Tarot-cast for Week of April 28, 2019

*Warning these pictures will disturb your inner child/unicorn.

This is the last artist of this month’s tribute to Mother Earth.  Jeff Hong is animation story board artist and he has created a powerful series on tumbler called Unhappily Ever After.  He created digital collages from his photographs, online images and Disney characters.  The premise is what would these childhood characters experience in the real world.

As the artist explains: The hope of these works is to make people think about how their small decisions in everyday life can have a profound effect on our planet and what we can do to help reverse these problems. Using Disney characters puts a new perspective on problems we may not normally feel connected to because it’s happening elsewhere. But once I put these cartoon characters that we all grew up with and love, these issues become a little bit more personal to us.

His work makes us question not only our own buy into to happily ever after, but also reminds the reality that exist and our responsibility in creating our own Happily or Unhappily here on Earth.

P.S.  Remember signs with an * it a big week for you.  Taurus peeps, don’t forget to book your Astrological Reading for your birthday.

 

Aries

Jeff Hong*Temperance – Wow three big cards for you in a row.  The last couple of weeks the Ace of Cups and the Sun united their power helping you expand any area of your life you focus on.  Then the Chariot rolled in saying this change is all under your control.  And now Temperance the card of balance and moderation is chiming in.  So, this coming year while you are growing and change it is important that you do this with an equilibrium that does not come naturally to you.  You would rather attack life with a series of big pushes, then slow and steady, or you get so focused on one area of life you forget to pay attention to the rest.  So, Temperance advises with your growth – moderation.  This can look as simple as scheduling in play with your work, or as complex as growing the yang/male side of your personality while equally balancing the growth of your yin/feminine.

 

Taurus

Jeff HongSun – Well like Aries above this year is a Sun Year for you all, a time of growth and illumination.   The great part of getting this card is what you focus your light on will grow and with that growth so do you.  The challenges this year are twofold.  When you are shining, you will illuminate the good, the bad and the ugly and how you focus your beam of light can either grow with a lite ambient focus or destroy/cut away like a laser.  So, this year, while you shine, experiment with what kind of “watts” you need for maximum growth potential.

 

Gemini

Jeff HongEight and Four of Cups – Ok Twins this is a double week for you.  The Eight of Cups is the Spring-cleaning card.  Not only of your literal house but also of your emotional one.  And with the Four of Cups telling you how and where to do this cleaning – three-quarters of introspection and the left over fourth you will find outside of yourself. The big lesson with this combo is get rid of what works and be grateful for what is left over.

 

Cancer

Jeff HongNine of Cups – The Nine of Cups challenges you to find the places of contentment in your life, feed them and not only enjoy them but also the process.  As with all cups card and the combination of water signs, water helps if you are stuck.

 

Leo

Jeff HongTen of Wands – The Ten of Wands means this week you will have to watch your people pleasing nature.  If you continue to say yes, you will feel the burden of your obligations by the end of the week. You can fix this problem by either taking somethings off your present list, or just tell people you are swapped and not take on anything more.  Either way this is about decreasing your load this week before you collapse from exhaustion.

 

Virgo

Jeff HongThe Ten of Swords – Last week the Universe offered you a time-out with the Hanged Man to practice the art of perception.  Hopeful with the Hanged Man you practice the art of reverse-thinking, for you will need it this week with The Ten of Swords.   The Ten of Swords is the card of troubles whether that is from your own negative thoughts or prompted by the outside world.  Your challenge is to use the Hanged Man’s lesson of seeing the dark clouds as opportunities to “water your plants” or at the very least preparing you with an umbrella.

 

Libra

Jeff HongQueen of Wands – The Queen of Wands is the closest thing you get to the Mother Earth Energy in the lower cards.  She advises you it is time to take a break and get into nature or doing something creative.  She comes to remind you that your flame needs to be stoked, and that you are not attending to your inner cycles of growth, death and rebirth.

