Weekend Send-Off: Cozy Times
Well, it’s cold here at last! Unfortunately, it’s been raining constantly, too. After three cloudy and damp days spent hunched over my computer putting the finishing touches on the updated Year Ahead Readings I felt like the tech version of Gollum. Seeing the sun today has been deeply enlivening and I’m hoping to spend some time taking in the fresh air and putting my garden to bed.
Though I have to admit I did have a blast adding some more magic to these readings. I have a special place in my heart for making artsy PDF booklets and readings (just ask my tarot students! I think my Tarot Basics class book is 30+ pages) Amidst all that magic, I did have some time for tarot-related explorations, such as…
Benebell Wen’s Experience of Creating and Publishing a Tarot Deck - “Behind the Scenes of the Glamorous Deck Collector”
I love Benebell Wen’s unvarnished explorations of being a metaphysical practitioner. Her site is full of amazingly frank and helpful resources - spreasheets on how to make a tarot business work, legal insights, and now the realities of creating your own deck.
I’m sure many of us have casually mentioned creating our own deck and even more of us have produced indie or self-published tarot or oracle cards. Well, now we have a much better picture of what it looks like behind the scenes. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot of work!
Asali Earthwork’s Thoughts on Court Cards
We had so many courts pop up in our collective reading at Tarot Club last night that it was such a pleasure to stumble upon this nice overview today. Courts can be the trickiest to learn since they open us up to questions rather than answering them, but this refreshingly straightforward investigation should be helpful to anyone trying to navigate these sixteen cards.
Repeat Tarot Card - Three of Cups
More than just this week, this card has been all over my readings for over two months now. Not that I’m complaining; its jovial and community oriented tone is always welcome (and has some complex facets to boot.)
Most fascinatingly, it appeared in a reading at a party a few weeks ago. Instead of the usual questions about love or career, the querent wanted to know about the political situation in the U.S. You know, light party fare! This appeared to show what we can do to be more involved: work together and show up in-person in our communities to lift each other up. Now that I can get behind.
Listening, Reading, Watching
After following Sarah Gottesdiener on instagram for ages, I was delighted to see her launch a podcast on magic with Amanda Yates Garcia. Strange Magic approaches tarot and other practices from an intersectional feminist lens and has been featuring interesting episodes on each of the Major Arcana cards. Definitely worth checking out if you need another tarot podcast in your life.
Outside of the woo-sphere, I’ve been really enjoying the show Homecoming with Julia Roberts. I was NOT expecting such a tense and artful show full of oldschool cinematography techniques! It’s a visiaul treat and easily digestible with 30-minute episdoes.
And, yes, I have picked up another depressing book, but it is truly and deeply amazing - The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexeivich.
And now, finally, our card for the weekend:
Ace of Cups
Message: Stay alert and excited for a beautiful emotional gift: a new connection, important realization, deeply felt feeling, or moment of transcendent beauty.
Embrace: Connections, socialization, emotional honesty, curiosity, open-mindedness.
Let Go Of: Hyper-rationality, emotional repression, fear of being seen, predictable routines.
Guidance: Something magical could happen at any moment and no other card encapsulates the sustaining joys of the unknown than the Ace of Cups. Look forward to profound experiences and allow yourself to look for them in unexpected places.