Untitled

From now through June 5 (which I may extend, depending on current events), I am offering a free copy of my zine: The Littlest Witch's Trauma First Aid Kit to anyone who makes a donation of at least $5 to one of the following orgs. DM me a screenshot of your donation receipt and I'll send you a PDF of my zine. Let's take care of our community and ease the pain of the trauma around us. Reclaim the Block: https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/ Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/donate https://www.instagram.com/p/CAwSuykHYRl/?igshid=k6mxa744xxyk

Inspiring and beautiful @chescaleigh... #artismagic #portraitdrawing #illustration #procreatetutorial https://www.instagram.com/p/BxGjBS8lZwr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=z94s9vmnqglv

“Death is a transformation, it teaches us cycles of living-dying-composting-rebirth. Death asks us what in our lives can we release into compost and what in our lives is ready for rebirth.” The Resilient Tarot is back! Delays are part of life, folks. In this case, delays are because my life is undergoing a death and rebirth. I’m leaving my job of 15 years and going to grad school for a Masters of Social Work. The past month and a bit have been full to the brim with orientations, internship interviews, registrations, and training in folks as my job begins major transition. Expect more of the major arcana in my feed, and more art in general, as I share more of my other projects. #indietarotdeck #indietarot #tarot #trauma #resilience #resilienttarot #witchesofinstagram #artismagic https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw0nxMPlB39/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wet54weq3x6g

Powerful words from @ocasio2018! Let’s refine our collective future and push what’s possible. We can create the world we will live in, a world for those who come after us. Been taking a little (longer than expected) break from other projects to pull things together for grad school. In fact, I’m prepping this post while waiting for an internship interview. Big changes in my life, lemme tell ya! Pieces like this one are what I do to keep my hand in and my mind both calm and sharp. I’m quite proud of it... https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDVbKllgk1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1l95b3gspu7o6

I call this Study of a Mailbox in Winter, Minneapolis 2019. #witchesofinstagram #winterinmn #icicles #minnesnowta #yesitaggedthat https://www.instagram.com/p/BuRa-RaFgKj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1j95dc241iu7w

“The Initiate understands that accomplishments take time. They are learning patience through long study, work, and introspection. There is a calm that comes from being able to hold the tension of waiting. The Initiate hangs in that calm, growing and becoming.” In most tarot decks, this card is The Hanged Man, a figure suspended upside down by one foot often with a peaceful face and glow about them. This was a card I struggled with. Historically, the style of hanging shown here was an execution used for traitors, and in some decks that is how The Hanged Man is written. Other decks invoke Odin hanging from the world tree Yggdrasil in his quest for knowledge. In The Resilient Tarot, this card is The Initiate, modeled here by @levitskibear , a dear friend and member of my community who recently experienced an initiation. Through knowing Karin, I came to better understanding of what this card COULD mean, and ultimately what I felt like it should mean for this deck. Initiation is hard, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. And it teaches us more than we expect it to, it teaches us that everything takes time. We come out of an Initiation with new knowledge, and also with new shaping of ourselves. We are still ourselves, but with new layers, almost geological in the forming. As I write this caption today, I sit with an important letter in front of me, an acceptance letter to the Master of Social Work program I applied for. I am embarking on my own Initiation, my own becoming. I welcome the transformation. Where are you being Initiated in your life? What big transformative work is helping you learn patience? https://www.instagram.com/p/BuM_rgrlx91/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1uqgoztzgo1uv

I went out on a limb yesterday and posted a poem to Facebook. I’m going out on another limb and posting it here. Sometimes you can’t capture a scene in a photo or drawing, maybe you’re driving (I was!) or maybe it’s just to ephemeral. Those are the times I try to capture images with words. So here is a poem for a snowy morning drive along the mighty Mississippi River. Yesterday’s snow made this February the snowiest in record in Minnesota, so here are a couple other recent snow photos from this month. I love the snow and how it transforms the world! Such beauty all around! #poetry #snow #snowyfebruary #mississippi #southminneapolis #witchesofinstagram #artismagic https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJjeO7Fhxh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wvxju0fg1et6

