𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖊𝖑 𝖔𝖋 𝕱𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖚𝖓𝖊
The road was open.
The moon took every art related frustration I had, and lament. Every dream locked behind a glass door
Opened it with a crystal click, and said
𝑮𝒐 𝑨𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅
In earnest, but with something unspoken
I’ve learned to fear this tendency of the moon, and question the morality of its humor.
But I never regret following it.
What do I know?
I’ll be all over SF in May.
Likely 2+ shows a week. It will be 2022 all over again. Trying new events as well as some old favorites.
I’ll be finishing the deck as well.
There are two archetypes left.
The Star, and Judgment.
And I’ll be setting the stage for something really great. Something indulgent, far away, and long overdue..
Anyway, I can’t wait to see you.
Orders go out this week.
Thank you for supporting my art.
See you in May 🌿🌑
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion
ᛗ
xɪx. ʏᴀʀɪʟᴏ
ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ
“ᴀʟʟ ʜᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴇɴɴɪᴀʟ ᴋɪɴɢ.”
Through fields of sunflowers, under velvet cerulean skies, an ancient god rides. Dressed in cheers and unbridled laughter: his enigmatic steed kicks up soft earth and myriad seeds, spreading the green gift of life, and promises of primal growth underfoot.
Have you even had a “golden era.”
Where everything was going right? Effortless growth and movement,
and in the way you wanted?
Like the world somehow became your personal procession, serving the path to your enlightenment?
Yarilo’s appearance references such events, marking the seeker’s role as the pinnacle of the world as is.
The rise of a “golden age” if you will.
Or memories of a prior one.
But be warned: at risk of sounding trite: the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows.
Yarilo rides atop the weight of the world—revealed to be a great black swan. As the sun emboldens and propels the ancient king, the swan beats darker, hotter, and becomes difficult to look upon. Grief, envy, resentment, attrition—discord marked by agitated black pinions that gradually spot the sun, and drive a wedge into the spirit of his great ride.
Yarilo (Key 19) also shares affinity with Key 10: Lady Luck (1+9=10). The Wheel of Fortune. Yarilo is no fool, and a skilled rider. But with time, comes inevitability. Change will come; The swan will break free of his charge, and as the sun sets, woe and uncertainty will resume their rightful place next to prosperity.
All in all, there might not be a more auspicious sight in the deck for a seeker than Yarilo. Everything you’ve worked hard to sow is coming to fruition.
That said, the length of your ride to some degree, depends on you; No reign exists in a vacuum. He may be fast, and the most fit for a king, but the tragic swan requires a handler with a exemplary sense of empathy, kindness, and wisdom.
How long can you ride the weight of the world?
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion
ᛗ
ᴠ. ꜱᴄʜᴇʜᴇʀᴀᴢᴀᴅᴇ
“ꜰɪʟʟ ᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟɪɢʜᴛ, ꜱᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴍᴇ…”
In a rainy back alley, amidst puddles of pink neon, a figure lays slumped against a wall.
Frazzled salarymen walk past her and sneer.
When the footsteps cease, she smiles softly, and reaches into her hiding spot.
Wrapped in machine printed silk… her tome awaits. It clicks into place through an oiled quarter inch jack in her head.
The world begins to flicker, and she tastes the tart sizzle of static in her mouth.
The world grows warm with mulled wine, old books, and mountain air. Somehow at the same time, and somehow the way it’s always been…
Scheherazade in a reading is cause to examine your relationship with the humanities: the cultural mortar that holds our collective lives together.
Do they inspire or move you?
Did you become a wretch in the eyes of the secular or contemporary world? Almost as quickly as you grew to not value it? In direct contrast to Galatea (The Magician) who represents the self above all, Scheherazade represents the influence of these external influences in a vacuum.
The relevance of the self is in question.
Maybe the world as-should-be has something to teach us, that the world as-is cannot?
But even 1001 tales—endless values, virtues, and insights. If they only exist as abstractions, how influential should they be?
Not a loaded question, in a world that seems to not learn from its mistakes.
But when is our own life worth reading? And when should our own eyes, experiences, and desires become the teacher?
—The Book of Light and Shadow
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion
ᛗ
ᴠɪɪɪ. ʟᴀ ꜱɪʀᴇɴᴀ
ꜱᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ
“ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴀ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴋɴᴇᴡ—
ᴍᴏᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɢʀᴀᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ…”
A mermaid and her retinue stand tall against a placid sea, and a rocky shore.
But a storm took place here.
Something unmoving lingers, masked in the shallows.
Something of the deep? A reflection? The dance of as the clouds recede in the sky makes it difficult to tell.
Either way, if La Sirena is present in a reading, there is likely a hint of a storm on the air.
And it’s worth paying attention to.
There may be no greater force than the heart of a storm.
But if the sea stood with fury against you, would you stand too?
Would you know that you could?
The sword in the earth represents agency.
La Sirena brings into focus, the unmoving parts, and the nobility of the self.
