Books book reviews It’s In the Cards: Ali Trotta’s Offerings for Ordinary Gods Myths, legends, and arcana are the materials with which Trotta reflects our lives, showing readers how close they might be to the stuff of legends. By Tobias Carroll | Published on August 26, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share In an essay on Tarot cards and storytelling, Rachel Pollack wrote about the deep connections between the two. “I found I had no interest in any predictions, it was the Tarot itself that fascinated me,” Pollack wrote. “Each card seemed a frozen moment in a story.” Pollack, the author of both compelling stories and authoritative explorations of Tarot cards, possessed plenty of expertise in both fields. And the use of Tarot as a means to explore the place where stories and rituals converge continues in a myriad of forms. In the case of Ali Trotta’s Offerings for Ordinary Gods, that takes the form of a series of poems, each of them laced with archetypal figures and the kind of intention that fuels a particularly intense session of divination. In the case of Trotta’s book, that comes in part from the incantatory aspect of these works. “There is no better love spell than a poem,” Trotta writes. “An effective poem is a hand held out into the darkness, a reminder that we are not alone, even when we feel that way.” Trotta goes on to describe the way a story is told as “a kind of incantation.” What this means, in practice, are a number of poems in this collection that incorporate the imagery of Tarot cards. Among the titles readers will find within these covers are “The Magician Courts the Hierophant,” “The Page of Wands Is Fickle at Best,” and “The Hanged Man Passes Judgment.” Elsewhere in the book, Trotta incorporates characters from mythology, folklore, and fairy tales, including Athena, Rumplestiltskin, and Little Red Riding Hood.  In the case of “The Queen of Cups Considers the Magician,” that intersection finds the poem’s narrator recalling a meeting whose occult references go far beyond the characters’ point of origin: “At the crossroads,/ you kissed me goodbye/ but left a secret in my mouth,/ salt and ash, honey and apples—/ the way you said my name/ always felt like a ceasefire,” Trotta writes. The imagery itself is freighted with supernatural abilities, but the overwhelming feeling here is one of weariness: a narrator who has tired of the flaws of a onetime paramour. There’s also something of the paradox about these poems—and this book. Part of the very concept of gods is, well, divinity; is an ordinary god much of a god at all? (Terry Pratchett might have something to say in this debate, as might Godshaper collaborators Si Spurrier and Jonas Goonface.) The way Trotta blends archetypes with familiar emotional territory points to one resolution of the dilemma of “ordinary gods.” That takes a different form later in the collection, with poems like “Circe Meditates On Betrayal.” The title is the stuff of myths and legends that have endured for thousands of years, but the concerns raised are more mundane: “You pretend you slept well./ You hit the snooze button twice./ You make stronger coffee./ You wear your favorite shoes./ You laugh louder than you should.” And “Love Spell” begins by juxtaposing “madness” and “magick” before concluding “What is this then/ but love?” Buy the Book Offerings for Ordinary Gods Ali Trotta Buy Book Offerings for Ordinary Gods Ali Trotta Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Not all of these poems translate the mythic or grandly supernatural to a more accessible scale. “Nimue Speaks to Merlin on the Occasion of Their Parting” plays out in a more familiar fantastical territory, with its references to how “[t]his cave of secrets/ is full of echoes, its magic dark and unforgiving.” The same is true of “Hephaestus Councils Rumplestilstkin,” which opens with sage advice: “Just because you are given straw/ doesn’t mean you have to turn it into gold.”  Trotta’s collection falls into a long tradition of literary works that juxtapose everyday concerns with the stuff of myths and legends. There were elements of it reminiscent of Cesare Pavese’s The Leucothea Dialogues, for instance, in which the mid-century Italian author in question used the stuff of classical myths to address certain contemporary concerns. Trotta’s methodology feels similar: In an era where it can be all too easy to feel unimportant, she reminds the reader of the ways in which their own experiences might not be too far removed from the conflicts discussed in ancient tales.  The incorporation of Tarot into the mix is especially telling here. In a recent New York Times article on a Morgan Library exhibit dedicated to the history of Tarot cards, Nina Siegal spoke to curator Claire Gilman about the show. Gilman, in turn, pointed to Pamela Colman Smith’s artwork in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.  “Gilman said that it was probably Smith’s evocative illustrations, which seem to offer an enchanting range of narrative interpretations, that led to the continuing appeal of tarot in modern times,” Siegal wrote. For Trotta, myths, legends, and arcana—both major and minor—are the materials with which she reflects our lives, showing readers how close they might be to the stuff of legends, a source of both exultation and caution. If that means that Trotta’s own collection might spark inspiration in the mind of another writer years from now, it’s just a sign that the tradition is continuing.[end-mark] Offerings for Ordinary Gods is published by CLASH Books. The post It’s In the Cards: Ali Trotta’s <i>Offerings for Ordinary Gods</i> appeared first on Reactor.