Rebecca Scolnick's Blog, page 16
July 7, 2023
What I Still Don't Know By 31
Today is my birthday!
(It’s also my wife’s birthday, her step-dad’s birthday, & our niece’s birthday, oh my!)
((So please accept this letter in lieu of an episode today.))
I feel like there’s this pressure—maybe just for people with newsletters? hmmm—to say something profound on birthdays. To share all that one has learned, all of the things one “knows” now, all of the little nuggets of wisdom that one has mined from all of their trips around the sun…
But I don’t feel like doing that, especially not this year.
Instead, what I’ll say is this:
As of this evening, I’ll be 31 years old, and I’m so happy to share that there’s so much I still don’t know.
So much that maybe I’ll never know! So many things I will truly never understand!
Some have even said that the most intelligent folks are able to bask in all that they don’t know because seriously, what the fuck is this whole life thing anyway?
But that’s cool! I’m grateful that I don’t feel completely daunted by what I don’t know. I’m lucky that it keeps me curious, keeps me engaged, keeps me in the damn game bayybeee!
I also despise making mistakes. Like truly, I sweat, I will most likely cry, and I will take approximately 19743975 hours to get over even the most minor blunder. It’s a truly chilling, personal intersection of error and emotion, but I’m trying to soften into self-compassion with every year that passes.
I’m also trying to release my tight grasp on The Spotlight Effect - “the psychological phenomenon by which people tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are.” From what I’ve experienced, most people just don’t care that much! They’ve got other things going on! And if they do care, and they’re worth keeping around, they’ll lead with love and stay in the ring until things are smoothed over.
Wait - that’s getting dangerously close to sounding like advice, which would mean that I “know” something, and that is not the point of today!
Getting back on track—
There’s so much to learn, and so many ways to flow through this human experience, and I’m ready to keep releasing the need to be certain about things for the rest of my natural born days.
To help celebrate my birthday, and 7/7/7 (2023 is a 7 year!), here are 3 things I’m currently curious about, 3 things you can do to help me ring in a new year of life, and 1 thing that I think is so rad and totally worth your support and your dollars:
THREE THINGS I’M CURRENTLY CURIOUS ABOUT:
Heloise and Abelard: 12th Century, Parisian philosophers and lovers, whose affair has been preserved through their many letters to one another.
As Esther Lombardi writes: The legacy of those letters remains a great topic of discussion among literary scholars. While the two wrote of their love for each other, their relationship was decidedly complicated. Furthermore, Heloise wrote of her dislike of marriage, going so far as to call it prostitution. Many academics refer to her writings as one of the earliest contributions to feminist philosophies.
When God Was a Woman: the title of a 1976 book by historian Merlin Stone, which explores how the “development of the religion of the female deity in this area was intertwined with the earliest beginnings of religion so far discovered anywhere on earth.”
Sewing and Quilting: I recently inherited a brand-new sewing machine from a member of my family who loved to quilt! I’m so excited to learn how to use it, and to watch this folk film on quilting that Marlee Grace shared a few weeks back.
THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP ME RING IN A NEW YEAR!
Buy My Book or Tell Your Pals to Buy My Book! What do you mean you saw this one coming? Anyway, here’s the link!
Subscribe To or Share my Substack! The paid pal perks have admittedly been lacking around these parts lately, but I promise that your support is helping me in so many ways, and I’m excited to get back to loving up on my inbox buds soon!
Pull me a card or send me a birthday wish! If you feel called or inclined, please consider sending me some magic on my big day!
ONE THING THAT I THINK IS WORTH YOUR SUPPORT & YOUR DOLLARS!
The Gay Marseille Tarot by Charlie Claire Burgess, now on Kickstarter!: Back Charlie’s second deck, which is fun and fabulous and totally gay! If you click right now, you might even be able to snag some early bird deals.
