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Saturday April 7, 2018

4/7/2018

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7 of Wands
The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

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Up To The Challenge

I'm keeping up with my trend of running behind this weekend, which to me is preferential to not posting at all, I hope you agree. This card certainly summed up my day. How about you?

I didn’t sleep well last night, which is typical. I got up and went back to bed again; also typical. The second round of sleep seemed to do the trick because when I woke up the rain had stopped and I felt ready to go. I drew the Seven of Wands and started to write. The internet was running very slow. I looked at the time and realized I needed to drop everything and  rush out the door. I had an intense schedule today which included lots of driving and to be honest, I’m not done, but it was a choice between stop and write or post this at midnight! 
 It's still going to be awfully close.

The Seven of Wands shows a fellow holding his ground atop a hill. He’s got a sturdy balanced stance and his staff is raised and at the ready. Below him are more staves reaching up. This card always makes me think of the angry villagers scenes, only these are staves rather than pitchforks and torches. This card confirms that yes, you have challenges. They are going to keep you busy for sure, but it’s nothing you can’t handle! You have the strength, energy, skill bravery, and preparedness to handle yourself! If things seemed stuck before, they are moving now!  If you are negotiating, you probably have the upper hand. Success takes work, but you will get there.

I have had a lot to deal with today. I had to drive a lot of miles. I am dirty and damp but still buzzing from both the huge cup of Joe and the giant pastry I had this afternoon, but also from the momentum of pushing through.  In the middle of it, my “check engine” light came on and stayed on. I started to panic, then dug up a vague memory that this may have happened last time my battery was drained. (see yesterday's post) Regardless, nothing can be done about it today so I pressed onward. I’ll get through it. It will be ok!
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I'm including images of today's card next to the same card from the Universal Waite deck again. These are pulled off the web. The sky in the Centennial deck image is definitely blue, rather than greenish as in this photograph. The Universal again, is so much brighter.
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Like yesterday’s card, This card reminds you that attitude can make a world of difference. Feeling confident and capable are just as essential to your success as skill and having your act together! Before you face the frey, perhaps a couple positive affirmations in the bathroom mirror will give you a leg up. And I can tell you from experience, a little caffeine doesn’t hurt!
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Friday April 6, 2018

4/6/2018

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8 of Swords
The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

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We Are Bound To Get Ourselves Stuck

Personally, I find much of the swords suit pretty challenging. Do you? They always seem so grim and terrible!

​The Eight of Swords can make you feel like not much could be worse. The woman on the card is bound and blindfolded. She is surrounded by swords, almost imprisoned, but the cage is not complete. There is a fortress or a city behind her, unreachable, high on a cliff. So perhaps she is on a beach and the tide is receding. Maybe she is not in as much peril as she seems to be. Notice one foot is in the water (or hovering above it) and one on land?

These hints tell you that you may be your own worst enemy. Your feelings of isolation and suffering, being cut off or imprisoned by obstacles are largely self imposed. They may not be entirely in your head, but there is a path available for escape and a way to get moving again, should you decide to be open to it.

​What is limiting you? What will it take to get moving again? Consider that there are options you aren’t looking at and that help is at hand if you just ask. This is a time to get out of your head. Plunge that foot into the water and examine your feelings, your intuition about the true state of things and make a decision. You could just stay in this position, but the tide will come in eventually and then you really will be in dire straits!
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I especially love Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s illustration (above) of the Eight of Swords from her Shadowscapes Tarot! The bright hummingbird really underscores the sense that the swan’s imprisonment is temporary and that there is hope if one just looks for it!
The original definitions that came with the deck are myriad and pretty colorful! Hoodwinked in this case, means a literal blindfold as opposed to being tricked. Violent chagrin seems like a bad name for an after shave for goths. And how often do you see trammels (Basically, an obstacle, but power in trammels?) or calumny (slander)?
“ A woman, bound and hoodwinked, with the swords of the card about her.
Divinatory meanings: Bad news, violent chagrin, crisis, censure, power in trammels, conflict, calumny----also sickness.
Reversed: disquiet, difficulty, opposition, treachery, the unforeseen, fatality.”


