{ Insomnia }

I can't sleep. Insomnia has been hanging around and being a big bastard in my life for roughly twenty years now, and it has ranged from being annoying to downright crippling. I still struggle with it, and I've yet to figure out a surefire way to eliminate it from my life. I've tried everything (except for giving up coffee, which will never, ever, nerver erver happen. Please stop tssking me and shaking your head. I know what I'm doing. I gave up coffee for six months during my first pregnancy and all it did was make me ANGRIER when I was lying awake at night.) and despite my efforts to rid myself of this affliction, insomnia remains my awful, enduring constant. So, in conclusion, I can't sleep and I don't know what I can do about it. Now let's talk about how I bide my during my wakeful nights! 

I look up crap on the internet!

What I initially search for often leads me to beautiful things, but it doesn't take long for the brain raccoons to take the wheel and steer me in the direction of some truly weird shit - but that is for another post. I'm here to show you the pretty stuff - lookie:

OVATE - This incredibly beautiful, Montreal-based brand creates the most elegant, lovely pieces. I try not to purchase new (unused) clothing unless I know it was handcrafted by an actual person. I absolutely love seeing a designer embrace the beauty of texture found in natural fibers - I want all of the Ovate - I've spent many a late night with saucer eyes coveting.Follow Ovate on Instagram here to see more!

La Abeja Herbs - Created by herbalist and folk healer Sophia Rose, La Abeja Herbs provides tinctures, elixirs, salves, herbal blends, oils, teas and other medicinal magic. It's awesome, Y'all. After bookmarking several of her concoctions, I finally broke down and purchased her Kava Oil blend and it is wonderful stuff. Not only does the Kava oil smell super pretty, it makes my neck and shoulders feel like I'm not a stress-fueled, knotted-up, hunched-over Goblin person. You can follow her on Instagram, here. 

Janna Tew - I found this make-up artist's Youtube channel by accident and I am so glad. I love an unconventional approach to beauty. My favorite video tutorial of hers illustrates how to achieve the effect of having cried glittery, lavender tears. It is most excellent. You can follow her on Instagram, here.

I hope you all have better luck falling asleep than I do, but if you don't, feel free to check out all of my recommendations for making your sleepless time feel less fruitful.  

{ SPRANG BREK }

Hi Y'all! I am currently out of town visiting family during my kiddos spring break, so I'm unable to do a Three Card Monday pull. I didn't want to leave you hanging, so I pulled a little card for us and thought we could take a deeper dive into the meaning of this card!

+++ TEMPERANCE +++

 (or the Heal Thy Self card)

Words that are associated with this card are Harmony, Moderation, Balance, Health, Healing and Protection. This card usually appears as a sign of healing or reconciliation - the two are not mutually exclusive and if you, like me, figured out SOME SHIT last week during Venus Retrograde, then it makes a lot of sense for Temperance to show up. I take it as a call for us to take some intensive time for self-care, to own our shit and delve into some radical self-acceptance. What does this mean for you and I? I think a large part depends on where we choose to expend our efforts and energy. We have to let go of the things that no longer serve us - unhealthy mental or behavioral habits, unhealthy or abusive relationships - and it's imperative that we hold ourselves accountable for our own part in creating (or staying complacent) in a toxic environment. Anger is when we drink the poison and expect the other person to die. This is a good time for us to take stock and re-evaluate our lives, to find union within ourselves and restore our health, mental and emotional balance. We can do this shit, Y'all.

 *These three card readings are intended for us all as a community and are therefore broad. If you are interested in a more specific, in-depth reading - we offer individual readings at Oracle as well! If you would like to schedule an appointment for an individual reading, you can do that here or give us a ring at 816.982.9550. You can also join us for one of our monthly Tarot Workshop & Happy Hour events and learn more about cartomancy!

{Three Card Monday }

Hi Y'all - I hope your weekend was good! I painted two huge ceilings and then treated myself to seeing Get Out, which I loved. Have you seen it? I love horror movies and also Jordan Peele, so this was a treat for me - I highly recommend.

