the subject line I thought of seemed more ominous than I wanted, so you're stuck with this one...
...I mean, with a subject line like that...
Seriously, though, the working title of this love letter was "death decks," which in my world feels completely reasonable. But I thought it might be too intense, even for me.
(Alternate titles included "dancing with death" or "divinatory dances with death" etc etc.)
Just for the sake of research, I had a friend experiment with "death decks" in Midjourney:
Do you find them ominous?
I think they're chill, but maybe that's just me.
Anyway, the purpose of this love letter is to share some thoughts about death, given the season. AND a new sound journey from a recent workshop!
Let's start with death.
One of the challenges of explaining intuitive work is that it literally encompasses EVERYTHING. Not just in life, but also beyond it. I don't talk about death that often, but I think that reflects my lived experience of always being close to it. From childhood times, when I recognized the thinness of the veil, to adulthood, as I've come into more of my capacity of connecting with those beyond the veil. Death is one of my facets of our existence.
We live in a frequently deathphobic culture, though I'm glad to see that shifting. Something that comes up often in my work is the encouragement to connect with your loved ones who are no longer alive on this plane. Beloveds from your lifetime, ancestors whose names you might not know. They are present, in various ways often specific to the person (both you and them).
One of the greatest gifts I've given for myself is initiating more communication with my ancestors, and generally communing with the dead. If you're wary or have bad experiences, I encourage you to find better teachers or support. If you take anything away from this love letter, I hope that's it.
This topic is so big that it's one of the monthly themes in The Spiral, the multidimensional community of Siderealchemy. Because we all have loved ones we would have wanted more time together with, or loved ones who died too soon.
Then again, most everyone is gone too soon, right? There would never have been a span of time that, for me, was too much time with my grandmother.
I truly believe that our loved ones never truly leave us. It took a while to have the means for that level of communication, that capacity for kinship. Now that I do, I can't imagine life without it.
If you've been around me for a while, you know that when I want to deepen my exploration of something, I look for thematically-related tarot and oracle decks.
Some of my favorite death decks:
Embroidered Graveyard ~ a nature-inspired oracle deck specifically created as a tool to commune with the dead
If you've taken any of my classes, you know striking art pretty much always attracts me to a deck. This one has striking art + loads of beautiful ways to connect with the dead. I appreciate the artist's willingness to bring challenging, sometimes taboo subjects into visual energetics.
Marigold Tarot ~ a deck influenced in both theme and imagery by the creator's Punjabi background
I've really loved the perspectives this deck has shown me – being a bride to death, finding meaning in the body, recognizing the divine. This deck also has loads of plant symbolism, if you're a plant person.
Below is a photo of a reading I did this afternoon with both these decks. Open to your interpretations!
And, perhaps as you're considering the cards, you can listen or watch a short (under 15 minutes) sound journey.
This was the closing of a workshop last month in The Spiral, and I think it's ideal for contemplations, readings, or rest. I hope you enjoy it!
(FYI – I posted these on the Siderealchemy site + YouTube & Soundcloud at equinox. If you follow Siderealchemy on YouTube or Soundcloud (or both) and allow notifications, you'll get updates much sooner.)
In closing, here's the spread from just a few minutes ago:
Marigold Tarot on left: 9 of Swords, 7 of Cups, The Fool
Embroidered Graveyard on right: Letters to Death, Breath Between, Celebrate Uniqueness
Feel free to reply and share your take on them. Or schedule a session and we'll pull more.
In connection with all,
S.
—
Siderealchemy
she / they