​We have a New Moon in Aquarius!
I’m not an expert astrologer by any stretch, but astrology does inform the tarot cards, as planetary symbols and zodiac signs are woven into mythology, numerology, alchemy, and history, all of which are incorporated in pictures on the cards of the tarot. In a nutshell: The tarot is deep! These pretty pictures mean a lot. That’s why I tell beginners, and even seasoned amateurs, to use your reference books. I have been doing this for more than 43 years, and it would be ridiculous to think you could learn all this stuff in a year or so.
I have several Aquarian friends with birthdays in this sign, and I have always been a bit jealous of their immense creativity and flow. Let’s see what a new moon in this sign (which lasts from this February 1st to March 2nd) does for us all. This blog entry is a short reading for both myself and you, the reader. It will give you a chance to understand how tarot works if you haven’t had a reading from me yet. I will apply these cards to myself, but please feel into how they may work for you.
So, here is my spread:

The first card is at the center, representing my intention for this Moon: The Queen of Cups. She embodies the energy of love, primarily expressed as wife and mother (In many decks, she is portrayed with babies on her throne). Cups are connected to the water element and water signs and are natural for Aquarius. Water lets everything go. Water is not judgmental, and it is symbolic of love, birth, and flow. Sexuality and emotion are also a part of this card, seen in the most positive aspects. I am focusing on all aspects of love, creativity, and flow. For men, this might also mean getting in touch with the feminine side or even doting on a wife, lover, or mother.
The second card, to the left, represents critical feelings from the last moon (which was in Capricorn): the Eight of Pentacles. I was pretty busy over this last month, super-charged with work (also a good fit for that earlier moon, a rather industrious sign). There is ritual and steadiness in the Eight of Pentacles, with the idea that even if it’s an assembly line, there is general happiness in the activity. This is a card for doing for the love of doing, not necessarily about where you are going. For me, it has been writing, both creatively and with my Plath scholarship, updating my website, and working out daily.
The third card, above the center, represents the critical lessons from the last month: Princess of Swords (same as the Page of Swords in traditional decks). The suit of swords represents the mind, activity, and fresh starts, and this all feels apropos, stemming from my energy boost last month. Best of all, Princess/Page of Swords has fun doing it! I have been learning to lighten up, play more, and not take things so seriously, even as I accomplish a great deal.
To the right of the center, the fourth card is my direction for this new moon in Aquarius. It is the Three of Swords reversed (reversed means upside-down). This is a card for healing the hard stuff—emotional pain. I would much rather see the Three of Swords in reverse than right-side-up when I would actively be in emotional pain!
Finally, the card at the bottom is our advice card for this new moon: The Emperor in reverse. Ouch. Well, nothing’s perfect. The Emperor can represent government, authority, and forces beyond our control. This energy is authoritarian and even fascist. And in reverse, the cards say that it is necessary to tough it out in these hard times. We are not finished yet.
There’s your month’s forecast; apply it as you wish to your own life and circumstances. It’s been a good week: I made a new friend, I’ve kept my walking routine (even in single-digit weather), and I’m knocking things off my To-Do list. This winter is not one of hibernation for me. How about you?
FEBRUARY 2022, FEBRUARY 2022 FORECAST, MYSTIC MONDAYS TAROT DECK, NEW MOON, NEW MOON IN AQUARIUS, TAROT, TAROT CARD READING, TAROT CARDS

