Rebecca Scolnick's Blog, page 18
December 30, 2022
New Year Numerology (Part 2)
What is up, swimmers? It’s the end of the year, can you believe? I hope you’re finding some restful moments and navigating this incredibly intangible time of year.
I am writing you this final letter of 2022 from a Mercury Retrograde miracle—we made our connecting flight home with literal minutes to spare! After a couple of weeks of canceled flights and travel date changes, it feels like an extra win to have not gotten stuck somewhere along the way. Especially when our pup is slated to come home tonight. (By the time you’re reading this, I’m hoping to have my face absolutely buried in his Frito-smelling fur!)
Fortunately, the family was happy to see us, the holidays gatherings were warm, and the only real casualty of the season was the podcast I was going to record for you. So thanks for your understanding, and I hope that my love of the written word is enough to help this information fly off the page.
In some ways, this whole mess has felt like a fitting end to a rather turbulent year.
2022, which boasted six (6) energy, put us through our paces. Or rather, it messed with our perception of pacing. Time moved slower, sometimes faster, until (at least for me) the construct seemed to altogether fall apart at the seams. We were encouraged to let go, to surrender and indulge in rest and intentionality before moving into action.
It also highlighted our relationships, emphasizing honesty, accountability, and responsibility. For many, the changes started last year, in the messiness of the five (5) year. But for most, myself included, there were shifts that took place in 2022 that rocked the boat, creating opportunities to address unhealthy dynamics, boost or create boundaries where necessary, and in some instances, walk away from entire relationships.
On the flip side, perhaps you found this year to be a soothing experience of expanding into deeper love and awareness with yourself and others. Relationships may have been clarified or strengthened in beautiful ways. Maybe you’re now able to look in the mirror with a newfound sense of self and grace and growth. Even if that all feels wildly out of reach, hopefully these themes were at least sprinkled throughout the year for you.
The final weeks of this calendar year also provided an odd, but enlightening preview of the energy we will be sailing through next year in 2023: liminal, illuminating, it is what it is (but what IS it?) Seven energy.
Seven is the Seeker
Seven tends to lead us down twisted, dark paths, plunging us into darkness to further our foray into surrender, while promising clarity and awe at the end of the road.
It’s not always an easy ride, so while I would never deter you from moving into 2023 with hope and excitement, I also want to prepare you for the possibility that the external energies of this new year may feel intense.
The number seven does its best work in the inquiry phase of things, believing that the best questions lead to better questions. It’s happy to sit like a dog with a bone, chewing on the same ideas for hours, waiting for the moment when the magic key unlocks the door to monumental understanding. It desires enlightenment through initiation and persistence. Baptism by fire. But this isn’t always a comfortable energy to sit in for an entire year, and may provide plenty of feelings of confusion and frustration.
Curiosity, the thing that usually kills the cat, could actually be a saving grace this year. It will keep you energized, interested, and eager; providing enthusiasm for all of the many puzzles you’ll likely engage with this year. An inner light to guide your way through the dark. I, for one, am excited to see what we all tussle with, especially in this space together. Seven is absolutely the number of swimming in the soup.
Seven is the Chariot
The Chariot is in the initial line or spiral of the Tarot, which can speak to our developing identity, as well as the way we perceive ourselves in the world around us. In this phase of things, we still have quite a bit of agency and malleability over our sense of Self. Despite having little control over what pops up along our travels, we are absolutely still in the driver’s seat of our lives, and free to react and respond as we’d like.
However, we may find that as we keep moving down the highway, parts of our proverbial car will need to be replaced. Or we might even find ourselves needing to trade the whole thing in for a newer, more aligned model.
In her essay, Living Between Stories, Sophie Strand writes observes this process of change through the lens of the hermit crab:
The curious moment occurs when a hermit crab, spilling out of its shell, exceeding its narrative, finds another shell, a little too big. Instead of trying to enter into this spacious shell, it waits patiently, sometimes for up to eight hours, for another, slightly bigger hermit crab to arrive and take the big shell, discarding a protective home more suited to the original hermit crab. Sometimes as many as twenty crabs will congregate and perform a truly amazing ritual called a vacancy chain. When they have finally assembled, the crabs will quickly evacuate and exchange shells, each claiming the new one that best suits their size. What does it feel like to be that first hermit crab, overflowing its shell, waiting beside another shell that it also cannot properly inhabit? What does it feel like to be so soft, unprotected, and incapable of immediately producing a new story? The hermit crab says wait. And he also says, we never reach the next story on our own. We need a group. A group of people all willing to vacate and exchange their stories.
To this point, it’s worth noting that the seventh house in astrology is all about partnerships. Lean on others, bring them into the fold, and allow them to fill in your gaps.
Seven is what is know and unknown
Thanks to seven’s love of questioning, knowns are both precious and rare this year. Be firm and clear in what you know, and perhaps at times, a bit brutal, too. They say “when you know, you know.” This is a year to practice that knowing. If you know what you must do, take action where you can.
It can be a real luxury to feel certain while wandering through the wilderness. Bask in this feeling when possible. But know that it can also be fantasy. If you don’t know something, be honest about that, and wait for more information or clearer skies. Be patient with yourself and trust that all things will come together in due time. Take gentle care of your nervous system throughout periods of shedding and realignment.
The Truth (with a capital T!) is that there is no need to know everything, and seeking ultimate knowledge is, in and of itself, is a fool’s errand. Do not let that quest become the carrot that dangles in front of you, leading you in a direction that you’re largely unaware or not in control of.
