Category Archives: Blog

A Card A Day LIVE

Some time back I did blogging exercise where I would read a tarot card for the day. When COVID-19 forced us all to innovate, I redesigned my webcam setup so I could have a face view and a table view, allowing me to do remote readings that would feel more like what we would do in person. I realized it was time to restart the Card A Day with live video broadcasts. I do them every day that I can. Eventually we’ll get through the entire tarot and we’ll move on to some other kinds of oracles. You can watch the latest video below and all the previous broadcasts.

If you are curious about your own personal reading we can arrange a remote session that will feel very much like what we would do in a face to face session at a fair or event. Set yours up now by filling in the contact form.

Painting of pilgrims and native Americans celebrating the first Thanksgiving feast

The Power of Giving Thanks

When I was growing up, the US holiday of Thanksgiving was surrounded by a lovely legend of two different types of people coming together for survival in a harsh winter. It was a tale of mutual respect. In this tale, the Pilgrims didn’t try convert the indigenous people, but learned from them. The Wampanoag tribe didn’t challenge the strangers in their land, but befriended them. It’s a lovely tale, and George Washington signed in a national holiday around it.

Historians challenge this tale and there is now a lot of controversy. The real story is not as simple or as nice as the one we get in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. It’s filled with all the complications and ugliness that seems to be present in any time we look at the real events and actions of our ancestors rather than the legend.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
Photo by United Feature Syndicate Inc., 1973

Added to that are the gatherings of families, with all their own imperfections and oppositions. As I write this, I am visiting my family, where I hover somewhere on the edge of being a perpetual 16-year-old. It takes a strong force of will to be my own man in this environment, and most of it is actually in my own head. Others deal with major clashes in areas of politics, religion, sexuality, work ethics, and pretty much every other possible way to differ. Why don’t we just call the whole thing off?

And, yet, I think there is something truly valuable in having a holiday that is focused on giving thanks.

But, why? We can give thanks any time we want! We don’t need some sort of national order to tell us to be thankful.

This is true. We don’t need a specific holiday to make us thankful. In fact, articles, such as this one published by the Harvard Medical School, say that a regular regimen of gratitude has enormous benefits to our psychology and well-being. Furthermore, there is evidence, like what is referenced in this Forbes article, that suggest we shouldn’t wait for things to turn out well to begin expressing our gratitude. We can, and should, be giving thanks every day.

By Ratomir Wilkowski, Kazimierz Mazur – www.RKP.org.pl, www.rodzimowierca.pl – Own work, CC BY 2.5,

For that matter, we don’t really need the wheel of the year. We don’t need a Yule festival to think of the light returning, renewal, and resurrection. We don’t need a Dia de las Muertos to think of our ancestors and to connect with their essence. We don’t need a New Year celebration to make resolutions for change. We can do these every day. Nevertheless, these traditional points in time cause us to reflect on these areas of our life. We get to put extra effort and focus into the idea. If it’s something that we’re not doing so well, it gives a target for making improvements. It’s a time for a do-over. We can dedicate ourselves to doing better from this point forward, and the traditions help us to focus our intent. The legends surrounding these holidays also help instruct us about how to embrace and act on the ideas we want to improve, even if they are apocryphal.

So far, I’ve done a good job of not talking too much about politics and lifestyle choices at my family gathering. I also notice that, personally, I need to up my gratitude game and will use this day to propel me into better habits. Here are things I’m going to start doing. Feel free to steal.

  • I will be sending out a load of hand-written Thank You cards next week, some of which are way overdue. I don’t think there’s a statute of limitations on thanking people, though.
  • I’m going to start a ritual of gratitude. Many suggest a journal, and that might be a good idea. I will certainly begin a sort of meditation or devotional to reflect on things for which I am thankful.
  • I’m going to be more proactive with my gratitude, being thankful for the opportunity for success, whether or not the conclusion is known. How many people never dare? How many people are unable or unwilling to try? That I am on my chosen path at all is worth some gratitude.
  • I’m going to work harder on finding ways to let people in my life know that I am grateful for them. I am going to work harder to let them know that I see them.