Hello! It’s been an exciting January as I have found my momentum for so many things again. I think the cold weather keeps me in at the computer and has energized me as of late. I’ve had a busy week or so expanding this website to include my poetic interpretations of Sylvia Plath’s early poems in the new “Decoding Sylvia Plath” section. If you’re into Plath—or poetry—and want to understand how she built her skills in multiple meanings, here is your place. If you’re not, just hang out on this side of the website. J
Some have asked where I have been concerning my Plath scholarship. Well, I decided long ago that I would not kiss up to the hierarchy regarding the traditional, close-minded thinking that Plath’s work is only autobiography. This thinking has improved somewhat since Heather Clark’s recent biography, Red Comet. Eventually, the world will start to catch up. Of course, right now, my work makes academics cringe. First off, the current Plath scholars dominating the scene are predominantly not creative people who do not understand what is possible within a poem. Secondly, they are mostly not spiritual people, so they miss so much symbolism and structure. Plath scholars, by and large, are so entrenched in their tunnel vision and navel-gazing that they’re unable to see beyond themselves. My findings challenge their very careers. It stands that for this reason, I will be ignored on every level because I don’t support their work. That said, I’ve made a few enemies. Ha ha.
As you here reading know, I have my own career, in addition to scholarship. Because I do not need to depend on my Plath work to make a living, I have decided to give much of it away right here.
A few of you have asked about my book projects that, for a while, I promoted heavily and then went silent over. I’ll catch you up:
The Magician’s Girl, a biography of the mysticism of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, is complete in its first draft. Still, I have wanted to edit it down because, as it stands now, it’s around 1,000 pages without the bibliography. Now, given Red Comet far surpassed that number of pages and is successful, I don’t know… maybe I should try to publish it as is. I wanted to see if Red Comet would reveal some of my findings, but it mainly supports my work (in some exciting ways, I might add). I am glad I waited until after its release because I think the general consciousness around Plath and reading her work as one-dimensional autobiography is gradually evolving.
The Decoding Sylvia Plath series—ah, this one is where I let the ball drop. I had huge ambitions of publishing two books a quarter. The truth is, it is just too much work as I am also a very busy tarot card reader working seven days a week (and often nights too). More is to come, probably around the poems “Ariel” and “Cut” next. The other trick is getting my husband Tom to find the time to lay it all out. It is a significant endeavor. But the scholarship work is done.
Fixed Stars Govern a Life, volume TWO—what happened to volume two, you ask? I stopped at the first 22 poems in volume one! FSGL volume one was published (and I use that term loosely) by Stephen F. Austin State University Press in 2017. They did such a poor job, and it was an experience I would not wish on my worst enemy. I did get the rights back to my book and have intentions to publish a FSGL volume two eventually. It is half-written with all the findings. It’s just a matter of finding more time, and maybe a new publisher… or laying this one out and publishing it myself. If you’re interested in FSGL volume one, which is now out of print, send me an email, and I can hook you up with a PDF for just $5.
Sylvia Plath: The Early Poems—this is the good news. This is what I am giving away here on the Decoding Sylvia Plath page. The 1956 poems are currently up. Over the next few months, I will post my analyses of Plath’s poetry through 1962. It’s exciting stuff, as I have known for years that Plath wrote “news poems,” but it wasn’t until The Letters of Sylvia Plath came out that I was able to find a specific reference Plath made to this in a letter to her mother. (That quote is on the main Decoding Sylvia Plath page of this website.
What else?
I’ve also got a number of my creative writing projects going, which I will fill you in on as I have more news.
A Heads up: This website will soon be redesigned, as my pictures are old and technology has improved vastly since this first went live.
DECODING SYLVIA PLATH, EARLY POEMS, FIXED STARS GOVERN A LIFE, MYSTICISM OF SYLVIA PLATH AND TED HUGHES, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS, SYLVIA PLATH, SYLVIA PLATH SCHOLARSHIP, SYLVIA PLATH'S EARLY POEMS, THE MAGICIAN'S GIRL

[I’m not quite at a once-weekly post, but I’m at least a little more frequent.]
I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the gifts of Covid19. Yes, gifts. I’m not being sarcastic. This huge pain in the ass has taught me a lot, and I am guessing you have learned something too.
Firstly, could there possibly be any more evidence that we are one? We are one human organism, all inhabiting the same planet, all breathing the same air.
I hear so many people say, “I’m so over it,” especially in regard to the pandemic. So am I. But we are unfortunately still under it. My friend Judith in my Buddhist Women’s Group says that to understand is to stand under something. When we are truly over something, it is behind us. Yet, when we say that we are “over” something, it means that we are tired. We are all over Covid. We are all over political division and the ugliness that has swallowed up this country. But are we under it? Clearly, there is more to process here. More to under-stand.
Some of the good things that came out of Covid for me I have already written of: Tom got a new band (now called “Replay”) and, partly through this band, we came to know and love our neighbors in a way we hadn’t over the previous twenty years; I got in shape and learned to cook; I got deeper into my spirituality; I formed A Course In Miracles group which has become exceedingly meaningful to me; I am nearly finished with a new collection of poetry about my volunteer work at the Wildlife Rescue Center (the work of which has been like meditation for me during these hard times).
I’m building a new page on this site that will focus more on my Sylvia Plath scholarship. The tarot gang may or may not be interested! I have been getting signs to get it out and done, and this very afternoon one of my Facebook friends sent me this picture: he spotted a rare copy of my first book at Half Price Books in Chesterfield (thanks for letting me know, Jim)! Anyone interested in this book should send me an email. I sell the PDF for just $5.