A liberating new interpretation of the classic Tarot de Marseille, The Gay Marseille Tarot centers and celebrates LGBTQIA2S+ identity and has fun doing it! With trans Emperors and gender nonconforming Empresses, polyamorous Lovers and a sapphic pool party under The Moon, this playful and cheeky deck celebrates gender diversity, sex positivity, nonbinary beauty, and queer love. With Justice ready for a protest and the Stonewall Inn as The House of God (the Tower), this deck remembers the past and present fight for LGBTQIA2S+ rights and integrates references to queer history and culture throughout. The Gay Marseille (which rhymes if you pronounce it the English way: Mar-say) is a vibrant, joyful, and affirmative tarot deck for reading brighter, liberated queer futures.
However you choose to spend this day, thank you for being here, thank you for your support and your readership, and thank you for swimming in the soup with me. I really love and cherish this space.
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, Rebecca
June 30, 2023
You Summer TBR 📚☀️
What’s up, swimmers?! Happy last day of priDE MONth ✨🌈 🥳 I hope that it’s been celebratory and expansive for you.
I’m popping into your inbox with a very important question:
WHAT ARE YOU READING THIS SUMMER?
Perhaps your list is abundant and overflowing — that’s great! If you feel so inclined to share with the group, please leave a comment on this post with your recommendations!
But, if you’re looking for some suggestions on what to indulge in as the temperature climbs, look no further! I gotchu.
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
Welcome to bee’s books on Bookshop.org, a shop that allows you to support independent booksellers while also kicking some coins back my way!
In my shop, you’ll find three (non-exhaustive) lists:
PRIDE PICKS
Here you’ll find books about queer folks, written by queer folks! Genres range from historical fiction like The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai and the first two books in The Last Binding series by Freya Marske, contemporary rom-coms like Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly (which features a non-binary MC!), memoirs like In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, and more!
ON WITCHCRAFT
Check out this list for books on the craft! Bonus perk: A lot of these writers are also queer! Whether you’re looking to read tarot, numerology the stars, or simply want to expand your knowledge of witchcraft, myth, and more, this list has a little something for every practitioner. Includes authors like Cassandra Snow, Alice Sparkly Kat, Meg Jones Wall, Sophie Strand, Judika Illes, Jan Spiller, Chani Nicholas, and more!
And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout-out my own firstborn, The Witch’s Book of Numbers: Enhance Your Magic with Numerology. Please consider supporting me, a queer magicmaker and writer, and may my witch-work support yours!
ON WRITING
Finally, get in touch with your creative side with these supportive picks! Writing and creativity are concepts as unique and individual as fingerprints, but it’s always helpful to hear from those who’ve come before, and have learned a thing or two. Whether it’s On Writing by Stephen King, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, Story Genius by Lisa Kron, or another pick from this list, I know you’ll be creating with the best of ‘em in no time!
I hope that you find something entertaining and illuminating on my shelves, and please please please, tell me what I should be reading this summer in the comments!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaJune 23, 2023
SITS Minisode: On Writing with Authority
What’s up, swimmers?! Happy Friday! Happy Cancer Season! When crying becomes a competitive and communal activity… How are your eyeballs holding up so far?
The shift out of Gemini brought a last-minute burst of business (busy-ness, too!) for me, so this week’s episode is more of a minisode! It’s just under 15 minutes long, so I hope that you can find space for it in your day/weekend.
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
Today, I’m answering an additional question that came in a couple weeks ago through my Instagram DMs. Unfortunately, my Message Request folder is full of “Grand Risings” and people who have spoken with my ancestors or spirit guides — lucky them 😉 — so I don’t always see legitimate messages from folks I’d want to connect with. But I caught Sarah’s question and I’m answering it today as a little Part Two of the last episode.
Sarah asked:
How do you walk the fine line between inadvertently talking DOWN to readers and talking OVER their heads? I find myself thinking that certain info or ideas are *obvious* so I leave them out--and confuse people. Conversely, I fear that I sometimes explain TOO MUCH, which can feel insulting. Any advice for that?
I love love love this question, which I genuinely think boils down to our fearful editor brain sneaking in on the creative process… but check out my answer in full by clicking on the audio above, and then let me know if we should get jackets or jerseys for being members of Team Over-Explain!
