Illustration by Matt Lubchansky.
Good afternoon! For a while now, Atlas Obscura has been talking about an advice column—and now, we have the perfect Atlas Obscura advice columnist.
Meet Zardulu, myth-maker extraordinaire—her adventures with, say, training rats or creating the three-eyed Gowanus catfish have been written up in the New York Times and featured on Reply All and elsewhere. She's going to take an unusual approach to answering any and all life questions. In her words:
"When the answers elude you, call upon the secret wisdom of the ancient world. Call upon Zardulu. As a practitioner of various mystical traditions, she offers practical advice, opinion and commentary with a unique perspective. She is best known for fabricating dozens of viral news stories in publications from National Geographic to the New York Times, an art she calls 'Zardulism'.
Drawn from the principles of Surrealism, her art similarly has its origins in visionary imagination and symbolic thought. This lead to an interest in the work of psychologist Carl Jung whose theories on these subjects, and esoteric leanings, lead her to practicing tarot and other forms of supernatural query. But it's not all academic; the advice she gives is equally rooted in her own, diverse life experience and she is ready to address both your most ordinary, and unordinary, questions and concerns."
Zardulu will be taking your questions about any topic—from family drama to travel advice. For the next week or so, we'll be taking your questions for her first column, so please be in touch with us at askzardulu@atlasobscura.com. Be sure to let Zardulu know whether you want your real name or identifying info used. Let Zardulu decode the mysteries of your life!