I am grateful to you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I am grateful to you for your support on my path. I am grateful for living in a time where our minds can meet, no matter who or where we are.

I hope that you find your own way to renewed and robust gratitude going forward. If the prominent legends and icons that surround the holiday are trouble for you, select your own and apply them. You don’t have to raise up the ideas that you don’t agree withbut you will benefit from a day focused on thanks, which will lead you more and more to being truly thankful every day. We’ll see those results evolve as we achieve it together.

Saul Ravencraft's signature

What would you tell the bees?

Perusing the Interwebs I came across this article from amusingplanet.com about the custom of sharing mourning news with the bees, who would then help to spread the word of someone’s passing. The practice expanded to sharing with the bees anything that you wanted to pass to the spirit world because they were able to pass between worlds.

I seem to be controversial sometimes when talking to other psychics and mediums about whether anyone has the ability to make these connections. My thinking is that anyone can throw a ball. You may not have the skill and accuracy to do it in a way that is generally useful for sports, but if you had a strong desire you could certainly exercise that ability. Of course, there will always be those who due to intense training and natural talent will always throw a ball better than you. Anyone can throw a ball, though.

I try to never discourage people about their own intuition and abilities to connect with spirit. There are many techniques that help people to explore and develop these things. Telling the bees is one of them. While our modern sensibilities may laugh at this as naive superstition, look at all that is going into this. There is an acceptance of death. There is an idea of continuance. There is an acknowledgement that there are forces at work that are bigger than any of us individually. There is a willingness to be open to mysteries. We don’t know how or why the bees carry these messages, but we allow that they will. I think that’s beautiful.

Detail of Charles Napier Hemy’s painting The Widow (1895)

Of course, the bees have been struggling for some time. There are many environmental causes attributing to this decline in bee health and population, but could it also have something to do with our turning away from spirit? Would it make any difference if we were to enlist the bees again as metaphysical messengers? The gist of it all is recorded in this wonderful poem by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) found in The Poetical Works in Four Volumes. 1892. It is presented here from bartleby.com.

Narrative and Legendary Poems
Telling the Bees

HERE is the place; right over the hill
  Runs the path I took;
You can see the gap in the old wall still,
  And the stepping-stones in the shallow brook.

There is the house, with the gate red-barred,
  And the poplars tall;
And the barn’s brown length, and the cattle-yard,
  And the white horns tossing above the wall.

There are the beehives ranged in the sun;
  And down by the brink
Of the brook are her poor flowers, weed-o’errun,
  Pansy and daffodil, rose and pink.

A year has gone, as the tortoise goes,
  Heavy and slow;
And the same rose blows, and the same sun glows,
And the same brook sings of a year ago.

There ’s the same sweet clover-smell in the breeze;
  And the June sun warm
Tangles his wings of fire in the trees,
  Setting, as then, over Fernside farm.

I mind me how with a lover’s care
  From my Sunday coat
I brushed off the burrs, and smoothed my hair,
  And cooled at the brookside my brow and throat.

Since we parted, a month had passed,—
  To love, a year;
Down through the beeches I looked at last
  On the little red gate and the well-sweep near.

I can see it all now,—the slantwise rain
  Of light through the leaves,
The sundown’s blaze on her window-pane,
  The bloom of her roses under the eaves.

Just the same as a month before,—
  The house and the trees,
The barn’s brown gable, the vine by the door,—
  Nothing changed but the hives of bees.

Before them, under the garden wall,
  Forward and back,
Went drearily singing the chore-girl small,
  Draping each hive with a shred of black.

Trembling, I listened: the summer sun
Had the chill of snow;
For I knew she was telling the bees of one
  Gone on the journey we all must go!

Then I said to myself, “My Mary weeps
  For the dead to-day:
Haply her blind old grandsire sleeps
  The fret and the pain of his age away.”