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​A copy of my first book, Fixed Stars Govern a Life: Decoding Sylvia Plath (2014, Stephen F. Austin State University Press)

In working with my clients and talking to friends, I have seen some thrive and others completely crumble. We are finding strength we never knew we had and we are growing. It is now that we understand that relationship is the most meaningful of experiences.
If you’re having trouble, I recommend being around other high-vibe people who can lift you and not wear you out even more. Meditation and/or prayer keep you centered and balanced. Physical exercise rids of you stress fast. Gratitude is a great reminder that it’s not all bad (and remember: what we put our minds on grows!). Forgiveness, which is not for the one you’re forgiving so much as it is for you. Who wants to carry a load of anger like that? I think that the lost art of listening to others deeply, asking them questions about their dreams and lives (and taking the time to hear it) helps us in our own aloneness and our understanding of others. Plus, listening well just makes us better human beings. Finally, let’s be intentional about life. Don’t just sit around waiting for life to happen to you. Or worse, don’t hide in fear and not live at all. What would you really be saving?
A Course In Miracles teaches that our whole reason for being here is to understand and experience Relationship in all its forms. Let’s do it. Covid19 is the obvious, inescapable oneness of humanity, divided or not. I’m under it. Or getting there.
COPING MECHANISMS, COVID, COVID19, GIFTS OF COVID, ONENESS, OVER IT, PANDEMIC, RELATIONSHIP, SPIRITUAL LESSONS FROM COVID, SPIRITUALITY, SYLVIA PLATH, UNDERSTANDING

I’m keeping my resolution to keep up my blog and social networks with more regularity. It was a very non-eventful New Year for most everyone I know. On New Year’s Eve, I did get to guest on NewsTalkSTL’s variety show, and if you’re interested, you can see/listen here. Please scroll to the 2:36 mark for my segment.

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Someone asked me why I have been on conservative-leaning radio stations lately. The answer is simple: they are the ones who ask me! I would be happy to appear on KWMU (our NPR station in St. Louis) or any other, but today it seems spirituality is pushed away by much of the media. This is sad for me because I know lots of spiritual people on both sides. Let it be known that in addition to NewsTalkSTL and 97.1 FM, I have appeared on KEZK, Y98, KMOX, KLOU, KDHX and others (these are just the ones I can remember). Plus television (St. Louis channels 4, 5, 11; Nickelodeon and MTV).
I have friends, clients, and family of all political persuasions and it is not my goal to teach anyone what I view as right or wrong; I trust my clients to live their truth and respect others’ lives. Tarot is about seeing one’s unique and personal energy and helping them make the right decisions for them. A spiritual counselor of any kind knows that paths are different and should be appreciated and celebrated as such.
I was thinking this morning about the term “Left-Wing” and “Right-Wing.” It occurred to me that a bird cannot fly without both wings or if one wing is broken. Unity is our only way out of this current mess that our world is in, and if we try to crush the other side, we are destroying ourselves in the long run because WE ARE ONE. I’ve often wondered if aliens ever attacked us if that wouldn’t change our opinion about the other guy. Maybe that is something to hope for. Ha ha.

A Course In Miracles talks about the difficult balance between understanding that the world is illusion and controlling how we live within that illusion. “There is only love and fear,” says the Course, “and fear does not exist.” And yet here we are, in this often fearful place, here to learn and experience Relationship in all its forms. We are here to find unity and connection, echoing the oneness of God (or the Universe, or however you choose to frame it). This is not an Us-versus-Them world if you’re truly spiritual. We know that there are so many shades of gray, and few of us are entirely on board with every issue on our political party (if we even have a political party).
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If you’re wondering who to trust for guidance, spiritually, politically, and otherwise, watch out for those who alienate others with different belief systems and check your energy to be sure that you’re not doing it yourself. We all slip into it now and then. Where there is no peace, love, or unity, there are certainly no moments for discussion or teaching to heal. We must find common ground and love even when we don’t always like how someone thinks or lives. Anytime we feel righteous and superior, or fearful and panicky, we can be sure that we are not in a unity mindset and not living from spirit.

The late, great Dr. Wayne W. Dyer said in one of his many books, “God feels good.” And so, if we get “triggered” (to use a popular buzzword), we know that we are out of alignment with God, the Universe, the Source or whatever your view is. Our happiness is inward, and what we believe and how we choose to perceive creates our outer experience. I choose to perceive these troubled times as a dismantling of the old systems to birth new ones. I choose to not take sides, politically or otherwise, knowing that there is truth to Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I will love you all, no matter what, even if we disagree and even if you don’t love me. Maintaining conflict separates, teaches nothing, and helps nothing. I’m going to stay in alignment as best as I can on this rocky road, and I hope that I will see you all in good health and happiness at the end of it, my friends.

ALIGNMENT, ALIGNMENT WITH GOD, BELIEF, CONSERVATIVE, DIVISION, LEFT-WING, LIBERAL, LOVE, MAHATMA GANDHI, NEWSTALKSTL, PERCEPTION, POLITICS, RADIO, RELATIONSHIP, RIGHT-WING, SEPARATION, SPIRITUALITY, ST. LOUIS RADIO, TAROT, TRIGGERED, UNITY, US VS. THEM