Memphis Archives - Homespun Haints

The ghosts in the American South are different from other ghosts. They’re just a little bit closer to the living, just a little more noticeable, and just a little more up in your business. And if you’re looking for ways to bring echoes of the South into your spooky practice, the Southern Gothic Oracle cards by Stacey Williams-Ng may be just the right gateway to peruse. Not only does her oracle deck connect in a visceral way with the history of the South, but she’s used it to communicate with her own ancestors. And she’s here to tell you all about how you can do the same.

Listen right here:

Or, since this is the second official full-length video episode of Homepsun Haints, you can also watch it on YouTube.

About the Guest: Stacey Williams-Ng

Artist and author Stacey Williams-Ng smiling out from a thicket in Scotland.

Stacey is a versatile visual artist whose work ranges from intricate, palm-sized images on cards, to fleeting temporary chalk art, to breathtaking, three-story-tall murals. She’s also a self-proclaimed rabid ancestry buff. Craving a better way to communicate with the spirits of her ancestors from the American South, she created the Southern Gothic Oracle deck. And, after researching how to publish an oracle deck, she realized that the best way to keep the printing local and the quality tip-top would be to found her own publishing company. Thus was born La Panthere Studio, a hub for indie oracle card decks and other uncommon divination tools.

Stacey Williams-Ng stands in front of a large mural of Tennessee Williams painted on a brick wall.

Stacey has been interviewed by other media, including MemphisVoyager and Radio Milwaukee. She is a frequent speaker at events like Staarcon.

Find out more about Stacey’s artwork at her website, staceywilliamsng.com. Her most recent oracle deck, Roses, Dust & Ashes, won “Best Indie Deck of 2023” by the World Divination Association. That’s the deck that comes in a coffin-shaped box with a velvet pillow! You can shop for your next ancestor communication oracle deck at La Panthere Studio. For updates, follow the oracle deck publishing company on IG @lapantherestudio. Or you can follow Stacey specifically @southerngothicoracle.

Communicating with Ancestors

Pop quiz time! What tarot cards would you use to communicate the message “your great uncle Filbur buried a box of gold coins under the big red oak at the edge of the woods”?

Even if you’re able to cobble together an answer, this quiz isn’t for you. It’s for the ancestral spirit of your great aunt. What’s that? She never learned to read tarot cards?

Hmm…sounds like you might need an oracle deck.

What is an Oracle Deck?

An oracle deck is a divination tool made of cards with images (and sometimes words) that represent different concepts. Unlike tarot cards, the meaning of each oracle card is usually somewhat intuitive. Depending on the oracle deck, interpreting these cards might also be easier for beginners to learn than tarot.

They might also make more sense to the ancestors you’re trying to communicate with. The Southern Gothic Oracle is based on traditional imagery and legend from the American South. Stacey designed it that way so that her ancestors—most recently American Southerners—could communicate with her in symbols they were familiar with.

How to Use an Oracle Deck for Ancestor Communication

Choose your oracle deck; there are many out there! If you’re wondering how to choose, just remember Stacey’s epiphany. Talk to your ancestors in a language they’ll understand.
Queue up your oracle deck playlist. Stacey actually created a playlist to use while reading the Southern Gothic Oracle Cards.
Do whatever it is you do to juice up your mojo: gather your coven, cast a circle, take a deep breath, stuff like that.
Address your ancestors. You might be interested in speaking with a specific ancestor, but Stacey tells us this path is a little misguided. After all, the ancestor you are trying to summon might not be available. Better to ask for a volunteer.
Can’t figure out which ancestor is communicating with you? Use a family tree and a divination pendulum to quickly get a name. In today’s episode, Stacey shared her journey of figuring out she was communicating with her great grandmother Angela. Fortunately, Angela basically smacked her in the head with the information.

Ghost Hunting with a Spirit Box App

Stacey also told us a ghost story about her séance at a grand Victorian mansion in the Mississippi Delta. Built in 1890’s, the huge house is currently an AirBnB that sleeps 18. Stacey and some friends got to spend the night in the haunted mansion, all alone. There, they encountered an entity who might have been named Doreen. Maybe. After all, they were relying on information from one of those notoriously hokey ghost hunting apps.

Is the Ghost Hunting App Real or Fake?

It was difficult for Stacey to put her faith in the spirit box app that evening. Especially after it started spouting nonsense that seemed planted to freak out tweens at a slumber party. Then, the messages started to change; started to make sense and form a cohesive story.

Stacey’s conclusion from this experience was a revelation. Even if a ghost hunting app is programmed to give fake answers, why couldn’t an actual spirit take it over to offer real communication?

How Do You Communicate With Your Ancestors?

So now we want to hear from you, Hainted Loves! Submit your true ghost story here, and you could be a guest on a future episode of Homespun Haints! What were the best spooky experiences you’ve had with a ghost-hunting app? Has any ghost detector convinced you that it can really work to talk to the dead? Have you been able to use divination tools like a spirit box app or an oracle deck for ancestor communication? How did you determine which ancestor was communicating with you, and did you find out any juicy family secrets? Be careful who you summon, because when you’re a spooky witch practicing divination in the Bible Belt, you’re just asking for a spooky day!