 

Scorpio

Jeff HongNine of Pentacles – Last week the Wheel of Fortune had you looking for karmic intervention in your life or the sign posts of places that need changing.  The trend continues this week but having you focus only on the areas of how you make your money.  There are some places you need to tweak, and this is the week to do it.  The only challenge is this is best done in private at first before you can invite people in on it.

 

Sagittarius

Jeff HongSix of Pentacles – The Six of Pentacles is the mini-karma card.  This week all the positive energy that you put into anything will come back three-fold, but this also includes the negative.  The challenge with this card is that the return of good or bad does not typically take a straight path back to you.

 

Capricorn

Jeff HongAce of Swords – The Empress’ growth period continues with the Ace of Swords.  Last week the Empress wanted you to cultivate your life in a way that is more comforting and relaxing but knowing this will take some time.  Now the Ace of Swords has you making your first step.  Take this week to decide on the details of how, when and where this is going to happen.  This is a week of planning and as they say the devil is in the details.

 

Aquarius

Jeff Hong*High Priestess – The High Priestess you would think would be an easy card for you all, for she is the card of the philosopher and can easily fold into lotus position for hours.  And you Aquarians are the astrological marathon thinkers and meditators.  It just hard for you to get in that state because you all are easily distracted.  This week this card wants you to try spending some quality time in the ethereal realm.  Whether that is conversing with nature, mediating, or doing yoga every day at sunset.  This week you need to tap into your intuited/woo self. The challenge this week will be honing and listening to your inner voice for long enough to get its message.

 

Pisces

Jeff Hong*Judgement – Judgement comes when it is time to shed your skin or evolve some aspect of your life.  This can look as simple as trying on new styles of clothes, make-up, or changing your hair.  It’s not that the outer layer matters it’s just practice for you to do some inner work.    Here is the challenge – can you see and love the new parts of you that you are growing and leave self-judgment behind?

 

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

 

Tarot-cast for Week of April 21, 2019

Aurora RobsonStill celebrating the Earth this month by highlighting artist who highlight nature.   The eco-artist for this week is Aurora Robson.  Her art is made from trash, mostly plastic or packaging materials.  She is the founding artist of Project Vortex, an international collective of artists, designers and architects that work to intercepting the trash stream, shifting it from its negative impact in oceans, into art.   Her Ted-talk entitled Trash & Love she said something that struck a chord in me.  Waste is merely displaced abundance.  How can we change just one thing we throw out into something else?  How can we disrupt the flow of our negative impact?  Can it be as easy as changing our perspective of what we throw away? 

P.S.  Remember signs with an * it a big week for you.

Aries

Aurora Robson*Chariot – Last week, the Ace of Cups and the Sun foretold your coming year as auspicious. Their combined power helps you expand any area of your life you focus on.  And this week another big card surfaced, the Chariot – change that is totally in your control.  So, this year’s mission is off to a running start this week.  In its simplest form this card wants you to jump in your car, bike or shoes and get outside, find new places and explore.  In a more complex form this card wants you to start – that project, business, and/or relationship you shelfed so long ago.  The challenge with both last week and this week’s cards is if you want expansion or change it’s all in your hands.  This year you need to make things happen, so grab the reins and go.

Taurus

Aurora RobsonAce of Coins – Happy Birthday month.  What a great start to your birthday month.  Ace of Coins means new beginnings on the material plane – business, money making, projects or your environment.  This week start something that keeps your hands busy.  The energy for new beginnings is literally held in the palms of your hands this week.

Gemini

Aurora Robson

Ace of Swords – The Ace of Swords foretells this is a week to make decisions, start conversations, and ponder the unimagined.  You can stay in your head all this week; the challenge is that it must have a focused purpose.

Cancer

Aurora Robson

King of Coins – The King of Coins comes when you need to expand your material plane.  This can be as simple as getting through that slog pf paperwork or getting items crossed off your to-do list.  The big challenge is getting it done. Your motto – just do it.

