If 2024 excites me about anything, it is about the opportunity to begin to travel internationally again. Since the outbreak of the 2020 pandemic I stayed low and quiet on the ground, refusing to get on a plane. I worked on growing The Spiritual Social, I gathered resources to purchase a home, I spent time with my folks and raised two strays into plump and happy cat-ulhood. But this year, my biggest wish is to travel internationally again. And not just for the fun of it (although that is a serious enough reason to explore the world), but to ‘hunt down’ some occult gems!

If you grew up watching Indiana Jones movies and playing noir, detective object finding games, than you may also have a surreal obsession with tracking down ancient artifacts. In my line of work, these artifacts happen to be imbued with occult knowledge. As I am learning and growing as an occult practitioner, as an astrologer and tarot reader, I am finding out all sorts of beautiful things just waiting to be explored in our weird and magnificent world. The list below is just a draft and I am hoping that by presenting it here I could spark your interest in visiting such places or maybe contributing to the list and adding some hidden gems you may have found. The book Atlas Obscura also helps in tracking down some of these occult gems, although not all places and artefacts contained in the book are astrology or tarot related.

Some of the places listed below are places I haven’t travelled to yet, and others I have already seen but they left a mark in my heart. Others have been places in which I actually holidayed a couple of times or got to live there (!) but my interests were vastly different at the time, and I just glossed over seeing some of the occult treasures contained.

1. Old Jaffa’s Zodiac Streets, Fountain & Wishing Bridge, near Jerusalem, Israel

This is a place I randomly discovered during my honey-moon, way back in 2010. As I was exploring Jerusalem with my ex-husband, we somehow wandered into Old Jaffa and got lost on its ancient looking stone stairs carefully guarded by sleeping, stray cats. The streets had many hidden artist’s shops and the walls had markings with astrological symbols which made me feel right at home. Highly recommend visiting the zodiac bridge as well, which has a beautiful view to the sea.

2. The Ceiling of Astrological Constellations at the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland (but just as a sidenote, the entire city of Edinburgh is a precious occult artefact! God bless the souls of the witches who continue to protect it. I lived there for 7 years and it was my favorite place in the world to work. Too bad it is so cold and dark for most of the year, because otherwise I don’t think I would have left this gorgeous city.

3. The Zodiac Pillars of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL, USA

In 2019 I was so close to visiting Chicago for work. I was supposed to live there for 6 months and interview lawyers, prosecutors and judges for a social study on emotions in the courtroom. Unfortunately, I had a disagreement with my boss and the trip was cancelled. Looking back, I feel like I would have really enjoyed seeing Chicago even for a couple of hours and if I had some hours to spend I would definitely take a trip to Adler Planetarium, a public museum considered to be America’s first planetarium.

4. The Dendera Zodiac (the first in the world) at the Musee de Louvre in Paris, France

I was gobsmacked when I found out that the world’s first zodiac can be seen by the public in the Louvre Museum in Paris! It felt foolish since I had travelled to France several times in my life, as one of my best friend’s lived in Paris for a couple of years and on one occassion I spent a romantic New Year’s eve celebration together with an ex-boyfriend. But all the time I was weary to enter the Louvre since there were such long lines and I couldn’t muster up the enthusiam to see Mona Lisa. And now I am kicking myself and looking up flights to travel and witness the glorious magnificence of the Dendera zodiac.

5. This one is more about the history and excitement of card reading and slinging, The Vanderbilt University’s Library Card Gaming Collection in Nashville, TN, USA

In the Autumn of 2019, I was priviledged to be able to spend 3 months in Nashville, working on the campus of Vanderbilt University. One evening, I saw a sign about the Story of the Tarot, which was a presentation followed by a short reading session. Naturally, I went and I got introduced not only to the history of the tarot described in really funny anecdotes but I also found out that the Vanderbilt Library has access to the largest collection of playing cards that exists. If you visit the Vanderbilt Library Special Collections section, an elderly lady with a gentle smile and gloved hands can show you the collection.

6. The Museum of Sorcery & Witchcraft in Holmavik, Iceland.

This is a completely new discovery and I am amazed it exits. It looks small but it also had some pretty terrifying artifacts. I would love to see it one day, although I do not drive and apparently you can only reach Holmavik by car. For weeks I have been dreaming of Iceland, almost as it something is summoning me to be there. So I plan to visit Reykjavik in the near future so perhaps I would get a chance to drop by the sorcery and witchcraft museum, if the stars align.

7. The British Museum is a whole treasure trove of occult artifacts with a spiritual essence taken from many different cultures from all over the globe. I can proudly say I spent some memorable hours within it, constantly feeling I missed something I had to observe, it’s just so rich in resources. Notable astrological works are those such as The Atlas Celestis from 1660 (see below) but there are many sculptures and statues of tribal and ancestral gods and goddesses that are worth seeing.

I’ll leave this list open ended and may add to it, as I find out about new interesting occult places. Feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments section below. It would be great if we could make an occult map together!

With universal love,

Lexi