Have you joined The Soup™ on Discord yet?!
Created and hosted by yours truly, I hope for this to be a friendly lil space where we can chat about all things magical and mundane, share tips, tricks and practices, be in supportive and like-hearted community, and whatever else!
Once you're in:
Please look over the Rules & Info channel, and click the green check mark emoji (✅) to gain access to all of the server channels.
Head to the Roles channel to select information about yourself like your pronouns, geographical region, DM status, zodiac sign, life path number, and more!
Then, be sure to see The Directory for a full list of the channels available and their unique purposes.
There is a channel specifically for #1000wordsofsummer so that we can chat about the challenge, share snippets, and hype each other up; as well as a channel called Sprinting, which has a bot installed to help us run timed writing “sprints” where you can input beginning and ending word counts to help keep you on pace!
Soon, the Discord Server will only be for paid pals 💸, but I wanted to give all my inbox buds the chance to join to help kick things off! So regardless of whether or not you’re joining the challenge, get your behinds in the server, okay? 🥳
**Please note that the link expires in 7 days! If you miss it, reach out for a new link!**
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaJune 14, 2023
Join me in writing #1000WordsofSummer!
What’s up, swimmers?!
Last week on SITS, we talked all about starting and sticking with creative projects, and went over some methods for keeping ourselves accountable! One of those was snagging a buddy or creating in community, and wouldn’t you know it? There’s a way for us to do that here, starting June 17th!
, writer of , is hosting her annual writing challenge, #1000wordsofsummer, and I’m going to take the plunge! Wanna join?
Starting this Saturday, the goal is to write 1,000 words a day of whatever it is you’re working on — a novel or non-fiction project, a screenplay, a memoir, your diary, etc.
About this project, Jami says:
Through this project people have: made friends, built cohorts and writing groups, finished proposals and entire books, sold and published books, and, perhaps most importantly, found their voices. I hope that it ends up being meaningful for you in one way or another.
If you’d like to subscribe to Jami’s Substack, you’ll get daily emails encouraging you to write, plus additional writings and resources by other creators, and an invite to the #1000wordsofsummer Slack channel.
But if you’re looking to keep this all SITS related…
You’re cordially invited to join The Soup™ on Discord!
Created and hosted by yours truly, I hope for this to be a friendly lil space where we can chat about all things magical and mundane, share tips, tricks and practices, be in supportive and like-hearted community, and whatever else we want.
Once you're in:
Please look over the Rules & Info channel, and click the green check mark emoji (✅) to gain access to all of the server channels.
Head to the Roles channel to select information about yourself like your pronouns, geographical region, DM status, zodiac sign, life path number, and more!
Then, be sure to see The Directory for a full list of the channels available and their unique purposes.
There is a channel specifically for #1000wordsofsummer so that we can chat about the challenge, share snippets, and hype each other up; as well as a channel called Sprinting, which has a bot installed to help us run timed writing “sprints” where you can input beginning and ending word counts to help keep you on pace!
Soon, the Discord Server will only be for paid pals 💸, but I wanted to give all my inbox buds the chance to join to help kick things off! So regardless of whether or not you’re joining the challenge, get your behinds in the server, okay? 🥳
**Please note that the link expires in 7 days! If you miss it, reach out for a new link!**
Hope to see you in The Soup™ soon! I can’t wait to smash some word count goals!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaJune 9, 2023
On Starting & Sticking With Creative Projects
What’s up, swimmers?! I am flying solo today. Feels good to be back in your inbox in this way!
First things first, thank you to every single one of the wise and gorgeous guests that have graced SITS with their time and energy in the last six months. Thank you Hanna Williams, Maria Minnis, Meg Jones Wall, Sam Valentine, Care, Christine, Missing Witches, John A. Rice, Shahir Suprasensory, and Kir Beaux! Every single conversation was expansive and nourishing, and I hope that you were able to snag some takeaways too.
If you missed any, please please please go through the archives and listen!
