Circles and Spirals in Script

Sometimes when I look at my contemplative writing practice of the past, I wonder: where did it go? what has happened? how did I lose that profoundly simple ability to sit within a moment and glide easily into stream of consciousness? will it return? will I? From flowing essays on Spirit to the 120 reflective portals into Soul Cards, I used to just sit down and feel an incredible spiritual emergence in script. Maybe that was a temporary passage, meant only for those years?

Of course, back then, I was in a different phase of life as well as locale; the energies of person and place uniquely contrasted to here and now. Living in Arizona took a toll on my sense of comfortable familiarity; returning to my roots in Missouri shifted my entire perspective in other ways. In my attempts to regain my footing in these places, I sought to define and clarify in order to understand, however, as Iain McGilchrist points out, “the illusion that, if we can see something clearly, we see it as it really is, is hugely seductive” and that “clarity is bought at the price of limitation.” Drilling down into history and specifics, I sought clarity but “clarity, it seems, describes not a degree of perception, but a type of knowledge. To know something clearly is to know it partially only, and to know it, rather than to experience it, in a certain way.”

Yet, I still write … out of curiosity and creativity. What will emerge today? What will tomorrow bring? How will the words become worlds? I’ve no idea. I’m the chalice, the inkwell. I’m the pen and the quill. I receive and transcribe from elsewhere, from a place of mystery and magic and inspiration, often from the Unseen.

“In order truly to see the thing as it is, attention needs to do something quite different. It needs both to rest on the object and pass through the plane of focus. Seeing the thing as it is depends on also seeing through it, to something beyond, the context, the ’roundness’ or depth, in which it exists. If the detached, highly focused attention of the left hemisphere is brought to bear on living things and not later resolved into the whole picture by right-hemisphere attention, which yields depth and context, it is destructive.” ~ Iain McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary

I believe I’ve reached the point where I’m beginning to see the depth, go into the beyond, open to the implicit as well as the explicit; now that the pressures I felt of being out of proper time and place are resolving, healing, dissipating, and allowing space for simply ‘being’, and ‘seeing through’, the sacred spirals are starting to dance again.

What an incredible journey our lives are!

Triumph Over Adversity

So, my latest fictional writing project has the over-arching theme of Triumph Over Adversity, or, How To Overcome Evil. And, since my books are always written with a conscious intention for HEALING and in union with SPIRIT for Divine Guidance, this Ozarks Gothic story (no title yet) will, hopefully, bring Love and Peace forward for a Triumphant ending that will appeal to readers.

For this one, I’m using some new creative tools including the interesting book Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner. All my past novels were written in a more traditional way; a little bit of outlining but mostly writing by the seat of my pants, following where the story and its characters led me — all of which was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. But I decided to challenge myself this time, to broaden the possibilities for inspiration by using a different deck for each character as well as one for the tale itself. I’m having such fun with this approach!

I rarely give away much about my storyline until after the first draft is completed, so we’ve quite a long way to go before I will offer any details, but I felt called to share my creative joy.

May all that we are and do and create bring the light of beauty to others.

Blessings!

My Books in Tarot

On Winter Solstice, I felt called to shine a light on which Tarot decks might mirror the essences, energies, and/or imagery held within the four novels and one novella I’ve written. When I write, I give an intention to the stories for conveying healing to readers with gratitude to Spirit, Goddesses, Gaia, and the Ancestors. Of course, my tales contain many aspects beyond the primary theme, so I actually found myself drawn to several decks per book. So, without further ado …

The first novel I completed and published in 2008, is Earth Maiden. The primary theme is one of going on a journey and leaving the known world behind; the deck, and especially its 0. Pilgrim (The Fool) card, that depicts this is the Witch’s Wisdom Tarot. Runner-up decks were Tarot of Strange Branches and the Forest of Enchantment Tarot.

My second novel, published a decade later (after writing several memoir and essay collections between times) in 2018, is Pie in the Sky: A Chantilly Lace novel. This story’s primary theme is one of seeking belonging, of dreaming of finding a community of one’s own, but also has elements of ‘father wound’ and natural healing modalities. I came across a tie really; one deck is Dreaming Way Tarot that distinctly feels like the protagonist’s inner journey, dream, and desire, but the second deck is Light Seer’s Tarot that depicts the modern energies.

