Queen Califia and Spring Classes

Queen Califia, Nikki de St. Phalle

I spy with my little Tarot eye the sculptures of Nikki de St. Phalle. These are close-ups from the totem sculptures in Queen Califia’s Magic Circle Garden. Have you been there yet? It is tucked away in Kit Carson Park, Escondido, California. I hope these glimpses, these close-ups, encourage you to adventure there yourself. The docent told me Nikki’s wishes were to arrange the garden on the land in such a way that you’d encounter it, stumble upon it, magically.  

Flowers bloomed on the hillside as my daughter and I walked the dusty path along a low stone wall until the entrance emerged. Yes, this could be Tuscany, Italy, the landscape in which Nikki’s larger house-sized Tarot sculptures live. But if you can’t make it to Italy yet, try Queen Califia’s Magic Circle Garden.

It was lovely to be out in nature, in the sun, under clouds of such crisp contour with such vibrant blue blackdrop, as I’ve been writing, writing, writing…I still love to write poetry long hand, but as I experiment with writing longer pieces in prose, it makes for a long process. Everything by hand—then the hours transcribing—hence the need to get out from behind the computer screen and outdoors for art dates more and more.

Harvest of Poems

Thanks to guest poetry editor Robert Lee Brewer, "Hades" is live at Prime Number Magazine. Despite the title, “Hades” is very much an “above ground” poem, Hades figuring as more of a psychological destination visited by brooders (like me). 

I also was able to make a sound file, which can be listened to here: Hades MP3.

And for Neptune-blessed lovers, I have written a poem about abalone diving, marriage, children, and waiting for the beloved to surface. I’m honored that Silver Birch Press published “Kolmer’s Gulch” as part of their Lost and Found Poetry and Prose Series. You can listen to the sound file here: “Kolmer’s Gulch MP3”.

Upcoming Tarot and Poetry Classes

Have you been taking advantage of the prompts offered daily this month at NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month)? Every day during the month of April you'll find a new poetry prompt! Even if you don’t write 30 poems in 30 days, what if by month’s end you draft five new poems? Even one new poem? Each prompt comes with links to the work of other poets participating in the challenge as well as links to interviews with established writers and example poems.

Here are my latest class offerings, starting already April 24.

by Tania Pryputniewicz

Entering the Tarot Garden: An Introduction to the Tarot: Are you ready to explore the Tarot? Go for a gentle tour through the structure of the Tarot? We will go over the basics:

• The four elements (earth, air, fire, and water)
• The daily life cards of each suit and the story they tell as they progress from numbers One to Ten,
• The Court Cards—Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages
• The Major Arcana

We will use a hands-on approach to studying the Tarot including becoming familiar with the deck of your choice and journaling to prompts.

If you are interested, but have questions, and would like to know more about my particular approach to the Tarot, I am offering free simple 3-card readings over Zoom (video call, or Skype if you prefer). Contact me through the form on this website or IM me on Facebook through my Wheel of Archetypal Selves Tarot page to sign up.

Here’s the full course description for Entering the Tarot Garden.

Poetry Draft, Craft, Submit: I’m so excited about teaching this class, especially on the heels of National Poetry Writing Month. We will be starting right at the tail end of the month, so some of you will likely have a new crop of poems to craft and revise. If not, join us, and write to the prompts I’ll be giving you based on specific calls for submission. This online class is for poets ready to draft, craft and submit work. In addition to weekly craft lessons and prompts, we will support one another in sending work out to live submission targets.

Here’s the full course description for Poetry Draft, Craft, Submit.

I will most likely also be am teaching a version of this on-line class in-person at San Diego Writers, Ink. It will run Second Saturdays of the month, 10 am-12 noon, starting May 13, 2017. Here are the upcoming themes: 
May 13: Spirituality
June 10: Childhood / Children
July 8: Destinations
August 12: Architecture
September 9: Livestock and Pets
October 14: Omens

Here's the link to sign up for my in-person class at SDWI, Second Saturdays: Draft, Craft Submit. Cost is $30 a session for SDWI, and $36 for non-members.

Happy Spring....

Photos were taken by yours truly, all at Queen Califia's Magic Circle Garden.