This post is a bit belated because I drew this card early Friday morning, started to write and then suddenly feeling exhausted and lulled by the rain, I lay down “just for a minute.” The next thing I knew it was after 5PM and I needed to rush off to work. When that finally wrapped up, I was cold, waterlogged and spent so I listened to an audiobook while I sipped a cup of tea and just gave up.

​It was a day I felt like I just couldn’t do anything! I’ve been wrestling with depression lately. Thursday night I had to deal with a dead battery in the rain and was up late driving to recharge the battery. All week I’ve been running at a deficit. The month ahead looms, threatening me with money concerns. I certainly took a self imposed, “I feel overwhelmed and stuck,” break for the day.

​That's ok, once in a while. But hey, I don’t want to stay that way until I drown!


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I'm including images of today's card next to the same card from the Universal Waite deck again. The Centennial deck has a brownish grey sky, while the Universal has a light blue wash which gives the image  a much brighter, less gloomy atmosphere.
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Thursday, April 5th, 2018

4/4/2018

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The Hierophant
​
The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

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Everytime I look at this card I cannot help but think of Cartman from South Park saying, “Respect my authoritaaah!” In most decks, the Hierophant is an illustration of the Pope, who for Catholics is revered as the one to look to for spiritual guidance, blessings and knowledge.

​Smith has illustrated his holiness in full regalia. With one hand he gives a blessing and with the other he holds a triple cross.  Two students kneel before him in reverence to receive his blessing and teachings. At his feet are the keys to heaven.

So the thing to ask yourself is does this card represent a figure or an institution in your life that you see as a higher authority or does it represent a position that you are moving into? The Hierophant can symbolize a spiritual Institution or spiritual education and what that means to you personally. It represents more of a sanctioned holiness than a personal spirituality. But it can also represent your own study and accumulation of spiritual knowledge as well as any kind of official seal of approval. Perhaps you just got married, earned your PhD or are publishing a book.
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Another thing that the Popish Hierophant always brings to mind is the risk of playing follow the leader, without question, when it comes to spiritual issues. Or the risk a leader others look to for guidance may have to become, complacent, rigid and pompous. The mind, heart and soul deserve more consideration, I think. It doesn’t matter what the religion, when we accept what our ordained leaders and teachings say as the unassailable truth we put ourselves in danger. My post at the beginning of the month about  being in a cult is a good example. No one questioned the High Priestess whether out of fear or belief. Some even felt her divinity was a given. Some still do, even with all the carnage left in her wake. This is one of the cautions about organized religion. It is more dogma than darma. The Hierophant does not strictly represent dogmatic, authoritarian belief however. Some decks like The Buckland Romani Tarot represent more of a belief and respect for knowledge than a rigid system.


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Instead of a religious icon, The Buckland Romani Tarot Hierophant is a Blacksmith. 

"Working with fire and smoke to transform crude iron into tools and weapons, the blacksmith was held in awe in many cultures. His work in iron and bronze was so important that throughout the world the smith was regarded as a magician, a holy man."

"Iron itself has been regarded as near-magical in many cultures and is credited with supernatural powers. In many legends it is the smith who is the healer and the doctor, and it is he who teaches people how to use fire. The smith usually plays a leading role in magic and divination."
​
- Raymond Buckland

​It's not a bad thing to want to learn from religious or spiritual leaders. Faith can be a marvelous gift. Critical thinking; sifting through what makes sense, checks out and weighing out its value is of utmost importance. Blind faith is what is expected of animals being herded into the chute for slaughter.

If I pull out the little vintage text that Waite wrote, it will give you a whole slew of potential meanings:

Divinatory Meanings: Marriage, Alliance, captivity, servitude, mercy and goodness, inspiration, the man to whom the Querent has recourse.

Reversed: Society, good understanding, concord, over-kindness, weakness.


Here are the Centennial and Universal Waite Hierophant images:

To Ponder:

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How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant?” Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.” A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.

― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
“I have as much authority as the Pope. I just don’t have as many people who believe it.”
― George Carlin
“Spirituality is not adopting more beliefs and assumptions but uncovering the best in you.”
― Amit Ray, Beautify your Breath - Beautify your Life
When distant and unfamiliar and complex things are communicated to great masses of people, the truth suffers a considerable and often a radical distortion. The complex is made over into the simple, the hypothetical into the dogmatic, and the relative into an absolute. -----Walter Lippmann
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
-Albert Einstein

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Wednesday, April 4th 2018

4/4/2018

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3 of swords (R) 
 The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

OUCH: Welcome To Being A Human!

