My Book is Out!

Hello tarot lovers and other readers,

I am writing this blog post today as a PUBLISHED AUTHOR and wow-ee that feels amazing to say. I had a whirlwind opening week with THREE book events that led to amazing discussions with audience about queerness, tarot, and other assorted witchery. I am so excited for the reception of this book, but I am sorry it’s taken me off the blog a little. I’m keeping up with my promised Patreon work and am still doing Instagram #dailytarot content and am still dreaming and scheming big things for this blog (along with my writing career in general).

I have ONE MORE book event on the horizon as of now: Minneapolis, Moon Palace Books on June 3rd. This event includes a mini tarot class as well as a reading or two for the book. I’ll answer questions and sign things. It’ll be a really good time so if you’re in the area please put it on your calendar!

One thing that’s really exciting is some of the interviews I have lined up or have already completed. I don’t have dates for the releases yet but if you’re a podcast listener you’ll eventually be hearing me on podcasts from Coming Out Tarot, The Tarot Lady, The Numinous and Weiser Radio Hour! I interviewed on InterroBang Tarot and Babes At The Table too. I have a radio show coming up for Beyond Reality radio, and got to chat with my local DJs here in the Twin Cities at KFAI! I’ve gotten to and am getting to talk to so many really wonderful people about this topic of the intersection of queerness and tarot that I care so deeply about. This whole project has been such a blessing.

A lot of readers and friends from all over the world have been asking me how they can support this project (and me overall), so below is a quick list of things that any new author needs—including me!

• Put me on or in your blog/magazine article series/podcast/etc. I am totally open to interviews and have a flexible enough schedule right now to accommodate most interview requests. Hook me up with editors if you’re not the person in power.

• Ask your local bookstore if they have my book. Even if you already have a copy, the more requests they get, the more likely they are to order it. If it’s sitting in bookstores, people are obviously more likely to see and buy it.

• Review the book on Amazon and Goodreads! This helps my publisher market my book and bumps me in visibility.

• Publish pics of the book or you reading the book on social media. You never know who will see it and want their own copy.

That’s it! It’s so easy to help me spread the word and make this a successful project. If anything I listed makes you feel vulnerable or unsafe, I totally understand. Even telling a couple of close friends about the book means more people know that might grab it.

In the meantime, I’ll be back soooon. I really want to talk about my growing relationship with Rhiannon from Celtic myth as well as provide new tarot content for you to mull over. I’m very eager to dive back in I just still need to save my spoons for a few days. Hope you’re all doing well!

Blessed be.

Cassandra

3 Mini Tarot Deck Reviews for Fellow Water Babes

Hello, yes, my name is Cassandra Snow and I’m a Pisces with a Pisces Moon and a Cancer Rising. Astrologically speaking, that’s a little “YIKES”, I know. I am in fact a big bundle of emotions all the time and I just want everyone to love themselves as much as I love them and when they can’t or don’t I break down a little. That’s neither here nor there though! Being such a water baby also means I feel a deep, intense, spiritual connection with all things water. That ESPECIALLY means I have a connection to oceans, lakes and rivers. I get overwhelmingly sad leaving the beach for the day even if I’m coming right back tomorrow. I spend countless evenings meandering down by the Mississippi just breathing in all of that beautiful magickal air. I can’t get enough.

Until this year, I never really found any tarot decks that reflected this depth and this connection though. I was interested in a couple of Mermaid themed decks but never really connected with any of them. 2019 really has something in the, ahem, water though as decks I never considered and new water-based decks I love flew out of the woodwork to help further boost my love and connection of tarot. I’ve reviewed three of my FAVORITE aquatic decks below. Enjoy, and if one sounds good to you, nab it as soon as you can!

The Mermaid Tarot

I am not someone who buys many mainstream, mass produced tarot decks. From the second I saw the Mermaid Tarot by Leeza Robertson I knew I had to have this one though. First of all, it is BEAUTIFUL. The depth of color and imagery is intense. It actually doesn’t photograph super well because there are so many rich layers of color and...well, layer. This deck is fairly inclusive and showcases suits with water lore from all over which makes it really special. While I think most decks COULD be queerer, this one does not stand out to me as being inaccessible from a queer perspective. I also read beautifully with this one. Of the three, this is the one that I think speaks the most deeply to healing journeys and the fluidity of our needs and desires over time. I would define this deck as a “Must Have” for water fanatics and it’s rare for me to declare something a “Must Have” or “Must See” because everybody is different. You can snag a copy literally anywhere that you buy tarot cards since it is Llewellyn produced.

The Dark Days Tarot

Wren McMurdo was a fellow Little Red Tarot writer and I was always deeply interested in her writing work at the site. I never seriously considered her deck and I don’t actually remember why. A close friend gifted it to me for my birthday this year though and WOW. If you don’t know, this deck is POWERFUL and while not every card features mermaids and oceans, enough do that I wanted to include it here. This deck captures the spirit of the grassroots tarot and witchcraft movement happening all over right now, and the cards that include aquatic imagery are every bit as refreshing as their oceanic inspiration. One really unique thing for those of you who read with reverals: McMurdo’s guidebook (which is exceptional regardless) includes instructions for reading the square cards not only in reverse, but from right to left or right to left since the shape is unique as well. I connected with this deck in a BIG way and use it almost every day. It’s been a widely used deck for a lot of Indie Tarot fans for a long time but I’m officially hopping on the bandwagon. Grab your copy here.

The Visionary Tarot

I saved the best, in my opinion, and least known for last. I stumbled upon images from this black and white beauty on the Indie Deck Review instagram (which you should also follow but only if you like living in constant decklust). I was drawn to how simple and cartoon-y yet not AT ALL childish this deck was. I also loved the Nautical theme. I hadn’t fallen so hard so fast for a deck in a long time so my queerplatonic partner grabbed it for me for Christmas this past year. I always get a little bit nervous because so many decks I have panted over have felt or meant nothing once they got in my hands. This one was practically made for me though, and is one of my top five favorite decks of all time. The simple pictures still leave a LOT of room for BIG interpretations and healing. Every picture is beautiful, and all of them provide the nurturing, healing energy you’d expect from a water themed deck. This stack of tarot cards is no softie though; the Nautical theme (as opposed to a strictly aquatic one) is not afraid to provide some tough love and remind you to get your act together when that’s what you need to hear.

If I had one complaint about the Visionary Tarot, it would be that the card stock is a little flimsy. I haven’t had a problem with it yet and it makes for great shuffling, but I am concerned about the deck’s longevity since I’m not always one to rebuy cards. Even if I was, a lot of indie decks end up not being purchasable over time so it is a concern. The first edition did NOT come with a guidebook but that may be changing.

Artwork by Addie who created this unique beauty is running a Kickstarter that drops on May 1st and includes a golden version (!!!) so head to Insta to follow Artwork by Addie and be In The Know so you can grab yours.

Blessed be y’all!

Art is a Gamble: Witchcraft for Success In the Arts

Y’all, I’ve been doing a LOT of research lately. Copious amounts of research. I was absolutely convinced and absolutely sure that there was some deep, hidden magick to help us hack into success in the arts that I just couldn’t find. While I did find some useful material that I’ll be sharing in upcoming months, I also decided to share some of the tools and materials that are traditionally used for luck in gambling that I personally use to see my projects succeed.

When I was growing up, I was deeply invested in reading, writing, and for a time, performing. Everybody told me that I was talented but to be practical. That’s all I ever heard. Even the people who loved and supported me the most didn’t want to see me be disappointed if my dreams didn’t come true. Here’s something people aren’t going to like me for saying: they weren’t wrong. Succeeding in the arts takes immense talent and dedication which I had scores of. It also takes luck or nepotism, or financial privilege to invest back into your art, none of which I had even an iota of.

Poor people with no connections succeeding does happen. For every Oprah Winfrey though, there are 1,000 people who can’t even get into a TV studio. It is a gamble. Literally--at that point, it becomes about luck. Which is why the folk magick used for gambling can work to bring success to your artistic life as well. Below are some of my favorite ingredients for “gambling” spellwork that I use to help my theatre company get grants and audience and to help my writing find homes.

• Allspice is one of my favorite money herbs to use because well, it attracts money. Plus I have a good friend who’s allergic to cinnamon so if we do workings together, Allspice is my go to. Allspice is specifically associated with luck and gambling though, making it a powerful ally for artists looking for paying opportunities or ways to fund their projects. Allspice is associated with Mars and all of it’s macho potentially toxic masculinity. That becomes useful though when we’re really willing to pour our soul into our artistic work and makes things happen. Allspice will give you stamina as well as help you attract the result you’re looking for. I usually just use the powdered or ground spice to dress my candles or in kitchen magick.
  

