A Black, Queer Reflection on Martin Luther King and the Unfinished Project of Freedom
“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
You Do Not Have to Journal All The Things
Also from Interrobang Tarot: What to Include in Your Tarot Journal
I’m coming at you on the tail end of working two back to back 12.5 hour shifts so these links could be a little squirrelly. And don’t ask me how many attempts it took to correctly write these two sentences, because it’s a little embarrassing.
I’ve been all about the quilting lately, the bug bit me and it hasn’t let go yet. I’m a quilting machine when I’m not eating or sleeping. I want to try making some new more fancy zippered tarot pouches but I’m not sure what I want them to look like.
What do you look for in a tarot pouch? Room for just the cards? Cards and some crystals? A notebook pocket? Let me know.
But you NEED to see these Resistance Quilts by Completely Cauchy. The one made in Honor of Eric Garner is a punch in the gut. As it should be. Also her Give a Fuck quilt block series is damn cool.
Not your spirit animal: Cultural appropriation, misinformation, and the Internet.
Like most things on the internet, however, this is not only wrong but extremely offensive. The culturally-appropriative way that the term “spirit animal” is used in everyday speech is extremely harmful and so casual that most people don’t even think twice about it.
The reason why the term spirit animal has risen to popularity on the Internet is because it’s so easily understood. What people are saying is that they like this thing a lot and that makes them happy. It’s that simple. Using “spirit animal” is a short hand that shows how into something they are.
The problem is that the continued use of the phrase is a part of the cultural appropriation of Indigenous culture that seeks to commodify and erase the realities of Indigenous people.
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This post on Little Fox Tarot about Eva DuPlan’s upcoming Tarot Kickstarter has me all a twitter. The cards look GORGEOUS and I really want one!! The kickstarter goes live on December 1st and I cannot wait to back it! In the mean time, follow Eva on Instagram to get your fix of beautiful butterfly ladies.
I am getting into a festive kind of mood because I enjoy the winter holidays. But I know that’s not the case for lots of folks, and I want them all to know that it’s perfectly okay to NOT want to get caught up in all the stuff that goes on this time of year. It’s not a message that we hear nearly often enough, and that’s not cool. So I’m sending you all love. And also linking this awesome post from The Tarot Lady: How to Opt-Out of the Holidays.
FUCK YES, GIRL SCOUTS. I loved this article about the girl scouts and their message around consent. I was in girl scouts for almost my entire school aged life and being a part of the girl scouts made me who I am today. It was SUCH a positive, confidence building, skill learning experience. Support your local girl scouts. Buy the dang cookies, or better yet, make a donation directly to them!
Newsletters to Brighten Your Day. I can absolutely confirm that the Tarot Bits and Bobs one is great! I look forward to getting it in my inbox.
Back from an unexpected hiatus. Some life stress caused me to retreat from most of the internet, but I’m feeling better again and ready to chatter about Tarot again!
A nice little piece on Offbeat Home talking about Forgiveness and why you don’t necessarily have to forgive.
Then there is a point where our anger no longer serves us
And that point usually comes after we are no longer actively being harmed. And that harm has been acknowledged and validated by our community (best case) or, at minimum, by ourselves.
It is at that point that we can accept the things we cannot change and have the courage to change the things we can. And it is here, right here, that I think “forgiveness” was substituted for “acceptance” by our culture.
I’m totally not getting a kickback from this company, but we bought our kitties a Cat-It treat ball and them seem to get a great kick out of it. Plus it’s supposed to be engaging for their little brains, so sounds good to me 🙂
I’ve been listening a ton to podcasts lately and I want to share a few of my favorites:
Nancy from WNYC Studios – BFFs Kathy Tu and Tobin Low are super queer, super fun and ready to take over your podcast feed. Join them for provocative stories and frank conversations about the LGBTQ experience today. Because everyone’s a little bit gay…
Radiolab – not a new one, but DANG is it good stuff. – Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience.
From The Tarot Lady – Tarot Certification: Do you need it?
Teachable Racial Moment: A Black History Lesson Behind “Son of a Bitch”
Top 10 Phrases used by #NotRacists
RuPaul Is Everything: The Rise & Reign of America’s First Drag Superstar
Diverse Tarot Decks you can buy right now.
Beth from Little Red Tarot talks about the Impostor Complex. And I sigh with relief and say, “Oh good, it’s not just me!”
From the Tarot Lady: some timely advice that I really needed to hear: You can Always Help. I’ve quoted her below because it was such an important message. Please go take a look yourself too.
The last few weeks have been filled with terrible news: the senseless murder in Charlottesville, devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, floods in Bangladesh, and so on and so on.
Some days, it seems like there is no good news to be found. It’s enough to make you want to bury your head in the sand or lose yourself in countless reruns of the Game of Thrones finale (my favorite method of escapism).
Believe me, I have those days more often than I’d like to admit. There are times when I feel downright helpless to fix the state of the world. But rather than turn away, I try my best to look for ways that I can help.
I can donate my time or money. Or I can spread awareness by sharing information as it comes. When I’m feeling especially powerless, I can light candles, meditate, and pray.
Every single effort counts.
Also her Hit List posting are always FULL of fantastic articles to check out, so go have a read.
If you struggle with reading Court Cards this post has some great insight – Renaming the court cards.
How to make art when you’re “not an artist”. Loved this.
Four Essential Herbs for a Witch’s Garden.
On Beauty: or why Zadie Smith’s comments aren’t about you – Makeup isn’t bad, being made to feel like you are required to wear make up (or look a certain way in order to be beautiful) is.
Beth from Little Red Tarot shared a great post on activism and how to help with all the shit going on right now: No One Way Works.
Found this courtesy of Asali: 8 Witches and Healer POC to follow online. I’m always glad to find more diverse voices to read. The more we know!
Also from the lovely Asali – some more #Tarot of the QTPOC to look out for, that Fairytale one took my breath away, it’s so lovely! It’s going on my wishlist!
From Offbeat Home: Don’t know what to do next? Here’s what you can do to fight white supremacy.
Fantastic review of Kitchen Table Tarot that I found on Little Red Tarot. I’m reading my way through that book right now. Just very slowly!
Converting Hidden Spiritual Racism Into Sacred Activism: An Open Letter To Spiritual White Folks – a good read with some practical steps you can take to help.
Asali shares a review of the Welcome to Knight Vale tarot deck.
Beth from Little Red Tarot shares Simple Tips for Not So Simple Lives and the Ring of Fire tarot spread.
Northern Lights Witch shares A Tarot Spread for Values-Based Resistance.
Lavender Cream Scones, I desperately want to make some of these. Maybe with lemon in the icing.
Releasing into Norse practice: The beginning of a heathen’s journey. This is the first in what’s going to be a series on Little Red Tarot. It’s a fascinating invitation to join Abbie Plouff, in her own words, on her journey and her “personal relationship to Norse practice, as well as what this means for my identity and my search for purpose.”
Wooly Witchy Tarot 