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The Three of Swords​ is that classic card nobody likes to see. It is a card of heartbreak and sorrow. When you come across this card and when you are experiencing this level of sadness or frustration it's really easy to feel like everything has gone to crap, your life is over and things will never be right again. It certainly is a dramatic image with the three blades stabbing the heart and storm clouds with a torrent of rain pouring down. But it's important to keep in mind that just like tumultuous weather, the clouds eventually part and the sun comes out! With time, patience and care even the most painful wounds do heal!
This card can symbolize the end of a relationship, the sudden painful loss of someone or something, a frustrating wrench thrown into an important project or dream, plans gone awry, or any kind of situation that seems irreconcilable. So step back, acknowledge your pain, recognize that no matter how big it seems it's a distracting blip in the long span of time. So give yourself some of that time recognizing that it will pass and be open to the idea that either a better situation will come along or the possibility that the clouds will roll away and reveal a new path to what you need. If you feel stuck in painful emotions, keep in mind that some of the most amazing works of art have blossomed from unhappy experiences. Even if it’s just for you, try making something or writing something that will help you get your feelings out. Creativity is good medicine!

Here's what the old original book from Arthur Edward Waite in 1911 said:

“Three swords piercing a heart, cloud and rain behind.
Divinatory Meanings: Removal, absence, delay, division, rupture, dispersion, and all that the design signifies naturally.
Reversed: Mental alienation, error, loss, distraction, disorder, confusion.”


Again I'm including a picture of the two cards next to each other the Centennial Deck and the Universal Waite. I think the antiqued wash makes the card look a little bit softer.

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I sat and meditated with this card this morning, like ya do, and in combination with April 4th, I  found myself reflecting on loss and on things that might have been. I lost touch with a close friend when I moved to the bay area, someone who meant a great deal to me. Our friendship came close to nudging past platonic friendship a few times but never quite made it. But mostly, I just regret the loss of connection and hope he is well, happy and loved, but not knowing makes me sad and wistful. His birthday is April 4th. Happy Birthday, Eric Mewhirter, wherever you are!

Quotes to think on:

This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Sadness flies away on the wings of time.
― Jean de La Fontaine

Heartache is very fertile ground for song-making but so is happiness, so is absolute bliss.
---K. D. Lang

I know that in life there will be sickness, devastation, disappointments, heartache
​- it's a given.

What's not a given is the way you choose to get through it all.
If you look hard enough, you can always find the bright side.

---Rashida Jones

Heartache often drives us to consume things we wouldn't otherwise, such as an entire pint of Caramel Pecan Perfection high-fat ice cream, covered in ganache, the crack cocaine of frozen dairy. Twelve hundred calories per pint, six hundred and eighty of which are fat calories, but is only dulls the pain for the moment, there's that carb fog while you're standing at the sink shoving it in your face, and then it's over and you feel...used. Like a cheap pickup the Dove people seduced and abandoned in your kitchen, leaving you with sticky hands and an empty cup and a still-broken heart, except now you're mad at Dove, too.
― Jennifer Crusie

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Tuesday, April 3, 2018

4/3/2018

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Balancing Act - Can You Have It All?

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*Bonus card R + 3 of Pentacles
​ The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

The Smith - Waite Centennial Tarot comes with a couple of cards that show Pamela Colman Smith’s illustration artwork. Just for funsies, and because you can use ANYTHING for divination, I decided to mix the two bonus cards of Coleman Smith's illustration work into the deck and one came up today in a reversed position.  For elaboration, I decided to draw a second card and Three of Pentacles came up.

This illustration is, Little Charles, from a children's book called, Lessons For Children. Lessons For Children was a popular reading primer in the late 1800’s by poet, Mrs. Anna Laetitia Barbauld. I have no idea what this particular part of the story was about, but the scene shows what appears to be a reasonably well-off family with children who are doting on their grandmother as they sit by the fire. She seems to be listening intently to the little one. Perhaps he is telling her a story. An older girl has her back to the scene as she  selects a book from the shelves in front of her.
To my eye, this card represents warmth, family and togetherness. It's also rather idyllic. Since the card is reversed, I might ask what is coming between the desire for this type of closeness and familial support? Or is the reversed position telling you that this kind of idyllic setting is not realistic, that it takes work and balance to create and maintain familial closeness?