• Chamomile is primarily used nowadays in tea, food, and baths for it’s calming scent and effect. This cute little flower has a history of being used in money and luck magick too though. Most of us who are working in the arts honestly need to heal our relationship with money at least a little bit. We grow up being told that art doesn’t make money and that we’re taking too big of a risk. Chamomile’s healing energy can help us overcome those blocks and its ability to attract can help create paying opportunities for our art.
  
  If you have a specific opportunity or important meeting for your artistic career, wash your hands in chamomile water a few times in a row leading up to the meeting or any application deadlines. If you’re looking for more money healing or success in a broader way, any of the aforementioned applications will work. Like any flower, chamomile can also be added to altars, gifted to deities, or crushed up to dress candles or be added to oil blends. Also it’s a flower! If you’re a green thumb type, try a small potted plant on a well-lit money or art project altar or even just blossoming somewhere cute in your home.
  

• Pyrite AKA “Fool’s Gold” is traditionally meant to be used to increase psychic abilities and protect from unwanted negative energies. Because in modern witchcraft we also think anything shiny = money, it has become a symbol of wealth and luck that is used in prosperity workings and for gambler’s luck too. I like to keep a chunk of pyrite on my altar for my theatre company for two reasons. One is that art is competitive and rivals trying to bring your down, being criticized (even fairly) and even just society’s expectations of art and artists can all negatively impact our artwork and its outcome. Pyrite protects us from that while also attracting luck and money! Double win!
  

• Nutmeg is all about luck and success in gambling or “games of chance” which means it’s a perfect ally for making successful art! The seeds themselves are the best for pure chance, which means you should carry them in your pocket or place them on your altar for a chance at true longshot opportunities. As an oil or an herb in food, candle magick, oils, etc. etc. it can amplify the rest of your money + art magick too and assure prosperity in your current endeavors.
  

• Lodestone is not a stone I have a lot of personal experience with. I do a lot of faery work and while they can abide it, they don’t love it, so I largely avoid it since I have a plethora of other options to turn gambling luck into arts success. Because they are natural magnets though, the magickal school of thought is that lodestone can be used to draw things to you. It’s a metaphor of sorts but one that works exceedingly well for a large number of witches that I know. This stone has use in gambling magick, but is primarily known as a prosperity ingredient. Setting a nice chunk on your general money altar with the intention to ensure financial success in your art should be enough to get started.
  
  Lodestone loves being fed iron fillings or magnetic sand which is very cute in my opinion. That can recharge your existing spells if you set regular goals to sell your artwork, fill houses with audience members, or have steady donation flow.
  

• Irish Moss is my absolute favorite money ingredient which is why we’re ending on it. This crunchy, dried seaweed is usually listed as being good for business prosperity, personal prosperity AND gambling spellwork which means if you, like me, run an arts organization or run your art career as a business it has triple the magick and benefit for you!
  
  Because Irish Moss is actually a seaweed it can be used in kitchen magick (if rehydrated) as well as to dress candles, go into oil blends, etc. etc. The recommended use is usually to slide the moss under your rug/carpet or hide discreetly in your studio corners to draw luck and money to your business or arts practice. While it’s not cute I also like to toss some flakes into the bottom of my wallet for personal money magick too. It looks dirty but hey, that’s business, baby.

This list is just to get you started. I listed several ingredients popular to gamblers and reset them to help you brainstorm ways to keep your art career as thriving as it is fulfilling. I would like to note that there are known ingredients that are good for gambling that I willfully left out. This is largely because I am white, and a lot of it would have been appropriative at best to include. I want to implore you as you’re working your magick to make sure it is YOUR magick and that you aren’t taking from a culture that doesn’t belong to you. There is a fine line between appreciation and appropriation. There are gads of magickal ingredients that all are able to use. Start there, and then think about your own path, history, and culture to get more specific as you go.

Also, this is a post about art and magick! Get creative and specific-to-you. Do you love card games? Stick some poker chips on your art altar. Did you have a great visit to a Casino where you snagged a cute souvenir? Win a silly prize at Bingo with your grandma one night? Those too can be charged with intent regarding your life in the arts. Magick is about intention but it’s also about metaphor and creativity...just like art. Go wild y’all.

My Book is Coming! My Book is Coming!

As you likely now by now if you’re here reading my blog, I have a book called Queering the Tarot coming out on May 1st from Weiser/Red Wheel Publishing and y’all I am so so excited! Yesterday a big box of books showed up at my apartment and look. how. cute.

This process has been so wonderful. I got to re-write my earlier columns which I was less proud of and explore the tarot as a whole—not just card by card. The final product is something I am truly excited about and proud of.

AND! The true reason for my post; it’s on hella sale on Amazon and a few other places. Pre-orders help new authors SO much. It’s what will convince Weiser to bring me back for more books and it certainly helps my always-struggling bottom line in the meantime. Grab your copy for chhheeeeaaaap right here.

I’ll have another post soon detailing my book events and the radio shows you can catch me on, plus my regular tarot and witch content is (hopefully!) coming back this April.

In the meantime, Blessed Be Y’all!

Cassandra

Reading for Chronic Physical Illness Vs. Mental Illness in the Tarot

One great thing about being my patron is that pretty often I’ll ask my patrons what they want to hear me talk about. As I am very open and public about both both mentally and physically ill, one such patron requested an easy guide for telling the difference between physical and mental illness in the tarot and I thought that was a GREAT idea, so here we are!

I want to offer a huge, giant disclaimer to start with though:

I’m not a doctor, and none of this is meant to be perceived as medical advice. Furthermore, everyone’s journey with the tarot is different. The following advice comes only from MY experiences being sick and working with the tarot.

That being said, I have developed some very quick “go to” ways to see what the cards are talking about when they bring up illness or injury.

One HUGE thing I’ve done is gone through and assigned keywords that correlate to my various illnesses to the cards I think they fit the most. In my personal tarot journal, I have the Four of Cups listed as “depression” and the Five of Wands as “arthritis flareup.” I have enough cards assigned to various illnesses that if I’m asking about my day/week/month/etc. pulling those specific cards gives me a VERY solid head’s up on what to expect that day/week/month/etc. sickness wise.

(As a side note, I STRONGLY recommend making your own tarot keyword list in addition to the one that comes with your deck, my slightly more radical approach to a keyword list, or anything else you might’ve purchased or acquired to help you learn your cards. Developing your own keyword list IS work. It requires looking at your cards individually and in spreads, and sussing them each down to 3 or 4 words or quick phrases each. It’s so, so, so worth it though. It deepens your relationship with your cards and makes your readings moving forward so much more personal. In doing this, you can ABSOLUTELY add in your own illnesses or worries for certain cards.)

If you’re starting from scratch or have a new deck and want to know where you might start looking, I GENERALLY use this guide to guide my health readings. ALWAYS trust your own knowledge and intuition over someone else’s though.

• If a lot of WANDS show up in your reading: wands are fight and fire. When you get to know your deck you’ll see that so often the negative Wands cards indicate internal conflict and turning your anger inwards. For this reason I use Wands to denote autoimmune disorders most often.

• PENTACLES represent Earth. They can also represent the human body itself. For this reason, in a health reading or a general reading where sickness is indicated I usually read these as a physical illness that is debilitating but not permanent. This could be the flu, or a sprain, or anything like that. Pentacles do heal and I think that’s an important difference here.

• Both SWORDS and CUPS can indicate mental illness or trauma reactions if they show up frequently in a reading. Generally I read Swords as chronic mental illness like Depression or Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Bipolar Disorder (which I don’t have but am intimately aware of). There will be ups and downs but you can’t cure these things. You can manage them, but a flareup is still horrendous and will still happen on occasion.

• I tend to read an overflow of CUPS as being more about the emotional side of mental illness. My Avoidant Personality Disorder can be cured. My PTSD can be cured. (I mean they won’t be until I find a new therapist, but theoretically they CAN be cured. They can CERTAINLY become more manageable in a way that chronic mental illness often can not.) I usually find these things then in the Cups which are about both emotions and healing.

• The MAJOR ARCANA are not fun if they come up in a reading about health. On a smaller scale, they represent the health things that come with aging and are therefore inevitable. You’re going to get your mom’s bad eyesight and your dad’s weak knees and you can’t stave it off forever no matter how many carrots you eat. Unfortunately, a lot of times the Majors warn us about big, bad life-changing illnesses. If you do a reading about your health and get a ton of Majors, you might want to hit up your doctor ASAP, especially if they’re negatively aspected.

All of the above are told from the lens of the idea that you’re doing a reading and you know that there are some health problems. This information is only meant to help you isolate the problem so you know where to start working from. If you are healthy and all of your cards in a health reading are positive, don’t sweat it! You’re probably fine! If you have been on a healing journey to manage chronic illness and you feel like things are pretty well under control and you get a bunch of cards about peace regardless of the suit, than that’s great! You’re doing great!

Another great way to check in on your health is to simply create a spread that addresses specific body parts or chronic illnesses.