Socrates is attributed with saying, “I know only one thing: that I know nothing.” He perceived those who claimed to be all-knowing to be ignorant, encouraging a more realistic and freeing acceptance that at the bottom of every rabbit hole lies a whole bunch of unanswerable questions. It is not weak to admit what you do not know.
Knowledge without humility is ego.
Seven is about spirituality and secrets
Everything comes to the light eventually, especially during an esoteric cycle like a seven year. Harkening back to our agency, it would be wise to practice choosing what to bring to the light this year. We may be grappling with big, otherworldly inquiries and thought experiments, but do not forget that we are also human beings with boots on the ground in this reality. Do not be surprised when things are unearthed or uncovered.
Be especially cautious around sneaky or dishonest, Seven of Swords behavior, as this year ups the chances that you’ll be found out. Just ask Andrew Tate, who engaged in a misguided, internet battle with climate activist Greta Thunberg, and ended up revealing his location to Romanian officials, who swiftly arrested him for human trafficking.
Another way we might engage with secrecy is that things might feel illusive, or frustratingly just beyond our grasp or comprehension. This is okay. Sit in it as long as you can without making things more difficult on yourself. Discomfort does not equal a lack of safety. Stretch your limits this year, and be careful and aware of imbibing too much! Coping mechanisms, addictions, and the desire to escape may all feel heightened this year. Take a sober (wink) look at how you hold yourself through tougher, or more stagnant, experiences. Again, do not be afraid to ask for help, support or community when you need it. It’s so much easier to sit in the dark alongside someone else than it is to go it alone.
Spiritually speaking, this year could find you between systems of belief. You might experience major shifts in your personal practices, the structures through which you find divine connection, and major swings between gnosis and crisis. Change is inherently neither positive or negative, so try and shift your perception, again, getting curious about what’s revealing itself to you.
In January, here on SITS, I’m going to be sharing two conversations with spiritual pals that I greatly respect and admire. The first is with Hanna Williams, an artist, spiritual teacher, meme-maker, and much, much more, who shared with me that she thinks of God as being a cycle of experiences of revealing and concealing. We talk about how when we’re in spiritual doubt, we’re actually more available for divinity to make itself known to us. Yes, it might get frustrating, but that’s just as much a part of spiritual seeking—not to mention being human—as the wondrous moments of awe and connection.
In the Gospel of Thomas, Yeshua (Jesus) says, “Let one who seeks not stop until one finds. When one finds, one will be troubled. When one is troubled, one will be astonished, and one will reign over all.”
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 💸
Seven is Grace. Surrender. Delight.
Next year, in 8-ruled 2024, we’ll tussle with BIG STUFF—power, money, karma, action. We’ll get to do, after a long year of practicing faith, trust, and pixie dust.
For now, devote yourself to the mysteries. Let yourself get a little lost. Hang out in questions that you can’t answer. Spend ample amounts of time spinning your own webs and tales of meaning. Analyze and synthesize and practice and craft . Stay in it long enough to find the juicy center or the inevitable conundrum.
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaPS. A beloved friend, colleague and client of mine just wrapped up a personal seven year, and shared with me that something we talked about in our Year Ahead session really came in handy throughout her experience: the delineation of what is private, personal and public.
Not everything about you, and what you’re going through, is for everyone. Especially not when you’re in flux. Try filtering what you share through those three buckets—what is private, meaning for just you, your partner, your closest confidantes; what is personal, meaning what might be shared with a larger audience, but is still a bit close to the chest; and what is public, meaning it’s available for everyone.
Try it out, see what you think. Let yourself be surprised by what falls into the different categories.
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
December 16, 2022
SITS 1x07 - New Year Numerology (Part 1)
What’s up, swimmers?! THE PODCAST IS BACK! I’m psyched to be popping into your ears today with some numerological reflections on this year! ✨🥳🤘🏼
But first—
🗣 SPEND 23 MINUTES on 2023! 🗣Interested to know what next year has in store for you through the lens of numerology and the tarot? Let’s spend a quick 23 minutes together and figure it out!
ON FRIDAY JANUARY 6, 2023:
9:00 AM | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM
11:30 AM | Noon | 12:30 PM
2:00 PM | 2:30 PM | 3:00 PM
4:30 PM | 5:00 PM | 5:30 PM
TO BOOK:
Reply to this email or send me a new one at rebecca@rebeccascolnick.com with the time you'd like to book for!
If the time is booked, I'll propose a new one!
Once we align, I'll send a Zoom link and my Venmo. All readings are Pay What You Can / Donation Based! (Suggested amount $50--No ceiling, no floor, no explanation necessary either way!!)
Please note that appointments are only confirmed once you have a Zoom link!
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 💸
New Year Numerology (Part 1) ✨🥂Reflecting on 2022, a 6 Year
Today’s episode is the first in a two-part series that will wrap up 2022, and look forward into the energies coming our way in 2023.
Yearly cycle numbers are found by adding up the digits of any year, and reducing until you reach a single digit.
Tracking these ruling numbers are, in my humble opinion, the easiest and quickest way to start putting numerology to work in your day-to-day life, as they will begin to reveal an endless, repeating pattern of 9-year cycles.
But don’t take my word for it:
The majority of humans see evolution as a race along a straight race track, a race they are winning by a long margin, yet they are afraid to ever slow down, in case other life catches them.
If they did slow down long enough, they may observe that the track is actually cyclic.
— Robert Black
When you do the math on 2022, you’ll find that 2+2+2 = 6, meaning that for the entirety of the calendar year, we were all living under the collective umbrella of 6 energy.
SIX (6) IS THE NURTURER!
The wound may not be your fault, but your healing is your responsibility.
