I’m Heather Diane Lauvia, an artist, scholar, researcher, and translator born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC.

​

Some of the most significant esoteric texts from 18th- and 19th-century France have, for hundreds of years, never been available to English-speaking readers. I've spent years immersing myself in the literature of these time periods — reading hundreds of books — studying French esoteric thought and practice from this era including the divination systems that were being developed and written about at the time. That immersion is also what's given me the language itself, which is its own specialized skill in a way. 18th- and 19th-century French has different verb endings, different idioms, word meanings that often diverge sharply from modern French. Reading it fluently takes years of direct, patient engagement with the period itself — it isn't something that comes from simply knowing French.

​

That is exactly why so many important historic figures have never had a proper voice in English, and why so many of the works and divination systems they created have been forgotten and lost to time — the people who might translate and revive them can't read the source material closely enough to actually understand it. I can and I am devoted to giving these figures a new English-language voice and showing how directly their ideas still shape the way we think about Western esotericism and divination today.

 

This has already led me to translate major figures of historic importance like Etteilla and Mage Edmond into English for the first time, with Lenormand coming next, faithfully translating their works and recreating Edmond’s palmistry guide and Etteilla’s Petit Etteilla deck, bringing these forgotten practices back into use.

 

When I recreate an antique tarot or cartomancy deck, I hand-craft it as an artisan reproduction using historic materials and methods true to the era, so that holding and using the cards feels as close as possible to the original, and I recreate the interior look and feel of the original books, so that reading them feels as close as possible to reading the originals as well so that you can put these systems into practice exactly as they were intended.

​

Alongside my research, I'm an antique book and card collector, with a collection built up over years that includes hundreds of rare and antique volumes and cards from this same world of study. I grew up in a deeply esoteric household in a family that's been in Brooklyn for generations, and I was taught to read cards from a very young age. I now read professionally for clients around the world, using old divination systems that have largely been forgotten. I also design a fashion and accessory line inspired by this same world of symbolism and history, available in my Etsy shop.

​

I started Magnvm Opvs as a home for all of it — my research, translations, art, fashion, cards — everything I love, in one place where I can share it with all of you.