But her dog whined low; on the doorway sill,
  With his cane to his chin,
The old man sat; and the chore-girl still
  Sung to the bees stealing out and in.

And the song she was singing ever since
  In my ear sounds on:—
“Stay at home, pretty bees, fly not hence!
  Mistress Mary is dead and gone!”

1858.

When you are mourning someone, when you want to send a message to one who has crossed, try telling the bees.

Saul Ravencraft's signature

Til death do us part

(originally published at saulravencraft.com.)

Of all the different things that I do, I get particular joy from leading weddings. Several years ago I became ordained through the Church of Universal Life. At the time it was mostly out of curiosity, and because I had been advised that having clerical credentials might afford some protections against more aggressive opponents to some of my arts. I had been ordained for many years before I was first asked to marry someone. 

I’ve performed ceremonies in different conditions for people with different spiritual perspectives. My last ceremony was a vow renewal performed in a cemetery. (This held very special meaning for the couple and I was game.) We did not lack for witnesses, even if some of them were unseen!

Saul, dressed in his clerical robe, stands in a cemetary
Saul waits for the ceremony to begin for an unusual vow renewal.

I take these unions very seriously. I craft a ceremony using traditional elements that fits with the spiritual sensibilities of the people I am marrying. Since my spiritual view is pretty broad, it is easy for me to accommodate and blend perspectives and attitudes while keeping it comfortable for everyone involved. 

 A lot of what I find myself doing is providing an anchor for everyone. There are a lot of players in a wedding, sometimes with different ideas about what should happen. When someone asks me to lead their wedding I become their advocate, shaping the ceremony and enforcing their wishes. I also do my best to be a calm assurance that everything is going to be great. 

The creation of the ceremony is probably my favorite task. I have had to research different elements and traditions to blend something especially meaningful into a ceremony. (I’ve blended Norse mysticism with mainstream Christianity in a way that didn’t upset grandma.) I make it clear to my couple that this is their sacred rite. They are the ones who live with this. It must be meaningful to them. If that takes a little creative merging, I’m fine with that.

I am happy to say that the couples I have joined so far are still doing OK. What more could I ask for?

Gratitude is essential

The other day I created this meme in response to listening to people argue about Thanksgiving. I am grateful for pixabay.com for being a fantastic resource for public domain photos. 

In the United States we have a holiday that is themed around the idea of being thankful. People can and do debate the lore and what lays behind this holiday. Everything is about intention, however. Thanksgiving is an incredible opportunity to focus on gratitude.

We live in a world driven by marketing and consumption. In order to get you to consume, it is important to drive into your head the ways in which you are needy. We are bombarded with messages about our own inadequacies and how far we are behind the curve, how we are the have-nots. We have so many wish lists available to us, constantly reminding us of what we still need to obtain. 

buttons for Buy now and Add to wish list

Today is a day to set all of that aside. It is a day to not look at what we want, but what we have. When we really think about it, we have quite a lot.

My world has shifted quite a bit. I went from a comfortable corporate circumstance to a world of uncertainty. Don’t get me wrong. This has, overall, been very good for me, but there is a lot of contrast between the so-called guarantees of a few years ago and the spontaneity of today. I am not the only one having this experience. 

And yet, there is so much in my world that I treasure. I have family and friends who stick with me, despite the twists and turns. The money manifests… enough… in time. I am in a mode where I am free to explore and express. I continue to have the necessities of food, shelter, cats. Many hardships that could be mine are not. Hope and opportunity are still with me. Life is really blessed in so many ways.

Part of magickal working is follow-through. We set the intention; we build the energy; we focus, aim and fire that energy. Then, we move forward with the assurance that what we sent forth will do what we asked. When we see evidence, we act with gratitude. We acknowledge how the universe has helped to manifest for us. (How our prayers have been answered, if you will.) Along with thanking the universe, we should also give love and thanks to the people around us who have been part of that journey, who have contributed to that manifestation.

