01 Dec 2023 6 min read monthly musings

December 2023: Orienting with the needs of the collective

a rain-streaked two lane road with a snowy roadside and pink clouds over a winter-bare mountain — *early winter*

Listen to this month’s offering as a podcast

Here in the Catskills, the first snowfall arrived + I was not prepared. The bald mountain, subtle skies, growing dark + deepening silence feel conducive to a season of grieving…lord knows I have a backlog of it to attend to. I wonder how this darkening season is finding you?

Here’s what I’m up to this month:

I’ll be offering Using Tarot to Work with the Dead tomorrow Saturday, December 2 at 11am est—there’s still room to join!
I’m now offering two drop-in Online Tarot Circles a month—this month we’ll be talking about the Air element in tarot…I’d love to see you there
Altho I won’t be starting any new Study Tarot Series cohorts till next spring or so, there is still room to join the Saturday morning or Tuesday evening cohorts-in-progress!
I’m starting an offshoot newsletter called Tarot #inthesetimes, which will come out occasionally when inspiration strikes; you can sign up for it here

My books are open for readings in December + now it’s super-easy to book with me thru calendly.

Thank you to all of you who continue to support my work in so many amazing + generous ways.

In love + solidarity + collective imagining,
shea in the catskills

“Liberation is the great room where love freely moves.”

— Guérin Asante

end-of-year giving

Money is a creative medium, something we can use to create the world we want to live in—now. I’m so grateful to be able to give this year to:

Phoenicia Library—taking care of the community I live in through lending materials, diverse programming, + providing COVID tests + many other types of assistance to this beautiful community I live in
Phoenicia Food Pantry—caring for the most vulnerable in our community
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)—moving millions of white people away from the far right + into multiracial coalitions fighting for racial + economic justice. SURJ just launched its National Member program, a great way to support the work they do!
Truthout—a nonprofit news organization dedicated to providing independent reporting + commentary on a diverse range of social justice issues.

What do you want to create this year?

The influence of a vital person vitalizes.

— Joseph Campbell

What’s Inspiring Me Now

A little perspective
All the people putting their bodies on the line to disrupt business as usual, protect forests + move decision-makers to action. Direct action is not my ministry + my heart is so moved + affected by those willing to take big risks to resist normalization + inevitability
All the organizers who helped Andy Beshear win re-election in Kentucky: “Beshear dramatically improved support in eastern KY but even in many counties won by Cameron, Beshear improved.”
My dear friend + comrade Beth Howard will be publishing her forthcoming memoir, manifesto, + how-to organizing manual Rednecks for Black Lives with Haymarket Books—could not be more proud + excited to read!
Michelle Alexander in Hammer & Hope: “What’s ultimately required, I think, in these times is not only activism or politics but also deeply personal spiritual work.”
+ speaking of documentaries, I finally watched Five Broken Cameras from 2011, a first-hand account of life + nonviolent resistance in a West Bank village
Can We Imagine Ourselves Surviving Together? “I think a lot of people get really hung up on the idea of hope around this. It's like, ‘Are you saying it's hopeless?’ And I think it's important for us to give up our hopes of continuing to live the way we've been living.”

Li: Dynamic Form in Nature by David Wade: “[Li] as a concept falls between our notions of ‘pattern’ and ‘principle.’ It should become clear from even the most casual glance through the pages of this book that these formations have a certain universality, a quality which undoubtedly underlies their aesthetic appeal.”

Thanks to those of you who continue to send me your inspirations!

Compassion as a practice means holding the tension of many dissonant stories in our hearts at once.

— Martha Crawford

the Judgement arcana, from left to right: The Philosopher’s Tarot , Spolia Tarot , the Wayhome Tarot , This Might Hurt Tarot , rblack Tarot

Orienting with the needs of the collective

This month’s offering comes from a group reading that one of my Study Tarot Series cohorts did last month (shared with their permission). I wanted to share it here both because it gives some idea of what we get up to in these online study spaces, + because its message has stuck with me. I keep returning to it for nourishment.

First we shaped a question together. What’s happening in the world makes its way into our study together, + with upheaval close + far away, we wanted to ask the oracle something about the collective. The initial framing was Tell me about orienting TO the needs of the collective. Someone wisely suggested an adjustment to include our own needs: orienting WITH the needs of the collective.

After we framed the request, each of us shuffled + pulled a card from our deck.

Tell me about orienting with the needs of the collective.
Here was the oracle’s response:

tarot card showing a rabbit against the base of tree with gold coins and flying birds — *6 of Pentacles from* *Oak Ash & Thorn Tarot* How do we recognize the resources + structures that are available? How can we redistribute, circulate + be in relationship around our resources + our needs? How can we practice mutual aid + mini-socialisms with those we live in proximity to + loved ones who live far away?

an upside-down tarot card showing 3 figures against a sky-blue background toasting with pink goblets — *3 of Cups reversed from* *Modern Witch Tarot* How can we build the capacity to be okay with things not being ok—especially with other people not being okay? What are we learning about being with each other when we’re not okay—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually? What relational practices + technologies can help with this?

a tarot card showing two hands holding candles and a red-robed priest figure in the center — *V The Hierophant from* *Spolia Tarot* How can the hardships of the minor 5s—competition, loss, conflict + scarcity—be transmuted through our embodied experience? Thru our relational experience? When we front-load group activity with urgency + goals, we can miss the sacred possibilities of process + the ways it can generate trust + intimacy. How are we allowing the sacred to shine with each other?

a tarot card showing an old man wearing shorts and a sweater in a rowboat amidst a roiling sea — *King of Cups from* *This Might Hurt Tarot* How are we holding space + holding steady in choppy emotional waters, bringing some space + perspective to the emotional situation? How can we remind each other that our emotions are both essential indicators of our aliveness + wisdom, + also not the boss of us? Our emotions can inform, but don’t need to dictate, how we organize ourselves.

a tarot card showing a dandelion poof on a stem in front of an arrow-shaped arrangement of cups at the edge of the sea and sand — *9 of Cups from* *The Spacious Tarot* How are we making wishes together? Actualizing our desires together? How are we spreading wishes + desires so that they can take root? What importance are we giving pleasure to the experience + process of getting free together?

Find out more about my tarot work

Part of being a revolutionary is creating a vision that is more humane, that is more fun, too. That is more loving. It’s really working to create something beautiful.

— Assata Shakur