PROMISE RINGS

After careful consideration and acknowledgement of how I felt I decided to give my lover a promise ring, to repeat the decision we took to commit to one another one year ago. This blossoming relationship has brought us both intimate moments of joy and childlike enthusiasm for adventure. At the close of the year I summed up the highlights to our year and found we had done a ton and taken an overwhelming amount of photos, despite many instances going undocumented. Those tender moments live on in memory only.

It is with great joy that I am writing today to document something very special happening. I don’t get the privilege of participating in life-altering rituals every day. This instance was a real treat for me, as I’ve never been graced with the honor of asking somebody to formally commit to me.

As our relationship matures we have noticed the nuanced changes in our own personalities. Each one of us has been influenced slightly and started to change according to the union. It fills you with love when you grow together.



Ever since I slipped that ring on Chris’ finger I feel proud about it. I want to shout it from the rooftops. It’s a good feeling to have more than enough, and to be steadily crafting the sacred space of home in the heart of the person you love.

We should all hope to be so lucky as to find somebody who accepts us with all our flaws and sticks by our side with reaffirming faith in that things will work out for the best.



Rachel Nash, the creatrix who crafted these rings is a true artisan. I went crazy for her designs as soon as I saw them. She patiently ushered me through the process and had many ideas to accommodate my custom requests. Please endorse her skills!

"Let’s cherish our lives together and take nothing for granted."

Rings by Rachel Nash of Upscale Hare.
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THE LIFE OF A SOOTHSAYER

I have been telling fortunes for more than half of my life. I picked the cards up at a very early age, at least four years after I had started using talking boards and automatic writing or drawing. It was a natural process for me; I felt the call somehow and didn’t know how to answer back but I staid the course. I learned through observation and the sense of feeling. Nobody taught me what I know. It took 11 years before I found my mentor and worked towards my certification. Now I stand over almost 19 years of divination and fortune-telling and I am astounded at how quickly time has passed, and at how much experience I've amassed.

The way you interact with the cards changes as you gain more experience. I used to have a set meaning system I’d refer to and recite depending on the context of the reading. I used to avoid reversals because I felt it would mess with the balance of all the archetypes.

Now I attribute meaning based off what is surrounding the card and what the symbols in the tableau point out to me. I read reversed meanings if the cards around the one I am looking at indicate it should be. I can see peoples’ life patterns and gloss them down into situational reasons for concern. Then I reverse it by offering advice or laying the options they have out on the table. It’s an electric process, certainly one I enjoy thoroughly.

The life of a soothsayer comes with many challenges. People who are your “friend” encourage you to read for free and drain you. You’ll often pick up on more than you want to when you are introduced to new people. People become case studies rather than friends you want to make. You have this quiet understanding about who they are because your intuition tells you so, but you can’t quite put into words how it is you know so much about them. You just know and you accept, much like the High Priestess does.



There are many joys that come along with the practice of divination. You connect with people more easily, and revel in the moments you feel in tune with them. A strong connection can light your spirit with inspiration and with motivation for your future. You feel good about the notion you can help someone sort through their options to forge a better path to their own future.

At the end of the day, the gift is heavy from the responsibility you shoulder. Vulnerable people will believe what you tell them, and you need to be fully concentrated to really take in their life. Helping others becomes a challenge if you have to compartmentalize your mind with your own problems you are trying to solve and their own. One does not relate to the other, so often times you will find that as a reader you need to tune out of your mundane life so you can be a present, open channel for your querent. Therein lies the sacrifice.

The life of a spiritual worker is one of self-sacrifice and devotion to others. It teaches us to walk a silent path where we carry and protect secrets; ours and those of others. Now I understand why the Hierophant jealously guards those two keys. There are entire vaults of secret information not privy to the eyes of those who don’t understand. You need to earn you right to see and understand those secrets.



Wherever you are at in your journey, I hope you found your own experiences identified in this journal post. May your intuition lead you to gain new insights with which to fuel your fire.
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THE COTTAGE IN THE CANYON

Today I want to talk about personal matters in my online diary. I’ve enjoyed the warm respite of a blossoming relationship and while I am adjusting into what my future is turning into, its been productive to document privately.

I just got back from a romantic retreat in the Topanga Canyon. My beloved boyfriend Chris and I drove up the mountain path and staid just shy of 16 minutes from Santa Monica Pier, but the sights and the silence were perfect for two city folk looking to get away for a while. We had a beautiful cottage house not far from the summit of the mountain with hiking trails, silence, rain, layers and layers of blankets and pillows, pillow talk, and ghost talk.