We’ve all been swept about the sea
under and around it.
But despite being of the sea, we have no obligation to be moved by it.
The heart of a storm is chaos’ domain: crags become ships, and krakens appear.
But it’s still a heart, and like any duel, we can disable it decisively, and with compassion.
Sometimes, the peace we want and deserve, is just as much behind our eyes, as it is outside of them.
—The Book of Light and Shadow
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion
ᛗ
xɪ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇᴀᴠᴇʀ
“ᴀ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴋ—ꜱᴏꜰᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴʏɪᴇʟᴅɪɴɢ, ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴠᴇʟᴠᴇᴛᴇᴇɴ ꜱᴛᴇᴇʟ.”
A dove perches atop a gossamer gloved hand. Against an adjacent lattice of web, its song becomes vibration, intervals, information. Wings beat in tandem, creating contratempo. On the other gloved hand, waifish fingers tap against a series of legs, forming patterns, learning—creating internal formulas, meaning, laws. A new strand on a prized web of steel. External vibrations through the web inform and become her—the world through one vast composite eye.
Arachne. The artisan that would challenge the gods.
As Key 11 (10+1) she carries affinity with Galatea and Lady Luck, also elements of the Lily-of-the-Valley. (1+1)
For the Seeker. The Weaver showing up in a reading could suggest a sense of existing ideals or morality as a focus, or a calling to invoke them. The Weaver could also signify that things are going according to plan. If deeper is asked of it, things may be going according to plan, but whose plan? Art is the product of the artist, and represents their personal rendering of nature. While beautiful—as all honest art is—The Weaver also asks: given that we exist in the world with imperfect awareness, is the voice of our integrity—our life’s work—ultimately saying what we want it to?
—The Book of Light and Shadow
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion
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xxɪ. ᴀʟʀᴀᴜɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴀᴋ
“She playfully traced the bark of her knight—‘why not? I shall become an oak’…”
An enslaved mandrake escapes a circus wagon, and sinks her raw splintered roots into mossy earth for the first time. As the years pass, her roots start to intertwine with another, a stalwart knight of an oak who has little to say, but much to share and teach.
What could an oak tree tell you about yourself? Alraune and the Oak represents the end of the journey. It suggests a mindful sense of purpose and belonging. The joy in the dance of water and sun that only a tree could tell you, punctuated by shade and rain. Achieving a final and purposed end is no doubt a tall order (on any reading but your last?) but the appearance of Alraune and the Oak suggests you are taking steps towards realizing this path.
—The Book of Light and Shadow
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion #thebookoflightandshadow
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xᴠɪ. ɪᴄᴀʀᴜꜱ
“ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ ɪᴛꜱᴇʟꜰ, ᴡᴀꜱ ʙᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴏᴡ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴀ ᴄʟᴏᴄᴋ, ᴏɴʟʏ ᴍᴀᴅɴᴇꜱꜱ ᴡᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ.”
A boy on broken wings begins to fall. An eternity of preparation, progress, and ascension: gone in seconds; completely undone. Before long, the world “right-wise” disappears, as he gains speed and begins to careen into an alien world. Taking flight, the moment of realization and relief is captured as he realizes where and what he is bound to become—a green star against a saltwater sky.
If Icarus is present in your reading, pay close attention. Key 16 represents the threat, or a reminder of a forced ejection from a paradigm that ultimately does not serve us. The Tower is the edgy darling of the tarot, because this ejection is often sudden and violent. It’s wings of wax against the sun, and the fall that follows... But all is not lost: Icarus is flying, but the birds accompanying him are upside down—he is falling, but only in common perspective. In actuality, the Fall of Icarus represents his greatest flight. With new awareness, free of his prior burdens, he can now ascend towards his true purpose and enlightenment.
—The Book of Light and Shadow
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion #thebookoflightandshadow
ᛗ
xᴠ. ᴍɪꜱᴛʟᴇᴛᴏᴇ
“ɪɴ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɢᴏᴅꜱ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴘɪɴᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ…”
The eye of Justice peeks out from behind a velvet blindfold. Chained by her scales, a crop of the rebellious mistletoe plant acts as virgil—pushing the icon into new and forbidden awareness.
Mistletoe appearing in a reading suggests qualities unacceptable to the person, or society at large are at play somewhere within the Seeker, or in dealings involving them. Shadow qualities. Being chained by order suggests that these qualities might not be overtly visible. It’s important to note that these traits are as human as we are, and we gain much from understanding and integrating them.
Drawing Mistletoe in a reading could also suggest a need to invoke these qualities: Mistletoe also refers to the sprig itself: the legendary plant that promised truth—that killed a god. Just as our bestial qualities have evolved, the traps have evolved: Armed with the sprig, we can dismantle the seeing eye of Justice: the aspects of modern life that don’t serve our best interest, and deceptively take advantage of us.”
—The Book of Light and Shadow
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#minervapress #romanticrebellion #thebookoflightandshadow
