Honoring the Inner Valentine: Make Your Ace of Cups

February 14, Noon to 2 pm PST over zoom / $28

 

Heart’s Compass Tarot, my workbook published by Two Fine Crows Book, turns a year old on Valentine's Day! What a beautiful year—the workbook provided a blueprint for classes and wonderful events all year long, a number of which you can enjoy as recorded presentations on the Heart’s Compass You-Tube channel including Tarot for Memoir, Poets of Heart’s Compass, Tarot for Two and more.

 

I invite you to join me this Valentine’s Day for a 2-hour offering, Honoring the Inner Valentine, Make Your Ace of Cups, held over zoom from Noon to 2 pm PST. Feel free to use the contact form on my blog to drop me a line and I’ll send you the zoom and payment links.

While Valentine’s Day often focuses on “lovers love,” I am so very excited to start this new yearly tradition of making a tarot Ace of Cups card alongside other kindred tarot lovers and tarot curious seekers in community in tribute to the inner heart, the Inner Valentine, every February 14. And in tribute to Heart’s Compass Tarot’s birthday!   

If you only make one tarot card from the deck in your lifetime, I say, let it begin with love—the Ace of Cups, card of the heart. Whether you’ve been working your way through the Heart’s Compass Tarot workbook on your own or you are new to tarot and the Ace of Cups, you are welcome to join us for a loving and lively midday exploration.

 

In this 2-hour workshop we will:

 

·      Look at some beautiful examples of Ace of Cups tarot cards from a variety of decks

·      Reflect, write, and share about our own particular heart-joys and future heart-wishes using a tarot journaling method

·      Begin to make our own Ace of Cups card based on personal heart’s desires

 

To register: Use the contact form on my site to drop me a line to let me know you wish to join. You’ll receive instructions for what to bring to class, our zoom invite, and payment options. Honoring the Inner Valentine: Make Your Ace of Cups meets on February 14, Noon PST-2 pm on zoom. Course cost: $28. All level of tarot lover welcome, from the tarot curious to the tarot savvy.

 

Why Make an Ace of Cups?

This is the Ace of Cups I made back in 2016 alongside my students, as they created their own versions of the cards that would go on to grace the pages of the Heart's Compass Tarot workbook (Carrie’s Ace of Depths appears in the graphic at the top of this post; Lisa’s Ace of Cups depicts the set of hands cupping the heart cup; in the middle is an in-process Ace of Cups I started on a roadtrip). I wrote the following Haiku to accompany this birdlike, fiery, sky Ace of Cups:

 

Self-love’s Ace of Cups

Egret lands, folds outstretched wings

Heart rests between flights

 

As I drew the image of the bird, I felt consciously connected to the blues and lavendars, sensing into the heart and the element of water. I live across from the sea; pastel sunrise skies, egrets, seagulls, pelicans, osprey, sandpipers, and hummingbirds all form my dayscapes. I often wake to the cry of the osprey. I often see the setting sun slipping down behind the ocean’s horizon line. It makes sense that birdwings and sunset colors found their way into that original Ace of Cups. 

I also remember being surprised a bit by the reds and yellows, and the angular, jagged lines emanating from the sunlike orb.  But I also remember it just felt right in my heart of hearts. Allowing myself to immerse in color play, to start with the softer colors, allowed me to reach deeper. I love these reds as much as the blues, for the card ends up reflecting back to me a representation of the complexity and richness of emotions from soft love to the core red surges of anger that also call for expression at the heartline. I colored my way to a type of recognition, a permission to feel a full range of feelings, expressed in a few lines from the workbook:

 

I allow my heart the full range of emotions

From volcanic core to seed-bursting as the sun

I invite my heart’s waves from swell

To dissolving into the larger sea

 

I made my Ace as a mirror of my heart at that time. I am eager to drop into the present and see what I find there now, for I have changed, and oh, how the world has changed, for all of us. I look forward to discovering what you find in your heart's mirror. Come color, paint, sketch, collage--you name it--beside me. Tarot blessings!

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.

Tarot Deck Makers Course Q and A

The first of my Tarot Deck Makers courses starts this coming Monday; I've received much interest and have put together a post to distill the questions I've been asked. I still have a few spots left in the course; we have a beautiful group already forming. Please email me if you have any further questions. 

 Do I have to commit to making an entire Tarot Deck of my own?

You will have the opportunity to begin to create your very own Tarot Inspired Vision Deck—you work at your own pace. We focus on six Tarot cards in this first class: The Fool, The Magician, and the four Aces. The Fool card welcomes us to our deck making adventure. The Magician inspires us to pick up our tools, the Aces.  The Ace of Cups invites us to bring forth the chalice of self-love and compassion (heart), The Ace of Swords invites us to bring forth our vision with clarity and focus (mind), The Ace of Disks invites us to stand firmly on the earth and welcome the translation of our vison into a material deck (body), and The Ace of Wands invites us to bring our passion to the project as we consider how we would like to next direct our vision-aligned actions as depicted by the images we create for our decks (will). 

The course is meant to ground your deck making experience and give you the courage to keep creating cards, either in the rest of the series of classes I’ll be offering this year or on your own. Because it is a Tarot Inspired Vision Deck, you may choose to deviate from the Tarot’s structure, but I will be teaching sequentially through the deck this year to give us a grounding structure upon which to improvise.

Do I have to commit to a particular artform?