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
Next, I have some really fucking exciting announcements, which also prove to be lovely segues to the meat and potatoes of today: Starting and Sticking With Creative Projects.
I have had the immense honor and pleasure of being asked to contribute an essay to Cassandra Snow’s TAROT: IN OTHER WORDS, and anthology of essential writing by leading queer tarot writers and community leaders about their tarot practice and its relevance to LGBTQ+ issues, with contributions from Charlie Claire Burgess, Meg Jones Wall, Siri Vincent Plouff, Asalie Earthwork, Maria Minnis, Nick Kepley, and other truly magical individuals.
Here’s the official Deal Report that ran in Publisher’s Marketplace — my first!
Now, if that weren’t exciting enough, I have also had the better-than-good fortune of signing with Kelly Van Sant at kt literary for literary representation!
It’s a dream come true, a long-time goal achieved, and much, much more. I really cannot wait to a) keep writing, and b) see what we can do together! Thank you Kelly for getting in the ring with me, thank you Cassandra for the trust and for making this all happen in more ways than one, and thank you to every pivot along the path that has led me here.
I’ve been pinching myself daily.
I’ve also been low-key freaking out about the fact that I’m back at the beginning of new creative work.
The beginning phases of things can be so tender, so nerve-wracking, and sometimes so fragile that we bend and break altogether, shelving our greatness before it even gets a chance to spread its wings.
So what can we do to help ourselves start and stick with new creative projects and practices?
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, extra podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸
In today’s episode, I share my personal tips and tricks like:
Making Creative Work Witchy through Candle Magic - Why it’s my favorite long-lasting spell for writing projects, what kind and color of candles to use, how to dress them with symbols like numbers, runes, or homemade sigils, etc.
The Serenity of Scheduling - On putting time to work on the dreaded calendar, creating space to commune with the muse, and the schedules of prolific creators, including the one that I’m currently playing with, Ursula K. LeGuin’s schedule:
Better Prep Work Through Brain Science - Using Lisa Cron’s Story Genius to help deepen your world-building work, and create a story worth telling!
Download this Handy Dandy Worksheet!
Then, I answer some questions from fellow swimmers about creating boundaries around creative work (especially from the point of view of Manifestors in Human Design), and how to work with the Summer Solstice — coming up on June 21st! — to kick-off kick-ass summer projects!
Finally, in case you don’t want to take my word for it, I share some book recs that have greatly supported me and my work over the years, which you can find on my Bookshop.org Shop!
My shop currently has three lists:
Pride Picks - Books by and about queer folks that are perfect for a summer read!
On Witchcraft - Books on magic, spell crafting, tarot, numerology, and more!
On Writing - Books on creativity and the craft (including the ones mentioned in today’s episode)
PS. Anything purchased through my shop gives me a little pocket change too, so thanks in advance for purchasing books in an independent and mutually beneficial way!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaMay 26, 2023
SITS 1x17 - Diving Deep with Kir Beaux
What’s up, swimmers? Even though there are some heavy hitting planets still in Taurus, I hope that you’re having a gentle shift into Gemini season!
I shared this on Instagram the other day, but I wanted to expand on it here:
At the very beginning of 2023, a 7 year in numerology, I mused on the delineation between what is consider Public, Personal or Private information. I was also pretty deep in the throes of burnout—having spent the majority of the last 3 years chronically online, making multiple podcasts, teaching, speaking, and writing and marketing my book—all while navigating huge, wonderful, taxing changes in my present day life.
What’s transpired since then has honestly shocked me—I’ve said almost nothing publicly in months!
Yes, the blasphememes have continued on the ‘gram! And yes, if you’re reading this right now, then you know that I’ve still put out (almost) biweekly episodes of SITS. But while I have loved every single second of making this show and this offering, even in this space, I’ve engaged with other people’s stories, worldviews and perspectives.
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
For the most part, I have been leaning hard into the Private part of the 7 energy spectrum. I’ve also grappled with all of the pressures to perform / produce / pitch / plan The Next™️.