If I’m worried about an arthritic winter and the emotional fallout of being isolated because it’s Minnesota in winter, than I’ll do a two card spread to see what the cards say. I take those at face value—scrap everything I said above. If I pull a 5 of Pentacles in the one about emotion than the cards ARE confirming that I’m going to feel very lost and alone this winter. You can do as many placements as you want! I’ve also done a head to toe check in using upwards of 10 cards, each representing a part of my body or piece of my health. Don’t be shy in how many cards you use, and you can always use scraps of paper placed beside the cards to remember which body parts or illnesses you were worried about.

Always trust a doctor or therapist over the cards, and always trust your actual intuition in that whole process too. The cards can offer some great insight into what’s wrong and why though. Hopefully this primer helped. Remember though that as you grow on your own journey with your own cards, you might find totally different results than me. That’s rad! Trust that.

In the meantime, happy tarot reading and blessed be y’all!

Cassandra

From My Instagram Highlights: Tarot Tips & Tricks For Beginner's & Those Looking to Shake Up Their Practice

Hello all!

I’ve been trying to really learn Instagram Stories and use it to help boost my tarot client and occult writing reader base and today I posted a story with some basic tarot tips and tricks that I wanted to share here as well. These are meant for TOTAL beginner’s but can absolutely be used for more seasoned readers looking to deepen their relationship with the tarot cards.

Tip #1: Tuning Into Your Intuition
Intuition is just the way your body processes and accesses information. To tune in: close your eyes, get comfy, and take a few deep breathes. Once your breathe is steady and deep, tune into how your gut,heart, and mind feel. Listen to them each for a few moments. Now you should be in tune.

Tip #2: Compare and Contrast

• Look at the story of your tarot deck by looking at how each card changes and shifts from the one before it.

• Pull out all of your aces at once, then your twos, threes, etc. What similarities are there? How are they different?

• Look at decks that aren’t yours! What similarities and differences do you see in the cards?

Note these similarities and differences somewhere. Those notes can and should become a foundation for learning your tarot deck.

Tip #3: Follow Tarot Readers on Instagram! Or Watch Them On YouTube!
Seeing other readers in action is SO important to the learning process. You won’t agree with everybody’s interpretations and that’s okay. The important thing is to see how the cards are talked about and treated by others.

*Please note! It’s fine to have a favorite reader you watch or follow, but try to follow several different readers. The comparison is so important!

If you have questions for me based on this list, never fear! I am here to answer them and I am always thrilled to hear from you. I’m going to try to make my stories tarot and witch-educational on a regular basis and you can follow along here.

Finally, I have a keyword list here that is new and affordable and will help you learn the tarot through a more inclusive, sex-positive, and creative perspective. Use it alongside your Little White Book or disregard it entirely!

Blessed be y’all!

Cassandra Snow

A Real Witch In The Rehearsal Room: On Setting Intention and Deep Breathing

It’s 6:00 PM and actors are arriving from terrible traffic, plodding through snow banks and the stress of their day jobs. I am asking them to come in after the sun has already set in Minnesota. I am asking them do more work, learn lines, work their bodies, and connect with other humans in the three hours that stretch over what would normally be dinner time for a lot of us. As people trickle in, we start laughing and chatting. If someone seems particularly on edge someone else pulls them aside to check in. It’s often me but after a couple of weeks together, it’s often not. Once we start working actual pieces from the play, there are expected setbacks but nothing catastrophic. People are having fun & enjoying this.

It isn’t always like this. Magick & theatre are both dependent on a solid cast of collaborators and sometimes all of your best intentions fly out the window if other people don’t get along or if you’ve overlooked a problematic element of the show or even a cast member due to your own privilege. The best laid plans slip away sometimes because of weather, illness, or a slew of other uncontrollable factors. Sometimes you as a project leader will cling too tightly to your vision even if it doesn’t best serve the show because that’s what you were taught to do by bad directors before you.

Not all, but so many of these things can be mitigated by bringing your spirituality into your creative space. My spirituality is eclectic though largely Pagan. In my cast are a Christian, a Satanist, another Pagan, and some people who haven’t disclosed their spiritual beliefs. That means you’re not exactly going to set ups specific spells, rituals or prayers before each rehearsal because you want the whole team to feel apart of it. These are some of the things that help me set a healing space before rehearsals:

• Like in Magick, Intention matters a whole hecking lot in art. I always have:

  • An artistic intention for the show

  • A healing or spiritual intention for the show

  • An artistic intention for rehearsal that day

  • A healing or spiritual intention for that day

• In addition to having my own intentions, during warm-ups for rehearsal I always have everyone close their eyes for a second and set their own intention for our time at rehearsal that night. I also close each rehearsal with a question for everyone to ponder that, ideally, will help them set their intention for the next day.

• While everyone is setting their intentions, I ask those who are physically able to take a few deep breaths. Deep breathing is crucial to resetting your body, clearing your mind, and generally BEING IN THE MOMENT. At the start of a rehearsal process it allows people space to feel and clear out anything that would get in the way of a good rehearsal.

• Being in the moment. I don’t ask my actors to leave their anxiety, trauma or stress at the door the way a lot of directors do. (Though I do ask artists with white privilege, cisgender privilege, able-bodied privilege, etc to think how their emotional reactions might hurt people with less privilege.) I DO ask that artists bring that stress into the scene and use it if they don’t want to/can’t check it at the door. I ask that they work with those emotions and that energy, and I work to make sure we’re all living in that moment. This means that sometimes that outside stress of traffic jams and snow plows DOES melt away. Sometimes it means that a scene is fueled by an actor’s rage at white supremacy or patriarchy. The play comes out beautifully either way.

  My experience as a witch has taught me that control of my breathe (when possible), setting intentions and doing the work to manifest my spellwork ultimately get me where I want/need to go. Those same principles apply wonderfully to theatre or any artistic practice—especially when you’re working in a group. I used to work incredibly hard to seperate my art life from my witch life. One day I realized that was cutting myself short in both worlds and since allowing the two to blend, my work has never been the same.

  Blessed be y’all!
  

All the Things I'm Dreaming Up For You!

Hey all,

Well we are a week into 2019 and this is my first blog post. I spent New Year’s Day being admitted into the hospital overnight because of ongoing health issues. We still don’t know what’s wrong but we’re going to figure it out. I’m home, I’m with my cats and my extremely beloved roommate, and I’m slowly easing my way into work for the year. Which means I’m off to a slow start but I’m determined to have a fantastic year in all areas of my life no matter what. So as I’m dreaming and scheming and writing I thought you might want to know what to look forward to throughout the year!

For starters, I am working on several pieces about tarot and/or witchcraft aimed at artists, as well as a similar set aimed at multipassionates. I will eventually teach classes on those things this year too but I have quite a year up until the end of March, and my book comes out in May so it will be after that.

I’m also really nervous but excited to bring some original content about chronic illness and mental illness and tarot & spiritual practice. I’m nervous because I don’t ever want you to think that you shouldn’t seek medical care when that’s what you need. I don’t ever want you to think that you can wish, hope, or essential oil your way out of a serious and debilitating illness. What I DO have to offer are tips, tricks, spreads and spells for aiding the rest of your care regimen and boosting your confidence to heal and make those illnesses manageable. I’m taking my time with this and I want it to be right. It may even be ambitious for this year, but certainly I’m in the planning stages.

I am literally always prepping pieces and content about using tarot as a form of healing and empowerment, collectively and individually especially for marginalized people.

In addition to a new workbook or e-zine about one of the topics listed above, I’ll also have a Tarot Keyword List for Creatives, Radicals and Other New Age Misfits coming out in the next several weeks.

Finally, I have been promising the world an essay about my journey out of restrictive (though self-imposed) Christianity and into occultism and alternative spirituality for a long time. This is just a one of essay, and may have follow up pieces with tips and tricks along your own journey. It is coming sometime this year. This journey was so rooted in seemingly unrelated trauma and my own queerness though, and untangling it all in my own brain to make it accessible and readable to you all is something else entirely.

In the meantime, I will also be continuing the work I’m already doing. Queering the Tarot articles are getting released monthly on Patreon along with scores of other goodies. The book comes out in May. My #dailytarot series runs almost daily on Instagram, alongside other tarot content and personal posts.

Thanks for following, and thanks for continuing to support my work.

Blessed be y’all,

Cassandra

A Year of Heart: My Hopes, Not Goals For the Upcoming Year

Tonight is the night, y’all. Midnight is going to strike and 2018 is DONE. I am elated, really I am. Mostly what I feel though, is tired. I am so, so tired.

For me 2018 was a year of a mild traumatic brain injury that it took me the bulk of the year to heal from, and heal is a weird word because I still get symptoms if I get sleepy or overwhelmed. My memory is not what it used to be. I am so, so, so much better than I was throughout spring and summer. I am so lucky that my brain injury was only what it was. I am still someone coping with a brain injury.