“Justice is at its most simple: cause and effect. However, Justice also shows us consequences and both social and personal ideals of justice. Justice asks you how will you fight the injustices in our world? How will you stand up for those who do not receive Justice in our society? Justice is Balance, hard fought for and rarely given by the ruling systems of our overculture.” Social justice is a vital part of my spiritual tradition, the Reclaiming tradition of witchcraft. Our Principals of Unity includes the words "We work for all forms of justice: environmental, social, political, racial, gender and economic. Our feminism includes a radical analysis of power, seeing all systems of oppression as interrelated, rooted in structures of domination and control." Activism and fighting for justice is a part of our spiritual core. Many of us practice this by protesting, by regularly writing and calling our representatives, by donating to causes that support those who need it and that work to bring down the overculture. I practice my activism through my art, by making art that represents my beliefs visually and that allows me to support causes financially that matter to me. For instance, half of the sale price of my activist coloring book went directly to Reclaim! and to Black Visions Collective (the Mpls Black Lives Matter group). Shown here is @gzachariahwhite, friend, local artist, and therapist who inspires me with how they move through the world in their authenticity, fighting for balance through their art, through their voice in local performing art communities, and by helping others be their most authentic selves. Zach is shown here wearing their costume as Gwin, a character from a play by @tangleroot_eli. Gwin feels like the kind of anarchistic fighter who would help burn down the systems of oppression, who fights to support those society has forgotten or tried to erase, and who does it all fabulously. The work we do as activists begins to balance the damage done to us by society. What is your work? How do you fight for Justice? https://www.instagram.com/p/BuFRU0ZlrCU/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=seixgn0i5qia

Not sure how I’ve been feeling the past couple days. Kinda down, but still appreciating the beauty of the world around me. @tangleroot_eli is out of town for more than a week, which is big! But... February skies are so pretty in the evening... The frigid air this morning brought glowing mists up from the steady flowing Mississippi (wish I could have stopped for a picture, but sometimes the beauty is for our eyes and memories and not to be translated through camera lenses)... And Yemoja watches over me at my desk at work (thank you @sisterdonyelle for sharing your gift of art!). #witchesofinstagram #februaryskies #yemoja #artismagic https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt6Id0gFLwL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=h30k1ig18t3r

“The Wheel turns. The Wheel is change and interconnectivity. It focuses on what can be done, not should. The Wheel is Time, Change, Taking Responsibility. Grab hold of this wheel and steer your life where you wish your fate would take you.” The Wheel of Fortune is traditionally about fate and destiny, luck even. In The Resilient Tarot, The Wheel is about being the master of your own fate. I don't believe in fate, myself. I don't believe that there is a reason for any one thing to happen instead of another. "Meant to be" is a notion that makes me feel like I didn't have a hand in getting myself where I am, good or bad. So this card is about responsibility. It's also about knowing when it's time for change, and knowing how what we do affects other things and people. When invoking Time in our local community, we often sing "Time is on our side" as a way to acknowledge that there will be enough time for the work that we do, that this is the time for us to gather for that work, and that the work that is done now could only be done now. Like the four principles of Open Space Technology: "Whoever comes is the right people, whatever happens is the only thing that could have, when it starts is the right time, when it’s over it’s over." That may sound very destiny-heavy... But it's really a matter of acknowledging that our work is in the hands of those of us who are working together co-creating our world, that each of us has an impact on our work and on each other, and that our time together is that extra special ingredient that makes everything possible. What CAN we do in our time together on this earth? What change can we create... for ourselves and for each other? Can you take hold of the Wheel and steer your life in a new direction? https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt1-i3nFwby/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=smzwiid8y3k

So hard to pick images for #artvsartist2019! But here are many of my favorites from 2018 to now plus a selfie of me this morning, thinking about my sweetie (who is on a trip for over a week!)... I realize looking at these pieces that I haven’t released some of them yet! So look for me to do that..., soonishly? #witchesofinstagram #artismagic #illustration #resilienttarot https://www.instagram.com/p/BtzXtlsFx0g/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1l6jcf419uf6v