After all, what good is a writer who’s not writing??? What will happen to the proverbial momentum that’s been built after a huge thing like being published??? Who will I be if I’m not putting it on Instagram???
It’s been a hearty fucking challenge in taking my own advice: telling myself all of the things that I tell others about being human and separating Worth from Work. (Hey! That’s a good title for something…); believing that the majority of what we’re told about these artistic industries is bullshit; and releasing a shit ton of control around timelines and “progress” that I didn’t really even have in the first place.
I still don’t really know what the fuck I’m gonna say or do next! But there are inklings! Inspirations! Ideas! Quiet, but present, and begging me to stay the course until they (and I) am ready for further instructions.
I brought all of these thoughts and feelings and questions to my conversation with Kir Beaux, a truly magical friend and colleague that I can’t wait for you to get to know, and the last (for now) in a stellar group of spiritual folks that I’ve had the honor and pleasure of diving deep with.
In a couple of weeks, I’ll bring you my first solo episode since 2022 (!!!), but first:
Queer people are already primed for magic. They're primed for transformational work, because we've already done that big step of manifestation of seeing something inside of us, and working against everything to make it manifest in the real world, right?
- Kir Beaux
Kir Beaux (they/ them) [@itsqueermagic] is an Afro-Indigenous, Trans, Non-Binary Queer, psychic witch, and spiritual counselor. Born on a full moon in Long Beach, Ca they have always been close to the veil and now live their best life as one of its guardians.
A gifted channel, Kir offers Spirit channeling sessions, Spirit World journeying, and Spiritual support and education via It's Queer Magic. Kir is committed to connecting us all back to the source of our happiness, the original parent, our divine mother, the Earth. Heart-centered, open-minded, and an ever-changing Gemini, Kir is here to root you down and to help you fly.
[Witchcraft] gave me a sense of my personal power. In this world, Black, indigenous, and queer people are told they have no power. So, to have something that gives me power and encourages me to use my voice and my will is invaluable.
- Kir Beaux
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, extra podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸
I’ve been following Kir Beaux’s work for many years now, and it’s been a total delight to experience and witness them expand and grow. They have such an ease about them, a warmth and a light, and their wisdom is just what I needed both when we recorded this conversation, and now, as I share it with you! I have really taken to heart all that they’ve shared about destabilization, and the mysteries of this human experience, and I hope that it reaches you too!
Some of my favorite moments include:
“Queer magic is a key that opens a thousand other doors... Queer magic is the ability-willingness-to investigate... and that changes lives. That's what it is: It's fertilizer, right? It's a portal. It's so many of those images of things that open roads, and moves out stagnant energy. It opens up a whole universe for you. It changes your glasses.”
“Ultimately, at the end of the day, difficulties, challenges, gifts, expansions... blessings - all of them are destabilizing energy... We have to relearn a new relationship with destabilization... We have been taught to fear the unknown, but simultaneously, we are called to the mystery."
[on preparing to receive what it is that we say we want] “It's about having a foundation, and part of that foundation is looking at: What is the basket I'm weaving to receive it? How can I make sure my fingers are closed and collected, so that this water doesn't fall through them?"
But there really are so many wise words within. Let me know which moments stood out to you!
If you’d like to connect with Kir Beaux, there are many ways to do so!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaMay 12, 2023
SITS 1x16 - Diving Deep with Shahir Suprasensory
What’s up, swimmers? I am home from my travels and trying to come back down to Earth. So, of course, I am kicking things off with a conversation that shoots us back up into the stratosphere 😉.
But first! I wanted to shout out an incredible offering from my friend Nick Kepley, of In Search of Tarot, that’s taking place this June. Early bird registration has closed, but it’s not too late to snag a spot at what’s sure to be an expansive and liberating month.
MEET ME AT THE MARGIN is a month-long virtual conference for queer people who want to reclaim and re-story their innate capacity for ambiguity, paradox, and liminality.
Through a series of eight workshops facilitated by some of today’s most Marginal thinkers, participants explore queerness through the lenses of tarot, astrology, narrative therapy, eco-mythology, archetype, art, and more.