Family VS Work, Art, Accolades?

Added to this, Three of Pentacles. The Three of Pentacles in this deck represents skilled labor or artistry and there is also an element of prestige. So these two cards in combination may be asking you if a desire for recognition and success in your career may be keeping you from having the type of family relationships that you would like. This could also represent distress or resentment that you are feeling when someone else in the family has ambitions or responsibilities that pull them away from the family unit, a spouse or children drifting away, perhaps. The challenge is to find ways to work through or reconcile these two conflicts. Finding a compromise may be key. Another possibility is that you have simply subscribed to the belief that there is no way you can have both career and family.
  • But is this really true?
  • Could “having it all” be possible, but look a little different than what you imagined?
  • What are the things you really want?
  • Is there a way to find balance or make them all work in concert?
  • What needs to bend a little bit or give way? Sometimes letting something go a little is enough to ease the pressure without letting go all the way.
The original book definition, given by Waite in 1911 for The Three of Pentacles is as follows:

​-A sculptor at his work in a monastery.
Divination Meanings: Meiter, trade, skilled labor. Usually, however, regarded as a card of nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory.
Reversed: Mediocrity in work and otherwise, puerility, pettiness, weakness.

Here are some inspirational quotes to think about:

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Better learn balance. Balance is key.
-Mr. Miyagi The Karate Kid

For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.    
- Lily Tomlin

Striving for excellence motivates you;
​striving for perfection is demoralizing. 

-Harriet Braike
When I think about work-life balance, I don't imagine it as a perfect day where I got to spend the exact right amount of time having an impact at work and snuggling with my kids at home. I never achieve that. But over the course of a month, or a quarter, or a year, I try to make time for the people and experiences I value.    
- Jane Park


Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs.
The means by which we achieve victory
​are as important as the victory itself.

― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings
​

You can’t have it all at once. Over my lifespan, I think I have had it all.
​But in different periods of time, things were rough.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
​

“Shonda, how do you do it all?” The answer is this: I don’t.

Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life. If I am killing it on a Scandal script for work, I am probably missing bath and story time at home. If I am at home sewing my kids’ Halloween costumes, I’m probably blowing off a rewrite I was supposed to turn in. If I am accepting a prestigious award, I am missing my baby’s first swim lesson. If I am at my daughter’s debut in her school musical, I am missing Sandra Oh’s last scene ever being filmed at Grey’s Anatomy.

If I am succeeding at one, I am inevitably failing at the other. That is the tradeoff. That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devil that comes with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother. You never feel a hundred percent OK; you never get your sea legs; you are always a little nauseous. Something is always lost. Something is always missing.”
​

--Shonda Rhimes, Writer, Director, and Producer

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Monday, April 2nd

4/2/2018

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9 of Wands R
The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

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The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot. I’m going to do an actual review of this deck later in the week, but it’s Monday. Let’s just start rocking the week with the cards! And after starting the month with yesterday’s long and heavy opener I want to keep it short and concise.

“Mattie Ross: Tom Chaney shot my father to death in Fort Smith. I was told that Rooster Cogburn has grit. I hired him to go after the murderer. I found him myself and I shot him. If I killed him I would not be in this fix. My revolver misfired.”

Deep breath! Time to find that grit!

When life throws adversity and obstacles into your path, it’s important to remember that you have the strength to meet them! You may feel completely overwhelmed right now. If you feel there is a fight ahead, you are probably right. Take a look at your tool box. You may find more than one creative solution. It may not feel like you've got this, but you do. Just be aware that it may take some time and perseverance.
Now the booklet that comes with the Centennial Deck is presumably a recreation of the original instructions that were printed in 1911 a year after the Rider Deck was first published. So if the language feels odd, consider the time that these definitions were written.

