Plenty of authors and artists prefer keeping their next big project under wraps until it’s ready for launch. And that’s a wise decision. I’m not very wise though. Plus, it’s not like you can rely on what I say about my “next” project anyway, because I keep on changing my mind.
“When rationality runs dry, it’s Red that will reconcile this world, a hue vibrant and vital inside its brown.”
And so opens Chapter 1, Zero, of Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy by Christopher Marmolejo. This is going to be a tarot book like no other. I can tell already. :: hearts for eyes ::
“To be born, this work broke open my heart, and so let this reading be opened by my blood offering, a requisite pound of flesh…”
Marmolego’s writing is going to draw out your feels, that’s for sure. Either you will be fully onboard this train or you will be left scratching your head. You’ll see what I mean. Let’s continue.
Red Tarot is not an easy read, but it’s not intended to be. It’s filled with dense layers covering symbolism, mythology, history, present day politics, literature, and so much more. This book is about shedding red light on each card in the tarot to reveal it as a prism of political praxis, inspired after Prof. Sandy Grande’s Red Pedagogy.
Each tarot card entry draws from four key disciplines:
This is achieved by weaving in the teachings of Toni Morrison, bell hooks, Paulo Freire, and José Esteban Muñoz.
Continue reading “Red Tarot by Christopher Marmolejo (North Atlantic Books, 2024)”
Winnie-the-Pooh is my childhood, and to date remains one of my favorite characters and accompanying series of stories. To see one of the most beautifully produced tarot tributes to Pooh come alive by Rue & Vervain is an incredible honor.
The production quality of this box set is top tier, whether you’re talking indie or traditionally published. Not just production value, but Amsel’s artwork, staying true – simultaneously – to the spirit of what Milne and Shepard created and to the spirit of the RWS tarot is no small feat, and few in the past have achieved it with a themed deck.
Also I just noticed the compass in the map — it spells out POOH!
Continue reading “Wisdom of Pooh Tarot: Christopher Robin Box Set”
This was something I found helpful from a leadership workshop I participated in, and so I would like to share it with you. I believe the original source or credit goes to Tony Schwartz in The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working (2011).
It’s a personal energy audit worksheet, and then based on your self-assessed scores, set goals and commit to practices that will raise your energy levels in these four fields: spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical.
We often talk about productivity and time management, when really perhaps the conversation should be focused on productivity and energy levels. If you don’t have sufficient energy to invest in your endeavors, then it’s harder to be productive. So you want to make sure you have sufficient energy, at all times.
This worksheet helps you to audit and assess your energy levels, and thus immediately implement changes as needed to raise your energy levels in the areas where they are low.
Continue reading “Personal Energy Audit: Spiritual, Emotional, Mental, Physical”
This is a serviceable everyday personal divination deck that also doubles as an easy, accessible introduction to the I Ching.
It makes for a great study tool as flash cards and for learning the Ba Gua trigram and Wu Xing alchemical phase correspondences.
The listing is $23.20.
Yes, that’s right. A quarter.
But if you are on a tight budget, you can download the printables file and crafty craft your own DIY copy of the deck.
Apart from the six-line hexagram images, the card faces are text only. No one is trying to wow you with artistry here. =P
This deck is intended to be a functional beginner’s tool for learning the I Ching, to be used in tandem with the book, I Ching, The Oracle.
Also known as the: 三皇文 (sān huáng wén); 三皇經 (sān huáng jīng); 三皇内文 (sān huáng nèi wén); Version transmitted to Ge Hong: 小有三皇文 (xiao you sān huáng wén)
Is the Seal of the Nine Immortal Realms 九老仙部印圖 from the Secret Book of the Three Sovereigns 三皇內文遺秘, which is now canonized in the Daozang, or Taoist Canons, part of the lost, legendary grimoire, the Book of the Three Sovereigns 三皇文?
According to lore, during the Three Kingdoms Era (220 – 280 AD), the Taoist mystic and later an ascended master Bó Hé 帛和 finds this text buried inside a stone wall atop Mount Xīchéng 西城山. From Bó Hé’s teachings arose of the earliest traditions of Taoist magic: the School of Bó Taoism 帛家道 (bó jiā dào), or The Way of Bó. Popular among the upper class during the Jin (266 – 420 AD) and Wei (386 – 534 AD) dynasties in the northern central plains of China, the tradition focused on study of the Book of Three Emperors and formulated their own approach to talismanic magic, invocation of gods, and alchemy.
Then, around 300 AD, atop Mount Songshan 嵩山, the Taoist occultist Bao Liang 鲍靓 receives this text painted on silk, as transmitted to Bó Hé. Bao Liang was a renowned master of various occult practices, from astrology and alchemy to necromancy. He married his daughter Bao Gu to the alchemist Ge Hong.
If a digital file of templates for a living trust, last will and testament, and other common features of an estate planning kit would be of interest to you, then you can download one for free. See below.
THE DISCLAIMERS:
THEN WHY PROVIDE THESE?
