Taylor Swift

I've always liked Taylor Swift but don't consider myself a Swiftie - I only listen to her songs,  I don't look at how they relate to her life or who she could be alluding to. 

I'm also more active on social media now than before,  so I'm threads most days and she's in my algorithm,  and my goodness, what I am seeing! 

It's astonishing to me,  how people can get so enraged over a singer.  She's exploiting her fans!  She's a ruthless capitalist,  there are no good billionaires,  she's racist.  And on and on and on. 

And I'm bewildered.  If you don't like her,  don't buy her stuff.  She's offering things to her fans.  No one has to buy any of them.  There is complete choice here. She's not selling essential medical care. She's offering you different album covers.  I've never bought any physical albums from her and still get to listen to all the music. 

I guess I just want people to buy what they like,  and leave what they don't.   

 

When you don't get what you want....

I just did a tarot reading for a woman who told me that during her twenties she had been obsessed with this man,  and had prayed many times to God to let him marry her.   She had lost her faith when it didn't happen.  

Now,  ten years later,  she bumps into an old mutual friend who told her that he is in jail for some white collar crime and had defrauded his in-laws so his kids and wife have no safety net at all. 

She wanted to know if I thought God had known this. 

And I said,  sometimes when you don't get what you want,  you have to ask yourself,  was the universe holding you back or protecting you?  Either way,  it's an interesting question.

(I'm a believer in God,  but not in organized religion,  which I find very male centric and makes rules to help the powerful.) 

Current favorite poem

I'm so upset with the New York Times,  a paper I read daily,  which put up an article asking if Women had Ruined the Workplace.  And when they faced backlash over that,  changed the title to Did Liberal Feminism ruin the workplace?  And then,  when that didn't seem to fix the problem,  changed it to  What is toxic Femininity?   Just such an awful question,  which gave rise to lots of thoughtful articles debunking it! 

And in a perfect antidote to that,  I found this poem,  by a poet I have written about before,  Danielle Coffyn

If Adam Picked the Apple

There would be a parade,

a celebration,

a holiday to commemorate

the day he sought enlightenment.

We would not speak of

temptation by the devil, rather,

we would laud Adam’s curiosity,

his desire for adventure

and knowing.

We would feast

on apple-inspired fare:

tortes, chutneys, pancakes, pies.

There would be plays and songs

reenacting his courage.

But it was Eve who grew bored,

weary of her captivity in Eden.

And a woman’s desire

for freedom is rarely a cause

for celebration.

Jews and Tarot

A friend of mine sent me this article,  which I found fascinating!

 

Did crypto-Jews invent the modern Tarot deck?

This is speculation,  but it's very interesting speculation.  They are thinking specifically about the Jean Noblet tarot deck.  I don't read a lot about tarot history per se.  And some tarot cards don't speak to me at all,  while others are almost shouting,  they are so clear.  (I don't really like the medieval styled ones and don't use them for my readings, so don't know this deck at all.)

But the idea that people made the cards perform as mnemonics for their religious practices which had been banned and had to be hidden, is just so interesting. 

I also loved that when Stav Appel (the original formulator of the theory) put his work up online,  he got a lot more support and insight.  

Appel decided to self-publish a deck, and started an Instagram account, where he posted images of the cards and shared his theories on their Judaic origins. Many people began pointing out additional hidden Jewish objects and symbols that he had missed. “People really pushed me, and collectively, we went much deeper into the cards,” he said.

This is what I think is the best use of the internet - to share a passion and get collective knowledge on it.  Whether it be parenting or tarot or anything you are excited about.  When you put your ideas out there and encourage others to collaborate with you, you get a gestalt of knowledge,  a growth that just couldn't happen from you alone.  

I find in these weird times,  it's helpful to me to find positive aspects of the internet,  to help drown out the (noisy!) negative ones. 

Recording the readings

When I do a reading,  we cover a lot of information very quickly.  The cards glide through your fingers and my words pour out.  I encourage people to record the readings,  because I don't always remember verbatim what was said.  And if you don't want it,  you can delete it, no loss.  But if you do want it,  and I can't recall the exact wording,  it's gone.  

As I am doing the reading online,  you can have the reading in the peace and quiet of your own home,  and can record easily.  (another problem was when I was doing recordings in cafes,  sometimes the background noise would overwhelm)

I've had a lot of feedback where people tell me they didn't really understand what the cards meant,  but upon listening to the recording,  they saw it more clearly.  Or they would listen to it 3 months later and see the predictions unfolding.  

I have clients who listen so often,  they say my own phrases back to me.  I have clients who never listen and have stopped recording.  Either way is good,  whatever serves you best. 

Charming cards are from the Cozy Witch Tarot Deck 

Adult Friendships

I've met quite a few women going through divorce (perfect time for a tarot reading!) who talk about friendships.  They were part of a couple,  and knew other couples,  and now they are single and they don't fit as comfortably with their old couples,  some of whom are still seeing the ex,  and what do they do?

I agree that it's hard to maintain friendships after a big life change - you get divorced,  your couple friends still see him and the new partner (even worse if she was the affair partner!) 

It all depends on how much work you want to put into it. 

I have changed countries three times,  each time having to build an entire new friendship network,  under very different circumstances,  so I know how tricky it can be. 

I think we need all kinds of friends.  People with whom we can be deeply emotionally intimate, who know our history.  People we see daily,  often at work,  who we can rely on or who make the day more fun (huge bonus if they are both!)  People we see at the gym and have coffee with afterwards.  People who will go with us to our obscure interest.  People who go dancing with us. 

Having only a few friends to meet all of our myriad needs can be too straining for them and for us.  I have quite a few,  distinct circles of friends and acquaintances.  This allows me to balance out my needs and shift with them.  I have dog walking friends,  I have gym buddies,  I have work friends,  and distant cousins who are always good for some gossip!  I have friends I tell my secrets to and others to discuss politics.   Sometimes I can meet their needs,  sometimes they can meet mine,  and together we can swim through our days - which is what we need friends for! 

Friendship is important to me,  so I've put time and energy into it, and in the 7 years since I've returned to Australia,  I have built some solid, fun friendships.  It's not instant,  but it definitely flowers over time.