—Denice Frohman
Key Concepts:
blossoming & blooming
generous caretakers
family & responsibility
a hint of nostalgia
In this episode, we’ll look back at a workshop that I held in January of 2022, and see if my predictions for the energies of this year held any weight! We’ll also use these observations as jumping off points for personal and collective reflection, preparing us to enter 2023, a 7 year, with clarity, ease and grace.
My bullet points for 2022 were:
EASY DOES IT!
DAILY NEEDS
REDESIGNING RELATIONSHIPS
And of course, I offer some activities to connect with 6 energy, some of which you can still do with the remaining weeks of the year.
In fact, let’s read some bell hooks, a 33/6 life path, and start that work right now:
Without love, our efforts to liberate ourselves and our world community from oppression and exploitation are doomed… Without an ethic of love shaping the direction of our political vision and our radical aspirations, we are often seduced, in one way or the other, into continued allegiance to systems of domination—imperialism, sexism, racism, classism.
— bell hooks, all about love
❄️ Need a last minute gift idea or looking to spread some holiday cheer? ❄️
I’ll be back in two weeks to chat all about the upcoming 7 year! 👀⚡️⁉️
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaDecember 2, 2022
Wrapping Up NanoWriMo & Looking Ahead
If you booked with me for a reading in December, please expect an email from me on Monday or Tuesday of next week to check in on the topic that you shared while booking, as well as some additional things to think about before our session! Yes, it might feel like homework, but it’s for your own good! 😉 I’m really psyched to work with you!
If you didn’t book in December, but are still interested in getting a reading…
🗣 SPEND 23 MINUTES on 2023! 🗣Interested to know what next year has in store for you through the lens of numerology and the tarot? Let’s spend a quick 23 minutes together and figure it out!
On December 16, I’ll be releasing an episode of SITS and information about booking a 23-Minute Mini Session, to be scheduled in the first week of January.
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 💸.
Hey swimmers, guess what?
I DID IT! I HIT 50K WORDS IN 30 DAYS! 🥳🤘🏼⚡️✨😭What a ride! What a truly nutty way to create! What a test of perseverance!
When I first decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month, I wanted to jumpstart the work on a novel that’s been floating around in my brain for years. Truly, years. And that’s all it would have ever been—a start—because the 50K word goal is still about 30-40K short of what most novels are today. My wife assured me that this was okay, and perhaps even preferable, saying that all I had to do was just start getting words on a page, so that by the end of the month, I’d know whether or not the idea was viable.
Well, here on December 2nd, I am very proud to say that not only do I think the story is viable, but that I’m actually excited about writing the rest! In my book (pun intended), that’s a huge win! 🤩🤩🤩
More than that, I’d also like to reflect on some additional points:
I do think that creating a container for deep and focused work is a great way to get through some of the trickier steps about starting and continuing work on a creative project. NanoWriMo is an intense goal, and while I’m sure I’ll do it again, it’s not a format that I’m going to be adopting year round. I have a lot of rewriting to do, and this project is important to me, so I’m excited to slow down and spend some time with it now. BUT, if you’re someone who takes a really long time to get started, or who tends to write & edit & rewrite & never really makes any forward progress, I would challenge you to create a smaller version of Nano for yourself, and see what you can do if you just shut your critic brain down, and write.
I realized halfway through that I might be using this challenge to dive headfirst into another project, in hopes of curtailing any grief, or that “post-show letdown,” after my book release. Almost every creative project I’ve ever worked on has overlapped with another, or others, so I want to be clear that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with getting started on something else so soon after the ending of a big project! It’s just a reflection that I’m curious about, and a good opportunity to check in with myself and my body, and see where I might be holding onto some upset around my book being out in the world, and now having to truly move on to the next.
Because so much of the artistic process happens alone, and in the proverbial dark, it’s so important to celebrate all of the little wins along the way! I have a really hard time resting in moments of triumph. Maybe you can relate? Like, we work so hard to achieve goals, successes, milestones or markers, whatever you call them, and then once we hit them, what then? This last month, I celebrated a little bit every day. I pepped myself up by announcing daily word counts on the Nano website, and with my writer friends! I accepted every single little digital badge that was given along the way! I tried not to get too upset over the 3 whole days that I took off all month 😉, and I planned a really exciting evening with my pals and my wife on the night of the 30th to toast to my success. Things might not be slowing down at all—Happy Holidays??? How is it December???—but I am really relishing in this, and every, part of the process because if you don’t celebrate your own wins, so much can feel like it slips by with little to no fanfare.
After a deserved break—and maybe a hand and wrist massage!—I’m going to start reworking the beginning, as well as continuing the work to get to a full first draft. While I was feeling burned out by the end of the month, I’m also incredibly motivated to keep going! And don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted, of course! 😊
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who supported my work, commented, emailed, texted, and sent a carrier pigeon my way this month. I really couldn’t have done it without the accountability and love of my community. My cup is incredibly full!
Wherever this finds you in your own Nano journey, or other creative process, please know that I am sending you love, stamina, perseverance, TONS OF SELF-CONFIDENCE, and a few muses, too. We got this!