Consider making your intention today to set the differences, the doubts, and what is lacking aside. Look at what you have. Look at who you have. Look at who you are. Look at what is already there. These are all proofs of what is possible. Acknowledging these things, even if they are things from your past, shows that they can be. As you have gratitude, you are adding to the foundation of assurance for what you can make happen. 

Blessings and gratitude to you.

Saul Ravencraft's signature
Group of cosplayers at Katuscon 2015

Don’t fake it ’til you make it — Cosplay yourself

“Fake it ’til you make it!” the wisdom goes. In other words: if you don’t feel like you are what you want to be, just act in the role and it will eventually become reality. Dress in the clothes. Talk the talk. Spend time with the people. Do the things. Pretend if you have to.

I’m a fan of this thinking, but I’ve decided that there is an even stronger idea. Cosplay yourself.

Cosplay is basically what we’ve all done on Halloween. You dress up as someone. But, for cosplayers, Halloween happens all year round. These people go to astounding lengths to bring their visions to life, which is much more in tune with what we are trying to accomplish with ourselves.

The problem with “faking it” is that you are fake. It has this aspect of being an imposter. The intention is to get you to be bold. As you are bold, you find that you actually were able to do the thing all along. Your powers come from within. But, sometimes we have problems getting over the fake part. 

I find that cosplayers provide some excellent inspirations for becoming. Maybe they will resonate with you, too.


1. You identify with what inspires you

Cosplay at the 2016 New York Comic Con by Richie S

When cosplayers come out, they connect with what inspires them. They seem to delight in being recognized as their characters. People call them by that name and take pictures with them. It’s OK if there are other Spidermen or Wonder Women. It’s OK that the costumes may come from different eras of the character. It’s OK if some costumes are more party quality than film quality. It’s all about honoring that vision as best as one can. 

We need to be true to the vision, and not worry about what others are doing, except to be inspired by them. It’s always about realizing the vision as well as you can. Even though the casual observer might see a group as all the same, the discerning observer will find the nuances that make us a special connection for them. Your variation, your uniqueness is an asset.

 2. It’s not about perfection

Photo from SnappyPixels.com

People bring varying degrees of resourcefulness and artistic skill to their creations. Even those attempts that are considered “bad” are recognized. People still take pictures. Do they know they don’t look like the costume in the movie? Of course, they do! While some of them might be considered extra-optimistic, they came out of the house; they took it out on the street. They let the mask lend them a little extra courage to let go and have fun with it. It was likely a positive, memorable experience. If nothing else, it was a day out of the dreary treadmill of the ordinary.

We usually worry too much about perfection. We make the plan and want to execute the plan. Ultimately it is about whether or not the goals are achieved. Learn the lessons when things go astray, but don’t forget the actual goals. It’s OK if things get a little ridiculous from time to time. Strike the pose and be the thing. Your passion may transcend whatever you think of as imperfections.

3. You can mix it up

Cosplayer, Chrissy Gross, as Ash Wednesday. 
(Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family + Ash from the Evil Dead series + 
a religious holy day)

One of the things that cosplayers like to do is witty mashups. They combine ideas for puns, like Ash Wednesday, above. They gender bend. They play with time. They play with genres. Anything that can be imagined is fair game. Not everyone will get it. Some will need it explained. Even then, some will go “Meh.” But some subset will fully appreciate the creativity and cleverness that went into realizing that vision. 

We are encouraged to be pure, to be one thing. There is a wonderful quote from science fiction writer, Robert Heinlein:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.

“Specialization is for insects.”

— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love[

Marketing teaches that we need to be a box on the shelf with a single, recognizable thing. That may be true from a marketing perspective. However, humans are not made to be just one thing. Our curiosity, our multifaceted nature, our ability to try and do many different things make us naturally diverse. A laser focus might help you achieve a type of success, but what will you leave behind? 

Consider that if it feels right to you to combine some things that may be uncommon that you should listen to those feelings. Again, your unique set of flavors will create something that no one else can be. Just because something’s never been done doesn’t mean that it can’t be. Allow your inspirations to come from several different directions and combine them in a way that no one else has considered. Once people experience your version, it may be that everyone wants one! You may inspire others with something they believed was impossible. 