The first night we had wine over dinner, then we spent some time together. After that we returned to the cottage, bundled up and listened to the rain. We heard a band of coyotes howling and fronting with a siren. It was otherwise dead quiet. We cozied up and opened our hearts up to one another. It was a very moving experience and one of my favorite moments in all of 2018. Toward the end of the night I got to spend time with my thoughts, opening my eyes to new epiphanies that sunk in.



We enjoyed some hiking through trails, finding a memorial along the way and coyote paw prints. Later on as we approached the summit we spotted a coyote and admired it as we came closer. It disappeared into a precipice with expert stealth. Once we reached the summit we enjoyed the clean air and looked out over the city. It was calming to share that experience with my best friend.

During our stay we got to enjoy a romantic dinner at the Inn of the Seventh Ray. Everything about this outing was perfect. As you descent the stairs you have nothing but trees and fairy lights surrounding you. There is a glass chandelier reflecting the light shards all throughout the courtyard, and a room with windows to the lights and a fireplace. I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with Chris over some delicious Moscato, enjoying the sights and savoring dinner made for us from scratch. After dinner we cozied up on the couch together, sharing a blanket and enjoying one another’s company. I got some time in reflecting and writing about my recent experiences in my journal. I fell asleep in the perfect silence with a smile.





The town happened to be scattered all throughout the mountain, which prompted us to go on a fruitless excursion to get decent brunch on Thanksgiving day. The mornings rolled around the mountain sweetly, rewarding us with the most crisp breezes and cool weather.

We left that cottage house feeling fresh and sparky, in good cheer and with renovated affections. During our stay we discussed our relationship at length and came out of this experience with clarity and personal assurance.

There was a lot to be celebrated on this trip. We were commemorating our first year knowing each other, celebrating Thanksgiving and rewarding ourselves with a rare vacation. We anticipate the arrival of our custom promise rings so that with every day wear we'll cherish our lives together and take nothing for granted.



The light rays of romance can permeate through any healing spirit and resurrect it. I am proof of that. Just look at how I glow with my feverish love for him. I am so lucky.
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THE FALLEN ANGEL ORACLE

Here is a deck for those of you attracted to darkness. The Fallen Angel Oracle by Nigel Suckling promises you will discover the art and wisdom of prediction. I’ve had these cards for a few years already and feel this oracle deck works as its own system. The concept it is based off has stood the test of time and hast my respect. The names of the fallen angels in this deck were taken from Johann Weyer’s On the Illusion of Daemons. This was a detailed argument against the Malleus Maleficarum.

If you are sensitive to peoples true nature through your interactions with them, I think you will really enjoy working with this deck. It promises you a look into archetypes from the psyche. The real self that people keep to themselves, not the self they want you to see. Anything with the underlying tone of the psyche will interest me. I am fascinated by the interior self that we hide from the world.

I don’t think life is all positivity. Many of the truths to people can be somehow dark or ugly. Being that I am accepting of that life aspect I find this deck to be helpful in representing other people as they really are, with their strengths just as present as their flaws.





If we wish to strip these cards of their more personable qualities and down to concepts of emotion they can also read well and prove helpful. You can go off the card and the keyword like in most other oracles if you want to keep it simple. The important thing to keep in mind is that if you want a more in-depth system to go along with the cards, that’s an option too. If you read cards this can only be good for you in developing your intuition.

With the brisk weather settling in and the end of autumn looming, the discolored leaves and the days growing shorter I find myself comforted by a deck that will match my inner stirrings with the outside weather. The moods conveyed by the textures in the cards sit perfectly with this type of weather. I feel as comforted as if I was bundled under blankets, enjoying tea and candle lit readings while the wind blows outside. It quiets the mind and grounds me somehow.

I feel like sharing my insight with you.

★ This deck is a left-hand path deck if you couldn’t already tell from the 72 cards in the deck named after demons, also known as fallen angels. ★





♡ What is your most important characteristic?
Amon. Vision, diplomacy. Element: Air. Planet: Moon.
This fallen angel is said to have a great view of the past as well as the future, which translates to ease in understanding your circumstances if you can clearly look to the past and to the future. This helps in your decision making.