2018 was a year where I had my heart broken platonically, where some of the people closest to me were traumatized and went through really trying life experiences and transitions. This is a year that is even ending in injury and illness for some of the people closest to me.

This only scratches the surface. One of my business lives almost fell apart. There are stories that are awful that I am deeply embedded in but are not mine to tell. It is a year that I took a step backward financially (thanks to said brain injury) for the first time since I started full-time self-employment. I am ending the year back under the poverty line and that hurts given how hard I’ve worked through it all.

I am sure that I have learned lessons. I am sure that there are things I have gained. I am so grateful for the things and relationships I do have and that is always true. Normally though, at the end of the year, I do this great program and I revel in my success and reframe my failures. I think about what I learned and where I want to go. I write it all down, and I blog a lot of it. This year though, every time I’ve looked at that great journaling program and written down more goals beyond “produce plays, sell books” I have panicked. I’m not ready. I still need to take things slow. I still need to recalibrate. I am not done healing.

I am not done resting. Not even close. This is the hardest part for me. My last two years of college I slept maybe four hours a night. I had a full load of classes, directed and stage managed plays, celebrated Sabbats with the few other Pagans on campus, and pulled a struggling GPA from my previous school into a 3.7 GPA. I had two jobs and an additional one in the summer too. While sick. I graduated a decade ago and until my brain injury I kept that schedule except added in extra hours of sleep and doctor’s appointments instead of classes. Basically the only thing that changed was I slept more and I called that rest, and a reasonable schedule, and healthy. Maybe it was then. It’s not now. Some people thrive on being busy. I don’t. I write better, read better, create better when I am not running from place to place to place. It took a brain injury to teach me that. I’m sure that’s the lesson. I don’t care. I’m still bitter when I should be grateful.

This is not a normal mindset for me, and it’s been really hard to deal with myself in this process. In my life I have dealt with multiple sexual assaults, Lifetime movie worthy toxic friendships, and the trauma I endured in my upbringing with nothing but hope and love and gratitude in my heart for the things I did have. I have been oppressed because of my gender, my weight, my sexual identity, my health, and poverty and that only made me more determined to create safer spaces and try to make change for others going through the same thing. These things, for all of the horrors that they were (and I would not wish any of them on anyone) did not crush my spirit. My heart remained at the center of everything I did for my entire life. Until now.

My heart is not in anything I have done this year. I don’t know why. I’m not really even interested in finding out why, except to say that I want it back. In spite of my aversion to Unraveling My Year, I did still pull some tarot cards for next year. When I asked what my Word of the Year should be, I pulled the Ace of Vessels. Then, I started sobbing. For the first time in months I let myself mourn. The cards were promising my Double Pisces, Cancer rising butt that I would find me again in 2019, and that made it safe to cry and feel now. I am so sad that I worked so hard and this year made me feel like all of it was for nothing. I am so sad, and I am so tired.

Yet even as I type that I am preparing for a rehearsal process for a dream show and a book release in 2019. Obviously there were gains. I want to be there for them, not only in body but in mind, spirit, and HEART too. 33 is a coming of age year for a lot of people as they settle into what being in their 30’s means. I wasn’t here, wasn’t in myself and yet I can feel that I have changed in positive ways too. I hope to be present and accounted for for any changes or growth that 34 brings. I hope to love again and laugh again and mean it this time. I hope that that Ace of Vessels comes true. I hope that not only do I find myself again, but I find my heart along the way.

A Short & Sweet Yule Tarot Spread!

I spoke on my last blog about how important the concept of light is to the holiday season, and though I shifted my focus to something different there I a reading on my Patreon today based on the changeover of a dark winter into a lighter one. It was a simple three card spread, and I laid it out like this:

This deck is the Numinous Tarot & for a short time, you can grab one here!

I laid out the two cards on top (you can do it in whatever order makes the most sense to you) and then the one on the bottom in the center. The card placements represent (in this order):

1) What light is already shining in our lives?

2) What light do we need to let in?

and 3) What darkness can we let dim right now?

I absolutely loved the reading I did for my patrons with this spread. The concept of light in dark times is always important, and that’s true figuratively and literally. For December Holiday season we have multiple holidays that focus on light, most notably Yule and Hanukkah. Even Christmas has it’s hint of it though. The three wise men followed the light of the North Star, and secularly what do we adorn our houses with when we want to look festive? Oh right, lights!

Enjoy your reading, tarot lovers & have a blessed week or so until I see you again.

Blessed Be Y’all,
Cassandra Snow

If you’d like to see the community reading, my Patreon is community style which means you get FULL benefits including this one for as little as $1 a month. I donate 10% to an organization or person in need, and benefits include ongoing Queering the Tarot pieces, monthly tip sheets or worksheets about tarot or spirituality, patron only occult writing, and a monthly spread. Anyone who follows by the end of this month ALSO gets a FREE tarot workbook or e-zine from my shop in a couple month’s time! Support here.

Yule is Coming! Prep time is NOW!

Not my own photo! Provided by Unsplash through Squarespace.

The time of one of my favorite Sabbats is almost upon us! Yule and the December holiday season make me so grateful for snow, coffee, and my loved ones. While I love all of the Sabbats, Yule season is particularly meaningful to me especially when I incorporate what people of all faiths celebrate throughout the holiday season.

Secular Christmas is about gift giving and time with loved ones.

Christmas proper is about the birth of a savior.

Hannukkah is a celebration of light as well as miracles.

Yule is, for some people, a celebration of light returning. For others it's about taking stock of what your harvests for the year looked like. 

It stands to reason then that as we think about light and saviors and gifts and miracles this month, we should also be thinking about what we harvest regularly, how we use those resources, and what we're doing to ensure our continued success. Some simple spiritual things you can do over the next few weeks to focus on ALL of the themes I touched on and usher in your best holiday season yet include:

•  Meditation on what each of the aforementioned subjects means to you.

  • A focused meditation on light can bring you more brightness than you ever imagined.

  • A meditation zeroing in on gifts can tune you in to your law of attraction and boost your ability to manifest.

  • Deep breathing and prayer to any saviors you believe in can comfort you as you things get wet, dark, and cold.

  • Finally, really working through what your harvests looked like for the year can rededicate you to your work and enable you thrive in the new year.

• Decorating your sacred space (home, altar, car dashboard) with cross cultural winter symbols like snow, pine cones, and cranberries which all bring their own reminders and messages for the season. 

  • Snow represents cleansing or coming to peace with darkness, though for me personally it represents fun and cool air.

  • Pine cones correlate to pine trees which can represent longevity and the joy in solitude. Some believe they represent our hopes and fears for the new year too. Wishing spells where you roll up tiny scrolls with your wishes scrawled on them and place them in between the cone sheaths are common this time of year.

  • Cranberries can correspond with our love lives and help us amplify the good and loving vibes of the holiday season.

• Cranberry and peppermint teas will inspire you spiritually through the holiday season. (Peppermint works for almost any magick you’re trying to weave and can soothe our tummies if we overindulge on holiday food.)

• For those who are more metaphysically or witch inclined, a great gift to make for a friend or yourself is a prosperity ornament focused on sustainability. 

  • Take an empty glass ball ornament, and fill it with things that will represent and inspire sustenance. A friend gave me one a couple of years ago full of green ribbon, cinnamon, basil, and pine cone pieces. I made one with dried orange peel, pine leaves, and fake snow for a friend last year. Anything that is meaningful and represents ongoing prosperity energy to BOTH of you will work.

• Make your gift giving personal and significant this season. One year I asked everyone I knew to give me their favorite book from the past year. It was one of my favorite Christmases because I got to really peer into people’s hearts and brains + I got my reading queue packed for the following year! Don’t worry about spending a ton of money this year. Find one thing, however small, that you are sure your loved ones will love. Then find something that represents your hopes and dreams for them for 2019. Gift them both or whichever one you like best. Two small, meaningful gifts can be the hit of the season. I’ve seen it happen over and over again!

• Find a little known tradition that really appeals to you and incorporate that into your season with a loved one. My roommate and I celebrate this every year and it has brought us so much peace the night before a big day.

It’s not exactly hip to get excited when you start hearing All I Want for Christmas Is You in every department store for the season, but I do. I have found so many ways to make the Yule season cheerful and joyous starting with this: I absolutely opt out of the traditions that stress me out. I don’t overspend. I don’t run myself ragged. I don’t let the holiday season absorb my common sense.

I DO work closely with my gods, let myself get inspired, and take the extra opportunity to show my loved ones how much I love them.

As always, feel free to leave your favorite traditions or spiritual proceedings in the comments. In the meantime,

Blessed be y’all!

The Decks I Use Most Often & Why (Plus my current deck wish list!)

Hello all,

As the holiday season approaches people are putting together their wish lists and reading holiday round-ups and I am living for it. I love those lists and eat them up with vigor. I’m not quite doing that but I am doing a post about the plethora of decks I use regularly and why you should grab them for your loved one or yourself this holiday season.

