Megan

Wobble Reading - July 10 The Wobble: Ace of Disks and The Princess of Swords. These are so visually overpowering, looking down on the viewer from an acute angle. It suggests that the wobble here is how present and pressing and overwhelming these issues seem, and also that it’s largely in the viewpoint we occupy. The Ace of Disks speaks of a focus of making a strong beginning, but more specifically, Robin Scott talks about the disk being modelled on a subway token, so it makes me think about transportation, transit, and the power structures inherent in where we live and how we get places. (My city is under heavy construction this summer, can you tell?) If that’s all stable but perhaps restrictive, The Princess of Swords wants to break it up, climbing up on a plinth of her own to shout through her megaphone and make her voice heard. We’re seeing a lot of that this summer, the establishment trying to “make a new start” that is more of the same, and challengers emerging who are connecting much more strongly with the public, showing a depth of understanding that those who have been in power long enough to build statues have forgotten. She’s done the research and got the receipts (all those pages flying in the wind.) The Path: Ace of Cups. But yet again, the path seems to be to take a step back so that I’m not having to crane my neck up and listen to others. It’s a cue to go back to my relationships, the green spaces around me, what waters I can visit and from which I can replenish my mind and soul. A lot of the “path” cards since I started doing these readings have been along similar lines, giving me Wobbles that have to do with the larger political world, and paths that are smaller, more personal, imperfect, and infinitely more fulfilling. #Tarot #AceOfPentacles #PageOfSwords #AceOfCups

Wobble Reading - July 8 The Wobble: Justice and The Hierophant. The tension here is between what behaviour is constrained by law and what is guided by morality. Both the justice system and religious systems lay down codes to live by, but Justice interacts with only the most extreme parts of human behaviour, those we’ve deemed far enough beyond the pale to need extrapersonal repercussion. Moral and ethical codes extend far further into our lives. The Hierophant looks at how we understand our entire approach to the world, while Justice looks to the extremes. What do we expect from whom and when? How do we measure behaviour, what is worth raising to the level of law, and how do we understand our responsibilities and privileges inherent in being in the world? The Path: Nine of Discs (Gain). I feel like a bunch of the “Path” cards I’ve gotten have been little reminders that I don’t have to take responsibility for everything. It’s much needed - my job is putting out administrative fires so I tend to react to everything like it’s my responsibility. This could be that - that while the world is full of wobble around responsibility and behaviour, it’s not mine to solve. I could say it’s not my problem at the moment, and just relax in a spa. I’d like to relax in a spa! But I think where this is leading me is that while this may not be the time I need resolve these questions, if I do have some time to myself to relax and be present, that now would also be a fruitful time to meditate on these issues. Not force an answer, but invite contemplation that might in time lead somewhere. #tarot #UrbanTarot #justice #hierophant #9Pentacles

Wobble Reading, July 7. I’ve been playing with Mindful Tarot’s daily wobble readings, and I’m finding them quick and effective - I’ve been pulling daily cards for a while, but I’m enjoying the interplay of meaning here. The idea is that there are two cards that are the “wobble” - areas in play or in tension at the present moment, and then the path, a card for how to bring them into harmony or move past, whatever motion suggested. Since I wrote the one for today up, here it is. I’m going to be working with the Urban Tarot for the next while, and I’m finding it’s a deck that draws attention to interplay of power and the wider political world. The Wobble: The Aeon (Judgement) and Prince (Knight) of Wands: The wobble is between knowledge of the cycles of the past and our place within them and the knowledge of the present moment. Journalism is about the now, without having the time for further analysis, The Aeon gives us a chance to reflect on the greater patterns with some distance. There’s a tension between the urgencies of the moment and the contemplation of our small place in a much longer moment. It’s between laser focus and a panorama. The Path: Knight (King) of Cups Pay attention to what narratives are being told and how I’m being seduced by the present moment or the stories of the past. What appeals to what I want to believe, where are there moments where storytellers are skipping past details in favour of a smooth whole? #tarot

Still incomplete thoughts on The Hierophant, for later:

The metaphysics of gesture
The Hierophant as a manifestation of the observer effect.

#Tarot

It’s been a while since I’ve thought to do one of these, but it’s #LetterboxdFriday
#LastFourWatched #movies

We just watched a trailer for a restoration of an old Ringo Lam movie, which sparked me saying this:

You’d have to have a maintenance person just for the death traps in this movie trailer.

Death traps don’t just maintain themselves.

#movies #fridaynight

Tarot Playlist: The Moon

It‘s been a long time since I did one of these. Send me suggestions for songs that make you think of this card - about the moon, intuition, or illusion.

#Tarot

An upside-down Mojo grin is good for the soul.

#caturday

This is Mojo’s coat now, thank you!

#caturday

Being the recipient of Mojo’s look of love is quite an overwhelming experience.

#caturday

@woe2you@beige.party @lensflare@mastodon.social It honestly isn’t! He just really loves belly pets.

There are just so many pictures of Mojo displaying his belly, because this is a kitty with absolute trust that tummies are for petting.

#caturday

The Sun Greets Us In The Morning

I will never crave the sunlight the way I do at Imbolc. I’m not a fan of the heat, so eventually the sun and I will settle into a grudging detente through the summer. But now, when it had been so cold for weeks, cloudy and grey, when I have been leaving the house in darkness and coming home bare minutes before the sun sinks towards the horizon, my spirit reaches out towards the sun with such yearning.

At Imbolc, the sun is up noticeably earlier in the morning, and sets around dinnertime. While the weather hasn’t changed and may not for a while yet, the lengthening days lift my spirit. I turn my face to the sun to get every scrap of light on my cold face. This winter has been a frigid one, with snow accumulating without respite. It’s beautiful, but at Imbolc, I feel how temporary it is. The Wheel continues to move. At Imbolc, the energy shifts, and I feel more alert, emerging from my winter burrow rested and ready for new adventures. I didn’t know if I’d make it to rested this winter, but for the last week or so, I’ve been bursting with energy.

It feels strange to be full of life at the same time we watch the world contain such pain. It’s strange to be just a border away from a country being pushed into authoritarianism, but heartening to see the resistance coming from people protecting their neighbours, their communities. This Imbolc-tide, I set an intention to help as I can, and to be vigilant at home to protect against our own versions of these people who want to harm and divide. I also intend to joyfully create in the face of destruction, to turn my mind to new projects and to strengthen the web of community around me. The Sun returns, and the Wheel reminds us that it always does, that change is inevitable.

Happy Imbolc!

#wheeloftheyear #Pagan #imbolc

@strawberigrl12@chattrbx.com He is the sweetest boy!

Mojo has a slinky for a spine, Pt. 923

#caturday

@humanadverb@dice.camp I mean, history of religion, including American Evangelicalism was one of my fields in my Ph.D., so nothing I saw really surprised me. Just, as you suggest, that sickening sense that we're seeing the full flowering of that oppositional mindset that thrives on shutting down exchange of ideas, and deliberately fosters a sense of separation from people who disagree. (You know, their neighbors.)

#LetterboxdFriday

That time of the week again!