A SASSY SNIPPET 👀** In case you need a refresher or are new here (hi!), my main character Mol writes a blog about her sexual escapades in NYC. This excerpt is from one of her blog entries, and therefore written in first person! **
I could lead a walking tour of all of the places I’ve cried in New York City.I’d lead it for free, of course—accessibility is sexy—but would accept donations. You know, for emotional damages. A therapy fund, even.The tour would start outside the Waverly Diner on 6th Avenue, where I ended up after a night out traipsing around the West Village on a drinking tour of iconic lesbian bars. I was new to the city, and somewhat new to being absolutely trashed in public, so when the girl I’d been dancing with all night invited me for a tuna melt at the diner, and then ditched me for another party somewhere in Brooklyn, I sobbed outside until Jenna called me a car home. And yes, of course there’s a tuna melt x lesbian joke in there somewhere, but let’s not spend too much time trying to make it, okay?After the Waverly, the tour would meander uptown, past the hole-in-the-wall wine bar in the East 20s, where I first learned that Jenna would be moving out. Then, we’ve move to that intersection of Madison Avenue and 33rd, where I threw up outside of the window of a moving cab, tears streaming down my face from sheer embarrassment. And then finally, we’d end at the 47-50th Sts—Rockefeller Center subway station, otherwise known as the location of my extremely tearful and heinously public break-up with Tanner.Tanner Thomas, Boy Wonder.
Need a last minute gift idea or looking to spread some holiday cheer? ❄️
Until next time, just keep swimming! xxDecember 1, 2022
December 2022: By the Numbers
How did it get so late so soon?
― Dr. Seuss
As a holiday gift, I’m making this newsletter available to everyone! But typically, my monthly forecasts are only for my paid pals. Please consider subscribing for as little as $5/month, and send this email to a friend for a little added love!
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 this monthly forecast, you’ll find:
→ A list of 25 Books to read, gift or donate this holiday season
→ Playlists for the numbers 3 and 9 to get you inspired
→ Things to try this month
→ Things I’m trying this month
December is ruled by the number 3, by magic, language, story and creation; and December 2022 adds up to 9, which is the number of turning all that we’ve learned into wisdom and understanding, as well as sharing it with others.
In the spirit of these numbers, I’ve decided that instead of telling you what you might expect out of this month, I’d share some resources with you that’ve helped me to both understand the world around me, as well as expand my mind past what I thought I already knew to be true.
It’s incredibly Sagittarian of me too, don’t you think?
Here are 25 books (15 non-fiction, 10 fiction) to add to your shelf, gift to a loved one, or even donate through an organization like the Prison Library Support Network:
The Witch’s Book of Numbers by Rebecca Scolnick (I HAD TO OKAY!?)
Whether you’re a beginner witch or have years of experience, The Witch’s Book of Numbers will deftly guide you through the history and relevance of numerology for today’s practitioner, offering exercises, spellwork, correspondences, and activities all designed to help boost your practice and enrich and empower your journey as a witch.
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills—and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed—is the person thousands turn to for advice.
Your Illustrated Guide To Becoming One With The Universe by Yumi Sakugawa
Set against a surreal backdrop of intricate ink illustrations, you will find nine metaphysical lessons with dreamlike instructions that require you to open your heart to unexplored inner landscapes. From setting fire to your anxieties to sharing a cup of tea with your inner demons, you will learn how to let go and truly connect with the world around you.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
An engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad, and a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing relationship with a charismatic but volatile woman, Machado struggles to make sense of how what happened to her shaped the person she was becoming.
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
In the tradition of Octavia Butler, radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help to shape the futures we want.
To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedediah Jenkins
On the eve of turning thirty, terrified of being funneled into a life he didn’t choose, Jedidiah Jenkins quit his dream job and spent sixteen months cycling from Oregon to Patagonia. He chronicled the trip on Instagram, where his photos and reflections drew hundreds of thousands of followers, all gathered around the question: What makes a life worth living?
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Based on twelve years of pioneering research, Brené Brown PhD, MSW, dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.
The Flowering Wand by Sophie Strand
A deep exploration of the regenerative and magical secrets of sacred masculinity hidden in familiar myths both ancient and modern.
A memoir of leaving the evangelical church and the search for radical new ways to build community.
Getting to Center by Marlee Grace
This book meditates on endings, grief and joy, ease, hope, addiction, and beginnings, pairing Marlee's own experiences and wisdom with practical exercises and tools for creating balance and understanding within the natural changes of life.
“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”
Why Religion? by Elaine Pagels
Why is religion still around in the twenty-first century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions.
Postcolonial Astrology by Alice Sparkly Kat
In a cross-cultural approach to understanding astrology as a magical language, Alice Sparkly Kat unmasks the political power of astrology, showing how it can be channeled as a force for collective healing and liberation.
Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere.
In her dazzling, impossible-to-categorize debut, Jenny channels the pain and beauty of life in writing so fresh, so new, and so burstingly alive, we catch her vision like a fever and bring it back out into the bright day with us, where everything has changed.
A struggling novelist travels the world to avoid an awkward wedding in this hilarious Pulitzer Prize-winning novel full of "arresting lyricism and beauty.”
Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Waller-Bridge brings together for the first time the filming scripts of the first and second seasons, complete with the original stage directions as well as exclusive commentary on her creative process and the making of the series. Now recognized as one of today’s most essential voices, she delivers powerful insights into her now-iconic protagonist: the hilarious, emotionally damaged, sexually unapologetic woman who can make viewers laugh, cry, and cringe in a single scene.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Through the story of a year spent under the influence of a truly mad combination of drugs designed to heal our heroine from her alienation from this world, Moshfegh shows us how reasonable, even necessary, alienation can be. Both tender and blackly funny, merciless and compassionate, it is a showcase for the gifts of one of our major writers working at the height of her powers.
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
A magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.
A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this "extraordinary" and beloved Pulitzer Prize winner that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review).
The mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for....
I heard a bird sing in the dark of December. A magical thing. And sweet to remember. We are nearer to Spring than we were in September. I heard a bird sing in the dark of December.