I’m picky about tarot decks: if you’re not queer friendly and throwing some fierce images at me, if there’s not a progressive slant, if you’re just rehashing the same classic tarot decks we all love but have been done to death I just can’t throw my money in to support you. I’m also exceedingly picky about the Death card, the Moon card, and having illustrated pips. I read and teach largely through art analysis so you’ve obviously gotta give me some kind of art to analyze.

With that being said, here are my absolute favorite tarot decks:

One of many very good images from the Next World Tarot

• Unfortunately a couple of my favorites are out of print and a couple are in between printings. So while you maybe can’t buy The Numinous Tarot or Next World Tarot THIS holiday season you should bookmark those sites and check back.
  
  The Numinous Tarot is a delightful trip down a colorful genderqueer paradise and the art even features disabled people, chubby people, and lots of BIPOC. It’s shiny and pretty and I absolutely love it.
  
  The Next World Tarot is a powerful and exciting deck. In the creator’s own words “Featuring body outlaws, endangered cultures, and anti-colonial belief systems, THE NEXT WORLD TAROT envisions a world where justice relies on respect and revolutionary love “. It also gives crystal clear readings with practical steps.
  
  The Slow Holler is, unfortunately, totally out of print and potentially not coming back. The Collective Tarot is for sure not coming back which is a shame because I don’t even have one. I’m just obsessed. If you manage to find a copy of either floating around a Facebook marketplace or e-bay though grab it stat. Both decks are collective decks that reimagine the suits and the majors to be explicitly queer and reference queer community instead of heteronormative family units. Good luck and happy deck hunting!

• There’s a deck I love so much I decided to use it to illustrate my upcoming Queering the Tarot book: The Urban Tarot by Robin Scott. I’m careful with this one because some of the images can be jarring to people who’ve had rough experiences. The deck updates the Thoth tarot beautifully though, giving it an urban magic makeover. It’s getting repackaged and sold through a bigger publisher soon but you can still grab a copy at the link.

• My personal favorite decks are actually The Book of Shadows tarot by Barbara Moore. I honestly don’t know why I connect with this sister deck so much. The As Above & So Below decks are so different and not altogether cohesive. Yet I turn to the As Above over and over again for advice on spiritual matters, and the So Below is absolutely my standard deck for events and busy days at my steady gig as it’s packed with modern images, soft but bright colors, and practical guidance.

• The Linestrider Tarot looks like a light, fluffy, whimsical deck. It is that, but it is also anything but. It is actually my “straight talk” deck that I turn too when I can sense someone needs some blatant honesty from the tarot. It just happens to have really cute splashes of watercolor throughout it.

• The Prisma Visions is stunningly beautiful and at times starkly evocative but that’s just one of the reasons I love it. Each suit spreads out to make one big picture, and the card’s interpretation is just what happens when you lift that piece out. It’s an amazing learning tool for my tarot students and it’s a breathtaking deck to use with clients. Honestly if what you’re hearing is “I like it because it’s easy to learn and pretty”…well, that basically is what I’m saying.

• I have often thought that a good way to subvert cis and heteronormativity in the tarot is to just not feature humans. The Wooden Tarot has proven that to be a solid viewpoint. This one somewhat breaks my rule about illustrated pips but there is enough difference in each card and intentional design of the pips that I am still able to teach and read with it easily.

• The Cosmos Tarot & Oracle. I don’t even know what to say about this deck. It’s definitely not for beginners and even as someone who is just an astrology hobbyist I struggle with it sometimes as it combines the two forms of divination into something really unique and special, albeit a little complicated. It’s a collective deck too, and right out of Minneapolis. It’s stunning, artistically. It’s fun. It’s very deep and nuanced and you can read with it for years like I have and still learn new things at every use.

• Surprisingly, the deck that has been and has felt like mine the longest is actually a very battered Spiral Tarot. This one fits in with my spiritual beliefs that life is a cycle and we sometimes just need guidance for where we are. My Celtic based paganism is largely why I fell so hard for this deck, but I also listed it on here not to push you to buy it but to show that the deck that calls out to you is the one for you. You can queer it later. You can add your radical beliefs and subvert every single card if that’s what you want to do. The magick is in the connection between you and the deck, and you never really know where that’s going to land.

From the Book of Shadows, So Below

There’s one HUGE exception to that last statement though; when a deck isn’t rooted in our history and culture, we probably should not use it to make money. I have a Santa Muerte deck that I think most Latinx readers would absolutely adore. I use it for myself or my partners sometimes. I never, ever use it to make money or for promotional pics because it is so steeped in Latinx culture that it feels ludicrously appropriative for me to profit off of. Another deck I love and strongly recommend but do not use is the Dust II Onyx deck. It is so full of love for black women and black spirituality and so deeply imbued with fat and body positive messages. This deck is so important and I can not recommend it enough to black clients and students. I in no way use it to make money but honestly it’s phenomenal and you should own it.

As I look at how my practice has changed and evolved, I’m super into a few decks that I think would round out my collection amazingly. So here’s what I want Santa to bring me for secular Christmas this year (or what I want my Pagan friends to snag for me for Yule). My top wish list decks are:

• The Visionary Tarot. I’ve been looking for a black and white deck that calls to me for a long time and I’m really smitten with this one and it’s silver edges. There’s very little info about the deck or it’s process out there. I saw it on one of my favorite instagram accounts and have been stalking the Etsy page ever since.

• The Brady Tarot. This one is a lot of birds and again, I just really love the art of it. Emi has spoken a lot about her visions and ideas for the deck though and I’m always delighted at those interviews and Emi’s vision for using the tarot to shape conversation and connect to deeper purpose. For some of the same reasons I’m also really smitten with the Anima Mundi Tarot. They both go back to that whole “less humans = more queer, more liberation from patriarchal ideas, etc” idea and are so lovely in such different ways.

• Of course I’m constantly dying to get my mitts on the aforementioned Collective Tarot as well as Thea’s Tarot, which is a queer, feminist deck. Thea’s IS coming back though and you can read more about it here.

Please share your favorite decks (or wish list items!) in the comments below! I love to hear about your experiences with tarot and what’s moving you these days!

Blessed be y’all!

Wow this year really might end after all

It is December 3rd which means this ridiculous year is actually coming to a close. I can’t even believe it. I want to believe it I do, but man, this year. It seems like every one step forward I took as a person, my body decided to push me back three. For every step forward we took as a society…well, you know. It’s hard to be a person right now. It’s hard to be a person with empathy, it’s hard to be a person with their own problems, it’s very hard to be a marginalized person.

A new year isn’t going to change that.

I’m not a naive “new age influencer” who wants you to banish your bad thoughts. Just the opposite in fact. As we think about closing 2018, we should lean in to our anger and our grief and our sadness. We should let ourselves feel however we want, need, or just DO feel. We should use this winter to think about all of the things we’ve lost and if we even want to regain them. We will all feel motivated and peppy to make plans at the start of the year. For now, we should let ourselves feel the feelings.

In letting myself grieve and be sad for losing basically a whole year, I have already started to feel better. See, psychologists think that if we let ourselves experience peak emotion, there’s nowhere to go but up. We don’t actually get stuck in the well of sadness or pain, we start seeing the light and finding our way out naturally. Choking things down leads to bigger blow-ups later, so you WANT to let yourself lose it in the moment.

As I am slowly turning a corner, I am starting to be grateful again. November was a better month than most and this is actually a pretty chipper end-of-month recap. I do these monthly when I’m blogging to remind myself of where I’ve been and hold myself accountable to my goals. I also do them because I really love personal blogging and personal checklists, so maybe you do too?

Business News!

• ICYMI: I released this Sex & Tarot E-Zine that I like a great deal. It’s over 20 pages of healing work, thoughts on sex and tarot, and spreads to empower your sex life. I’ve got some grounding exercises should you panic before or during sex, and some personal stories too. It’s just $13.99 and a great way to process your end-of-year dating feels.

• My Patreon is off to a strong start! I do this thing community style so everyone gets the same access to my work. I release something on there weekly. This month that meant the next in my “Queering the Tarot” article series, a patron-only spread to tune directly in to your intuition, a Full Moon reading to help you zero in on your intentions for this moon cycle, and a Tip Sheet to help you assess your own relationship to tarot. In addition to this high quality, heart-all-in work, if you sign up by the end of the year you get a FREE workbook or e-zine in my shop around February! Plus I like, donate to charity and stuff.

• Most exciting: my book has a sampler! Queering the Tarot comes out May 1st and in the meantime, you can read the first couple of sections here. Pre-ordering helps debut authors A LOT so if you wanna see me do more books, help me get there by snagging your copy ASAP!

• I mostly read tarot at Eye of Horus this month, and I’m still there through December and beyond! Check me out if you’re in the Twin Cities!