​“The figure leans against his staff and has an expectant look, as if awaiting an enemy. Behind him are eight other staves erect, in orderly disposition, like a palisade.
Divinatory Meanings: the card signifies strength in opposition. If attacked, he we'll meet the onslaught boldly. With this minion significance their all possible adjuncts, including delay, suspension, adjournment.
Reversed: obstacles, adversity, calamity.”


So since we got a reversed card today, if you choose to read reversals, just keep in mind, it may be extra bumpy. Buckle up and grab that tool box!


I'm including a photograph of today's card next to the same card from the Universal Waite deck. It's really interesting how the change in color wash and the difference in the thickness of the line give the card at completely different feel. And, as you can see, the size difference is noteworthy. The Centennial is about the size of regular playing cards. 
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Some quotes that might be food for thought..

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
When things don't always go our way, we have two choices in dealing with the situations. We can focus on the fact that things didn't go how we had hoped they would and let life pass us by, or two, we can make the best out of the situation and know that these are only temporary setbacks and find the lessons that are to be learned”
― Susan Samaroo
Every form of life must struggle. Life is an aberration; death is ordinary. Life requires obstruction, conflict, reverses, and resolve. Life requires questing. Questing provides the meaning that we seek, a purpose to justify the inevitable struggle to live knowing the absurdity that we must die. 
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
Some days, 24 hours is too much to stay put in, so I take the day hour by hour, moment by moment. I break the task, the challenge, the fear into small, bite-size pieces. I can handle a piece of fear, depression, anger, pain, sadness, loneliness, illness. I actually put my hands up to my face, one next to each eye, like blinders on a horse.
---Regina Brett
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The Fool's JouRNEY BEGINS!

4/1/2018

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0 The Fool -
Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

Halloo everyone! I'm back. Did you miss me? I hope you did, just a little. This is not an April Fool's Joke. Really. It's me!

In honor of April 1st, since I'm starting a new journey with this blog, here is The Fool from the first deck we'll be looking at together, the Centennial edition of the Smith-Waite deck, commonly known as, The Rider or Rider Waite deck. As I saunter along examining the mysteries of symbolic art that can be held in one's palm, let's hope I can stay on the path and don't step off any cliffs!

I thought about starting this blog back up before April but I really did need the time away. I'm very excited about some decks I recently received and I can't wait to start sharing them with you!  The last couple of months I have been dealing with a combination of personal and health issues along with more commitments then I could handle.

I certainly had time to do a daily card draw, however, I did not have the time to diligently interpret and write about it every day. I could also have done a card draw only some of the days, but it would have been unpredictable and sporadic. It felt more sensible to take an actual planned hiatus and begin again when I could at least stick with it on a fairly regular basis.


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March is always a difficult month for me. It is my birthday month and birthdays have been painful and traumatic experiences for much of my life. I've often had violent or unpleasant events associated with them and this goes all the way back to my childhood. March is also my brother's birthday month and the month in which he took his own life several years ago.

 I AM A SURVIVOR OF CAYA COVEN 
during the cult leadership of 
​Jessica "Yeshe Rabbit" Matthews

In addition to these painful milestones and the personal stress and health issues I am grappling with right now, information has finally come to light about a spiritual group that I used to belong to, CAYA (Come As You Are) Coven. Talk about stepping off a cliff! I think I made my way through the whole journey of The Fool during that time and when I finally I made it to to the end; Judgement and The World, I did have a clearer perspective on many things. Sometimes when things come into focus, they aren't pretty.

​I left primarily because of gross abuses by the leader of the group: Jessica Matthews aka “Rabbit” Matthews aka Yeshe Rabbit aka Reverend Mother Matthews, and possibly using her husband's name, Robles. Now that everything has blown wide open and so many victims are coming forward, there is a lot more to deal with than the pain I had so neatly compartmentalized. What I did not know in the years after I left was how many other people besides myself, had been peeling away. When you left or were forced out, all your former friends, who you thought of as family, were discouraged from speaking to you. I was not aware that everything had come to a head with a huge, verbally abusive, transphobic rant last year, followed by a fracturing of the group and many revelations about Jessica's improprieties and lies. I am aware of approximately fifty victims and as is the case with any serial abuser, there are more who have not come forward. A private investigation was begun by the CAYA Council, however, given a “heads up” by an ally, and rather than face the charges against her, Matthews hastily resigned and fled the SF Bay Area.

