Notebook: Page 5
Tarot for writers + Tarots for the arrival of Autumn . . .
Hello everyone—and welcome to an extra Notebook Page, celebrating today’s date (22!) and the Autumnal Equinox tomorrow.
Tarot Everywhere
For newcomers, this part of a Notebook Page shares my recent encounters with serendipity. My normal rule is that an idea/object/whatnot has to turn up unexpectedly in two very different places on the same day in order to qualify as an example of serendipity. But there’s a certain amount of flexibility (wink), so on this occasion, I’m counting two different encounters on different days.
First: I spend an hour every Wednesday in Amber Petty’s delightful “Pitching Hour.” As you might guess, it has to do with writing—and this past week, one of the other folks in the group let us know about her new project:
I love this idea!
I tried NaNoWriMo one year, as a companionable activity with a friend who really was writing a novel. Since I can’t write fiction at all, I wasn’t working on a novel—but did start making notes for a “modular analytical autobiography,” which continues to grow by bits and pieces.
Tarot WriMo begins with a free introductory session:
And continues with four affordably priced classes:
Develop Compelling Characters with the Tarot
Outline Your Novel with the Tarot
Dissolve Writer’s Block with the Tarot
Write a Ghost Story with the Tarot
Second: I was looking around today for communication aids that might assist dementia patients. And I started wondering whether anyone has considered the use of Tarot in this category. If you have any information/thoughts about this, email me, or leave a comment.
But serendipity kicked in when I visited a dementia-focused Pinterest page, and for some reason, there appeared a Tarot deck I’d been meaning to talk about.
I came across the lovely Forager’s Daughter Tarot a while back when I was doing some research about mushroom foraging to go with a post on the Mushroom People Tarot.
In addition to appearing serendipitously in my path today, Forager’s Daughter is the perfect deck to celebrate the coming of Fall—richly colored, filled with images of the natural world, and resonant with the symbolism of gathering and preserving.
Tarot Timestream
For newcomers—this is the part of a Notebook Page where I usually share information about things that are going on or coming up in the world of Tarot. Since I’ve already talked about an event on the horizon (Tarot WriMo), I’ll add just one more item here: an “almost Equinox” newsletter from Joanna Powell Colbert, creator of the much-loved Gaian Tarot.
JPC doesn’t send out these “messages” very often, but—like all her work—they are always engaging, inspiring, and attuned to the seasons. This one focuses on her portrait of the “Harvest Elder”:
JPC shares these “Tarot Prompts for Inner Eldering”:
We can each access our own Inner Elder, no matter our chronological age. I think of the Inner Elder as our deepest, wisest self. The world needs elders to hold space, to tend, to mend the web of life.
I invite you to respond to these prompts in your journal. You may want to pull a tarot or oracle card to spark a response.
What does it mean to you to be an elder?
In what ways do you tend and mend the web of life? Or: How do you care for your people, understanding that your people may include the more-than-humans: plants, animals, places?
What does your Inner Elder most want you to know right now?
And there’s a playlist as well:
Awaken your Inner Elder by moving your body. These are songs about the passing of time, filled with the imagery of autumn — the harvest moon, loved ones gathered round a crowded table, walking through fields of gold. The singers look back on their lives with poignancy, melancholy, and resilience. They remind us that our lives aren’t yet over, even as we reflect on the ones who’ve gone before us and the young ones yet to come. A gathering in and a harvesting of what’s most important — full of wisdom, grit, and compassion.
Joanna’s work enriches every season—but perhaps Autumn especially. Find out more on her website.
In the next EP newsletter, I’ll begin a two-part series on the work of artist, publisher, and Tarot guide Arnell Ando, whose work touches ever aspect of contemporary Tarot.
Don’t miss it!
And don’t forget that Tarot | An Exploration Project now offers additional benefits for paid subscribers. If you’re enjoying EP, I hope you’ll consider upgrading . . .