• It’s obviously the perfect time for a year ahead reading. These need a week plus of prep and write-up time, so if you want yours by end of year, now is the time to snag!

• Finally, gift certificate sales are OPEN—but ONLY through 12/22! Buy your best friend a year ahead reading, your mom a short general e-mail reading, or bring your partner IN for a reading in January. E-mail snow.cassandra@gmail.com and I’ll get you all set up to give the gifts of magick and insight this year.

Other Stuff I Did In November

• Northern Lights Witch took a bunch of us up to her parent’s farm where I actually got to relax, sleep amongst creepy dolls (really!) and enjoy the food and company of her delightful parents and several of our close friends. Also a very cute dog and two very cute cats were there!

• I did an escape room set in a “haunted house” for my good friend Troy’s birthday. That was election night and being trapped in a house unable to check my twitter feed incessantly was actually a huge relief!

• I had the sweetest vegan feasting holiday with the same friends as the puzzle room, including a vegan wellington that my best friend made! It was amazing and divine.

Recommendations

Tarot Decks: I’m not sure why I waited so long to get a Wooden Tarot but having this animal-rich deck absent of people has been 100% delightful. The deck feels so good even when I’m just holding it in my hands.

Books: Again, not sure why I waited so long given how much I love her other work, but Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother hit realllly close to home in a really good, cathartic way. I also read Saga Vol. 9 and cried a lot. If you haven’t started Saga, now is as good a time as any! Finally I flew through Terry Pratchett’s Monstrous Regiment and it’s surprisingly relevant to today but in a way that is fun and relatable and won’t just remind you that you meant to spend today screaming into the abyss.

Movies & TV: Not gonna lie, all I care about from November is the She-Ra reboot.

Music: Cat Power’s Wanderer is what I have wanted and craved from her for so long. She’s back to haunting in this one. It’s wonderful. I’m also re-stuck on Brandi Carlile’s By The Way, I Forgive You album so if you need me I’ll just be over here crying about aging and life alongside it.

Internet: I really loved this piece on Armenian diaspora and writing. Here’s a cuter, lighter piece about drag queens and the children’s books they love. This piece about how white supremacy, fatphobia, and colonialism are linked has been making the rounds for very good reason. Yes and Yes ran this piece that has me a little bit shaken up about my own life and habits. To end on: a really sweet piece about home and tarot.

That’s it for me this month! Please, please feel free to share some of your favorite moments from the month in the comments or on my Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, especially if you have recommendations. (I love recommendations!)

Blessed be y’all!

An Excerpt from my Sex & Tarot E-Zine (On Sale Now!)

Hello Tarot Lovers!

It is under twenty degrees here in Minneapolis, MN all day but I’ve been warming up by staying in my chaise right across from the heating vent while I put the finishing touches on Sex & Tarot: An E-Zine Designed to Help You Have More and Better Sex Through Healing, Self-Awareness, and Tarot Spreads. It is ready to go, in my tarot shop, and on sale for $9.99 this week only!

From Sex & Tarot:

Tarot is traditionally said to be comprised of Four Suits plus the Major Arcana. Each suit represents one of the four natural elements (fire, water, air, earth). Given my history and practice with witchcraft, I actually work with the tarot as if it’s a set of Five suits, with the Major Arcana representing the fifth element, which is spirit. Spirit is written about totally differently though, so we will start with the four Minor Arcana suits, often called the pips.

The Suits & Sex

Wands/Rods/Fire
Wands are the suit of Fire. Fire is passion, excitement and fast movement. Wands are very often sex or sexual attraction itself in its raw and powerful form. Expect a lot of flings, experiments, and partners if you get a ton of Wands in a reading about sex.

Swords/Knives/Air
This suit of logic and action frames the analytical part of our mind as the most important and is excellent at communication as well as logistics. It’s also a suit where we see a lot of trauma and oppression. It stands to reason then that this is a suit of sexual trauma or oppression because of sexual or gender identity. It also stands to reason that even for cisgender straight people, the white heteropatriarchy can REALLLLY screw up our expectations and experiences of sex. That’s all indicated here in the Swords.

When we’re talking about sex in the positive, Swords are sometimes our (occasionally rude) reminder to keep a cool head and not give in to our basest lust. Alternatively, if we’re reading the cards strictly by artwork there’s frequently a lot of bondage in this suit so it could be encouraging us to try new things and get a little kinky. As a suit of communication, Swords also remind us that stating your sexual desires is the first step to getting what you want. Sex writing or therapy as a career option is well-aspected in a number of the Swords cards too.

Pentacles/Discs/Earth
Earth energy is all about stability and growth. It’s also about your actual physical body. Because of that we see sexual desire for the feeling of sex and touch in this suit, or the sensations of sex. We also see how our needs change and grow as relationships and bodies develop with age. Pentacles can often be sex within a committed relationship, but look for the pieces I mentioned first before assuming this is the case.

Sex work is positively indicated in the Pentacles and can guide a sex work career the same way it would guide any other career.

Chalices/Cups/Water
Chalices are normally my favorite group of cards but when they come up in a reading about sex I tend to groan. That’s because they are all about emotions, and that’s not always what I want when it comes to sex. It’s not a bad thing though, obviously. For a lot of people the best sex is riddled with feelings and aspiring towards emotional satisfaction. The Chalices are sex that is primarily about intimacy, not physical sensation. It’s sex when in love, or at least when feeling romantic.

Chalices also deal with emotional healing, so when we’re looking at our journey as a human, especially if we have sexual trauma, a positive Cups card is a solid indicator that we’re on the right track. All of the Chalices/Cups are here to remind us that we are emotional creatures first and we need to be ready and prepared to have the kind of sex we’re considering--even for the most happily non-monogamous and sexually active people among us. Sex still carries weird or surprising emotions sometimes, and this watery suit won’t let us forget that.

Major Arcana/Spirit
The Majors normally indicate fate/coincidence/higher power/Divine energy. If you or the seeker you’re reading for are not super spiritual, a lot of times these cards represent things you have no control over or that the ball is already rolling on. Sometimes the Majors are just the cards that didn’t fit in to the suits but bring important messages to you.

In a reading about sex, the interpretation of the Major Arcana varies dramatically depending on the question or situation. Cards like The Hierophant can show a discomfort with sex thanks to a strict religious upbringing or societal trappings. Cards like The Sun can show the innocent joy of good sex with a good person that perhaps blooms into a lasting relationship. Cards like The Star or The Devil can indicate the spiritual side of sex, namely tantra or ritual sex acts.

Overall, when we’re talking about sex I think the Major Arcana’s goal is to move us from a place of being scared and fearful when we think about, talk about, or even have sex to a place of empowerment and bed-breaking lust when the situation calls for it.

If you want to see where this leads and let the tarot take you on a journey towards your best sexual self, hop over and grab a copy for only $9.99 through the end of the week (which I do define as Sunday). Happy Cyber Monday!

Blessed be, y’all!

Gift Certificate Season is OPEN (But Only Until Dec. 22nd!)

Hello all!

In an act of self-care & for the practice of simple bookkeeping, I don’t actually offer gift certificates year round except in special circumstances. Every holiday season in the past, I have limited the number I sell but that didn’t feel good this year. Instead, I’m selling an UNLIMITED amount but only for a VERY limited time frame—which starts now!

That’s right, my Gift Certificate Season is OPEN for the year as of today but ONLY through Dec. 22nd. No exceptions after that!

Some FAQ about gift certificates:

+ Gift certificates for tarot readings, lessons, and products can come in any amount and I can talk you through what the best amount for your loved one might be.
+ Gift certificates DO NOT EXPIRE and ARE transferable. They are numbered for the holiday season and that's how I keep track. 
+ ALL certificates are usable for ANY Tarot or Magick service or product I offer. 
+ I will happily print them and mail them to you for a marginal fee to cover postage and my ability to get to the post office. The easiest option is to have them e-mailed to you or the recipient. In person pick up is also an option for Twin Cities kids, but I do not deliver.
+ These can NOT be used for my Eye of Horus shifts.

Even if giving or receiving gifts is one of your primary love languages, experiences and acts of self-care are undeniably better than an office full of paperweights or novelty staplers. This holiday season give the gifts of insight, magick & self-care by securing a gift certificate for you and your loved ones. All you have to do is e-mail snow.cassandra@gmail.com with your budget and any questions you have and we’ll get going!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and remember as your shopping weekend kicks off to take some time for self-care for yourself and stop to see a reader, healer, or just sit in a quiet corner and read before you take off each day.

Blessed be y’all!

Stalker Card Diaries: The Empress & Emperor In The Same Readings

Stalker cards are loosely defined as cards that keep showing up in your readings. They often seem out of place in the reading and have been known to fall out of the deck when they weren’t in line to show up. Most people who read tarot or oracle even casually will have stalker cards on occasion. I went through a period of “The Star” showing up at every turn until I finally buckled down and did some Work On Myself, and yes, that deserved caps. After the U.S. election of 2016 everything was “The Fool” because none of us knew how to operate anymore.