― Oliver Herford
Create something just for the fun of it
Connect with a deity that supports communication, creation or the written word
Sign up for a class on a topic or magical modality that you’ve always been curious about
Spend a little more time alone than you usually do
Listen to the Beatles’ White Album
Bless and give away clothes, belongings, and spiritual tools that no longer resonate
I also have quite a few books on my reading list to crack open, and I’m so looking forward to it!
Continue working on my novel, of which I now have over 50K written!
Squeeze every friend and family member I see just a little tighter this year!
Try not to overload my schedule!
Sending you love & protection for a gorgeous month!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 💸.
November 18, 2022
NanoWriMo Update #2
photo by me, haircut by Jessie Byrnes HairWhat’s up, swimmers? Happy Friday! Happy almost Sag Season! I hope that you’re hanging in after midterms, and daylight savings, and the rapid demise of the bird app as we know it, oh my!
Meanwhile, I chopped off my hair (see above), visited my first born child in person!, and have staying focused on my writing goal of 50K words in November! It’s felt increasingly absurd to spend so much time writing stories about queers in NYC banging each other, but also kind of the perfect way to ride out the end of another reality-bending year.
Couple of things before I pour my heart out:
⚡️ MY BOOKS FOR DECEMBER 2022 ARE OPEN! ⚡️
Seeker Sessions will be tailored to the recipient. You choose the time—1 hour at $111 or 2 hours at $222—and then we’ll decide how to use it! Tarot, Numerology, Readings for the Year Ahead, Support around Witchcraft or Creative Work, the limit does not exist.
Links for January 2023 will be released in the December newsletter for paid pals. Please note that this is the last time I’ll be offering readings at these prices. If you’d like to book as a gift for someone else, please email me directly.
🎧 COMING SOON TO SITS 🎧
I genuinely don’t know what we’re doing in December on SITS, but that’s ok! We have plenty of time to figure it out. If you have anything on your mind or have been waiting for my take on a certain topic, let me know!
What I do know is that I’ll be chatting with a few incredible folks over the next month or so, and will be bringing you a couple of conversations in January that you’re not going to want to miss!
I am officially on Day 18 of National Novel Writing Month.
The goal by the end of the day, is to have written a total of 30K. I’m currently sitting pretty at 31K and I haven’t even started today’s work!
First things first, I have to acknowledge that yes, I am essentially 18/18 on my daily word count goals. Because I’ve been tracking just above the overall goal, there have been a couple days where I haven’t written as much as I would’ve liked to have written, but it hasn’t mattered in the grand scheme. As I write, I’m finding this is the sweet spot for me, as it keeps me from continually chasing the carrot, you know?
Second, I am feeling quite decent about the story I’m writing! But, and this is a huge but, I’ve had to get over the hump of quite a few days where the whole thing just felt like I’d descended into narrative chaos, never to return to the surface again. I’ve also had to surrender almost everything I thought I knew about the characters and the plot, and just simply show up every day for whatever the story actually wants to be.
In NanoWriMo speak, there are 3 different types of writers: Plotters, who spend ample amounts of time getting their affairs in order before they write—plotting out external events, writing outlines, and creating character moodboards and playlists; Pantsers, who spend little to no time planning anything, instead opting to just wing it day-by-day; and Plantsers, who are a healthy combination of both—a little plotting, a little flying by the seat of your (sweat)pants as you go!
I’m a Plantser. I shared a bit of this in the first update, but if things feel too nailed down, I can lose interest in the process altogether. For me, there are few things as satisfying as when a character just shows up on the page, and you’re left to just revel in their complexities, and say, nice to meet you! But I also need to know the trajectory of where we’re heading, even if that changes along the way.
But what if there was another way of thinking about the writing process?
Lisa Cron, author of Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere), cautions authors against both plotting and pantsing. She says that instead of spending all of your time creating external events for your characters to hurdle over, your time is best spent figuring out what your main character’s third rail is—what’s “the live wire that gives meaning and juice to everything[?]”
Cron says,
What drives your protagonist forward is her internal agenda: she arrives on page one already wanting something very badly, and with an inner issue – a misbelief – that she has to overcome in order to have a chance of getting it. Overcoming this internal misbelief is what the story is about. The plot is constructed to force her to confront it — which is where the struggle comes in — ultimately causing her to change, internally. Otherwise, that thing she wants? Even if she gets it, it’ll taste like ashes.
I found this reframe to be super helpful, especially once I realized exactly how many scenes I’m going to need to fill up a whole ass book! But also because this method not only helps you to clarify the needs and wants of your main character in any setting or interaction, but it also helps to flesh out the characters that surround them.
Who are the people, places and events that have shaped your poor little meow meow? What are the lessons that they’ve come to learn, whether “correct” or “logical” or “some other secret third thing?” When faced with new information, what’s the lens that your blorbo is always viewing the world through, and how does that affect their responses, reactions, and future decisions?
Cron’s website has so many free resources and her book takes you through the plotting of an entire novel, but I wanted to highlight the above to say that this is all work that I’ve been doing in Weeks Two and Three of Nano, after I’ve already started writing. Why is that important? Because it really is never too late to start, and even if you’ve already started, it’s never too late to change course or add more or simply deepen that which you already “know” about your work.
After all, NanoWriMo is an exercise, and a pretty bonkers way to create. If you’re in the trenches, I’m sending you love and solidarity and stamina to keep going! If you’re considering it for next year slash a random month of your choosing, DO IT! And know that I’m here to help!
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, DUNE Deep Dive podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸.