The wise owl’s blank stare seemingly peers right through you. I like the implication that a deck of cards can see right through you. How we interpret the outcomes is really up to us.

♡ What are your strengths as an oracle deck?
Andrealphus. Persuasion. Element: Earth. Planet: Moon.
Using the power of persuasion to convince, basing the strategy of being calculated. If you play to your strengths you have a much higher chance to win, apparently.

♡ What are your limits?
Furfur. Evaluation. Element: Water. Planet: Mars.
Even with the best of intentions you will often find conflict and problems to solve. The key is in having the disposition to work through it, seeking to help and to motivate. Problems tend to arise along the way, so accept this aspect of life with grace and you will be able to keep moving forward.



♡ What are you here to teach me?
Orias. Inspiration. Element: Water. Planet: Moon.
How to use logic and the artful practice of divination to tell accurate and enlightening fortunes.

I mean, I’ll take it.

♡ How can I best learn to collaborate with you?
Buer. Help and healing. Element: Water. Planet: Mercury.
Use your logic to cut through all distractions. Tune into the real arcane secrets and choose to keep people around you who are attracted to you for spiritual purposes and who seek answers in similar ways. These are your equals. If you grow, they grow. Have that same attitude towards your divinatory tools.

♡ What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?
Sabnock. Discretion. Element: Air. Planet: Moon.
Knowing to temper your strength and using it conditionally. The deck seems to think that self restraint will win your battles for you because you’ll get to camouflage or somehow observe your adversaries before your moment to act comes. So with time passing and circumstances changing ever so slightly, you are promised the upper hand if you wait before you strike.


♡ Which card do you want to show off?
Gusion. Choice. Element: Water. Planet: Venus.
When you gain a better understanding of the past as it spills into the present and influences the future, you can bring solace to those in doubt, eliminate enemy bonds and distribute rewards to those who have waited for them.

Moments of decision making can be some of the hardest for those of us who aren’t 100% assured in what we want our outcome to be. In these moments our best course of action is to set our uncertainty aside and to proceed with assurance.

♡ How do you see me?
Forneus. Honesty. Element: Earth. Planet: Moon.
Through your deep honesty and understanding of the subconscious can lead you to find respect even among your enemies. Speaking your truth even when it won’t be what others wish to hear keeps your hands clean.

♡ How do you see yourself?
Andromalius. Deception. Element: Water. Planet: Mars.
A stern advocate for justice. This deck suggests that if you leave people to their own devices they will show you which colors they are truly made up of. This deck delights in underlining which flawed aspects of their personality you are dealing with so you can rectify the situation and know how to defend yourself.



Fine day for a cemetery walk, don't you think?
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THE STARMAN TAROT

The Starman Tarot was made by Davide de Angelis and published by Lo Scarabeo. This is a very special deck for many reasons. It is inspired by the artworks that Davide de Angelis brought to life as visuals to go alongside David Bowie’s music. David Bowie used to affectionately call it “potent visual alchemy.”The words of a gifted visionary!

The book that accompanies the deck goes in-depth with the meaning of each card. It is very beautifully illustrated and designed. It dedicates a full spread to every card and offers reversed meanings. I find them insightful into the concept of the card and think you’ll find it useful in juxtaposition with the wild illustrations. The is a handy resource that can serve as a springboard for your readings.

★ If you need something more grounded or traditional, check out Christine’s site Numerology Sign. She has thoughtful card reflections for you to use and I think they’re great. So if you find yourself wanting more reading material to sink your teeth into, there it is. ★

The card stock is thin and glossy. The cards are 3 x 5½ which makes them rather large for my hands. The back design is really nice. I liked it a lot when I first saw it!




The deck is meant to be used asking yourself: “what happens next?” I think empaths will have a visceral reaction to it. The color translates into feelings, and the movement implied in the cards can make these images come to life for the reader. I think in this case logic gets overpowered by the psychic sense of intuition through just feeling. Because of that I think this deck could help you make sense of your feelings in time of inner turmoil.

I see this deck as unique in its visual repetition. If I was to compare it to anything it would be to mandala work or sacred geometry and to the visions you see when you participate in a shamanic ceremony. This quality alone charges the deck with a new age type of spirituality that will be attractive to all those seekers of truth who also happen to be very sensitive to the influence of music. I invite those people to pick this deck up as they will find they have lots to work with.

All you have to do is look into a card attentively. As your eyes trace the outlines of the figures you will be able to imagine these scenes coming to life and in ethereal movement. The inertia will power your intuition.