Facilitators include: Charlie Claire Burgess, Amy DiGennaro, Edgar Fabian Frías, Nick Kepley, Jonathan Koe, Elias Lawliet, Sophie Strand, Jaison Perez, Chanti Tacoronte-Perez!
The conference and its mission is also a perfect segue into today’s episode!
It’s a personal kink of mine to expand my understanding and experience of the intersections of magic and queerness, and my guest today absolutely swam in that beautiful soup with me!
Without further delay, I am so so thrilled to bring you this conversation that I had with self-proclaimed love devotee, Shahir Suprasensory!
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
As I write, I wander, and we write, and we wonder whether we have found the Wise within or without, the Divine Dance that was never lost, but kept on being found, Love.
- Shahir Suprasensory
Shahir Suprasensory (@suprasensoryshahir) is a Queer Muslim Brown Mystic and Love Devotee. They write about everything that inspires them with love: astrology, tarot, mysticism, Sufism, spirituality, spirit guides.
They see love as origin, love as destination, and love as intermediacy, and their magical practices are love portals ~ to share, to create and to embody a more loving world.
I AM FOR ASTROLOGY that elevates the goodness of this world, that rebels against systems of oppression, that remediates fractured parts of ourselves and our connections with others, astrology that weaves our ecosystems and heals our biospheres, that illuminates our dreams - that shifts them our reality, that disrupts power dynamics of society, that reminds us of our agency, that awakens our magick, that enchants our sensations.
- Shahir Suprasensory
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, extra podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸
Shahir and I met through a Sagittarius Rising community group and have been internet pals ever since! The way that they are able to speak the language of the stars is truly inspiring, and I know that just by listening to them share the ways in which they connect with their many selves through their chart, and also how they weave their astrological knowledge into their other magical practice, you’ll learn so much about what’s possible when committing to a life of faith and love.
Some of my favorite moments include:
“The love mystics of the Sufis... there's always a sense of longing and seeking; trying to be uniting with something, but feeling the distance between you and the universe, God, whatever you want to term it as. But at the same time, feeling the closeness of it.”
“I do feel sometimes [that] periods of endings and beginnings are kind of like moments where we are having a crisis, but also having a rebirth of imagination.”
“It is about the deeper understanding of Cosmic Law. There are certain things that are beyond your power, and it's actually good for you to release that control... from even trying to know it... not in a punishing way. It's kind of just like, it's not your terf. ”
But there really are so many moments of deep magic within. Let me know which moments stood out to you!
If you’d like to connect with Shahir, there are many ways to do so!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaMay 5, 2023
Lunar Eclipse Love from Les Herbiers
Hello my lovely little swimmers, I hope this note finds you breathing and blinking and being as kind and generous with yourselves as you are with others.
I’ve been all over the map lately — no literally, I’m writing this to you from the most gorgeous room in the most stunning villa in Les Herbiers, France, where a longtime and cherished friend is getting married tomorrow. It’s been raining all day, but the sun is finally out, the birds are singing, and I am about to take a nap in a huge, comfy bed. Happy Eclipse to me!
But also, due to my travels, what was supposed to be this week’s episode of SITS is going to come out next Friday, May 12!
Though delayed, I promise you’re not going to want to miss it. My guest is truly love incarnate.
In the meantime, perhaps you’d like to feast on the double header that was Art April:
SITS 1x14 with Missing Witches — on craft, creative anti-capitalism, & the colorful life of Leonora Carrington
SITS 1x15 with John A. Rice — on letting go of outcomes, leaning into the mystery & living a creative life
As I mentioned above, today is a Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio! Astrologers will have a lot to say about what this chaotic and cosmic event might mean for you, but I couldn’t not throw in my two cents about the numbers of the day.
May 5, 2023 is a 17/8 day overall. In tarot speak, we’re working with The Star and Strength, and the numerological archetype for the number 8 is The Powerhouse. I also like to call it The Embodied.