Beware! She's Still Out There!

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Matthews is now portraying herself as the victim and telling many false narratives, including saying that no one has presented her with the accusations. She got them alright but chose to leave rather than listen to them formally. She has systematically gaslighted and dismissed the people that she has abused. She is reframing things so that she can get support and new followers. She now has a revamped online presence with a “temple” and a Patreon. Her followers don't just prop up her ego, they support her financially. It is really scary to think that this clinically narcissistic, charlatan could potentially harm many more people.

There are a few well known people in the pagan community whom she has deceived that are vocally defending and supporting her. Many of these so called leaders are known TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists) which should tell you something about her. I suspect others only know her public face and have been taken in by her flattery. She still has her hooks in a few original members who are acting as puppets for her agenda. One of these is someone I used to consider my closest friend. Recently a respected pagan online publication, where she used to work and where she evidently still has plenty of allies, interviewed several victims and rather than use the details given to them,  essentially gave Matthews a platform while diminishing the victims' accounts. They say they had an independent editorial review for bias but it was very disappointing. When victims talked about their experiences in the comments, some of which the publication knew about but failed to include, supporters of Matthews were allowed to respond with abusive tirades and then the comments were suddenly closed.

* I have decided not to link the article at this time because I feel it was so biased and poorly written.


Even CAYA itself, which has lost the vast majority of its membership and is struggling to recover put out the mildest most, legally covering their collective asses, statement possible but it was enough to raise questions. You can read their statement HERE: CAYA COVEN PUBLIC STATEMENT

I was heartened when several respected pagan groups: Solar Cross Temple, Strong Roots and Wide Branches, Coru Cathubodua Priesthood and Black Rose Witchcraft, put out a more definitive statement. It was the statement I would have liked to hear from CAYA.


 Statement From Prominent Pagan Groups

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Matthews is very good at presenting herself as a charismatic holy woman however, she is a highly  manipulative, narcissistic abuser, a bigot and a transphobe who has destroyed many lives. I personally watched her interfere with coveners’ sobriety, mental health, jobs, finances, sexuality, family connections, love lives and marriages. She abused her power. She did sketchy things financially. Her dress, practices and entitlement smacked of cultural appropriation. She is a predator who preys on the vulnerable, people who have been marginalized, abused or have low self esteem. She had inappropriate relationships with those she was in a position of power over and did not respect boundaries or care about consent if she wanted something. She used both members and others in the pagan community to gain respectability, knowledge and prestige. When she was through or when they started to question her, she threw them under the bus and got her followers to drive it over them. Under her stewardship, CAYA Coven became nothing less than a cult. The things I observed were so horrible it's going to take a long time to process them. I thought I had done a lot of this already, since I left back in 2014, but I was wrong. Now, I feel that it's really important in addition to my own healing,  to support the survivors, refute the misinformation that is out there and do my best to make sure that the harm this woman does to new acolytes is minimal.

Public Statement From Devin Hunter: Author, Sacred Fires, Black Rose Witchcraft, Modern Witch Podcast.

*Click on the numbers above the image to read the full statement.

REVELATION!

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I know I am putting a huge target on my back speaking out against this woman, but I think she is too dangerous to others, for me to stay silent, especially after other victims have spoken so bravely.

This will continue to be a lot to process. There is a reason I have been pulling the cards for myself personally that I have been: The Tower, Judgment, etc, or as you can see above, from my gorgeous new, Whispers of Lord Ganesha oracle deck, “Revelation!” So, even though I still have to deal with all of these things it's going to feel really good to get back into this discussion and introduce you to new tarot decks new interpretations ways of reading and talk about my passion. 


I plan to write more about my experiences on my personal blog. For now, if you want to know more I am including links to public statements and the blogs of former members and students.
Thora's statement
Rowan's statement
​Erick's Statement
But tomorrow; The Smith-Waite Centennial Deck!

​Wishing you all a Happy Easter, Ostara, Passover, a slightly belated Norooz and may whatever celebration that ushers in Spring for you bring you joyous blessings!