Lately something new-to-me has been happening: I’ve had a PAIR of stalker cards showing up in reading after reading after reading. The Empress & The Emperor are a big reason I started a Queering the Tarot journey in the first place but I rarely saw them together for years beyond when I was learning a new deck and stretching them all out on the floor. Two months ago they started showing up in almost every reading I did. Readings for clients, friends, and community members: there were the Empress & Emperor together. Readings for myself: there they were. It even happened a few times in my #dailytarot series on Instagram.

The Empress and Emperor, for those who don’t know, represent contrasting but complementary energies. The Empress is nurturing and creation. The Emperor is discipline and growth. They both have a dark side too. The Empress can be overbearing and The Emperor can be cruel and strict. Many readers read the Empress as mother and the Emperor as father. Again, that can include positive or negative associations with both depending on the seeker and the situation. In readings, usually one (either one) will show up when someone needs to take control of their life back. The Empress on its own shows up for artists or very occasionally to tell parent-clients of mine to back off of their kids’ lives for now. The Emperor shows up to remind self-employed clients that they have to actually get up and do work if they want money. This card also shows up if someone’s boss or partner is too controlling and it’s time to walk away. These are obviously totally different situations and totally different readings.

Now they’re everywhere together though, hunting me down and forcing me to listen and I’m finally starting to understand what it’s all about: the Empress/Emperor duality living in me and the constant internal struggle of who gets to win when. The Tarot in it’s simplest form is really just a deck of 78 archetypes and how they interact. We all have all 78 cards living and working inside of us at different points in our life. The Empress and The Emperor should be showing up at different times, and once I realized they weren’t I knew it was time to pay attention.

Since my brain injury I’ve had a lot of trouble completing basic tenants of adulthood. Waking up before noon, working more than three hours a day, and eating well all confound me and leave me exhausted now. It would make sense for The Emperor alone to be stalking me and yelling at me to do better. It would make sense for The Empress alone to show up to remind me to be kind to myself or to focus on creative work until I got that fire back. Together they remind me to be kind to myself AND to get work done. This is a really frustrating situation because PTSD gives me an “all or nothing” mentality which means I either work myself to the bone for days on end or I sleep until noon and avoid work by going on adventures the second one of my friends has a free moment. There’s no in between for me.

Which is obviously the problem. My brain injury really taught me that I can not work myself to the bone the way I often do and expect to recover from life-altering circumstances. It just isn’t physically possible. Life and capitalism and loving my work means that I don’t want to blow off work all day and eat whatever happens to be in the cabinet. I have to find a balance. I have to find a way for the driven and ambitious Emperor to co-exist with the kind and nurturing Empress—especially since she’s so driven herself!

I don’t have any solutions yet, but I’m listening. If you’re getting a pair of stalker cards, it is very likely that the cards are showing you a duality within yourself that you need to make peace with and find a comfortable place to sit within. It’s time to sit back and listen. Examine the artwork on your cards and see what hidden symbols or messages you find. Look at the readings as a whole and see what messages beyond the pair of stalker cards end up repeating. Track your readings—and do the other spiritual and emotional work that you require. Within time, you’ll find a way to come to terms with the contrasting energies you’re now getting blasted with; if you’re like me, you’ll also find so much peace and love of self in the listening alone.

Blessed be y’all.

Why I Write and Teach About Sex & Tarot + Get a FREE Copy of My Upcoming E-Zine/Workbook

The first lesbian I ever saw on TV was Genesis from MTV’s Real World: Boston.

I was roughly “third or fourth grade” years old, and I remember staring at her and realizing for the first time that anyone could be gay. I had the good luck to not be brought up in a homophobic household. All of my parents listened to Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls and I knew that they were lesbians. I don’t think I really knew or understood what that meant though until I saw Genesis. She talked openly about her relationships with women, the occasional bout of sexual fluidity, and she was so different than the other lesbians I had seen. I’d known I liked girls from around that age, but for some reason the amalgam of watching Genesis every week and crushing on my childhood friends allowed me to figure out who I was VERY early in life.

I still didn’t come out of the closet until I was in my 20s though. I had been sexually assaulted multiple times, and had this weird irrational fear that if people knew about that AND knew about my sexual identity, they would think they were linked. Furthermore, I primarily lived in the Bible Belt and while my experiences with church were mostly positive, I knew that being gay was not okay. I knew too, from watching too many people I knew and loved get assaulted that little if any care would be given to me in a time when I desperately needed some healing and empathy.

All of this is on top of a few sexual run ins with boys, and later, men that weren’t terrible only led me to a big pile of confusion about who I was AND even more confusion about what sex was or wasn’t. When I started using tarot in Freshman year of college to come to terms with my assaults and come into my own as a human, I knew that my relationships with sex and with tarot would be forever connected.

Fast forward to my 30s.

I’ve had a lot of therapy, but I also have a terrifying and painful sexual dysfunction. My clients are constantly getting terrible messages from a sexphobic world that also idealizes sex and it’s all very confusing. Everyone I know has sexual hang-ups and only a handful of people that I know are consistently and regularly having the sex that they deserve. This might be because of confidence, those societal messages, sexual dysfunction, not knowing who they are, not knowing their own body, or a hundred other reasons.

Yet I’ve had really great sex. I’ve had partners who treated me like royalty and strangers who made me go wild for one night only. So in spite of the myriad of reasons listed above, I know that sex is and can be absolutely stunning and worthwhile. I’m not qualified to be a sex therapist or a gynecologist. I don’t want to be, quite frankly.

What I do know and have always known though, is all of the beautiful and strength-supplying ways tarot can be used as a tool for ownership and transformation. That is why I write and teach about Sex & Tarot: because I want everyone to be able to use this powerful and accessible tool to have better sex. As I develop a new workbook and/or e-zine on the topic of Sex & Tarot I am super interested in what you need and want to know from the cards. I’m obviously including some Tarot 101 info on how and where to even find sex, healing, and fun in the tarot, but I want to help you even more!

That’s where you come in!

Anyone who takes time to answer the question:

“What would you want to learn about in an e-zine or workbook about Sex & Tarot”

will get a FREE copy of it when I’m done! No strings attached, seeking your input only. (Though, if you wanted to @ me on the various social media platforms and tell the world how much you love the workbook once you have it, that’d be amazing.)

How can you offer your input? EASY! Comments are on on this blog, so that’s probably the easiest/quickest way. If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram there are posts up looking for input there too. Finally, if you want to be anonymous but ensure you get a copy of the finished product, e-mailing snow.cassandra@gmail.com is the way to go.

In the meantime,

Blessed Be and Happy Tarot-Ing.

Cassandra Snow

The Million Dollar Questions: Where Have I Been and Where Am I Now?

Photo By Janet Nguyen Photography

Hello Dear Readers,

I promise this is not yet another blog post where I just rehash the trauma of my brain injury, because where I’ve been in 2018 is so much deeper and more nuanced than one injury (even if that injury did suck literally over half a year out of my life).

When I was blogging before, my monthly posts about everything I accomplished/did/learned (and because I believe in accountability and strength in vulnerability, everything I failed at, struggled with, and didn’t accomplish) where some of my most popular and shared pieces. As I start back up, I want to keep the same personal voice with higher quality material so here we are back at the beginning of the month and ready to roll with some updates.

As a reminder OR as information for new readers, the reasons why I do these “month in review posts” are basically because:

1. Even if people didn’t enjoy them, holding myself accountable for my health, my productivity, and my community is really important to me. Posting publicly what works and what doesn’t keeps me going strong.

2. I get really overwhelmed and excited about all of the great things that exist in the world and I want to share the ones I’ve experienced with everyone and promote some great things.

3. I absolutely love reading personal posts, listicles, and other writer’s monthly round-ups, and I figured if I love those things that much, maybe you do too. My numbers consistently showed that that was true too!

Since it’s been almost a year since I wrote last, I obviously won’t recap EVERYTHING. That would take forever, and without an intense look through my photos and social media and journal from the year I’m not sure I’d even remember them all. (Thanks, brain injury! #stillbitter)

Instead, here are some snippets from my year:

• The biggest news of all: I finished my book! It’s coming out May 1st, 2019 and it is so queer and so personal and still (I hope!) such a great educational tool as you start or continue on your own tarot journey.

• Little Red Tarot decided to archive, cutting short the series that led to the above book. I’ll be doing a Queering the Tarot article a month on my Patreon, which is open for wide release on Monday. I am at peace with this decision and the beauty of the site archiving on Samhain was not missed. I decided to take this as an opportunity to get back into doing things my own way for awhile, and see what exciting new opportunities that leads to this time. The archived Little Red site is here.