Leo

Aurora RobsonFour of Cups – The Four of Cups is the card on contemplation.  You can do some belly-button gazing and self-compassion this week.  However, your challenge is that you will need to look outside yourself to complete the answer/puzzle/picture.

Virgo

Aurora Robson*Hanged Man – The Hanged Man is the card of stagnation, or so it seems.  It is the Universe giving you a forced time out to do some thinking or re-thinking.  The challenge with this card is not doing the internal work that is needed.  This can be as simple as being stuck somewhere and instead of playing on your phone, you do some proactive day dreaming.  Or as complex as turning your perspective upside down for a week – like making the negatives into a positive and the positives finding their negatives.  This reversal of thinking helps you see hidden cycles and scenarios.  Side note- Do not make big decisions, start projects or relationships this week.

Libra

Aurora RobsonThree of Pentacles – The Three of Pentacles advises collaboration and practicing your skills on work with others.  The “work” you do is better if you have another set of eyes to look it over and give you some pointers.  Listen to others advice this week; it will give you deeper insight into projects and problems/solutions.

Scorpio

Aurora Robson*Wheel of Fortune – The Wheel of Fortune is the card of karmic change.  This week look for karmic intervention in your life.  These are signs post of places that need changing.  This can look as simple as you lose your keys three times in a row, so you need to get a place to hang your keys on when you get to your house.  Or as complex as figuring out what is not working in your life by playing the mind game – What would you do if you won 100 million dollars, and then get to work making some of that happen with the salary you have now.

Sagittarius

Aurora RobsonEight of Swords – The Eight of Swords is the card of binding yourself with your thought patterns.  This week it is time to let go of your negative thoughts.  This challenge can be tricky and disguised, for your thoughts are as smart as you are.  An example of a negative thought could be wrapped up in judgement of others which in turn allows you to overly judge yourself.

Capricorn

Aurora Robson*Empress – The Empress foretells this is a great week to begin something that will grow over the next 9 to 10 months.  This card comes when it is advantageous to cultivate your life in a way that is more comforting and relaxed way of life.  The Empress also advise that you indulge all your senses this week.  By doing so, your five/six senses will help you find the places or projects you want to grow.  This can be as simple as planting a garden or as complex as planting seeds for the next cycle of your life.  The challenges simple or complex are enjoying your growing pains and process along the gestation period, and it will take time to grow to a place where you can enjoy its bounty.

Aquarius

Aurora RobsonThree of Swords – The last two weeks you had Judgment, the card of evolution shedding your skin, molting your feathers, or wrapping up in a cocoon to evolve into the next phase of your journey. And the Lovers having you choose who gets to ride with you into this next stage.  The Three of Swords continues this theme but is siding more with the challenges of Judgement and the Lovers.  You have 3 negative thought patterns that are keeping you from your heart’s desire.  It is hard to let go of some of our thoughts, but this week now is the time to pull out the thorn and do some healing.  So you can evolve into the newer you.

Pisces

Aurora RobsonPage of Cups– Time to put on your rose-colored glasses and bring out that set of unicorns to play with.  This week the Page of Cups is wanting you to drop some of your sarcasm and cynicism and spread some joy around the office, home and/or neighborhood. Love and hope literally starts with you this week.

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

poignant

Tarot-cast for Week of April 14, 2019

Britta Jaschinski

Above is a picture by Britta Jaschinski an amazing and award winning conservation artist. Her book Photographers against Wildlife Crimes is poignant and beautiful.   However,  when I started doing research for wildlife/nature/conservation photography, I ended up with a list of men and she was no where to be found.

Just google search wildlife photography. You will see 35 of the top googled photographers but the 12th and 26th are the only woman.  Wildlife/conservation photography like most arts are dominated by men, or are they? After deeper research I found some amazing published women out there.  Why aren’t they showing up in the top searches?

