The Fool & The Page

I had the privilege of speaking at a CreativeMornings meetup this past week in Austin—thank you so much for coming if you were there! I spoke on the theme of Truth, which at times felt way too big and unwieldy, and before the talk I did often ask myself, “What have I gotten myself into? Who am I to speak on something this big?” And it’s these very questions which weave into the card for this episode. I came to the Tarot with the question: Who is our ally in speaking the truth? In telling true stories, even if the truth itself is not welcome or pleasant? Thought it might be King/Queen of Swords, riiiiiight? NOPE. I pulled Ace of Cups. Please feel free to laugh when I mention having a couple days off over the holidays to write (listen, y'all, I don't have kids!) and when I bring up my love for John Wick. Enjoy!

It's been a while, but what better time to come back than the Autumnal Equinox?! And with a dark and earthy take on King of Pentacles, courtesy of a listener request from my friend and fellow writer Megan Clark and her reference to The Dark Wood Tarot by Sarah Graham and Abigail Larson. A real quick update that if you have been considering joining my membership program, now’s a really good time to do it because our October LEAP OUT conversation is with none other than author and friend of the podcast Rebekah Manley. We’ll be talking about what we like to call generous intention setting for the creative life. That’s October 4, 7PM CST, and it’s for members only, so please consider joining the Blue Stones family.  In this episode, I explore repeat visits from King of Pentacles, and how this card offers us an incredible opportunity to pause and recognize what resources we've already gathered, and which communities make us feel regal and confident. Enjoy!

MEMBERSHIP. IS. LAUNCHING. SOON! bluestonewriters.com/membership Y'all may remember that I mentioned attempting to begin to try to finish a novel soon. To do that, I engaged the help of a writing coach. And when I got my feedback from them, I found myself both totally enlightened and simultaneously totally overwhelmed. I think feedback often works like this. Even when the feedback is true—or has truth for us—in the sense that it illuminates opportunities to evolve the work, and it affirms certain ways that we both are already making the work sing and could use some help in really making it shine, it can still be hard. So I came to the Tarot with the question: What do I do with this feedback? And I pulled High Priestess. OKAY. My musings on how we adopt this serene posture of the High Priestess to access our strong storyteller self are followed by one Pomodoro's worth of writing or reflection. Enjoy!

Quick update right up top: A few of you have reached out re: my new membership program, launching August 10th. There’s still time to sign up for email updates and find out more! Now this episode is not the first time I’ve pulled Death. Check out Episode 22 for my conversation with Café Con Leche Travels. For this episode, I reference White Numen: A Sacred Animal Tarot. Here’s more on the deck’s creator Alba Ballesta González. https://www.artstation.com/albabg And check out the deck here. So why/how did I pull Death? I asked: “Who’s here to help us out when we are nearing the end of a creative project, and we’re pretty damn close, and yet we want to give up?” This felt like sweet relief to pull. It feels like Death is saying, “Stop. Just stop already. Stop.” Not the work! But the fretting. Stop and be still. I explore this notion of stillness in the midst of transformation, plus the wild idea that there are no clocks, all followed by  Pomodoro’s worth of writing or reflecting. Enjoy!

This lil minisode on some major cards is inspired by my new membership program, launching August 10th. Find out more! I have my own agenda/hopes/dreams/ambitions for launching a membership program, but I wanted the Tarot to stir things up for me, maybe help reframe some things, so I asked, What is happening with this? What do I need to know about this membership program? I pulled Six of Wands, and then decided to pull a clarifying card and got the beautiful, beautiful energy that is Strength (more on Strength in Episode 4). I find this INTERESTING, because sixes in my experience tend to be passages out, and Strength feels like a passage in. Or through. Ultimately I think these cards are working together in a kind of beautiful loop—inspiring us to have confidence in our creative practice, and then the courage to go deeper with our work. Creative community helps us look in, creative community helps us look out. My musings are followed by a quick reflective writing activity to consider what you want in the coming creative year. Enjoy!