• The Column has also decided to archive. I’m still struggling with that, in part because I fell absolutely in love with doing regular arts journalism and haven’t found a new outlet yet in spite of pitching and applying for a few spots. I trust my writing skills and my ability to manifest, and I have so, so much respect for my editor. The struggle is completely in “how to move on” and not any anger or frustration AT ALL. Andy Birkey worked so hard for so long and made this beautiful thing that I’ll never forget being a part of. My past arts journalism can still be found here as the website looks for their best archival options.

• I’ve taught several tarot classes this year. Many Queering the Tarot, Tarot 101 for Creatives and Sex and Tarot as well as a Tarot for Spiritual Use and a handful of others. As a response to those classes, I’ve also got some unique workbooks and an E-Zine in my tarot shop on this website that you can check out.

• Theatre mostly went on hold while I healed, and that’s legitimately okay. I still performed improv a few times, put together a Drunk Queer History or two, and put together an amazing Board of Directors for Gadfly. I also got a very generous grant for my dream show: [Working Title]: 60 Queer Plays in 90 Queer Minutes. That goes up in March and trust me when I say it is a freaking dream team of writers, cast, and crew so far.

• I fulfilled a lifelong dream of performing stand-up comedy and I apparently was good at it? I was VERY bitten by that bug and while I haven’t done it since, one of my upcoming projects is to scope out other opportunities that feel safe and daring at the same time to perform at.
  
  

Same adorable cat.

In some ways, things haven’t changed that dramatically. This was a hard year in both my personal and my medical life, and the past two months have been very trying professionally. Yet I still wake up in the bed I love so much every morning, next to my cats who I adore, in the same apartment I fell in love with two years ago. My queerplatonic partner is still my person, and some of the same people who have ALWAYS held it down for me still do. I am still doing the things I love for a living, by some God’s grace. This was a year of good-bye and of death. It was a year of huge change and very dramatic scenes. It was also a year of rest and recuperation though. Most importantly, it was still a year of love, laughter, and at times, out and out silliness. I am grateful to my core, to the deepest part of myself for these things. I feel gratitude into my bones and oozing out of my pores. I haven’t felt this in a long time, and I hate what it took to get me here. I’m here now though.

My book cover! So great!

As I look forward:

I see my first book being released. I see my dream show going up. I see more time in this wonderful apartment with more of the people who make it and Minneapolis a home for me. I see a successful Patreon and while I don’t know where or what they will be, I do see more really great writing gigs in my future. I see some other more ambiguous ideas right now too: a podcast, more theatre, some vague ideas for adventures. I see such lovely clients and collaborators, especially at my steady gigs like the Eye of Horus, The Future, and Gadfly Theatre Productions. I’m eager to add to that roster too, but I can wait.

I’m also facing something really hard and scary in this Pagan year.

I don’t know when or if I’ll be ready to talk about it, but I will say that I have decided to seek treatment for vaginismus as well as any underlying causes for it. It’s really hard and scary and I have cried every day for the past two weeks as I wait for the right doctors to call me back. I’m keeping things close to the chest regarding writing or talking about it, at least currently. I live most of my life VERY out loud so that others will know they are not alone. I am not in a place to be of service regarding vaginismus right now though. I am not equipped practically or emotionally to answer questions or shoulder other people’s confessions. I don’t know if I could have admitted that before my brain injury. That injury has taught me so much about rest and focus on self. Maybe I’ll just need an outlet and it’ll be this blog after all. Maybe not.

In any case, that is another very important answer to the question of “Where Am I Now?” Because where I am IS hopeful, excited, and well-rested. I am also facing the realities of what happens when you have Avoidant Personality Disorder and a really painful, terrifying problem like vaginismus. Where I am is also petrified, wanting to run and hide, and kicking myself for letting my AvPD convince me to wait this long. I am so emotional about this. There’s not another way to put it. That is where I am though, and that is what I’ve been carrying as I work to build this blog and it’s readership back up.

I obviously don’t want to end on that note!

SO here’s some happier stuff that I’m super into at the moment:

Current Fave Tarot Deck: The Numinous Tarot

Currently Reading (and Loving): Calypso by David Sedaris

Currently Watching: The Good Place, Charmed, and How to Get Away With Murder most vehemently.

Current Fave Movies: The new Halloween which I LOVED and Colette which I can not and will not ever shut up about. To think I used to not like Kiera Knightley?! Honestly what was wrong with me?

Current Favorite Websites: Them is what I read most often. I also like this article about traveling while arthritic.

Current Favorite Recipe: This really easy cucumber salad: Chopped cucumbers, feta cheese (I dump like half of a crumbled brick in there but most people probably use about half of that), and Garlic Expressions salad dressing. Plus whatever else I have on hand. Handful of onions or a couple croutons or whatever is there that meshes. SO good, easy, and relatively cheap once you have a bottle of dressing on hand.

Current Music: Sparrow by Jump, Little Children (the whole dang album), and I still can’t stop with Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer or Brandi Carlile’s By The Way, I Forgive You.

Most Recent Adventure I’m Still Raving About: This place is so much better and weirder and creepier than I ever could have imagined. I promise.

Thank you all so much for being here and sharing this time and space with me. I’ve missed you all! Please feel free to comment below with what you are up to or what you’re most excited about post-Samhain/Halloween!

Blessed be, y’all!

Return of the Blog + A Radical Patreon Launch

Dearest Readers,

As you may know, I bonked my head pretty badly all the way back in January and had to put this blog, my work in theatre, and a number of other things on hold. As I’ve recovered, I’ve learned a lot about myself and the process of making art and writing and being a witch in the real world.

I’ve learned that sometimes your physical health has to come first. I know as much as I blog about mental and physical illness it may seem weird that I didn’t know that. I knew it on some intellectual level, but I was still running myself ragged and just adding time and energy consuming body-care tasks to my ever growing list of things to do. That’s not prioritizing your health. I get it now.

I’ve learned that I absolutely love theatre and that sometimes you need time to take a breathe and see a bunch of shows, read a lot of blogs, and think about your craft and what you want from it before you dive in and try to get all fiesty and creative.

I’ve learned that being a witch means it’s okay and even profound to learn to harness “darker energies” and to ask for selfish things (like personal healing from a traumatic brain injury or you know, whatever). I have always felt a call to dead people and underworld energies that I was so afraid to call my own. I’m not afraid anymore.

I’ve learned that I hate organizing anything that isn’t art. Like. Hate it. I want there to be voices and spaces for emerging tarot readers and witches, but I don’t need to kill myself to create that. I have lots to give and offer without taking on a role that no longer suits me (and perhaps never did).

I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to who is there for me and who isn’t. People I thought were my soul mate friends disappeared, and people I was on the fence about keeping in my life have come through in more ways than I could ever list here. I have no anger or bitterness in my heart for those that aren’t here now but I have learned to trust my gods that there will always be people in my corner, even if they aren’t the people I expected. I think that was supposed to be my lesson for literal years, but now it has finally hit home.

I think maybe I’ve actually learned how to prioritize. Which has unexpectedly helped everything from my work load to my eating disorder. This is never a perfect art though, so I really hope I don’t shoot myself in the foot by speaking to it!

I’ve learned that my lifestyle before this injury was completely unsustainable. I was working too, too much without ever really getting anything of value done. I was terrified of spending money to delegate out, in large part because I don’t have any. I was terrified to work less because what would I even DO? How would I even fill that time? I was terrified to go easy on myself because my identity is so wrapped up in “art, witch, Type A” that I was afraid of a total loss of identity. I needed to learn this maybe most of all. I was exhausted for literal years before this, even as I stuck to my guns on sleeping eight hours a night and drinking a whole lot of water. Honestly, even as I get back to myself, I still feel exhausted when I think about jumping into any semblance of my old life.

Which brings me to the point of this whole post. I’m starting a Patreon soon, and I’m really, really excited about it. It’s community style so even at the $1 level you will get full benefits. This will allow me to donate to causes I care about and people in my community who really need it. It will also allow me to work on the work I am best at and most passionate about. Hopefully I will soar past my first goal and be able to buy some decent recording and editing equipment so I can bring you podcasts and video content about tarot, the occult, art and my queer, chronically ill life as it pertains to all of the above.

As part of this Patreon, I am emphasizing my work to make tarot accessible-not only in content by exploring what the tarot has to say to marginalized people or others who have trouble relating to it, but even in price and the ability to learn easily and cheaply. That means a return to this blog in addition to Patron only writing. This blog and creating theatre work have been the two things I’ve missed the most this year. My theatre life is making a slow, scheduled return that I’m sure you’ll hear all about in coming months.

The blog I am thrilled to bring back as well. I’ve had almost whole year to dream up spells, funny stories, and tarot spreads and knowledge for you. I’ve had almost a whole year to miss you all so much and am so eager to come back.

Thank you so much for rejoining me on this journey. I will absolutely post when my Patreon goes live—and I’ll be posting pretty regularly from now on.

In the meantime, Blessed Be!