february 2025: spreads for all

hello, friends. as social media continues to fall apart and become less safe for marginalized folks in general (though you can still find me occasionally on instagram and bluesky), i'm more grateful than ever for this newsletter. it's really lovely and also really important to have a place where i can speak freely, where i know people will see what i write, where i can share resources and ideas and questions and offerings to help support you. i'm grateful you're here.

ICYMI, inspired by bee scolnick:
🎧 new episodes of CALL YOUR COVEN & CARD TALK
📚 transform your tarot practice with the 3am.tarot conservatory
🕯️ build a working relationship with your yearly archetype with my latest lecture

over the last few years i've been shifting my free tarot spreads away from social media, and into this newsletter instead. i send out a few different exclusive spreads each month for paid subscribers, but i also always try to send out free new tarot spreads each month, to everyone on my list. if you love my writing and want to help me keep growing this newsletter, please consider a paid subscription.

this month i'm thinking a lot about the many calls to build community as an antidote to fascism, and how that can feel like really vague (and often really frustrating) advice. what does building community even mean in practical terms? how are we supposed to get started? what if we are disabled or chronically ill or immunocompromised, and have limited capacity for in-person events or actions? what if we live in a really rural area, have limited transportation options, or just straight up don't like the people near us?

and how the hell do we hang on to hope when it feels like we're being abandoned by everyone?

first, we feel our feelings, and acknowledge all of that anger, grief, sorrow, jealousy, frustration, exhaustion, and whatever else may be bubbling up. it may feel easier, safer, to push those feelings to the side, or to deny their existence — but it's hard to do anything when we're emotionally drowning. it takes a lot of energy to repress emotions, so do yourself a favor and feel them instead.

card one / a heavy emotion to recognize: what big, painful, or perhaps scary feeling has been building up? what emotion is weighing you down?
card two / a way you've been avoiding the emotion: what have you been doing to try to ignore this big feeling? how have you been coping with the enormity of your own emotions?
card three / a way you can hold the emotion safely: how can you start to release that pressure valve and experience some of this emotion in a way that feels supported?

then, we acknowledge the ways that we already trust our community, the people that we are in community with, and the specific folks or groups that we can partner with and lean on and support in the long-term work that we're all doing. whether you can participate in physical actions (please wear a face mask! it matters more than ever right now!) or do most of your work from the safety of your home, there are folks you can connect with, learn from, and work alongside. i know it's so easy to feel isolated, but you are not alone.

card one / a fear you hold when it comes to others: what do you worry about when it comes to trusting other people? what feels extra tender, complicated, messy, or painful when you rely on someone else?
card two / a truth to remember about community: what is something you need to hear, acknowledge, or really absorb when it comes to your own community?
card three / a tangible action you can take to extend trust: what is something that you can do right now to help you rely on others more? what could you do to build more trust with your own communities?

and finally, we let ourselves dream again, of what it might look like to persevere and make change. we make space for optimism and hope, without ignoring the challenges and realities of the road ahead. we go the distance (does this song make anybody else cry too?), and we believe it's possible to make it to where we want to go.

card one / something you dream of: what are you dreaming about? what place, group, action, change, or future fills your imagination? what are you envisioning for yourself, those you love, and the world at large?
card two / a way you can be strong: what are your strengths and gifts, and how do they show up in a regular way? what's something you can do to tap into that strength, to rely on and trust in your own strength?
card three / somewhere you belong: where do you fit, even if you doubt that truth sometimes? what is something you are moving towards, reaching for, working to achieve?

i'm not here to tell you that everything is going to be fine, or that we're all going to be able to stay comfortable. the road ahead will require us to hold fast to one another, to be honest about our messy or painful feelings, to keep working towards our goals even on days when hope feels completely out of reach.

but i am here to tell you that we're in this together, that you aren't alone, that there are those working hard to make change that you can join with and support.

be brave, my friend. we can do this. and i hope this simple tarot spreads help you see a path forward, one that you can follow in the months and years to come.