This special bonus episode is an interview with the dynamic duo of Where on the River—my friends and intrepid seekers, Ellen Gass and Gena McKinley, who will race in the Texas Water Safari this Saturday, June 11, a competition called "the world's toughest canoe race". They will still be paddling on the full moon! Speaking of which: I'm doing full moon readings at a special sales price on June 14. Head over to bluestonewriters.com to register for yours. This is the strawberry moon, and I’m looking forward to sharing that magic with you. In my reading with Gena and Ellen, we asked about the race to come—what selves they’re summoning to do this damn thing, along with what allies are stepping forward to help them when the going gets tough, and we pulled Ten of Pentacles and Nine of Cups. I think the most inspiring thing I took away from our conversation was how Gena and Ellen’s friendship has evolved in tackling this insane adventure together, and how while their individual views on why they wanted to do it in the first place may have shifted, they have come together with a really unified purpose. It made me feel really grateful for the creative advocates I have in my life. These two had so many inspiring things to say about taking risks, challenging ourselves, facing imposter syndrome head on, and—as Ellen said—"paddling the mile you're in instead of planning for the next." Enjoy!

I called this a minisode, but is it? Are all these minisodes? Regardless, this episode on The Devil and Knight of Pentacles is an extension of my episode on Justice, my question being: How do I continue this work? This episode includes thoughts on releasing shame, being more present in our creative practice by taking all the time we need (and being cool with that), plus country roads, wildflowers, and references to Mad Max. Replace I-35 with your chaotic highway of choice: 95, 30, the BQE. Enjoy!

This special edition of the podcast was recorded during my artist residency at Foundation House, which is why the audio is less polished and the experience is way more special. So imagine me and six other artists—those artists are printmaker Ashley Carroll, writer Gabe Bergado, painter and sculptor Zahra Nazari, writer and visual artist Les James, visual artist Ann Burke Daly, and residency director and vibe architect Christina Peabody—gathered on white couches and beanbag chairs in a huge sitting room on the second floor of Foundation House, sun setting over the gorgeous gardens and battery powered lanterns lighting up the corners of the room. Sweet, right? What a dream. We gathered to share what we’ve been working on and exchange ideas, and then I recorded this podcast, and then we all cast a spell. I hope you'll consider casting your own!  I begged this question of the Tarot: Who is looking out for us when we leave this precious container of the artist residency? And I pulled Justice. Mmhmm. YEAH. So. Welcome to past and forever artists-in-residence at Foundation House, welcome to Justice, and a lil welcome to an extra surprise guest on this episode, The Fool. If you care to revisit the writing prompts, here's my latest blog post for your visual ease and enjoyment.

This episode on Seven of Cups is inspired by a listener request. Thank you to fellow Tarot reader and magic lover Rebecca Beluk for this request. Sevens in the Tarot invite us to consider: How are we looking beyond what is immediate and present, when we should be looking at what’s right in front of us? And Seven of Cups invites us to consider…how can we follow our dreams by doubling down on the materials and support right here in our laps? How can we connect our dreams to the present moment, so as to strive for more while being extremely present to what is right here? Gentle note re: the episode: I do talk about health a bit in this episode—it’s just a quick lil mention—but if you’re not into engaging with the subjects of health or healing right now, you might want to scrub through that part of simply skip the episode. I bring this up in relation to my upcoming artist residency at Foundation House, which I’m very excited about, and the application process for that residency (thanks to this incredible org’s mission) had very much to do with health and healing, and this weaves into my writing process as well as the question of choice and being in the moment that is 7 of Cups. That is a very long sentence.  As I mention in the episode, I've extended my Write With the Elements course, and Parts II and III will be in May and June respectively. Can't wait to gather with y'all for more exploration and discovery with the elements. In the meantime, enjoy the episode!

This episode on Temperance is inspired by a listener request. Thank you to Megan Clark—romance writer and fellow Enneagram enthusiast—for this request. I love the challenge of this card, and how it can relate to the process of writing, making things, and creating in general. To talk about this card, I think we gotta look at Death. Yep. Because Temperance begs the question: What are we clinging to? Like, what are holding onto, either in the story we’re making, or the goals we’re defining? And if we let go, can we make way for some much bigger magic? As always, enjoy 25 minutes of guided writing at the close of the episode if you so choose. Also enjoy the wind chimes and occasional gentle hum of a distant lawn mower in the background, as I'm recording in a different space. Just as I'm publishing, there are two spots left for New Moon readings on April 1st! Grab one now.