A SASSY SNIPPET 👀Until next time, just keep swimming! xx
“When I was asked to do the panel, I was dating this photographer. Oh my god, Mol, you would’ve loved her stuff. She was so raw. Worked only in black and white, so she played with shadows. She could make anyone’s body look like it belonged in a museum, I swear.” She swirls her martini—Beefeater gin, dirty, extra olives—between her fingers, her long, braids swirling on the tabletop. Mol can almost still feel them falling onto her back, tickling her sides as China moved behind her, inside of her. “Anyway, I was gonna try and get her introduced to a couple of folks, use this opportunity to get her in front of some people who hold real keys around here. But we broke up.” “I’m sorry to hear that,” Mol says sincerely, her fingers dancing lightly on the sides of her own glass. McCallan 15, neat. China sweeps a hand in front of her, playing it off. “Ah, that’s okay. Some people just can’t get with the poly thing. I seem to remember you having an issue with it yourself.” Mol flushes, and she hopes the lights are low enough to conceal it. “It wasn’t my favorite thing, no,” she admits. “But if it works for you, great. I respect it.” “All you can do,” China says. She takes a drink, her dark eyes never leaving Mol’s. Were her lashes always this long and this inviting? “So what do you do with yourself these days? You seeing anybody?” “Not at the moment,” Mol says, thinking about how she almost asked China that very question in her first message. “But I guess there’s this one person …” “There always is.” “It’s complicated.” “It always is.” Mol loves this rhythm, this back and forth, her grin almost vulpine when she says, “I do okay though.” All cocky and confident, like she can get sometimes. “I’m sure you do,” China replies.
November 4, 2022
NanoWriMo Update #1
⚡️ MY BOOKS FOR DECEMBER 2022 ARE OPEN! ⚡️
Seeker Sessions will be tailored to the recipient. You choose the time—1 hour at $111 or 2 hours at $222—and then we’ll decide how to use it! Tarot, Numerology, Readings for the Year Ahead, Support around Witchcraft or Creative Work, the limit does not exist.
Links for January 2023 will be released in the December newsletter for paid pals. Please note that this is the last time I’ll be offering readings at these prices. If you’d like to book as a gift for someone else, please email me directly.
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, DUNE Deep Dive podcast episodes, additional perks, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸.
What’s up swimmers? I’m currently on Day 4 of NanoWriMo and having incredibly mixed feelings.
On the one hand, I am 3/3 on meeting my daily word count goals and I am celebrating that! I am definitely a writer that like to go back and read and reread and edit, so to continue moving the story forward with less than normal regard for what came before has been quite the interesting challenge!
On the other hand, I’m feeling incredibly nervous and insecure about the world that I’m building—Am I giving enough detail? Do my characters jump off the page? Are they too alike or too comfortable in situations too quickly? When do I need to introduce the main conflict? Are their wants and needs clear enough? Is my dialogue too crass? Should I just quit now and reread Red, White & Royal Blue for the hundredth time?
It’s a lot , and it’s also incredibly “normal.” And no, I’m not going to quit.
Today, I plan on finishing the first draft of Chapter 2. After all, that’s all that I’m attempting to do this month—a first draft. Words on paper. Something, anything!, to fuck around. The existence of a story that I can later craft into something worth reading.
Then, this weekend, I will spend some time with the overall arc of the novel to ensure that I’m moving in a solid direction. I found this tarot spread by Kat Asteria of @celestialviolence, designed to help with NanoWriMo specifically, but also story-crafting as a whole, and I think that I’m going to use it to help iron out some kinks that I’m feeling indecisive around.
I know enough about my process now to know that I need to equally know and not know what’s coming while writing. When things become too pinned down, they become a bit boring for me. I have friends who essentially write their stories twice—once as a huge outline and then again to turn it into prose and fill in the blanks. But this method would absolutely kill my creativity and my curiosity. If I know too much about the story, I get a bit bored.
Why spend the time writing it if there’s nothing to discover?
But I also need to know where this baby’s headed, in ways that are a bit more structured that I have now. I didn’t prep in October as much as I could’ve, so in some ways, I’m playing creative catch-up now. Again, that’s okay, too! This is all a creative experiment. An exercise in commitment and forward momentum.
All during eclipse season, too. Wish me luck! 🥴⚡️
A SASSY SNIPPET 👀He’s objectively hot. Slightly unkempt, but exceedingly put together. Well kept in a way that Mol wants to tear apart with her teeth.And she might just get her chance, for when she swivels her head to the side, committing to ogling him fully, she’s met with deep brown eyes that are already staring back. Something sizzles in the air between them as she takes another swig. He smirks, his lips quirking up into a grin that she feels in her toes, and she takes a calculated risk. Offers him a drink, which he accepts, swirling the crimson liquid around just below his nose to take in the aroma.“A 2012 Cabernet Sauvignons,” Mol says. “Touch of oregano in the nose.”ON WORD COUNT GOALS & ACCOUNTABILITY ✍🏼
To write 50,000 words in a month (which honestly is about a half to two-thirds of a draft, I think?) maths out to 1,666 words per day.
Because November gets a bit busy towards the end of the month, a friend of mine has created another calendar with extended word goals to capitalize on the momentum one might have around getting started!
If you’d like this calendar, feel free to email me and I’m happy to share it!
Day 1
Traditional Goal: 1,666
Extended Goal: 2.4K
Actual Words Written: 2.5K ✅
Total Words: 2.5K
Day 2
Traditional Goal: 1,666
Extended Goal: 2,375
Actual Words Written: 1,700 ✅
Total Words: 4.2K
Day 3
Traditional Goal: 1,666
Extended Goal: 2,360
Actual Words Written: 2K ✅
Total Words: 6K
Day 4
Traditional Goal: 1,666
Extended Goal: 2,350
Actual Words Written: ????