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    The (Almost) Daily Divine

    An almost daily, hopefully helpful, exploration of the tarot

    Lorelei Moon

    Lorelei Moon has been reading tarot cards both professionally and for herself for nearly 40 years. She has an extensive collection, but the deck she uses most often is The Buckland Romani Tarot



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    Animal Theme
    Animal Themed Decks
    Animal Totem
    Anna Franklin
    Ansata Tarot
    Arcane Bullshit
    Art
    Art Deck
    Asian
    Asian American Mental Health Tarot
    Athena
    Ba;ance
    Bad Witch
    Balance
    Baseball Tarot
    Be Candid
    Beginnings
    Biddy Tarot
    Black Rose Witchcraft
    Blodeuwedd
    Blue Apatite
    Bolers
    Bonus
    Brandon Sanderson
    Buckland Romani Tarot
    Byzantine Tarot
    Cailleach
    Captain Merphlepoof
    Carl Sagan
    Cartomancy
    Catrin Welz-Stein
    Cats
    CAYA Coven
    Celebrate
    Celebration
    Celtic
    Chakras
    Challenge
    Challenges
    Challenges. True Grit
    Cherry Jones
    Chimera
    Chrysalis Tarot
    Cindy De Andrade Avelino
    Clarity
    Clubs
    Coins
    Collaboration
    Comes In Threes
    Communication
    Comparative Tarot
    Compassion
    Conflict
    Connection
    Control
    Coru Cathubodua Priesthood
    Cosmic Tarot
    Court Cards
    Creating Your Own Tarot Spreads
    Creativity
    Crisis
    Crystals
    Cults
    Cultural Theme. Major Arcana
    Cups
    Cynthia Sheppard
    Daggers
    Dame’s Fortune’s Wheel Tarot
    Daughters Of The Moon
    David Carson
    Decisive
    Defense
    Deities
    Desire
    Destructive
    Devil
    Devin Hunter
    Discs
    Disks
    Divination
    Djamila Knopf
    Dogma
    Double Egg Yolks
    Doug Larson
    Dream Inspirational
    Dreamwalker Tarot
    Earth
    Egrov Tarot
    Eight Of Swords
    Emotion
    End Of Struggle
    Energy
    Evan Doherty
    Everyday Witch Tarot
    Evvie Marin
    Family
    Fantastical Menagerie Tarot
    Fantastical Tarot
    Favorite Decks
    Feathers
    Fertility
    Fierce
    Fire
    Five Of Bolers (Wheels)
    Five Of Pentacles
    Fives: For Fighting
    Flower Agate
    Flower Faeries Tarot
    Folklore
    Follow Your Heart
    Four
    Four Of Wands
    Fradella Adventure Tarot
    Frustration
    Full Moon
    George Carlin
    Gillian Kemp
    Goals
    Goddess
    Goddesses Knowledge Cards
    Golden Tarot
    Golden Tarot Of Klimt
    Good Witch Bad Witch
    Go With The Flow
    Go With Your Gut
    Green Witch Tarot
    Growth
    Halloween Tarot
    Hanging On
    Harriet Braike
    Having It All
    Heartache
    Henry David Thoreau
    Hezicos Tarot
    Hierophant
    Holly DeFount
    Hollywood
    Home
    Hoopoe
    Hope
    Housewives Tarot
    I Just Can't Even
    Illusion
    Imagery
    Incidental Tarot
    Influence
    Inheritance
    Inner Child Tarot
    Institutions
    Intellect
    Interpretation
    Interrobang Tarot
    Introduction
    Investment
    Isha Lerner
    Isolation
    Jamie Sams
    Jane Park
    Japan
    Jessica Matthews
    Jessi Huntenburg
    Joie De Vivres
    Journey Ahead
    Judgement
    Kickstarter
    King
    King Of Cups
    Kings
    Knight Of Swords
    Knight Of Wands
    Knights
    Knives
    Knowledge
    Lawrence Teng
    Leadership
    Learning
    Lenormand
    Leo
    Lessons For Children
    Letting Go
    Lily Tomlin
    Little Charles
    Long Term Plans
    Looking Forward
    Loss
    Love
    Lovers
    Major Arcana
    Manifestation
    Marco Nizzoli
    Margaret Atwood
    Marriage Card
    Mary Greer
    Mastery
    Maya Rudolph