Of course, this happens in many searches.  With famous painters there are two women Frida Karol 8th and Georgia O’Keefe 15th.  With famous scientists searched there are five women represented in the top 35.  Now we could say that women weren’t allowed to be in those fields in the past, so the ratio reflects that.  Or is it possible that all our search engines, encyclopedias, and textbooks are filled and prioritizes with European men?

What can we do?  Start supporting young women to get in the field with programs like: Girls who Click, who is trying to pave the way for girls to get into the wildlife photography field.  And here are 25 programs that girls can get into for the sciences.  Then let’s start highlighting women in our searches.  Google analytics are partially based on hits per site, let’s up the ante.  Look deeper to find minorities when you are doing a general search.   To help I have attached websites to amazing woman wildlife photographers click on them to raise awareness on the web about them and conservation in general. Your clicks count!

P.S.  Remember signs with an * it a big week for you.

 

Aries

*Ace of Cups and Sun – Ace of Cups and the Sun are very appropriate for you b-day month.  All Aces are new beginnings, but the Ace of Cups is the most auspicious. This Ace brings favorable life and emotions into this coming year.  With the Sun card, growth, this is a year where you have the Universe behind you to expand anything you put your light to.  The only challenge with these two cards is not focusing down the light to a laser-like frequency.  Be aware when passion and attention is too focused you will burn your subjects and may create a desert in the aftermath.  In the simplest terms always carry around a bottle of water while working or out and about.  In its most complex version, spread your love and passion out evenly to many people or projects instead of all of it on one.   https://www.suzieszterhas.com/index

 

Taurus

Six of Swords – The Six of Swords advises you to gain perspective or distance from your thoughts and//or projects.  There is a need to simplify when this card comes up; however not too much. This is more about finding a natural rhythm.  As always with this card, water and/or short trips are vital this week to help cleanse your thoughts and gain perspective.  https://www.melissagroo.com/
Continue reading Tarot-cast for Week of April 14, 2019

Tarot-cast for Week of April 7, 2019

CU EEB - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Drew Harvell Blaschka Glass 20141212GH

Another eco-artist for this month is Leopold Blaschka, a master glass artist.  In the spring of 1853 Leopold traveled from Germany to the United States. The trade winds died and stranded the boat off the coast of Azores for 2 weeks.  To fill the time, Leopold began studying, sketching and admiring the transparence and colorfulness of the local invertebrates.  Ten years later, back in Dresden, he created a moderate business of making lab equipment and specialty glass-work items; however, it would be his hobby of blowing glass flowers as accurately as a botanist’s drawing that drew the attention of Prince de Rohan and five years later to Professor Ludwig Reichenbrach.  With their support, he and later his son began a lucrative business for creating mail ordered ocean specimens that he drew in that fated trip.

Many of his works are exhibited at the Cornell Museum now.  A Cornell professor, Drew Harvell, is taking this collection of 700 invertebrates and searching for the actual animals to match the art to see if they have changed.  She has found that now some of them are endangered.  You can see this amazing story with the documentary Fragile Legacy or read her book Sea of Glass.  He and his son also did a collection of botanically accurate flowers, The Glass Flowers of Harvard, exclusively for Harvard University.  I highly recommend seeing any of these amazingly intricate studies in glass.   

P.S.  Remember signs with an * it a big week for you.

 

Aries

Leopold BlaschkaTwo of Wands – Last week, the Moon’s reflective light revealed the fact or fantasy of your fears, and helped you finesses navigating by your intuition and feelings without letting them overwhelm you.  This enlightenment on one’s fantasy and fears should have readied you for the action of the Two of Wands this week. For this week is the time to strike out on your own and discover some new places and people.  This week expand your world and don’t let last week’s fear stop you.

 

Taurus

Leopold BlaschkaEight of Coins – This is your second eight so let’s look at 8s for a sec. Eights are the cards of expansion and contraction.  The Eight of Cups last week had you contracting by doing some spring cleaning.  The Eight of Coins wants you to expand by growing your skills.  This week is all about work, but it isn’t all about how hard you work.  It is about using your skill-set to work smart.  This combination of cleaning and efficacy should give you a sense of accomplishment by the end of week.