Total Words: ????
I won’t share this every update, but I wanted to share it now in case it’s helpful for anyone to see how I’m breaking things down and keeping myself accountable and on track!
Until next time, just keep swimming! xxNovember 1, 2022
November 2022: By the Numbers
In this monthly forecast, you’ll find:
November at its best - with a sort of delightful menace in the air.
- Anne Bosworth Greene
→ The link to book a session with me in December 2022!
→ Information on the numbers 11, 2, and 8, and how they might show up
→ Playlists for the numbers 2 and 8 to get you inspired
→ Things to try this month
→ Things I’m trying this month
October 31, 2022
Breaking Rules this Samhain
✨ My books will be opening for December 2022 and January 2023✨
All sessions will be tailored to the recipient. You choose the time—1 hour at $111 or 2 hours at $222—and then we’ll decide how to use it! Tarot, Numerology, Readings for the Year Ahead, Support around Witchcraft or Creative Work, the limit does not exist.
The link to book for December 2022 will come out * tomorrow * in my November newsletter for paid pals! They get first dibs, and so can you if you upgrade today.
Any remaining sessions will be linked in my SITS newsletter on Friday 11/4.
January 2023 appointments will be released in the December newsletter/next SITS update. Please also note that this is the last time I’ll be offering readings at these prices, and if you’d like to book as a gift for someone, please email me directly.
Hello my sweet friend. It’s Samhain!
The final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year, also known as the Witch’s New Year. It’s the time we venture into the darkness to commune with the spirits, the ancestors, and the visions of our past, present & future selves. It’s where we play, feast, reflect, listen, set intentions, make magic, slow down, and rest.
Listen to SITS 1x06 for more on Samhain!
This Samhain, I’m planting seeds for my next creative endeavor—a queer rom-com novel slash love letter to New York City that I’ll be drafting over the next 30 days as a part of National Novel Writing Month (NanoWriMo).
But first, I’m reflecting on my truly incredible harvest this season.
My book is out in the world, living its beautiful life, and my initial marketing and release obligations are complete.
All of my loved ones gathered together in my neighborhood to celebrate said book, and it was delicious and emotional and healed bits and pieces of me that I didn’t know still needed soothing.
I finished a story that I’ve been writing privately over the last couple of months, which turned out to be an incredible training experience for NanoWriMo.
Even the core idea for my new novel is based on a kernel of a story that I’ve been writing and rewriting for years, waiting for the right perspective, the right cast of characters, and even the right “me” to write it.
(Writer pals: Don’t delete your shit! You never know when it’s going to become useful, even if you hate it in the moment.)
The other week, I went to see Dan Layus in concert. His music is my church, and this show was largely to share the album of instrumental piano music that he wrote and recorded during the pandemic. Listening to him play, I couldn’t help but think about all of the past versions of me who were touched by his artistry, and how we’ve grown together to this point where I now write books to his newest endeavor.
I also thought about his vast and diverse body of work—the folk-rock music he’s made with his band, Augustana, the solo album of blues music that had the coolest of twangs, and now, this album of classical music that still tells a story as clearly as his music with lyrics. And of course, I couldn’t help but notice his need to thank everyone for humoring his latest project, and how the bits of gratitude that felt more like an apology tugged at my heartstrings.
In one of their recent installments of Monday Monday, writer (and much, much more) Marlee Grace shared about the importance and freedom of switching mediums. They encourage us to focus less on less, to fling ourselves proudly into all of the directions that interest us, and to release the notions that you must be one particular thing in order to find fulfillment and recognition.
It’s with that freedom of creative spirit that I’m approaching Samhain. Join me?
Samhain is absolutely associated with Death with a capital D, which means that you may also need to lay to rest all of the people who you thought you would be, all the lives you thought you’d live, and all of the narratives you still carry around “shoulds” and “woulds.” I’m not saying this to ask you to walk away from anything that you’re still striving for. Everything that’s working gets to stay.
I’m saying this to support your liberation from anything that’s not propelling you further into your gorgeous life.
Toss out the rules, yes, even the ones you love to follow. Create deliberate change and surrender to the shake-ups that are out of your control. Make trash magic, even though that might mean your craft is literal or figurative garbage sometimes. Court your muses and devote yourself to their inspirations. Write or work from what’s healed. Drink your own kool-aid and take a sober look in the mirror.
Embrace all that you are, and all that lights you up, exactly as it exists right now.
Light a candle for all that you were, and all that enriched your life up until this point, and allow yourself to feel fully into that process.
Then, rest. Permission yourself to imbibe in the natural invitations of this time.
Have a blessed Samhain, my dear 🖤👻🕯🔥October 21, 2022
SITS 1x06: Celebrating Samhain
What’s up swimmers? Let’s talk about Samhain, aka The Celtic New Year, aka The Witch’s New Year, shall we? 🖤🍎🔥
A quick announcement about SITS in November + Opening my books!
In November, I’m going to be attempting NANOWRIMO, or National Novel Writing Month! I have an idea for a queer New York rom-com that’s been percolating for a while now, and I’m ready to see what it could look like on the page. It’s a total privilege to be able to devote the month to this endeavor, and I’m psyched to give this gift to my creative self.
Because the daily word count goals are bonkers, I’m going to be taking the month off from the podcast element of SITS. You can still expect the November Monthly Forecast and a newsletter every other week, but it’ll focus on my experience of NANOWRIMO, tips and tricks that’ve helped me to write, and snippets and sneak peeks of what I’m working on!