Manifesting our paths is an amazing act of creation. Some visions do require some precision and attention to detail. Some are more intuitive and flowing. In either case, it’s not about faking, it’s about realizing. Understand that you are always making it, no faking required. Let yourself be inspired by these cosplayers to bring your vision to life. If some days that works better in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle outfit, then “Cowabunga!”

Miracle on 6th Street

As you may know, in addition to my spiritual work I offer what I call paranormal entertainment at saulravencraft.com. I am regularly featured at the Museum of the Weird, where I give tours of the artifacts and a brief taste of what I do, normally in the form of intuition games.

(This article was typed using voice dictation, as an experiment.)

The other night, I was at the Museum of the Weird until midnight. It was a long night, with many tours, and large groups, and I was ready to change modes. The wizard needed food badly. I was walking back to my car, where I had been fortunate enough to get free street parking on a Sunday. Often it is not available, and I have to park in the garage, so I have to keep an eye on the time lest my parking rate jump to the next level. That means I normally leave 6th Street to get something to eat. Also, 6th Street becomes a sort of teenybopper haven at night and I end up feeling like the old guy in the club. Hell, I probably am the old guy in the club!

An Austin staple, and there are fewer and fewer of them left, is Casino El Camino. They are a pretty chilled out, grownup bar, with a kitchen that stays open until 1:30 a.m. A while back, they had a fire, and were closed for some months. I don’t go there as often as I should, and had not been for some time. I walked by, then thought “I should go in and check it out.” I turned around. Then I turned back toward the car. Then I turned back around, thinking “I don’t have to worry about parking. Why not?!”

I walked inside, and started looking for a place to be. As I’m wandering, someone calls my name, “Saul!”

I look, and there is a table of three gentlemen whom I had seen earlier in the museum. I remember that one of them acted as “The Guardian”  for a game that we played. One of them explained to me, that they had just been thinking about me. In fact they had hoped to catch me at the museum, but arrived too late. They decided to go to Casino El Camino and get something to eat. Actually, with the timing that they said, they had probably left just a few minutes before I did. There’s always some break down, and other details to deal with at the end of the night. I rarely get to leave right at midnight.

They invited me to sit down, and we had a lovely conversation. They were an interesting bunch, in town for business, and do some pretty heady technical stuff. Essentially, they analyze  power utilization in major data centers, really major data centers. They have been in the heart of iTunes. They’ve been in the heart of Netflix. They’ve been at the heart of places they couldn’t even tell me about. Their analysis allows someone running a data center to see where there might be impending hardware problems. It also provides a model to aid in projection of future needs. Fascinating!

As a bonus, the music that night was a wonderful blend of old-school offerings. We heard everything from classic rock to Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass! By the time it was all done, all of my stress of the day was gone. It was just what I needed!

What  intrigues me is the way that all this came about. They sought me out. They were thinking about me. I walked right by where they were. Normally I would have kept on walking, but something kept drawing me back to that place. Did they manifest me? Did I go in there because somehow I connected with their thoughts of wanting to see me?

These are the sorts of little things that make my world so interesting. It’s easy enough to chalk it all up to coincidence and just get on with things. I find that these sorts of coincidences stack up as I continue to make my way down the rabbit hole. In one of my presentations, I note that “When we tune into things, it’s not like a big glowy thing. It feels like a coincidence, so we blow it off; we forget about it.”  Noticing how these coincidences stack up is part of what takes you off the main, boring path and onto a manifesting path. On its face, my silly little incident doesn’t mean much. But, lumped in with all of the other similar events, it shows me that things are happening. More than that, it reminds me that I should expect things to happen. How fun is that?

2018 – Time to look at the numbers

sparkling trails of light drawing out the numbers 2018 in glowing light to welcome in the new year

I began a tradition a few years ago of starting the new year with some numerology projections. So far they’ve born out pretty well. It’s that time again! Let’s jump right in.