Times are tough and not everyone can afford an attorney. If you weren’t going to do anything at all and were going to die intestate (i.e., die without a will, trust, or any estate planning in place), then this is better than nothing.
SO… if you were planning on doing nothing, then this last will and testament template plus funeral instructions codicil, even the power of attorney and medical directive would be a step up from nothing.
My family has had to learn firsthand that there is a big difference at probate court between someone dying without a will in place vs. someone with a valid will. Do your loved ones who survive you a huge favor by getting a last will and testament in place.
But if you were planning on hiring an attorney to do your estate planning, then IGNORE THIS POST and do not use these documents. Rely on your attorney’s counsel.
Even if you don’t (and shouldn’t!) use these documents as provided, they’re a good starting point of reference for you to consider how you want to approach your own estate plan and what you would need to gather for safekeeping within that plan.
Also, if you are a licensed attorney yourself but aren’t a wills and trusts attorney, then you may find these starter templates useful.
I dare say this though– if you’re the detail-oriented, research-loving Type A personality who can capably do your own complex tax returns and you negotiate your own contracts, with a spirit of diligence and precision toward all things DIY, then it’s not terribly hard to start with these templates and create your own estate plan. Just sayin’. =P
Continue reading “Wills & Trusts: Estate Planning Kit (Free Download)”
It’s been a while since I gave an Etteilla deck-in-progress update. I finished working on Card 18, The Hermit, oft named The Capuchin (an order of Franciscan friars) or simply titled with the keyword “Traitor.”
As I was drawing, I got to thinking about the qi in works of art, per the qi of their artists. That in turn got me thinking about the qi of AI and AI-generated images.
If we are to believe in the principle of qi as a force imbued in all things that are sentient or created by sentient beings, then works of art have qi.
In fact, that has always been one of the fundamental factors of valuing art from a Taoist perspective — assessing the qi of the artist’s hand apparent in the art.
Continue reading “Drawing The Hermit Card; Thoughts on Machine Qi (Soul?)”
I’m looking forward to many and different voices adding to the discussion “Social Media Witchcraft: A Community Conversation About the Things That Divide Us” via the hashtag #OcculTea. The hosts are kickstarting the conversation off with these videos from Ella Harrison, Polish Folk Witch, and The Redheaded Witch.
“All members of the occult & witchcraft community – not just content creators or big names, but everybody” is invited to participate in this discussion, with the hope that the hosts might later facilitate a live community panel.
It’s a bit of an unanticipated synchronism that just yesterday I posted my commentary on personal branding pressures on authors and social media, and then today I am posting this. Collective thoughts around the same theme often surface at the same time within a community, and I think that’s what’s happening here. Ivy The Occultist had posted “Are Modern Witchcraft Books Failing Modern Witches?” on Feb. 12 and this #Occultea open invite on Social Media Witchcraft went out on Feb. 21. I thought that was kind of cool timing.
If you’re reading my blog in the year 2024, then you probably already know a thing or two about me. But in case you’re new here by way of the hashtag, hi! I’m the author of three books: I Ching, The Oracle; The Tao of Craft; and Holistic Tarot. You’ll often find me as a keynote at various tarot and witchy conferences.
By day I am a practicing attorney and my career obligations occupy most of my time. Writing and creating educational videos on topics I’m passionate about and reviewing books and decks to help promote artists and creatives are my hobbies.
I was born and raised in the cultural traditions of both Buddhism and Taoism. I trained in Buddhism, spent nearly every summer month from early childhood until young adulthood at monasteries sweeping floors, doing shaolin (badly), and meditating. There’s this joke among us Asians that you know an Asian kid grew up in Buddhism when they don’t know any of their masters’ names. Because they were all just shi fu to us. =)
Now let’s get started on the prompts.
I saw an editor friend’s repost of this Vox article, “Everyone’s a sellout now: So you want to be an artist. Do you have to start a TikTok?” by Rebecca Jennings. It’s about the pressure on authors today to have a preexisting popular platform before publishing a book, or any creative work product for that matter. How well a book sells is determined by how well the author self-promotes. Pertinent to the circles I run in, let’s talk about tarot and witchy books.
Social media influencers have democratized culture, but perhaps have also diluted specialty creative industries. Instead of an experienced, established industry expert who is the gatekeeper of what ought to get published, the consuming public is now collectively the “gatekeeper” determining who The Algorithm will favor. Publishers are yielding to the consumer public opinion, via numbers, on who ought to be published.
Top selling books are not necessarily by the most knowledgeable virtuoso in that field but rather, are by whichever charismatic personality has the most followers on YouTube and TikTok. Therefore, to be a top selling author, you need to cater to that consuming public. It’s not about your resume, curriculum vitae, or credentials; it’s about your personal brand.
Inspired by that article, I thought I’d share my experiences on having to navigate social media, personal branding, and platform building as an author.
Continue reading “Are Personal Branding Pressures on Authors Resulting in Bad Books?”
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