Sara Mastros, Marco Felgueiras, Tarot, and Translation – Ep. 8

Sara Mastros is an author and witch who has written several books and runs WitchLessons.com. Marco Felgueiras is a professional diviner and translator who speaks seven languages and reads tarot.

In this interview, we talk about translating ancient languages, different styles of tarot reading, tarot decks, how to divine without pictures, Orphic Hymns, music, and more!

If you’d like to hear the full conversation, go ahead and watch the video. If you’re just here for some highlights, then read on!

By the way, you may notice some changes to this episode’s format. First of all, I’ve never done a recording with more than one other person… so this presented a fun challenge for screen space. To fix that issue, I made a cool overlay that gives everyone’s video a little window on the screen. What do you think? Let me know! Otherwise, I think I’ll continue this type of format so future episodes.

Some Background…

Sara and Marco first met through one of Sara’s kickstarter campaigns for her book, The Orphic Hymns Grimoire. As a supporter, Marco got a free reading. Last summer, they both were attending the same event… and since then, it seems like they’ve been working on some collaborations.

I can’t tell you what all of those collaborations are because for right now, they’re keeping them top secret.

But I can tell you that they’re both teaching a course called The Devil’s Picture Book: Getting Good at Tarot through WitchLessons.com, which is focused on intermediate readers and will take place twice a month for a year. And it’s actually starting this month, in January 2025.

Getting Different Views

One of the benefits of taking a course with two teachers is that you’ll constantly be getting two different perspectives.

Have you ever watched someone read a Tarot spread and listened to their reasoning for why they interpreted things a certain way? It’s fascinating. I usually find that even if I disagree or would have read things another way, that person’s interpretations help add to how I might understand the card(s) in the future.

In the interview, Sara and Marco both discuss their personal reading style, including types of spreads that they commonly use, why they prefer certain decks, and how you might glean information purely from the numbers rather than the artwork. We spent quite a bit of time talking about the Three of Swords in particular.

Swords are the happiest of all the suits, right?

Orphic Hymns

In the second half of the interview, Sara shares her favorite Orphic Hymn. If you didn’t know, The Orphic Hymns Grimoire contains her own personal translations of all the hymns.

Orphic Hymns Grimoire by Sara Mastros

So if you watch, you can hear her reciting her version of the Hymn to Hermes.

And if you’ve never heard a Hymn to Hermes before, here’s a public domain translation.

I sing of Cyllenian Hermes, the Slayer of Argus, lord of Cyllene and Arcadia rich in flocks, luck-bringing messenger of the deathless gods. He was born of Maia, the daughter of Atlas, when she had made with Zeus, — a shy goddess she. Ever she avoided the throng of the blessed gods and lived in a shadowy cave, and there the Son of Cronos used to lie with the rich-tressed nymph at dead of night, while white-armed Hera lay bound in sweet sleep: and neither deathless god nor mortal man knew it. And so hail to you, Son of Zeus and Maia; with you I have begun: now I will turn to another song! Hail, Hermes, giver of grace, guide, and giver of good things!

Hymn to Hermes translated by H. G. EVELYN-WHITE

If you search around, you’ll find there’s lots of different translations. Sara’s reflect her own unique style and personality, so if you want to hear it, you’ll have to grab a copy of her book or watch the episode.

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Traduttore, Traditore

Speaking of translation… I was reminded of the phrase “traduttore, traditore.”

Actually, I wasn’t. I couldn’t remember exactly what the phrase was. I thought it was “when you translate, you destroy,” but Marco instantly caught on and helped fill in the gaps for me. “Traduttore, traditore” is an Italian phrase that means “translator, traitor.”

But at least i had the gist of it.

How, exactly, do you preserve the original meaning and feeling of something between two languages? And what’s more… what if it needs to rhyme?

Sara talks about “domesticating” a piece of text or “foreignizing” it. And it gets even more complicated when that text has a magickal meaning. She suggests reading multiple translations on the same work, then comparing where they start to differ. It’s a very interesting discussion and you should listen to the interview for the full vibe.

A Spell to Find Lost Items

Continuing the discussion of translation, we eventually get to the concept of phrases that work in one language, but not in another.

Marco shared a spell for finding lost items. It was a short, rhythmic chant that could put you into a meditative state of mind. But the thing is… is only works when it’s said in Portuguese! He used an example of finding a lost key. In English, it would have been something like “show up, show up, the key with no head.” Of course, in English… there’s really no meter, rhyme, or flow. But in Portuguese… well, just go listen to it (check out timestamp 57:45 of the interview, specifically).

Connecting with Sara and Marco

If you’re looking to find out more about Sara Mastros or Marco Felgueiras, you can check out some of the links here.

• Sara’s Instagram: @SaraMastrosWitchLessons
• Sara’s Facebook: @sara.mastros
• Marco’s Facebook: profile link
• Marco’s Instagram: @marcodascartas

And if you’re looking to sign up for some classes, like their new Tarot course, be sure to visit WitchLessons.com.

Also, there were a couple of festivals mentioned in this interview, so those links are below as well:

• ConVocation: https://www.convocation.org/
• Sacred Space: https://www.sacredspacefoundation.org/

Other Books

And if you’d like to check out some of Sara’s other books, take a look at these.

Magic in Music

Sara recommends a website called MyNoise.net for ambient background noises during ritual. Marco comments on using different tones of voice, like whispering or intoning. He also says that to him, the act of singing itself can be a glamour. But you know what? If you want the full scoop on this, you’ll have to actually watch the video.

Conclusions

I was really happy to get a chance to talk with Sara and Marco. Sometimes things just work out. I was only planning on doing 9 episodes this season, but I’m delighted to be able to have this extra one as a bonus.

Whether or not you spend your time reading tarot cards or translating texts from ancient languages, there was still a lot to learn. I hope you enjoyed it, too!

Just remember… these highlights are no substitute for actually hearing the whole interview. If I haven’t said it enough already, you should go watch it! Oh, and while you’re watching… maybe subscribe to my YouTube channel? Thanks!

I know you’re busy watching (or maybe even re-watching) episodes of M3, but whenever there is a commercial break, maybe I can give you a short disclaimer? There are some links on this page. Some of them are Amazon affiliate links. If you use one of those links to make a purchase, like buying a book or something, then Amazon will pay me a very, very tiny commission. But the links to Sara’s courses aren’t affiliate links — I’m just recommending those because they’re cool.