I’ve always had an aversion to sharpness. Knives, anger, razors, reprimands, scissor blades, harsh words — all jagged edges that cut fear into my heart for as long as I can remember. So, when I first picked up Tarot and got to know the suits — between the heart-forward cups, the passionate wands, and the grounded pentacles — the cold, rational swords were immediately my least favorite.
Read MoreThe sun dipped lower in the sky, and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief that the earlier rain had relented. I peered out the window of my rented room on New Town’s Scotland Street, waiting for the coffee that would keep me up all night to finish percolating. I tore a scrap of paper out of the notebook that had flown across an ocean with me. On it, I scribbled in ballpoint: I release my imposter syndrome. It has never served me, and it will serve me no more.
Read MoreSometimes, I pull The Hermit in the morning, before I fill my water bottle, pack my lunch, pull on my shoes, and leave for the day. In those moments, I feel puzzled. I question the pull, annoyed that my deck would be so cheeky as to offer me a vision of stillness amidst the revolving plates of my to-do list, with family in town, a holiday trip to pack for, and oh yeah, that historical novel I’m supposed to be writing in my free time.
I turn the card over slowly. It’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m pulling cards with my friends, as we do each year. This is the last card I’m pulling, and it’s for me. The King of Swords. For myself, I tend to not read the booklet that comes with the deck. But, for my friends, I enjoy the little descriptions written in the guidebook. I’m taken aback for a moment when the author refers to the king with she / her pronouns. Immediately, I feel a deeper connection to the card.
Read More“I take a look around my inner-scape and all I see is decimation,” I tell my therapist. Think: abandoned brutalist architecture, dystopian film, Chernobyl. For over a year, I could not harbor any life or laughter within myself. But last you left me, I had championed through, taken some lessons from the Death card, and leapt into my Fool era — which, let me tell you, has been a fantastic time.
Read MoreIf you haunt certain corners of the internet, you’ve likely seen a lot about liminal spaces — eerie photos of abandoned shopping malls, darkly lit corridors devoid of life, or vast, empty parking lots. For years, folks have been gathering liminal imagery online, like magpies attracted to the eerie and strange, forming communities around these oft-ignored thresholds.
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