I am completely gutted about Sinead O’Connor’s passing yesterday. When Sweet Jelly was in its heyday, I would listen/sing to this song to and from practice, with nothing but complete admiration for how perfect her lyrics are. I felt seen and incredibly inspired knowing she was in the world.

Thank you, Sinead 🙏🏼🕊️💐

Thought I’d post three more cards today before the big holiday weekend. Thanks for stopping by and let’s hope America is mindful of the fireworks and the Midwest drought. Canada, that goes for July 1st and your current situation as well. Mother Nature is still not pleased with any of us.

Upright Meanings:
Willingly offers their service to others
Integrity
Increased emotional sensitivity
Thoughtfulness
A good idea

Reversed Meanings:
Emotional immaturity
Shallowness
Flattery
Deception revealed
Drugs or alcoholism

Upright Meanings:
Moral force
Self-discipline
Courage
Endurance
Vitality

Reversed Meanings:
Wavering
Lethargic
Being bullied
Fearfulness
Sickness, weakness

Upright Meanings:
Fair financial dealings
Teaching your skills to others
Charity, philanthropy
Appreciation
Your work pays off

Reversed Meanings:
Refusing to share
Unpaid bills
Excessive self-interest
Illusion
Injustice

So lately when I sleep at night, I’ve been having these intense dreams of me slicing and dicing paper and making collages. It’s super cool in one way, but then when I wake up, I’m stressed about the pieces I was working on all night only to find out they were completely made up in my mind and not real. Considering how many nightmares and night terrors I have when I sleep, this is a welcome respite from that and I’m not complaining. It’s too bad the shit I work on in my sleep “isn’t real”, or even counts as being productive in the real world, but at least my brain is trying to help me stay productive and finish this deck.

Please enjoy three more cards from The Bird People Tarot Deck. Subconsciously, I’m fighting the fear feelings of finishing this deck because all the fun and adventure of making it will be done. But I have hundreds of other things I’m working on, so what even is my problem.

Upright Meanings:
Travel
Fulfillment
Reaching your goal
Liberation
Peace

Reversed Meanings:
Unfinished business
Stuck in a rut
Hostile atmosphere
Travel postponed
Keeping your blinders on

Upright Meanings:
Affluence
Access
Invitation
A new love
Art and music

Reversed Meanings:
Non-communication
Unreliable news
In love with love
Possible addictions
Manipulation

Upright Meanings:
The burdens of success
Back strain
Heart problems
Burdens
Oppression

Reversed Meanings:
A trap
Contraries
Mistrust
Failure
A burden lifted

The Bird People Tarot deck continues to move forward. If I accomplish nothing else in my lifetime, this deck will get done. And it will get printed.

Thought I'd share a little bit of my process with these cards since it's been a bit since I posted last. I do the backgrounds for these cards completely separate from the collage part of the cards. I start to get to know the backgrounds as their own paintings. I do about a dozen or so cards at a time which takes about one to two weeks. After the cards have dried and I feel like they’re “finished”, I put the cards away and don’t look at them for a couple weeks. I usually start working on something completely different so when I take them out again, I can remain objective about which ones stay or go. Then it’s time to concentrate on the collage aspect which requires me to exist in a whole different zone in order to get that part of the cards accomplished. In short, all this takes a lot longer than I’d like it to, but this is how my brain wants it. To overcomplicate everything.

Even though it’s been slow going at times, I’ve learned so much about myself and the art of Tarot while working on this deck which has been a super unexpected reward. Happy summer everyone!

Upright Meanings:
Abundance
Enlightenment
Sincerity
Creative self-expression
Self-control

Reversed Meanings:
Unrewarding
Delusions of grandeur
Bluff, facade
Boasting, bragging
Negative thinking

Upright Meanings:
Self-protective
Ambivalent
Prejudice
Dangerous times
Tension

Reversed Meanings:
Treachery
A duel
Facing your feelings
Decisions made
Renewed action

Upright Meanings:
Feeling trapped
Intellectual imprisonment
Isolation
Slights and insults from all
Constraint

Reversed Meanings:
Release
Overcoming fear
Small success in midst of misfortune
Liberated
Not gullible

Three more Bird People Tarot cards for the interested. I had a thought the other day that if I frame all 78 cards when they’re done, this might make for a good gallery show somewhere in the near future. I’m having heart palpitations thinking about the framing costs for 78 pieces; maybe I do large framed pieces of each Minor Arcana suit, and one large framed piece of all the Major Arcana cards. But somehow bunching up cards in groups like that doesn’t sit well with my OCD whatsoever. First things first, the deck needs to be completed first before visions of grandeur overtake me. Thanks for stopping by and reading my inner dialogue. Please keep well everyone :)

Upright Meanings:
Sound advice
Law and order
Strength of character
Keen intellect
Authority

Reversed Meanings:
Malice
Cosmic law
An unfair decision
Revenge
Cruelty

Upright Meanings:
Lack of focus
Head in the clouds
Temptations
Get rich quick schemes
Speculation

Reversed Meanings:
Clear thinking
Aspirations achieved
Determination
Success comes the second time around
Realism

Upright Meanings:
Self destruction
Anger & Addiction
Jealousy
Resentment
Imprisonment

Reversed Meanings:
Abuse of power
Deceit
A smothering relationship
Disharmony & Pettiness
Great extremes