Three years later emerged An Extraordinary Legacy: A Chantilly Lace novel. I wrote this story focused on women — what we create and leave for others, and how to defend that legacy against external forces. There is another tie for the primary focus: both Our Tarot and Circle of Doors Tarot share, in their own ways, strong feminine energy, and draw in the broad spectrum of women in the book. The story also, however, is rooted in religion and spirituality so the third deck is the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot.

And last year, an intensely creative year for me, I produced both Exhaling Metaphor: A Chantilly Lace novel and a novella. The novel is a bit dark, maybe, exploring a woman going through a spiritual emergence while also escaping an abusive husband — and her recovery process. Interestingly, the first deck that came to mind quite quickly was the Linestrider Tarot and its no-face Fool card. A tie for the second deck includes both New Era Elements Tarot and Madhouse Tarot.

Lastly, the novella — in direct contrast to the intensity of writing Exhaling Metaphor — is a lighthearted tale: Mystery at Aspenglow Chateau. Only one deck came to mind immediately and that is the exquisite John Bauer Tarot with its gorgeous illustrations taken from mythology, folk, and fairy tales for books at the turn of the 20th Century.

Clearly, anyone who knows and collects Tarot decks will understand that there are many other decks that could express the themes, energies, and intermingling stories of my books. These are simply the ones that came to me on the Winter Solstice.

Blessings to you all in the coming year!

She’s Always Here

A delightful recent post on the Feminism & Religion blog – “Let’s Try Creativity This Year” – reminded me of how often I turn to Goddess Saraswati for Her guidance and support. Every day, in fact, She is here … in the books I treasure that are everywhere in our home and in the books that I’m writing, the experiences and imaginative world that I’m compelled to share with love and compassion.

Saraswati is part of my morning devotions and Her image beneath my monitor inspires me to listen and create. I’ve written about Her elsewhere throughout this blog and will, I’m sure, continue to do so because She is part of me, of my life, of my world.

OM AIM SARASWATI NAMAHA

Magic as Worship

I’ve been researching the interconnection of religion/spirituality, science, magic, and history — a fascinating journey! From Greek metaphysics to the mystics of the medieval era, from magic to the scientific revolution, from the Renaissance to the Reformation, I can finally see how their intricate philosophical and emotional dance is situated within human perception and the context within which people were/are living. Deborah Harkness, Professor of History and Author of the All Souls Trilogy (paranormal fiction), says in her recent interview:

“When I think about magic, I think of it as a form of almost faith or worship. But so is science.”

Exploring this has helped explain my own unique path that began with a Christian foundation and grew to encompass so much more of miracle, magic, and the Divine. Deb Harkness provides a beautiful overlook for this in her brief interview between colleagues.

 

Inkwell of Purpose

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A few days ago, I read the following on the Writing a Sacred Path blog:

“Even if all you do is spark a few moments of doubt in the mind of someone who thought they already had everything figured out. Even if your writing does nothing more than let in a single sliver of light. Even if your lovingly crafted words are just a quiet whisper in the reader’s ear.That whisper, combined with hundreds more, can turn into a roar.”

These few lines from the Writing Can Change the World post were the inspiration that I needed in that moment, the words reminding me of the conclusion I arrived at after my pilgrimage, after writing a memoir about that journey:

“As long as I can continue spilling feelings and thoughts like a river upon the page, then I am fulfilling my inkwell of purpose as scribe for the life-giving Creatrix of this precious birth. Through this practice, the energy of my joy and passion vibrates into the universe. I remind myself that I don’t need to know any ultimate reason, or see the results of my efforts, because the joy of my vocation is to witness and then share what I see and experience, with the framework of loving-kindness my guide, and Gaia my inspiration.”

This intention of honesty, vulnerability, and awareness is what I seek to bring into presence whenever I’m writing, whether it’s a blog post, or the novel I’m working on, or the non-fiction manuscripts that seem unending in their call to create and share.

I have no delusions of grandeur that I am or ever will be a great writer, and that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am following my heart and soul, witnessing, whispering. This is the path of writing into relationship with the Divine Feminine that is within me and out in the world.