First, let’s look at the year itself, which I project from 1/1/2018. The key number for this year is a 4. That is a number of work—meticulous, detailed effort, hard labor. There is a lot to be done this year. It’s not glamorous. It’s the sort of cleaning out the garage work, the tilling the soil work, the sanding and painting work. It doesn’t have to be drudgery and it doesn’t have to be ugly, but it will require rolling up the sleeves and getting down to it. Everyone will be struggling a little and having to put in extra effort for things. We’ll be much more like pioneers trying to hew a living from the land than futuristic beings living in the clouds.

The benefit of a working year is that it has the potential to empower the individual. The work needs to be done. Are you going to expend all of your energy into raising up someone else’s dreams and goals or are you going to be working your own garden? True, you’ll need to put effort into keeping that job as you get greater demands, but you can also channel some of that energy into your own space. Don’t give it all away. Use this energy to craft something for yourself as well. A working year can help you connect with your own skills and capabilities. It can help you get better organized and sharpen your abilities. Any skill you develop is yours to keep and use for your own purposes. Use this energy to get things done that you’ve been putting off and clear your plate for a more adventuresome 2019.

Must we talk about President Trump? I suppose we should. Trump’s life path number is a 5, which means that he is an explorer. He is always seeking new ventures, new opportunities, new experiences. For him, this manifests as boredom and impatience. Something needs to be happening and if won’t happen on it’s own he’ll stir something up. That’s his core energy.

However, in 2018, Trump’s number is a 4, which is in line with the year’s energy. He will have a lot of work to do as well, and will be driving those he influences to deliver more. The affinity between his personal year and the year itself doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be a good year for him, just that the vibrations match. However, when we combine the numbers we get an 8, the money of resource and prosperity… so he’ll likely have some luck with him.

Another prominent figure with Trump is Kim Jong-un, who has a life path number of 4. His life’s theme is constant effort and work. This creates a vibration of constant effort. Nothing will come easily. For this year, his number is 13 (which becomes 4). The 13, however, suggests difficulties. This is not going to be an easy year. There will be a lot of pressure and probably some missteps. It’s going to be a difficult year.

When we combine the numbers for Trump and Kim Jong-un we get that 8 again, suggesting that the two of them will personally benefit through their connection this year. That could mean that they broker some sort of peace that creates prosperity. It could mean that their conflict enforces their own brands and their stock goes up for their supporters. Regardless, they are going to be good for each other this year.

What about the United States? The main life path number for the USA is a 5, which is also about adventure and change. In 2018, the USA also has a 5, which says that it will be a year of affinity for the country. The USA will be very much in its own element and will be exploring and experimenting. This could be very positive because it might mean some level of transformation in line with the greater good. Maybe this will be the time when people realize that no one else is going to fix things and they get to work themselves. The energy of the year is right for personal effort, for struggle. If we combine the numbers for the country and the year we get a 9, which is about community. This is actually a very hopeful sign that the country as a whole can overcome any personalities involved.

For myself, the theme this year will be digging deeper. I have a number of areas where I want to develop myself and what I do. I have several areas of personal education that I will be focused on, learning Spanish, developing my skill as a hypnotist, developing myself as a writer and presenter. I will be preparing myself and my arts for some bigger stuff in 2019. I will try to use this year’s natural energy to keep me focused and not be too distracted by all the shiny things.

Overall, it doesn’t look like 2018 will be much of a party year. It will be more of a “cleaning up after the party” year. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. This time of regrouping, reorganizing and clearing/preparing the space will create a fertile environment for a lot of innovation in 2019. There is value in this work. Keep your head in the quality of what you are doing rather than the toil of it. Delight in how accomplishing these tasks come together to improve the environment, to build the foundation for what is to come.

Of course, your journey this year will have its own nuance and vibrations. Reach out and I’ll help you find out how to combine your own vibrations with what happens in 2018 to use it all to your full advantage. These prices will be good through the end of January. Use the button below to order.

