it resonates. That way, the draw doesn’t predict anything, it doesn’t hang over my head all day, possibly affecting my own actions and decisions. Instead, I use the cards as a way to reflect and be introspective. I find it more useful that way.

You talk on your website about tackling overwhelm and dispelling ‘scary stuff’. I know you’re a professional tarot reader too, and I wondered about your personal approach to tarot – what’s your reading style, for yourself and/or for clients?

First time clients who are on edge always tell me not to tell them when they’re going to die. So I have to go through this spiel about how some readers may use tarot that way, but I use it primarily as a psychological tool that helps you connect with your intuition so you understand yourself better. And when you understand yourself better, you have a better handle on whatever situation you’re in.

So my style hinges on that. Every reading is like a SWOT analysis, we go through your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to (fingers crossed) help you get a grip.

Most common feedback is that every reading tells them what they already know deep down. I always tell them that it’s really not because I have scary magical powers—I’m by no means a mind-reader(haha), but it’s because the cards give us a way to really connect to each other and ourselves. The magic, I feel, lies in that unique connection!

Ha, I totally hear you on the SWOT thing!
So, to round up – do you have a favourite tarot card?

My favorite card is the Hermit because it’s my birth card, and although I’m comfortable putting myself out there, talking in front of a crowd, teaching a class, etc. I’m really a Hermit at heart. It’s one of the first cards I did. I’m always relieved when this card comes up for me.