Even though 8 energy can really pack a punch, there’s also a grace and a confidence that comes with it. It’s an empowered place to hang out in, one that doesn’t push unnecessarily or out of fear or greed or lack. It knows that everything is always flowing and that things are working out in due time. It knows that action is more potent in combination with trust and acceptance of what is.
Today, believe that nothing is impossible, while also knowing what is realistically possible right now. Practice patience and softness, and walk the fine line between divinity and mortality with ease and grace.
The “above” energy is quite chaotic, so allow for your “below” to be restful.
To play with that double 5 energy of 5/5, see on your to-do list can be a problem for “future you.” The you that’s living today will thank you for it.
We’re almost out of the mess.
I’m almost out of a massive moment of change and travel.
We’ve got this! I’ll be back in your inbox with new treats soon. Now, for a nap!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, Rebeccaswimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, extra podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸
April 21, 2023
SITS 1x15 - Diving Deep with John A. Rice
What’s up, swimmers? Happy 4/20 slash New Moon Eclipse in Aries slash Taurus season slash whatever else is going on??? It’s a lot! How’re you faring?
Late last year, I started feeling really tapped out when it came to writing and sharing. A terribly uncomfy place to be in, especially when I’d felt so disconnected to my writing for years, and had finally gotten the faucet fixed.
But also understandable after writing, editing and releasing a year and a half of a researched and scripted podcast, an entire book, a few months of this new venture with SITS—not to mention over 200,000 words of fiction in my free time.
All during a pandemic, no less.
My cup was empty. Not just creatively, but spiritually.
Still is, in some ways.
So I saw 2023, a 7 Seeker year, as an opportunity to start talking with other people who are out there making things in the world, connecting with the Divine in unique and wonderful ways. There are no goals for these deep dives, other than being present and open to receive new perspectives and ways of being, and admittedly to take the pressure off of feeling like I must have something brilliant to share every couple of weeks; and I do hope that you’ve been gaining something from them as well!
What I didn’t expect was for this series of episodes to also reconnect me to John A. Rice, a writer, actor, painter, tarot deck creator, and old friend and colleague of mine! Despite the decade that’s passed since we last spoke, our interests and outlook on things align in so many ways; and John has such a serene and wise way of approaching an ongoing creative and spiritual life. Both in the recording and editing of this conversation, I made so many notes to return to later!
If you’re an artist, a creative, a dreaded multi-hyphenate (😉), today’s episode is for you!
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
It’s [my] mission to help people reclaim their own mystique and see themselves as the hero of their own story.
- John A. Rice
John A. Rice is a lifelong artist, one of the few who specializes in oil pastels. His work has sold in more than 35 countries worldwide. He runs his art shop, J.A.R. Studio, NYC, out of his New York City studio.
He is also an accomplished Tarot reader, having studied extensively with his mentor from Italy (where Tarot originated). He drew on this background to create his unique, popular MINDSCAPES Tarot deck.
[I want] to foster healing, introspection, and creativity through otherworldly art — empowering the internal world so that we can enrich our outer world.
- John A. Rice
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, extra podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸
This conversation with John was so deeply and personally satisfying. It was inspiring and meaningful, and was an incredible full circle for me in so many ways. But beyond just my feelings, John shares about letting go of outcomes while living a creative life in a way that’s so humble and encouraging. He effortlessly offers wisdom from the path, subtly, yet confidently amused by the mystery of it all. I hope you love this episode as much as I do!
Some of my favorite moments include:
“I don't know who needs to hear this, but: Just be open to whatever doors open instead of forcing something to happen... So often, the way we want things to happen is just not the way they will, or even should happen. And the things that come are often better for us anyway.”
“Visual art was something I just did for me.... After hours, I'd put on some music and just bliss out painting. And I was actually very hesitant to put the tarot cards online—or any of my art online—for that exact reason. I was scared that it would get commodified. I was scared that it would take on a life of it's own, because I have seen that in my other artistic pursuits.”
