8.18.2024
Announcements and next chapters . . .
Today’s post will be a round-up of announcements! Starting off with some new EP features—and ending with what’s next this week.
First (rather tiny) announcement
From now on I will be putting a quick summary like the one above at the beginning of every EP post. Or perhaps a key surprise.
And here’s why. Substack can turn a link to any Substack post into a social card, like this one:
But! The card skips the subtitle (in that post, it was “So--what about those VP readings last week?”) and goes straight to the first paragraph of content.
Here at EP, that first line is almost always some variation on “Welcome!”
Which just seems like the right way to start, IMHO. But it makes the preview card useless as far as letting people know what the post is about. Or even giving a hint.
In the big picture, lots of Substackers begin each post with a “Call To Action” (CTA)—some format of please subscribe, or why you should, etc. And that’s what appears on the card.
Therefore. When I reference some other Substack post, or even a post from past EPs, I often go a few extra steps to grab a more meaningful screenshot, paste it in here, and add the link. Not a great burden—but most folks don’t do it.
And actually, there are virtues to using the card. Won’t go into why that’s so, but the net result is: I’m going to “optimize” EP posts for better presentation when they are lucky enough to get shared, referenced, or restacked.
That’s a small “announcement,” with more explanation that it probably needed. But it leads to . . .
Second (slightly bigger) announcement
I’m adding a new feature to EP.
Substack has many virtues as a platform—but the list of its frustrating aspects is quite long! One example is the “Recommendations” feature, which provides an easy way for Substack authors to create a list of other Substacks they think their readers might enjoy.
That’s on the virtue side. In fact, quite a few EP readers wander over here because they saw a “Recommendations” link on someone else’s Substack.
But there are a couple of problems with how this actually implements. First, the list only shows up on the main site page—and with a page layout like the one EP uses, the Recommendations section is not even visible unless you scroll down. And it’s not very noticeable, even if you do:
Consequently, many readers will never see the Recommendations, or rarely.
Second problem: No matter how many recommendations I have, only five will display at any given time—and those five will be randomly selected by the Substack elves. So whoever does see the list will only see a subset. And if I were to include Tarot-adjacent Substacks in the Recommendations list, on any given day, nothing displayed might be “about” Tarot.
So to put it concisely: I have little control over this feature, and it doesn’t get enough attention anyway.
But surely there must be some other way to display something on the EP site page, right? Well, you can also have “link lists”—and in fact I’ve created a couple below the Recommendations section. But it’s an unbelievable ordeal (really!) to add to or edit the list feature, so I’ve more or less abandoned it.
Therefore! I’m adding a different way to highlight other publications that might be of interest to EP readers. And you’ll see it this week, when two new page links appear at the bottom of each post.
In the meantime, here’s an overview:
Tarot Connected will gather all the Tarot pubs I know about that aren’t totally outside the bounds of what I guess could be called my “Tarot values.” If you’re curious what that means, have a look here:
To be honest, I do more browsing than reading when it comes to other Tarot publications. That’s mainly because I want to appreciate all the different paths into Tarot, rather than getting drawn too far along a few.
And that perspective is laid out in—
Basically, I figure that what time I have left to spend on Tarot is best directed toward articulating my own vision, sharing my own adventures (past and present!), and calling attention to folks who are creating and sharing thoughtful work.
Sometimes I do that last part by highlighting another Substack here in EP, or calling attention to an outside site. But those mentions are scattered around, and quickly disappear from view. My idea for the Tarot Connected page is gather them in one place, add to them, and give them visibility.
Theoretically, at least, everything on the Tarot Connected page will be directly focused on Tarot, or will include a significant aspect of Tarot engagement.
As I made the decisions of what to add there, I looked at Substacks I really like that have an indirect connection with Tarot, and also at some not-even-remotely-Tarot newsletters I subscribe to and appreciate. So I made a page for those as well.
Tarot Adjacent is so named because I see so much good work being done—so much good writing and thinking—along lines that connect with my own sense of what Tarot is “about.” In some cases, I know that the creators are interested in Tarot, and a couple are much-appreciated EP supporters.
But in other cases, the creators might never have given Tarot a moment’s thought. The connection they present for me is in their way of looking at the world through various aspects of art, information, reflection, and imagination. They look beneath the surfaces of phenomena to find greater depth and meaningful patterns. They are curious about many things, and generous with their ideas.
That’s the big picture, in plan view. For now . . .
Third (sort of) announcement
More of a promise, really. Or maybe an announcement of announcements?
But part of my goal for the coming week is to catch up some things I’ve had on my EP list for quite a while. So I’ve divided them into a series of three “Daily Notes.”
Monday: Books
Tuesday: Next
Wednesday: Now
Books will include the unveiling of that “Five Tarot Books” mini-essay that took me forever to write—plus a virtual tour of my Tarot book collection.
Next will include a look at the EP subscription landscape, plus the launch of two more new features—one focused on “Tarot and AI,” the other on “Serendipity Journeys.”
Now will include answers to some questions left hanging recently (What’s in the giant newspaper page from 1880? What did I find out about the Trilateral Tarot? Why did I draw those triangles?), along with a snapshot of my new publishing project—Complexity Press.
Finally—
I love to have at least one deck in every post. And in this case, I’ve chosen a deck that’s on sale from Lewellyn for half price—but just until August 20.
Here are a few cards from the Otherkin Tarot that (somehow) make excellent sense to me. I love the expressions on their faces . . .
Artist Siolo Thompson also created the Linestrider deck, which I like a lot. And since Otherkin can’t be purchased directly from Thompson, you can feel okay about taking advantage of Lewellyn’s summer sale—which includes quite a few other decks as well.
As always, thanks so much for reading! More soon, C