Tarot card and crystal skull showcase highlights occult in Athens

Carrie Slayton's collection of tarot cards and crystal skulls are the focus of the Lyndon House Arts Center's Collections from our Community showcase. (Photo/Chloe Rice)

In a case to the right of the entrance of the Lyndon House Arts Center sit tarot decks and crystal skulls. Carrie Slayton's collection is on display as part of the "Collections From Our Community" exhibit. Open since Sept. 7, the display presents some of Slayton's personal collection of over 200 tarot decks.

"Collections From Our Community" showcases rotating exhibits consisting of interesting collections of objects that are found in the homes of Athens residents. Each display can be found in the lobby cases of the Lyndon House Arts Center.

This fall, the display hosts Slayton's collection of cards and crystal skulls that she began seriously accumulating during the COVID-19 pandemic. She began getting into tarot in her 20s after a friend gifted her a classic Rider-Waite tarot deck. Slayton had a hard time connecting with it and it wasn't until she connected with a different deck that she began diving deeper into tarot.

After starting a tarot study group, Slayton became aware of the different perspectives people can have on cards, and their personal connection to them.

"It's like adding more colors to a painting where you only had maybe six colors on a palette of understanding what you are trying to create. Now you’ve got all these other colors," Slayton said.

Her interest in skulls started when she learned more about chakras. She said that three of the most powerful chakras are located in the head. Therefore, she has a greater appreciation for looking at skulls and sees them as representative of a personal transformation.

When talking about connecting with the cards, Slayton said that she has had to overcome in her life, but considers her messy experiences worth it for the hard earned wisdom that followed.

"I remind myself that being a messy human is exactly how we grow as a soul," Slayton said.

The Lyndon House Arts Center opened in 1999 and has since been used as a way to showcase local artists and provide resources for those pursuing the arts. Among many collections and programs, "Collections From Our Community" is just one of the ways the center has contributed to local art.

Slayton's collection will be on display through Nov. 12 and is free to the public. Slayton will also give a talk on her collection on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Lyndon House Arts Center on Hoyt Street.

Before her first Halloween in her new home on West Lake Drive, Carley Reeves purchased a life-size skeleton to place in the yard. After the holiday season came and went, she decided she would leave it up. Since that first Halloween, one skeleton has become many and Reeves' creative displays have grown beloved to passersby.

The Georgia Bulldogs’ 42-20 win over the Florida Gators wasn't the only big win for the University of Georgia this weekend. On Friday night, three UGA seniors beat Columbia University in the City of New York in NBC's "Capital One College Bowl."

For the 14th consecutive year, Athens hosted the Wild Rumpus Halloween Celebration on Saturday, an enormous party and parade that has garnered national attention.

The Lyndon House Arts Center is hosting the biennial program, "RE-," the Clarke County School District Student Art Exhibition. The exhibit opened Oct. 11 and will be on display until Jan. 14, 2023, featuring the works by students from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

On Tuesday night, University of Georgia's Indian Cultural Exchange and Hispanic Student Association hosted a joint Diwali and Día de los Muertos celebration at the Tate Reception Hall.

"El Ausente," or "The Absent One." That is the name of one of two songs the Villalobos Brothers opened with in their debut concert at the University of Georgia's Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall on Wednesday night.

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