“I don't question where these things come from. I just do it. I think it's almost better to not know. Is it a higher power? Is it a spirit guide? Is it my subconscious? I don't know. But I feel like the moment you start to analyze it, you almost undercut its power... I'm content to just have it be the mystery of my life.”
But there really are so many perfect pearls within. Let me know which moments stood out to you!
If you’d like to connect with John, there are many ways to do so!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaApril 7, 2023
SITS 1x14 - Diving Deep with Missing Witches
What’s up, swimmers? Yesterday was a jam-packed day, as the Full Moon in Libra aligned with the first night of Passover. Chag sameach to all who observed!
For those who are unfamiliar with the Passover traditions, the first night is observed with a ritual dinner as detailed in the Haggadah, a Jewish text from the Hebrew meaning “telling.” Our reformed family has its own Haggadah, which weaves the family photo album into the ceremonial script.
My in-laws are incredibly welcoming of all at the Seder table, and typically have about 15 people of all faiths and philosophies over to partake, learn and share in their customs. On top of the traditional items, our Seder plate also includes an orange for the inclusion of all genders and the LGBTQIA+ community, an artichoke heart to represent the presence of interfaith friends and family, and this year, we included an olive to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
The ceremony, at its core, is about the renewal and hope of Spring alongside the constant fight for liberation for all. As the ancestral timeline collapses, we are reminded that social justice is a present-tense struggle. Our family’s Haggadah recognizes how we can practice allyship with Black, Indigenous, AAPI and other communities of color carrying on the fight for freedom today. With great hope for the future, there is an acknowledgement of the inequities that still plague us today, and the important aide-memoire that until we all are free, none of us are free.
Before I introduce you to my guest today—who also loves a good ritual in the name of liberation—I want to share that I had the honor and pleasure of being included in the Full Moon in Libra episode of the Cosmic Cousin’s podcast, hosted by Jeff Hinshaw.
As a Libra Moon and a huge fan of Jeff’s work, it was so exciting to be able to share a mini-teaching on Libra through the lens of two numbers (7 & 11) and how they relate to the Libran theme of equanimity.
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
Missing Witches is an excuse for us to do the research we were longing to do, into the ideas and people we felt were missing from our lives.
- Risa and Amy of Missing Witches
Risa Dickens and Amy Torok are the co-authors of New Moon Magic: 13 Anti-Capitalist Tools for Resistance and Re-enchantment (coming September 2023), and Missing Witches: Reclaiming True Histories of Feminist Magic (March 2021).
BUST magazine wrote “Dickens and Torok teach us what it means to create art, engage in activism, and exist at the intersection of witchcraft and feminism.”
You can find their books, podcast, zine and coven at MissingWitches.com
BLESSED FUCKING BE!
- Missing Witches
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, extra podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸
I’m so grateful to have connected with Risa for a conversation on ritual and play, magic as a practice of anti-capitalism, and the surrealist life and art of Leonora Carrington. It’s always so lovely to share space with someone who can just go deep quickly, and for a first meeting, Risa and I absolutely just dive right into the soup!
Some of my favorite moments from this conversation include:
“We write about art as a witchcraft practice—that's like one of the free anticapitalist tools of witchcraft—and how to get there, and how people have played with that in their work of resistance and enchantment.”
[on Surrealism]: “The language of that art movement really saw young women and especially, you know, wild or mentally ill young women as a vehicle, like as something that could be written into a new form of experience or a new way of seeing. There's pieces of that that seem really terrifying and manipulative: the way that young women's magic and power has been like vampiric be used by patriarchal culture for centuries.”
[on Leonora Carrington]: “…to just relentlessly making her art and just refusing to have that excised or pressurized away from her. That's who she was. She was going to make art. She didn't need to be part of a circle. She didn't need to be part of whatever trends or brands you were brandishing. She needed to live art all the way through her, her body and her life and have it at the center of her family home.”
But there really are so many juicy nuggets within. Let me know which moments stood out to you!
If you’d like to connect with Missing Witches, there are many ways to do so!
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, Rebecca