    Medicine Cards
    Medieval Cat Tarot
    Meditation
    Mercury Retrograde
    Messenger
    Messengers
    Michelle Tea
    Midnight Scario
    Minor Arcana
    Missing The Forest
    Modern Spellcaster’s Tarot
    Modern Tarot
    Moonology
    Morgan Greer Tarot
    Mrs. Anna Laetitia Barbauld
    Mt Miyagi
    Multi-tasking
    MVP Of Bats
    Mythology
    Narcissist
    Native American
    Nature
    Navigators Of The Mystic Sea Tarot
    New Moon
    New Palladini Tarot
    New Year
    Nicoletta Ciccoli Tarot
    Nope
    No Tarot Day
    Nurture
    Nyx Rowan
    Oaks
    Observation
    Obssesion
    Obstacles
    Obstacles. Adversity
    Omens
    Opportunity
    Oracle
    Oracle Decks
    Ostara
    Ostara Tarot
    Out Of Print
    Out-of-print
    Ovomancy
    Owl
    Owls
    Own Worst Enemy
    Pagan Otherworlds Tarot
    Page
    Page Of Swords
    Pain
    Pamela Colman Smith
    PantheaCon
    Passion
    Paul Struck
    Pentacles
    Phoenix
    Pisces
    Podcast Recommendations
    Poppy Palin
    Poseidon
    Poverty
    Preparedness
    Prison Of Mind
    Protection
    Queen Of Cups
    Queen Of Pentacles
    Queen Of Swords
    Queens
    Quills
    Quotes
    Rainer Maria Rilke
    Raven Grimassi
    Raymond Buckland
    Reading Elements
    Rebirth
    Reckoning
    Recognition
    Resolution
    Revelation
    Reversals
    Rhiannon
    Rider Waite Smith
    Rider-Waite Tarot
    Rods
    Round Decks
    Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    Secret Tarot
    Self Care
    Seven Of Wands
    Shadowscapes Tarot
    Shadow Work
    Shake-up
    Sharp Cookie
    Shit Sandwich
    Sigmond Freud
    Signs
    Sitting Bull
    Skills
    Sloth
    Smith Waite Centennial Tarot
    Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot
    Socialize
    Solar Cross Temple
    Sorrow
    Spirituality
    Spring
    Stability
    Stand Your Ground
    Star Tarot
    Staves
    Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
    Stephanie Taylor-Grimassi
    Strength
    Stress
    Strife
    Strong Foundation
    Strong Roots And Wide Branches
    Struggle
    Stuck
    Study
    Success
    Suffering
    Surreal
    Surrender
    Susan Seddon Boulet
    Swords
    Sylvia Ritter
    Take A Moment
    Tarot Cards
    Tarot De Saint Croix
    Tarot Of Cats
    Tarot Of Metamorphosis
    Tarot Of The Cat People
    Tarot Of The Mystic Spiral
    Tarot Of The New Vision
    Tarot Of The Secret Forest
    Tarot Of The Zirkus Magi
    Tarot Reveries
    Tarot Spreads
    Temper Temper
    Ten Of Swords
    Tens In The Tarot
    TERF
    The Animals Divine
    The Fool
    The Magician
    The Oracle Of Mystical Moments
    The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot
    The Star
    The Tower
    The Triple Goddess Tarot
    The Wild Unknown
    Things Are Not Always What They Seem
    Thoth
    Three Card Spreads
    Three Of Cups
    Three Of Fire
    Three Of Swords
    Three Of Wands
    Threes: Come Together
    Timing
    Tina Fey
    Tools
    Tower
    Transition
    Transphobic
    Travel
    Truth
    Tsuyoshi Nagano
    Turmoil
    Ukiyoe Tarot
    Universal Waite
    Unusual Decks
    Use Your Words
    Vintage Wisdom Oracle
    Vision
    Vitality
    Wands
    Warning
    Water
    Well Worn Path
    Wheels
    Whips
    Whispers Of Ganesha Oracle
    Whispers Of Lord Ganesha Oracle
    Wicca
    Wicca Cards
    Wild Unknown
    Wildwood Tarot
    Wine Country
    Wisdom
    Witches Tarot
    Work
    Working With Novelty Decks
    Worry
    WTF?
    Yasmin Boland
    Yeshe Rabbit Matthews
    Zigeuner Tarot

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