Happy New Year everybody!

Use this form to order your numerology outlook for 2018. The Lucky Numbers reading is a basic numerological overview that describes you key numbers, the foundational energies around you. The 2018 Outlook expands that to look at how your energy connects with 2018. The 2018 Projection adds a month-by-month look at the flow of your year so you can plan for specific opportunities. Readings will be fulfilled through email.

Type of Reading
Your birth date (d/m/yyyy)
Your full name



We had the Winter solstice. Now what?

Yesterday it was hard to get away from the fact that it was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. There were articles like this one from Newsweek, of all places: Winter Solstice 2017: Meanings and Celebration Ideas From Witches, Druids and Astrologers. Like many events in the wheel of the year, the Winter Solstice, or “Yule,” is a threshold. (Many think all that singing about Yule-tide and such is about Christmas. Have some fun with that!)

Crossing a threshold is a big deal. Some of them are hard to get to and they are all worth noting, but what is most important is usually what happens on the other side of the threshold more than the doorway itself.

Many of us are familiar with the lunar cycles, the waxing and waning of the moon. Metaphysically, one will aim to manifest things in the waxing—growing—energy and to banish or lessen things in the waning—diminishing—energy. With a solstice, we are working with the solar energy, a much longer, but no less important cycle. For many months we have been working our way away from the sun and its energy and power has been growing less and less. When we are furthest from its influence we are much more ruled by the lunar energy, connected with emotion, intuition and many of the more shadowy things. It is no coincidence that this season between Samhain (Halloween) and Yule (Christmas-ish) when the veil between the physical world and the spirit world is considered thinnest. It is no coincidence that these are the times when we think about what we want in our future, make plans and resolutions. This is a time when the darkness and the weather turn us inward to hearth and home, family and friends. We are a little more focused on survival, and the blessings that allow us to survive. If we are quiet enough to listen, we tune into a lot of stuff here.

Now it’s the day after Yule. (I had to finish this a little late, so it’s technically a couple of days after.) The sun is returning. The days are already getting longer. Just as the new moon marks the lowest point in the lunar energy, Yule marks the lowest point in the solar energy. It is returning, bringing more light and warmth with it. This is the time to begin nurturing all of the things that we want to grow, all the plans that we have. New Year’s resolutions aren’t just a quaint tradition. They are proclaiming our goals and what we want to bring about, using the power of the growing sun.

Interestingly enough, I did a mini reading for a mother and daughter that we will call C and S. One of them took a reading with my tarot cards, the other used my common playing cards. These are the cards they drew.

These are actually the same card. The pentacles of the tarot evolved into the diamond of the playing card. The knight evolved into the jack. Clearly, this mother and daughter have their destinies tied together. The message of the cards is also ideal for Yule. This is earth energy, what we nurture and grow, what grounds and centers us, where our true bounty lies. The knight is a card of questing, of pushing forward, of getting away from the comfortable and journeying forward.

From my perspective this is exactly what the post-Yule energy is all about. We’ve sheltered ourselves from the darkening days. Now it is time to look toward the planting season and the work that leads us to the next harvest. Don’t we have a good deal more of cold to look forward to? Of course we do! But as we wait for the spring, we will begin to prepare our minds and our means for action when the sun, again, warms the earth and the ground is ready.

We have learned from our time of enhanced intuition and spirit connection. We have been inspired by revelations. Our vision has changed or clarified. Now it is time to begin building the path to realizing that vision.

What do you think about the solstice alignment thing?

This was a question I was actually actually asked by someone at the Museum about the solstice. I think they were referring to the event mentioned in the article I referenced above about the two astrological events coming with the solstice. We are hitting the end of the Mercury retrograde (the favorite metaphysical excuse of many for many problems) and the sun moving from Sagittarius and into Capricorn.