Anyways, let's do this thing.

I've missed my Scrying Ink deck lately and really felt like we could use a super direct reading, so I cracked it out for us. These cards are so beautifully illustrated, I've shot them individually so we can get a better look at them!

The Scrying Ink, Mountain - with my paint-splattered, Grandpa hands. 

- Mountain - All right. So we are presently facing some difficulties. We are experiencing some significant issues and it feels like things are moving so slowly right now. While our obstacles are no joke, they are not insurmountable...we are just going to be in for a long slog of it.

But!

The Scrying Ink, Dog. WE HAVE DOGES.

- Dog - WE HAVE DOGES, Y'ALL. The Lenormand Dog is a card that signifies friendship, alliances, loyalty, companionship and trust. Our friendships and community are instrumental in times like these and we must remember to help each other when things get tough. We have strength in our numbers and let us not forget what a powerful tool LOVE can be. Also, Dogs!

Therefore...

The Scrying Ink, Crown, which is badass.

- Crown - We are being asked to assume greater positions of responsibility with this card. Finding power in our numbers, we will perhaps be called to instigate great change and take a role of leadership. If you feel uncomfortable with this, believe me, that feeling is normal. I feel like many of us have seen or felt a significant shift towards more spiritual practices - moving away from traditional and outmoded methods while honing our intuitive skills. The Crown is not part of the traditional Lenormand deck, so I believe that it's appearance here is also pushing us to trust our gut and not be so reliant on 'tried and true' pathways. It's time to dig in and get real weird, Y'all!

 *These three card readings are intended for us all as a community and are therefore broad. If you are interested in a more specific, in-depth reading - we offer individual readings at Oracle as well! If you would like to schedule an appointment for an individual reading, you can do that here or give us a ring at 816.982.9550. You can also join us for one of our monthly Tarot Workshop & Happy Hour events and learn more about cartomancy!

{ Three Card Monday }

Hi Y'all! Hope you've had a good weekend - I recently did a personal three card reading for myself with my first ever deck (Rider Waite deck SUP!) and I thought it needed some attention for this week. Let's dig in.

Looks like a bummer, I know - but we got this.

- Five of Swords - So, here we are. We are still dealing with some negative thought patterns and behaviors (and I say 'we' here, but this is straight up my MO...always a struggle). This card has been described as the 'dragon slayer', so we are shedding those no-good, soul-crushing, self-defeating thoughts and modalities and getting ready to charge forth on a self-directed path. Through our shadow work we acknowledge these destructive habits and by understanding them, we can better defeat them. SLAAAAAAAY, my dears, SLAY.

- Seven of Swords - Now, sometimes we get a little fearful of upsetting the applecart (even our trusted peers), but it's time for us to remove ourselves from outside influences and orthodoxy so that we can discover our true path. This is a vision quest card and a call to strive for our individuality. We need to stop with the self-sabotage find an authentic, spiritual voice. Time to put on our defiance pants and get weird and wild, Y'all.

- Five of Cups - I know this one is scary, because it leaves us vulnerable. We've experienced disappointment on a deep, emotional level and that makes it difficult to move forward. We are asked to review the painful experiences of our past with clear, unflinching eyes. There is a silver lining with this card, though - when we focus on this pain and sorrow, we can identify these wounds with clarity and you better believe that this empowers us to avoid them when similar situations arise. Here we have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and look back on these lessons with compassion and understanding - and ready to look ahead with a hopeful approach. We can do it.

 *These three card readings are intended for us all as a community and are therefore broad. If you are interested in a more specific, in-depth reading - we offer individual readings at Oracle as well! If you would like to schedule an appointment for an individual reading, you can do that here or give us a ring at 816.982.9550. You can also join us for one of our monthly Tarot Workshop & Happy Hour events and learn more about cartomancy!

