full moon studies
Full moon greetings! I don't know about you, but I got knocked sideways. Good sides & good ways, but WOW, I am feeling it.
Full moon is a time to make things visible, so I wanted to share a personal example of my self-study with divination decks. I use decks to deepen my intuition, but I also choose them for more specific topics. I love learning, but I hate conventional studying. Sitting with a field guide or textbook will put me to sleep.
So, having decks in a particular theme is a much more interesting way for me to learn. In this example, I have some decks that I'm using for herbalism studies: Herbcrafter's Tarot & Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle.
I got these decks not because I aspire to be an herbalist. Mostly because I want to make my own tinctures, flower essences, & so on + integrate them into my intuitive work. I'd also like to be better at plant identification.
If you've been around me for a while, you know I'm basically obsessed with finding resonant art when I look for decks. But because I chose these decks as a means to study herbalism, I didn't consider the art that closely, for once. I got these decks because I thought they'd be a field guide in disguise—to play a trick on my mind to learn something I wouldn't study in another form.
With all of my decks, I make what I call living references. It's a deep process, & it's taught across Dive Into Your Deck & Light Your Lantern. I'd throw a tantrum if I had to sit with a field guide or textbook for 5 minutes. But I can get lost in living references.
One step is to list your favorite art. Here are some of my favorites from the Herbcrafter's Tarot:
In listing my favorites, I realized that the joke's on me about being dismissive about art. My initial impression of the art in these decks was completely inaccurate. I only know that, though, because living references go so deep. If I were just using just the guidebooks that accompany the decks, I would have missed the details I really love in the art.
Another step in living references is creating sets of cards. Here's a partial list, from my notes:
Those sets have helped me with remembering medicinal properties. That led to making sets of poisonous/altering plants vs non-poisonous.
It. blew. my. mind. I had so many realizations about poisonous plants & the metaphors they give us, around fear, demonization, harm, caution, boundaries. It's amazing, & it's completely changed my readings since then. I'm still integrating all the insights.
I'm so grateful that in the last few months, I feel much more comfortable with plants, as allies, medicines, & teachers. I'm finding fluency in what used to feel overwhelming. I'm blending flower essences. I'm slowly learning how to make my own.
I share this not because I think you should take Dive Into Your Deck & Light Your Lantern as a way to learn about plants. My intention here is to show that tarot & oracle decks can be a vehicle for exploring something besides divination for divination's sake. But sometimes it's hard to imagine something without an example.
This is my favorite way to learn, to go deep, but not doze off in the study. Especially because I go on this journey repeatedly, with all the decks I use. Dive Into Your Deck & Light Your Lantern are not intended as one-time studies. For me, they're a way to explore any kind of deck. In the case of these plant decks, the classes have given me a meaningful, accessible way to learn topics that have intimidated me in the past.
If you're interested in Dive Into Your Deck & Light Your Lantern, you have 2 options for both classes:
~ Self-study only
~ Self-study + a 1:1 session with me
If you choose to register for both, please use these discount codes:
~ For both classes as self-study: [redacted]
~ For both classes as self-study + 1:1 session: [redacted]
Discounts are valid for the entire spring season.
Wishing you luminosity in the moonlight,
S.
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Siderealchemy
she / they