“The Hermit is on a personal internal quest. They crave and thrive in solitude. They ask whether you have the bravery and courage to go it alone and to seek within for wisdom and knowledge.” The Hermit is MY CARD. And so, this Hermit is me, actually me. I'll be honest folks, that's kinda scary. Because I am a hermit, an introvert. Even though I'm an artist who puts their art out there, I'm a person who keeps mySELF protected and held close. Traditionally, The Hermit is a hooded figure making their way through the dark with a lantern to light the way in front of them. I specifically chose to change up the image on The Resilient Tarot's Hermit card. This Hermit is sitting, in a comfortable position that evokes a home, with a light shining towards them. The light and positioning are all about seeking within ourselves. This Hermit card is for everyone who needs time to themselves to recharge. It is for those of us who spend significant time in introspection, and who find ourselves changing and growing from the seeds we plant within our minds, psyches, and hearts. What is solitude for you? What do you seek within yourself? What seeds of wisdom and knowledge do you tend in your private moments? https://www.instagram.com/p/BtwR7zzl7NX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=eivrpnr47p31

“The Chariot is your forward-moving energy. It asks that you allow yourself to be carried by self-belief, tenacity, and clarity of focus.” I want to tell you a story of tenacity. My spouse, at age 30, learned to ride a bike. They can tell the story of why bicycles had not been a part of their childhood much better than I can. But that process of wobbling, falling, getting back on again and again, and ultimately befriending a form of transportation they love... I was there for that. The joy, even in the tiny wins after failure, highlights for me how much this Chariot energy can move us forward. When we have clarity of focus, when we believe in ourselves, we can accomplish so much. The Chariot also asks for trust, just like a bicycle. Trust that those skinny little wheels will hold you up, and trust that the next step will follow the one you are on. Can you allow yourself to trust? @tangleroot_eli, my spouse, is The Chariot in The Resilient Tarot. They are here on their trusty bicycle, biking joyfully through our south Minneapolis neighborhood. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bthkh-8FFKa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1w6fvk23ppl1m

I have been looking up lately. Finding beauty in the skies above me feels like a literal lifting of the depression I’ve been sunk in for the past several years. I know I’ll always have low points, but realizing that I now have that capacity for joy again is so precious. #lookingup #depressionlifting #lookatthoseskies #findingbeauty #beautyallaround #witchesofinstagram #artismagic https://www.instagram.com/p/BtgWEmwlJ2H/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jpwv3h7knm0y

“The Choice contains dualities and multiplicities. Can you choose love and self-love? Can you choose your best self? The Choice can teach us about making compassionate choices, if we will let it.” With The Resilient Tarot I reimagined The Lovers as The Choice. My view of the card is that it is deeper than one love or one lover... The Choice is about if we can choose love and what love will we choose. For some, that may be love of self and in fact, that may be the hardest thing to do (it is for me!). For others, it may be the love of a friend, or a partner, or many partners. What is your choice? What does love look like to you? Can you choose love? https://www.instagram.com/p/BtXCm6plBev/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11telqe13efp2

This witch drug themselves to work today, in the cold WITH a cold, because I thought they really needed me for a presentation. Turns out they canceled that, broke down crying when I found out, lemme tell ya. And so they sent me home. Stopped on the way to snap a couple pics because this vicious cold world is so tremendously beautiful! Now I’m well bundled at home with blankets, a whiny/cuddly cat, and a heating pad. Stay warm everyone! #witchesofinstagram #mississippiriver #millcitymuseum #riverroad #westriverparkway #polarvortex #artismagic https://www.instagram.com/p/BtTmKaIlOgo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ntkjpcoc87ka

“The key to wisdom can often be found through Community, connecting to loved ones and teachers who can initiate you on your spiritual path.” Community is one of the bigger re-envisionings of The Resilient Tarot. This card is traditionally The Hierophant. The elements of that card I’m working with here are wisdom, teaching, spirituality, and spiritual heritage. My community has been so important to me for all of these things. They share their wisdom, they teach me and provide me opportunities to teach, and we share a spiritual heritage. This image is from an event held some years ago, when many members of our community gathered to sing in an oak grove along the Mississippi River. These feet are our feet. Young and old, with varying levels of ability, of different races. We walk together in our spiritual path, and when we need each other, we can be each other’s guides and initiators. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtR874dF1FX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1weo2utj5epic