I have a really old tarot quiz on this site, kicking around from maybe 2016 or so. I’ve never updated it in all that time, but I keep meaning to come back to it or maybe add another. Then, the other day I posted a tarot brain teaser on Instagram and I thought, let me make a quiz with more of that! But, alas, the platform I used to make that initial quiz, only allows you to make 1. After that, it’s $30 a month - no thanks!

So, we’re just gonna go ahead and make that quiz but do it as a fun, interactive little blog post! Want to play along?

On March 17th, doors open to our SEVENTH(!) year of Pull Pen Paint - A 10-month journey of Self-Discovery using signs, symbols, and systems in your spiritual and creative practice. I just sent an email newsletter with all the details, but I know not all our readers are on that so I wanted to make sure I share in this space as well.

The program is open for registration and students are already making handmade journals; organizing binders; and gathering their oracle & tarot decks, crystals, art supplies, woo-woo tools, and other goodies for a dive into learning more about who they are and how they move through the world. They are all connecting to their intuitive voices as they prepare for the opening circle on March 17th. 

Today (Wednesday the 13th) is the Full Moon in Capricorn and in light of this, we’ve been reflecting on the sign, its ruling planet (Saturn) and the tarot card associated with it (The Devil).

What can those three aspects show us and how can we engage with them to get the most of this full moon?

June 14th marks the peak of the Full Supermoon in Sagittarius. Of course, while the effects of its charge are highest on this day, you may still feel the impact a couple days leading up to it as well as coming off of it.

If you’re astrologically savvy, you may already have a sense of what these energies have in store for yourself or even the collective. Around here, while we do take notice of what’s transitioning in the skies, we also love to explore things through the lens of tarot.

What do The Star, Death, The Hierophant, and Strength have in common?

Hint 1: The Wheel of Fortune
Hint 2: The World
Hint 3: Astrology!

We know there is emphasis placed in both The Wheel and The World on the 4 fixed signs of the zodiac. They are Aquarius, Scorpio, Taurus and Leo and they can be seen in the 4 corners of each of those cards. Respectively, they are ruled by one of the 4 elements - Air, Water, Earth and Fire, and as well, they represent the 4 tarot cards listed above (The Star, Death, The Hierophant and Strength).

When it comes to my personal practice, I, like many others in the tarot community, have long overlooked the court cards and focused most of my study and attention on the Major and Minor Arcana. There are a number of reasons for this, but the main reason, I’m ashamed to admit, is that I’ve never found them to be quite as interesting as the latter two. (Is this just me? Let us know how you feel below.) But is this really a fair assessment, or is there more to our courtly cohorts than meets the eye? Over the past couple of days, I’ve begun my own little investigation to find out. I started off by asking myself a few simple questions:

At the end of April, Tim and I started a new series called 78 Connections, which I’ve been sharing on Instagram and saving to a dedicated page in this space ever since. It’s essentially an exercise that takes two cards and attempts to find as many connections between them as possible. Most of those links are of a visual nature, but inevitably we end up exploring numerical, astrological, and qabalistic similarities as well.

On the surface, this all appears rather simple and straightforward and I’m not sure that the value is immediately obvious. But what I can say is that this practice of comparing and contrasting scenes has been one of the most interesting, eye-opening, and integrative methods I’ve so far found to squeeze as much information as I can from the cards. It’s a general principle that follows us daily; if we want to really know something, to truly define it, we will benefit from examining it next to something else.

However, that wasn’t the expected outcome when this activity was born. This all began while trying to work through something that was irritating me. Inevitably if you spend enough time online, and around social media, you’re going to be exposed to a world of thought that clashes with your own. Without getting too specific, I will say that it touches a nerve when I see people putting an unnecessarily negative slant on something without having a basic understanding of its history. This is especially the case when it devolves into declarations around who can and can’t read tarot, which decks should or shouldn’t be worked with, or otherwise making dictations based on presumptions. Dogmatic attitudes, opinions presented as absolute facts, don’t settle comfortably with me regardless of the topic. But I realize that’s none of my business and partly my problem. I also don’t need to confront misinformation directly. But, what I can do is sit longer and look harder at this tool that has done so much for me and, I’m assuming if you’re here, for you as well. In doing this, I’m either going to see what they’re seeing too or reinforce what I already hold to be true, and as far as I’m concerned, either is a fair outcome.

Our charts are really individualized things, and one of the simplest ways to really get to know yours is to explore what is often called the Big Three. And because I like to weave everything back to tarot, we’ll also look at what the cards can add to this understanding. To begin, you will want to determine what your big three are - your Sun, Moon and Rising sign. To do this, you can find an online resource to create your chart, but you will need your time of birth in order to get an accurate read on the Rising sign in particular. I use Cafe Astrology though you can find other sites that offer similar services.

Knowing what your signs are for each aspect, we’ll explore what those aspects mean to the whole of our personality below.

Welcome to my first ever (but hopefully now annual) Holiday Gift Guide for mystics, seekers and lovers of all things metaphysical! In this post, I’ve going to share with you some incredible, unique, beautiful and affordable offerings from around the web and throughout the globe. I know it’s still pretty early, but the holidays do tend to sneak up on us every year. And now that Halloween is officially wrapped, it’s time to start shifting gears.

I want to waste no time, so let’s get to it. Some of the features in this list are very specific products, some are links to full stores or an artist’s larger body of work, but all are pure magick. Please enjoy the selection below which focuses specifically on small business as opposed to big box - hopefully it will inspire you for the upcoming holiday season!

A few weeks ago I posted a dream-states survey and invited those who wished to partake to share their experiences. I received quite a number back and would like to start this by offering a heart felt thank you. Not only was I in awe of the feedback, but I felt a great sense of comfort knowing that this world I escape to each night is not mine alone.

With all that being said, I spent a great deal of time pouring over the participant's birth charts because I wanted to see if there were a few areas in particular where I could draw commonalities. Astrology is complex, and I am not an expert by a long stretch - but it was fascinating none the less. Unfortunately, based on the sample size I viewed, I couldn't conclude any obvious parallels, but I would like to explain what it was I was looking for. Before I do that, let me share with you some of the fascinating experiences some of our dreamers put forth. I've just included one or two quotes for each topic and I've added my own input as well.

Tomorrow is the much anticipated Solar Eclipse in Leo and depending where you are in this world, you may experience total-partial darkness for a brief period of time.

Solar eclipses are relatively rare and when they show up, it's a good time for us to take a peek at what's lurking in our shadows and what is attempting to find its way to light. It's also an opportunity to allow for some serious transformation to take place and depending where this eclipse is landing for you in your chart, it could mean a focus on different things.

To figure out where the eclipse is showing up for you, you need to locate what house Leo lands on in your natal chart. You can run a chart over at Cafe Astrology, which is an excellent resource that I use frequently since I'm definitely no Astrology expert. Once you've run your chart, scroll down to the bottom and find what house Leo falls in for you. There are 12 houses total and I've included a list below so you can reference what each of them means. Please note that I've included the natural sign that occupies each house to provide more context to that house, but your natal chart will show you specifically where the signs are landing for you.