My opinion on any events is that we need to know what the conditions are, but that we don’t cancel our important journey. If our intentions are sound we don’t cancel them because the ride may be a little bumpy. We use what we know about the conditions and plan accordingly. Clearly the rising energy is going to require that we be organized and that be prepared to do some detail work and deal with some levels of process. Continuing with the travel analogy, airport security is going to be tighter and they are going to be cracking down on all the rules for this trip, so we know the rules and we follow them. If faced with an obstacle, we work with the system to fix it. We won’t make this trip based on luck as much with planning… but we will still be home in time for the family. We may need to pack more carefully and leave earlier. We may need to send some packages that we had planned to carry. There are answers to everything, but we need to be prepared.

I feel this way about any interesting astrological event. Understand it, but don’t be ruled by it. We will likely be affected in some way, but we’ll work our way around it.

Looking forward

Looking forward is exactly where we should be right now. We are through the darkest part. Everything is onward and upward from here. Make plans. Make important plans. Envision what you want to manifest and grown in your life. Make clear intentions and begin the groundwork to manifest them in the upcoming year. You are still driving. You are always driving.

2017 — Now what?!

a brass calendar composed of rotating wheelsThe wheel of the year makes another turn and a click. 2016 fades away and 2017 blooms before us. Some have already learned which resolutions we probably won’t be keeping. Some are still trying to understand the path that lays ahead.

At the beginning of every year I always look at the numbers and what energy surrounds a year. It gives me an idea of the theme for the year and what I may need to balance against. Last year was very much a year of giving energy out to the greater community. This is why so many people so drained. The loss of so many people who influenced our lives, combined with the twists and turns of a U.S. election year took a large toll on our emotional wallets.

One lit bulb in a row of unlit ones2017 is going to be a very different energy. I look at a year’s energy in two ways. The first is the number for the year itself. 2017 reduces to a 1, which is very much about the self. We gave so much out last year that we really need to turn our thoughts to our inner desires and goals. There will be a lot of momentum to pull you into big debates and to get you to spend your energy on other people’s ambitions. You must reflect on each of these and make sure that they actually connect with things that are important in your own life. If they are not things that affect you directly, and if there is not specific action you can take in your own circle of friends to make a difference, you should be conservative. Instead, look at what is directly in front of you, at the things that touch you personally. Your focus should be much more on what you can accomplish personally rather than what someone else can do.

This sounds a little selfish, and on some level it might be. But, we cannot continue to drain ourselves and our own needs, especially at the rate that last year demanded. This is focus on your own foundations so that you have the strength and resources to give later when the need is far greater.

This energy calls upon you to trust yourself. In so many ways we are manipulated to believe that our solutions lie with some other powerful person or product. This year you should especially appreciate that your answers lie within. Consider that you may actually have a clear vision of what you want and know what you need to do it. Self-doubt and hesitation while you debate it all out is slowing you down much more than any missteps you may have along the way. Be bolder this year.

a box shaped like the profile of a human head has its flaps opened at the topI also look at the birth date for a year, which renders a 3. This energy is very much about creation and creativity. There will be a number of apparent obstacles before us in the coming year, but they are only obstacles if we look at them conventionally. This will be the year of the work-around. Be prepared for solutions that you used in the past to be disrupted and to not abandon your goal but to simply find another way to achieve it. This is challenging for many, because we are driven in our current society to find the most perfect, most efficient, most repeatable way to do things. That may not work for what lies ahead. We should be open to taking the scenic route, doing things an older way, or a newer way. Some of these solutions will be inspired intuition. Some of them will only work once. It is a year of “Why not?!”

This may seem difficult at first, but will become a game. If you will play you’ll find that you have become extremely flexible and accomplished much that you’ve been told could not be done… at least not by you… right now.

2017 is not the year of asking permission. It is not the year for validation. It is the year for forging ahead and following your own vision.

If you want to explore the range of personal energies that you will experience this year I do a numerological projection that looks month-by-month at the themes you’ll be experiencing this year. I can provide this in person or remotely. Contact me to get started. I wish you very good fortune as you embrace your own path in 2017.