Despite this deck having a whole body of music to strengthen its foundation in the world it can be used as a stand alone tarot deck in which the reader allows themselves to be moved by the visual songs weaved through the narrative of the cards.



I definitely get a feeling of transience or time being influenced to slow down or speed up according to the mindset you are in when you go into a reading with this deck. You can see the aspect of change the author intended the cards to have. From one scene to another there is movement, and looking at the cards independently can also be an exercise for your intuition. There is so much going on in these cards that you can tune into the feeling of each one and see the story play out in those wild colors. With so many supernatural elements present you can end up going really far out there into the reaches of your imagination, from where the spark of life comes. Creativity at its finest.

I definitely see the explosions of color and the wild, busy composition as eye candy for creatives. You will find a refreshing burst of bright color with every card placed on the reading space. Let your eye move along the compositions as it wants to. With so much present in each card, you can trust your intuition to guide you towards the symbols you need to pay the most attention to. This will help you weave the story together.

I feel certain that every time you encounter a repeating card you will find something new in it. One card will be able to transform as you need it to, bringing new messages according to how the cards around it influence the narrative you are weaving. You’ll never run out of things to say with this deck, that’s for sure. Where some decks may challenge you to draw more information, this one will have too much information. Scaling it down will be your challenge, but with the journey being this fun I don’t see why you would want to. Go wild, let your imagination and your instinctual senses lead you.

With this deck I promise to enjoy color and feelings as I let my inner child come out to play in the readings.





♡ What is your most important characteristic?
Prince of Wands. Starting out with the burning of inspiration that comes from how we see the world around us and how we respond to it with our senses. Inspiration can be the motivator that springs your hands and feet into action every day. It can get you in tune with your divine sense of purpose.

The cool greens give this card an outer space feel and the shadows on the side give this card a bit of a sense of danger. Interpreting this as the querent facing the obstacles of his or her life by acting fast and being mindful of surroundings.

♡ What are your strengths as a tarot deck?
Five of Swords. Burning hot words at the time they are most needed. It seems this deck is a tough motivator, the kind that will chew you out with an important lesson that you still need to listen to. Overcoming obstacles take strength and sacrifice, and sometimes comes in times of tension.

♡ What are your limits?
Queen of Coins. The only limitations are the confines of the mundane world: circumstance, responsibilities. Anything that roots you down to the ground.

You also need to look after yourself first. You need to be okay so that you can show up and work on the things you want improving.



♡ What are you here to teach me?
Eight of Coins. How to build layers onto readings following the path the symbols on the cards lead you on. If you allow yourself to play with what you are offered you will find amazing discoveries. The answers come together as the puzzle is solved and things fall into place. You’ll be able to organize your life with the power of your thoughts. Then you can fuel your body as you bring those divine thoughts into reality and manifest them in your life.

♡ How can I best learn to collaborate with you?
Six of Cups. To work with this tarot deck, tune into the art of watching illustrated works interacting with one another. Putting these different pieces of the puzzle together will help shed light on those aspects of your life you can’t see or understand. Treating your own life like a puzzle to put together will help you work out the many problems that keep you from moving forward.

♡ What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?
Prince of Coins. Learning to trust the life you have built for yourself as it leads you forward is the potential outcome. Learning to see the signs is a challenge for those who don’t often look outside their lives for solutions to their problems. Focusing on the same problems without new perspective can keep us in a monotonous routine that slows us down. We begin to get stuck when we allow ourselves to be trapped by our circumstances. In order to find a new reality we need to keep ourselves light of heart and light of step.



♡ Which card do you want to show off?
Ten of Cups. The joy that comes with sharing and establishing a community. We find ourselves to be happy when we connect to others and share our joys with them too.

♡ How do you see me?
Queen of Swords. A sharp seer, a channel for the unknown and previously unexplained. Through the connection to the Earth and with the use of my intellectual abilities I am passing messages to enrich and guide the lives of other people. It is a solitary path, and I am a solitary practitioner.

♡ How do you see yourself?
Death. Transitions, the link between life and the afterlife. That which we don’t know is a secret. We learn through experience as we pass through the natural transformation of our lifetime.



The more I look at this deck the more I find myself loving it. The cards are triggers feelings and mindsets. They are narrative and illustrate our instinctual senses from the psyche to our physical existence. I love the sensations suggested through lines, color and symbology.
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