This course gives you a chance either to work in a medium you already feel comfortable working with or a chance to try something new—collage, watercolor, photography, you choose. You are also free to draft as many versions of your card as you wish; perhaps you’ll start out with a photograph and then decide to collage the photograph to add other elements or text.

Do I have to have a certain skill level with my artform or the Tarot?

This course is open to all level of student. We will read a variety of Tarot interpretations for each card, journal to connect our lived experiences to the card, and envision in writing and with art to create our own version of the card. The focus of the course is shared exploration as we create our decks.

For more details about the course:

Calling All Lovers of Tarot: Are You Ready to Make Your Own Deck?

and How to Deepen Your Study of the Tarot: Fall Resources from Wheel of Archetypal Selves

Tarot Blessings and thank you for your interest!

March Events for November Butterfly

Author Signing, Coronado Public Library

I’ll be signing copies of my poetry collection, November Butterfly on Saturday, March 14^th from: 2-4 p.m. in the Winn Room of the Coronodo Public Library along with other local authors. I would love to see you there. 

Other writers you'll get to meet should you stop by include:

George Galdorisi, Leslie Crawford, Carl Luna, Jennifer Franks, Donald Hubbard, Raye Rinhgholz, Belinda Jones, Ted M. Nulty, Tamara Merrill, Jane Mitchell, Sue Crum, Cornelia Feye, Judy Eby, Alan Retzky.

Robyn Beattie, Guest Artist Exhibit in Sebastopol, "Get Pie-Eyed with Lauri Luck

Angel Bones by Robyn Beattie

at Dog House Studio"

My poetry movie collaborator Robyn Beattie is having an art show, hosted by Laurie Luck at Dog House Studio; if in Sebastopol for the weekend of March 14 and 15, stop in and see Robyn’s beautiful photographs. Visitors will be offered a piece of pie from 12-4 each day. Visit Robyn’s site: www.robynbeattie.com

Dog House Studio is located at 2371 Gravenstein Hwy. South, Sebastopol, CA 95472 (Turn at the Giant Yellow Duck and look for the “Lucky” sign).

Poetry, Poetry Movies, and Sonoma County Artists

Photo by Robyn Beattie

November Butterfly book launch will be hosted in Sonoma County by the Occidental Center for the Arts on Sunday, March 29 from 3-5 p.m. I'm very excited about this event which combines poetry reading, poetry movie screenings for Amelia, Corridor, Mordred's Dream, Thumbelina, and artwork. 

 On hand that afternoon we will have works of art featured in the four movies we will be screening by Sonoma County Artists Genevieve Barnhart, Loreen Barry, Paul Beattie, Robyn Beattie, Chris Boyd, Sandy Frank, Barbara Hoffmann, Orion James, Monty Monty, and Ron Rodgers. Sonoma County musicians Michael Greenberg, Lori O'Hara and Stephen Pryputniewicz provided the music behind the poetry movies. Stephen Pryputniewicz will be playing piano live for the event. 

New post up at Laundry Line Divine

At the invitation of Suzi Banks Baum, I wrote a post about the concept of The Village: Who Else Mothers When I am Here:

When the Mirror Daughter surfaces and the Empress fails to soothe, I turn to my tribe, in person, and online. Writing, collaborating, reaching out. Sorting through my poetry movie collaborator Robyn’s  beautiful images, searching for the ones that nail the day’s litany—today, Mirror Daughter, Water Mobius, twin Auburn Seed Pods, Girl Surfacing. Images and phrases merge in this healing mobius of collaboration, sometimes image first, sometimes words. Named, thus loved, brought into the open where they can be explored outside of the charged moments of living. My collaborators then, are also at the table while I mother.

Read the rest of Radiating Color: Mirror Daughters, Tarot Archetypes and Web Mothers.

Tarot for Two: Ace of Disks and Princess of Swords

Mary Allen and I continue to blog at Tarot for Two. This month's card of the month writings focus on the Ace of Disks and the Princess of Swords. 


Excerpt from Mary:

The Ace of Disks in the Thoth deck represents the wings of the Archangels, or at least that’s always how I describe it when I’m reading the cards for someone:  There are layers on layers of deep blue-green peacock-feather like wings, and there are some brown rings like the growth rings of bark in a tree, and at the center is a circle with two pentacles, one inside the other, inside it, and inside that are three little disks, which, I read somewhere recently, represent actual money, the angel’s wings and the bark representing layers and levels of spiritual growth and gifts. 

Excerpt from Tania:

I’m always drawn to the green light in the Princess of Swords. I was going to say that the green light shrouds her, but it doesn’t—she is green, thighs and arms and face lined gold due to the light emanating from behind rubble of dark clouds substantial enough apparently to brace her two slippered feet. Her sheer blue gown drapes off her thighs in swordfish pleats through which the green gold of her body permeates. Her helmet is the same dim blue as down-facing sword she holds in her right arm, having just finished a decisive swipe at the sky. The loose infinity loop of light could be something she wards off, or it could be the energy created by her act of protection.

Read the rest of Ace of Disks and Princess of Swords. 

Interview up at TCJWW

Jen Teeter-Moore was kind enough to post this interview about November Butterfly at The California Journal of Women Writers.

Upcoming Classes:

Classes are forming for my next Tarot and Writing Course offered online through Story Circle Network. Sign up here for Wheel of Archetypal Selves: Lovers to Strength.

Or join me in person at San Diego Writers, Ink for Intermediate Blogging.