RP Mystic Celebrates the Magic of AAPI Heritage Month

As modern mystics, we have the benefit of learning the history and cultural context of our everyday mystical practices. In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, RP Mystic is shining the spotlight on our AAPI creators and their mystical offerings.

Here, we’ve gathered a list of books, decks, guidebooks, and more for the modern mystic who wishes to have their rituals represent a diverse range of perspectives, including those of our AAPI creators.

First on our list is fine artist Jia Sung’s Trickster’s Journey: A Tarot Deck and Guidebook. This deluxe deck and guidebook set is Inspired by ancient Chinese mythology—particularly, the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey To The West—which tells the tale of Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang’s legendary pilgrimage to Central Asia and India to procure sacred Buddhist texts. The Fool card is renamed the Trickster, a character based on the Monkey King character found in Journey to the West, to give it new meaning. Throughout the deck, Jia Sung gives a fresh take on classic tarot figures, using symbols from Buddhism and ancient Chinese history.

We love turning to the Trickster’s Journey deck—especially during AAPI Heritage Month—because it brilliantly explores the themes of the tarot through the lens of Eastern mysticism, folklore, and spirituality. This deck is perfect for novices and seasoned tarot card readers alike!

Explore Jia’s favorite cards from the deck in our blog post “Trickster’s Journey: Tarot Reimagined with Chinese Mythology.”

Next up we have The Chinese Zodiac: And Other Paths to Luck, Riches & Prosperity written by educator and author Aaron Hwang and illustrated by Li Zhang. This book walks readers through the ancient creation of the Chinese Zodiac and provides a framework for interpreting your own zodiac.

Aaron Hwang writes: “The history of the Chinese Zodiac stretches back to a time when history itself is full of holes. The use of a sixty-phase cycle to record days goes back as far as the earliest written records in China, carved into oracular bones from 1250 BC. Likewise, the use of animals as symbols and totems is seen as long ago as history can record. However, the union of animals with the cycle, and the expansion of the system to include the year as well as the day, do not appear to have begun until the Han dynasty in 200 BC, when astrology itself went through a kind of renaissance.”

Inspired by the illustrations and content of the book, The Chinese Zodiac Wooden Magnet Set is a tactile way to teach the Chinese Zodiac to little ones, or simply to have Li Zhang’s striking illustrations displayed on your fridge. For middle-grade readers, A Kid’s Guide to the Chinese Zodiac: Animal Horoscopes, Legendary Myths, and Practical Uses for Ancient Wisdom provides a kid-friendly introduction to these cosmic animals. We also love using The Chinese Zodiac 500-Piece Puzzle as a mindful, screen-free way to explore the elements of the Chinese Zodiac.

Discover fun activities to harness this year’s Dragon energy in our blog post “Lunar New Year 2024: Get Kids Ready for the Year of the Dragon.”

Last, but most certainly not least, we have multidisciplinary artist Grace Duong’s collection of decks and guidebooks: The Astro Alignment Deck: A Deck and Guidebook for Celestial Connection, The Cosmic Creatures Deck: A Deck and Guidebook to Connect to the Wilderness Within, and The Crystal Grid Deck: An 80-Card Deck to Charge Your Intentions. The beauty of Grace Duong’s decks is that they all complement one another and can be incorporated into your ongoing mystical rituals.

Plus, we love how these decks came to be—their origin story embodies the spirit of AAPI Heritage Month.

“I couldn’t find a Tarot deck that I really loved. The decks that I found seemed outdated, didn’t represent figures that looked like me, with language that seemed antiquated,” Grace Duong remarks in her sit-down with Queer Tarot creators Ash + Chess. “I wanted Mystic Mondays to feel fun, modern, and vibrant, introducing people to Tarot in a way that would be easy and magical. Since I couldn’t find a Tarot deck I really resonated with, I decided to make my own!”

With The Astro Alignment Deck, explore the cosmos within yourself through the practice of studying celestial bodies. By deepening your understanding of the zodiac signs themselves, along with planets, asteroids, lunar nodes, moon phases, and more, you’ll synchronize your inner cosmos with the universe as a whole.

With The Cosmic Creatures Deck, explore celestial illustrations and divine information on 66 cosmic creatures selected by Grace Duong herself. “I wanted The Cosmic Creatures Deck to feel well-rounded with both animals and mythical creatures that we are familiar with,” explains Grace. “I also made sure to include creatures that I’ve had a special relationship with, where they’ve shown up for me as synchronicities that I’ve applied in my own life.”

What was Grace’s favorite part about making this deck? “Learning about the wisdom of animals and creatures, and how they can play such an important part in our lives on a spiritual level,” she goes on to explain in her interview with Ash + Chess. “We always have guidance on our side and we don’t need to look into the ethereal heavens. We can look right here on Earth at the majestic beings we share this planet with. We just have to know where to look!”

With The Crystal Grid Deck, you’ll learn how to harness the power of crystals through 80 full-color hexagonal cards featuring bold illustrations of each crystal, crystal properties, uses, zodiac connections, and more. It’s a great deck for tapping into your intuition and learning how to supercharge your intentions.

Learn how to incorporate all three of Grace Duong’s decks into your modern mystic practice with our blog post “Explore Your Inner Cosmos with Mystic Mondays: The Astro Alignment Deck.”

Featured Offerings

Featured Creators

Jia Sung

About the Author

Jia Sung is a Singaporean Chinese artist, currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work spans paintings, zines & artist books, writing, translation, and tapestries, and draws on motifs from Chinese mythology, Buddhist iconography, and the familiar visual language of folklore to examine and subvert the archive through a queer feminist lens.

Learn more about this author

Aaron Hwang

About the Author

Aaron Hwang is a graduate of Yale and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He teaches literature and is the Asian American Studies Faculty Chair at Sidwell Friends in Washington DC. He is also the author of A Kid’s Guide to the Chinese Zodiac.

Learn more about this author

Grace Duong

About the Author

Grace Duong is a multidisciplinary artist, author, and entrepreneur at the intersection of art, tech and metaphysics. She is the creator of Mystic Mondays and the bestselling Mystic Mondays Tarot Deck. Grace lives in Philadelphia. She can be found on Instagram here.

Learn more about this author