Lean into art & creative expression.
My first guiding principle - Lean into art and creative expression.
For many years, I resisted tarot and oracle decks. I thought they were super cheesy (I mean, some of them are). And since I am naturally resistant to authority (see my guiding principle of leaning into intuition first and above all), I reeeealllllyyyy resisted "what everyone says" about tarot and oracle decks.
I'm not one for a ton of conventional wisdom. Because I prefer intuition, but especially because I prefer art.
We can know things intellectually. We can read self-help books or listen to expert podcasts.
But after the dozenth round about manifestation or the law of attraction, aren't you bored?
And what really makes the intuitive lessons stick? The intellectual understanding?
I maintain that art makes intuitive lessons become clear. Do you remember the book, the logical teaching? Or that painting you love so much you made it the wallpaper of your phone?
Or maybe it's a song that you can put on repeat for hours.
All that to say – I ignored tarot and oracle practices, because I was stubborn about authority and conventional wisdom. I wasn't interested in expert advice.
But one day, while I was flipping through some decks I had sitting around, that I never used, the most obvious thing in the world occurred to me:
These fancy, magical, mystical, woo decks are just ART. On cards.
They can be whatever you want them to be, of course.
But art on cards was a great starting point for me.
That became the foundation of my practice. And it's how I prefer to teach it.
Why that matters –
You don't need to know what anyone else thinks about oracle or tarot practice. Just like you don't need to have an altar cloth with pentagrams embroidered on it. Or colorful crystals that coordinate with the chakras. You don't need to know incantations, or have tattoos of the moon phases.
I mean, all of those things are great, if they're your thing. But they're not REQUIRED. They don't make you better; they don't validate your practice.
In fact, if you impose those things on yourself when they are not actually in alignment with who you are—they are not your creative expression—you actually distance yourself from intuition.
Raise your hand if you've been there.
I have, plenty of times. Done with that nonsense, never going back.
(If you're feeling super called out right now – please see this as my super loving, compassionate call in to yourself, to ponder why you think you need external validation. Because if you need external validation about exploring art on cards, you might not be giving yourself much permission about other things too. Like I said - I know, 'cause I've been there. Now I know, that you give yourself permission.)
Not to say that I don't appreciate conventional wisdom (in small doses, let's be honest). I'm curious (sometimes, let's be honest) about what everyone says.
But not because I have to know. Not because I need to agree. Those externals, regardless of whether I know or like or agree, are simply bonus.
So, I encourage you to meet your decks as ART.
You can meet your intuition there, first and above all.
And if you've been practicing with divination decks for a while – have you ever taken quality time to meet them as art? Or were you bombarded with the messaging, as I was for years, that the most important thing was to know what the experts think?
If you're new to these practices and want to ground them in art, or if you're well-versed and want a reset – registration is open for Dive Into Your Deck and Light Your Lantern.
Your discount codes: [redacted]
And one last reminder: Lean into art. Validate yourself.
Meet your intuition there.
Artfully yours,
S.
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Siderealchemy
she / they