{ Three Card Monday }

I hope y'all had a good weekend! 

I was pretty blown away when I pulled our cards for this week, primarily because I pulled a card that had come up in our reading just two weeks ago. This card was in the final position of the reading last time - representing the result we were called to work towards - and today it turned up in the first position, which indicated that we had followed through and are where we need to be at this moment. I thought it was a beautiful message, so nice going y'all! (And I think you are Aces).

- The Devil - Awesome Y'all! We got this card two weeks ago and it looks like we are doing our shadow work and getting in touch with our creativity. Being aware of our deepest desires and acknowledging those very things without fear is remarkable, it's the surest path to making those drives materialize into something tangible and free of self-imposed limitations. 

- The Hermit - Now, our next step is to get deeper in touch with ourselves and really foster a strong connection. We are seeing ourselves as we truly are and learning how to negotiate through difficulties and crisis via our inner light. This kind of introspection and quiet time with our selves can be really, really tough - but it is a crucial step towards de-cluttering our brains and going full Marie Kondo on the needless mental chatter. Self-knowledge is a wonderful tool for us this week, so get ready to dig in and light up.

- Ten of Cups - This card represents success and a deep personal satisfaction. Our hearts are full and the emotional request - along with our shadow, resentment - has stopped. More than anything we can view this as a state of potential for our hearts to give and receive love. I always say that there are no bad cards because there is opportunity and lessons to be found in all of them, but dude this is an especially good card to see in a reading. We can do this Y'all!

 *These three card readings are intended for us all as a community and are therefore broad. If you are interested in a more specific, in-depth reading - we offer individual readings at Oracle as well! If you would like to schedule an appointment for an individual reading, you can do that here or give us a ring at 816.982.9550. You can also join us for one of our monthly Tarot Workshop & Happy Hour events and learn more about cartomancy!

{ It Follows }

All of us here at Oracle are either artists or art collectors (or both) and, as it happens, our shop tends to attract other artists and art collectors. We strive to curate a beautiful, creatively driven environment in our shop and our individual aesthetics always creep into the mix. It is my personal belief that art has the power to enrich our souls and communicate messages which transcend spoken and written language barriers. Art can connect us to our humanity in extraordinary ways, so I'm into it.

I am also super into how accessible art has become via the internet and smart phones, (and I'm not just saying this because of my fear of a robot uprising, lead by Siri, in which we are murdered in our beds while we sleep). Viewing art in person is still my number one favorite way to experience it, but I think it's wonderful that we are able to see the work of artists that we might not otherwise have been exposed to if we relied entirely on proximity of their location. I have been following some out-fucking-standing artists on Instagram, you may already be familiar with their works, but in case you are not, permit me to introduce you to a few of my favorites.

Art by Victoria Clare Gray, COLLECTION. A3 Achival Print. 

~ Victoria Clare Gray ~ This UK based artist is amazing y'all! Her illustrations of flora and fauna absolutely knock my socks off and - good news, if you are like me and have champagne tastes on a beer budget - I really appreciate that she offers affordable prints, pins and patches. To see more of her exquisite work, you can follow her here.

Art by Emilio Vallalba.

~ Emilio Villalba ~ Oh my god, Y'all. These paintings, they slay me. This San Fransisco based artist has what one of my former instructors would call, 'a hot hand', which is to say that his oil paintings are incredible. His work references Old Master portraiture, which is a striking pairing with the visual distortion of his subject's facial features. You can follow this artist and his excellent work here.

Art by Christina Mrozik. (Someone please buy this for me).

~ Christina Mrozik ~ Are you sitting down? Because you might want to sit down when you look at this artist's GORGEOUS drawings and paintings. I am blown away by this Portland, Oregon-based artist's work, her beautiful pieces give me serious manual dexterity envy. Christina Mrozik's art depicts my very favorite subject matter with such tender and skillful draftsmanship, her work breaks my heart in the best way. You can follow the artist and her stunning work here.