I’m also going to be opening my books in December & January for personally tailored (virtual) readings with me!
Information on readings and the link to book will be going out with the November newsletter, available to all subscribers just one more time! xx
swimming in the soup is a reader-supported publication. To receive Monthly Numerological Forecasts, first dibs on readings & events, DUNE Deep Dive episodes, and to support my work, consider becoming a paid pal 💸
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SAMHAIN 🖤🍎🔥Happy (almost) New Year, witches!
HISTORY
Pronounced “sow-win,” Samhain is a Gaelic word that translates as “summer’s end.” It originated in Celtic spirituality, as one of the 4 harvest festivals, and would last for 3 days and 3 nights, from October 31—November 2, and falls opposite Beltane on the Wheel of the Year, the May 1 celebration of life and the coming of the light.
Nothing was written down, but oral traditions recall that:
Every year in late October, families would bring in the last of their harvest and then attend the Samhain festival. Community members and Druid priests would light a large wheel on fire to represent the sun. It was important that the fire was started with friction because it was believed that such a “force-fire” warded off bewitching, the plague, and infections among livestock.
Its legends maintain that this time of year is when the veil between worlds is the thinnest, allowing us to honor and dwell with those who’ve left this earthly plane, so ancestor work and “Dumb Supper” rituals are common practices.
It’s very much a liminal festival, meaning that we must both welcome & protect.
In the Middle Ages, when the Romans had all but conquered the Celts, Christians began to write down pagan rituals, changing and appropriating them for their own use. In the 9th Century, Pope Gregory declared November 1st All Saints’ Day and November 2nd All Souls’ Day. October 31st became known as All Hallows Eve or Halloween night.
IN THIS EPISODE:We discuss the historical roots of Samhain, and its evolution into modern day Halloween
Both historical and modern rituals to celebrate Samhain
The Numerology of Samhain 2022 and how to work with it in your spellwork
Halloween and Queer History
A look at ancestor work through a queer lens
SOURCES & CITATIONS 😎Historical Halloween, compiled by The Word Witch / Charlie Claire Burgess
Samhain (History.com)
What is Samhain? The History of The Pagan Celebration (Sea Witch Botanicals)
The Pagan Dumb Supper: What it Is & How to Host One (Moody Moons)
Queer Samhain: Why should I honor my awful ancestors? (Major Arqueerna)
Gay Christmas: The Queer History Behind Halloween (Queers for a Cause)
Until next time, just keep swimming!xx, RebeccaOctober 14, 2022
ICYMI: tarot readings, podcasts & more!
What’s up, swimmers? There are a ton of new folks in the soup—hi everyone!—so I figured this was a good time to play a little catch-up on what you might have missed here on SITS + some new opportunities to snag a reading with me!
SPIRITS X SPIRITS AT THE SHANTY 👻NYC LOCALS, pull up! I’m slinging cards on 10/29 in Brooklyn!
This year come celebrate Halloween with us at the Shanty as we take over our Distillery for a night of Spirits x Spirits. Ticketed admission to the Distillery includes a welcome "elixir" upon check-in, 1st drink at the Spoopy Bar Pop-Up (Hosted by Kitty Bernardo (of Subject) & Nick Ruiz (of Dead Rabbit), dancing, photo booth, tastings and more!
If you want to tap into another realm, we have limited tarot card readings available, just select a ticket with a specific time slot.
Get into a mystical mood with a mini 15-minute tarot reading by local NYC witch Rebecca Scolnick (@beescolnick)! Come ready with a question or simply see what the rest of 2022 has in store for you. All readings are done with the utmost confidence and care!
THE GATHERING OF THE WITCHES 2022 🔮A timely reminder that I’m both teaching at & hosting The Gathering of the Witches, taking place online the weekend of October 21st - 23rd!
The line-up of teachers is incredible, every class is interactive, and it’s sure to be a phenomenal way to celebrate this season in community with other witches. If you can’t make it live, that’s okay—all sessions will be recorded, and you will have 6 months access to review all workshops at your leisure!
I’m going to be opening my personal books for virtual 1-on-1 Tarot and Numerology readings in December & January! More information to come, but know that I’ll be releasing the link to my paid pals first, as a part of the December: By the Numbers newsletter!CATCHING UP ON SITS 🎧Can you believe that there are five episodes of the SITS Podcast out already?
I’m working hard on 1x06, Celebrating Samhain, which will drop next Friday 10/21, but in the meantime, be sure to catch up on all of the episodes available now!
An introduction to SITS: a little bit of this, a little bit of that, all magical and mundane, spanning a plethora of topics around Witchcraft, Philosophy, Spirituality, Religion, Pop Culture, and more.
SITS 1x02 — FIVE FUNNY FAITH-BASED FEUDS
This episode carries on my love of marrying humor with religion, as we take a look at five funny faith-based feuds.
SITS 1x03 — WITCHES IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Alright, it’s time to get a little witchy, a little political & a little occult-y!
This week, we’re taking a look at the 7 First Ladies who brought a little magic to the White House!
This episode finds us at the intersection of two of my favorite things—astrology and reality dating television shows—as we scope out the new show, Cosmic Love.
SITS 1x05 — NUMEROLOGY & THE ENNEAGRAM
Listen in as we dig into the history and practice of Numerology and the Enneagram, two very different numeric typing systems! We compare, we contrast, and we set some rumors straight!
Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.
And of course, please continue to support my book, The Witch’s Book of Numbers!
Look Mom, it’s the #1 New Release in Numerology!
If you’ve already purchased and read, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads to help new readers find it!
See y’all next week for a brand-new episode, and until then… just keep swimming! xx