 

Gemini

Leopold Blaschka

Knight of Coins – The Knight of Coins is all about pace and persistence.  If you go to slow you will miss an opportunity but if you go too fast you will miss the details.  This week slow and steady wins the race.

 

Cancer

Leopold BlaschkaKing of Wands – The King of Wands is about spirituality, passion and creativity.  He wants you to understand and work with not only parts of yourself but your destiny that ignites it.  This life is to be lived with gusto, so do something every day this week to kindle your spirit, passion and creativity and it will lead you to a brighter destiny.

 

Leo

Leopold BlaschkaAce of Cups – Ace of Cups foretells new beginnings or insights in relationships.  This week spend some time with someone new or reignite an old relationship.  This can be with our love partners, but it also is just about spreading love to any living thing – earth, plants, animals and humans. Because ultimately –Love is all there is.

 

Virgo

Leopold Blaschka*Temperance – Double whammy weeks, last week the Hierophant advised you to work on structures and efficiency.  Then Temperance doubles down reminding you that structure is great but does not last without balance and moderation. So, with your work there must be play.  With your happiness there is also sadness.  With hatred is love.  The challenge is how to do the balancing. Not as reactive equilibrium act – falling to one side and rebalancing the other in a teeter-totter fashion – but as a proactive act of accepting the paradoxes and mixing a new cocktail.  Think if it like cooking without salt but getting the satisfaction of saltiness by using a mixture of spices and herbs.

 

Libra

Leopold BlaschkaFive of Coins – The Five of Coins is the card of loss, despair or loneliness.  No joke this can be a hard week with mishaps and misdirection; however, the lesson with this card is realizing you are not only resilient but also not alone.  Your challenge is asking for help.   No shame, this is not only beneficial to you but a way for the people around you helping someone who has helped them.

 

Scorpio

Leopold Blaschka*Chariot – The Chariot gives you energy to do some moving and shaking of your own this week.  Take this time to do activities that will move you closer to your goals.  The only challenge with the Chariot is all movement is up to you this week.  It’s not exactly that you must do this solo, but it is essential you do all the driving.

 

Sagittarius

Leopold BlaschkaPage of Swords – The Page of Swords is the card of the investigator and hidden information.  There are clues and messages you need, but you will be required digging for them this week.  Ask lots of questions, read between the lines, digger deeper, keep your ears, eyes and mind open.

 

Capricorn

Leopold BlaschkaNine of Swords – The Nine of Swords is the card of worry and over-thinking.  This card makes sense with the past two weeks of heavy lifting in your mind.  The challenge and work with this card are finding ways to turn off the mind by giving it a break or diverting it with playful thoughts.  You can do this with a bout of binge-watching TV (no commercials), escape into a good book, day dreaming, or meditating to quiet the monkey mind.

 

Aquarius

Leopold Blaschka*Judgement – Judgment is the card of evolution.  It is time to shed your skin, molt your feathers, or wrap up in a cocoon.  The shift of your paradigm has happened.  The question is: have you evolved to survive in it a healthier way than the previous phase of your life?  If not take this week to be tender with yourself, you are still in your soft-shell phase of your evolution.  Take this week to harden your shell/skin, grow in your feathers, grow your wings.  The only thing you should be doing this week is figure out what you need to grow/obtain in this new phase.

 

Pisces

Leopold Blaschka*High Priestess and Ten of Swords – The High Priestess is here to help with the Ten of Swords.  The Ten of Swords is the card that foretells that the World can be a triggering place.  One reason we get trigger is we let our reactive ego do the driving instead of more kind conscious mind.   The High Priestess steps in with her cool thoughts sitting on her lofty seat seeing the bigger pictures and cycles.  She challenges you to stand back from the World and not react – just watch.  You will find that observation and not confrontation will bring you more enlightenment in situations this week.

 

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina