Gaian Tarot Artist's Journal

Gaian Tarot Music Video!

Somewhere online I stumbled across Animoto, a great little service that allows you to make your own music videos — or rather they make them for you.  It's free if your video is 30 seconds, or $3.00 for a full song. Such a deal!  You can upload your art or photographs and add a tune, and they do the rest.  How cool is that?  (Of course you need to be sure you have the permission of the copyright holder for both music and images.)  

So here's my Gaian Tarot video, set to Craig's "Circle Song," which he recorded about ten years ago on his CD "Beyond the Cedar Moon."   Enjoy!

Singing to Brigid

My friend Julie reminded me of Craig's song to Brigid that I posted two years ago. Enjoy, with our blessings!  (MP3 file here) 

Gifts of Song, Story & Art (Recycled!)

In the spirit of "Modern Magick: Reduce - Reuse - Recycle!" — I thought I'd offer you a few gifts from Yuletide seasons past. 

At our Santa Lucia party Saturday night, Craig brought down the house with his rendition of "In the Bleak Midwinter" with his revised Gaian lyrics.  I posted a link last year to an MP3 file of the song, and here it is again.  We hope it blesses your heart.

About a thousand years ago (okay, only 7 or 8 years ago, but it seems much longer) . . . I designed some free Solstice ecards, which have been very popular on my old website.  The JPC Artworks site is in dire need of an overhaul; I haven't posted anything new on it for years.  But the Solstice ecards?  They're holding up pretty well.  Please visit and enjoy.

Then there's an article I wrote, The Magical Giftbringers of Yule:  St. Lucia and the Holly King, which was published in PanGaia magazine back in the Winter 2000/2001 issue.   I'm still quite fond of this article and hope it illuminates the season for you. 

We walk between the worlds during the season of Yuletide, especially during the Thirteen Nights of Solstice. If we keep our senses sharp and our imaginations lively, we may encounter many strange and wonderful beings during this liminal time instead of a tired old department store Santa . . . (keep reading . . .)

Cheers!

Artwork: Holly King by Joanna Powell Colbert

Apples, Greens and Autumn Rain

I worked on the computer for 12 hours yesterday.  Most of that was on the design and production of a book for a friend and client.  (It's a great book and I'll tell all about it once it's released.)  I wanted to get the first draft done quickly so that I could get back to artwork and preparations for BATS.  But I woke up this morning feeling like the proverbial Death Warmed Over.  I don't really recommend twelve hours in one day at the computer, even when it's broken up with stretches and walks and meals.

So I made a mad rush for the out-of-doors this morning and headed up the hill.  My physical therapist told me to avoid walking uphill, so I haven't since last spring.  But hey, I'm out of greens, and that's where they are — at the farm up the hill.   So off I went.   (BTW my knee is much better;  I'm able to walk my usual 2-plus miles a day again.  I'm so relieved!  I think the glucosamine and the physical therapy are really helping.  I haven't been gluten-free long enough to notice if it's making a difference, though.)

So I huffed and puffed a bit, hiking up that hill.  But I stopped when I needed to.  It's drydock and there's no cars on the road.  Well, one.  I did see a truck.   Other than that the only traffic jam I encountered was three chickens and a dog.

And I was rewarded by this:

A New Year's Meditation on Time

Have I mentioned how much I love listening to Ellen Kushner's "Sound and Spirit" broadcast?

And the current episode is my favorite one so far:

Cycles - A New Year's Meditation on Time
As the calendar turns, many of us pause to reflect on the patterns that shape our year and our lives. Ellen Kushner examines the various passages in human life that mark significant changes, and how they are observed and celebrated in poetry, legend and music.

Click here to see the Cycles Playlist
and here to listen to the current episode.

My only complaint is that you can't download the episodes, you can only stream them. 

But it's worth it — especially today, New Year's Day.  An exceptional episode.

Take a Moment for Peace

One of my favorite bands, Jaiya, has just released a beautiful musical peace meditation for the holiday season . . .  Lael writes:  “As you listen to the chant, Dona Nobis Pacem, visualize our precious earth surrounded by healing light and love.”

It's just what we all need.

Concert in the Big City

I'm behind in the writing I want to do on the First Whisper . . .  but I spent most of the weekend in Seattle. Craig had a gig playing a concert with one of our favorite bands on Saturday night.  We left our house at 12:30 to catch the 1 PM ferry in order to get to the Big City to the South by 3 PM.  It was foggy all the way down the freeway, and here I'd thought the fog was just an island thing.  Craig unloaded his bass guitar and amp at the stage door and I got a big hug from Chris, then Sue, then made myself at home in one of the cushy seats in the theatre.  The crew and band did sound checks, light checks and endless other kinds of checks.  Meanwhile I worked on tightening up my query letter and pitch, editing a friend's business plan ("Kristen's Kitchen: Local Whole-Foods Fast Meal Planning") and reading a hundred pages or so of Amy Tan's new novel Saving Fish from Drowning (which I am enjoying immensely).  I ate a bit of dinner with Craig backstage and met the drummer and his wife, who are both interested in sustainable building practices. We invited them to come up sometime to see our straw bale house.  Craig's sister and brother-in-law arrived about 7 PM and I let them inside the theatre early so we could visit.  Her eyes kept widening at the sight of so many tattooed, pierced and androgynous-looking people so I just had to tease her.  "You're dressed a little conservatively, Cindy.  Everyone's looking at you!"  She was a bit alarmed until I told her I was just joking.  (Not really though.)   I ran into Chavala as people started flowing into the auditorium and got a big hug from her.  Always nice to see a fellow blogger in the flesh. 

Music that tends your soul

One of the things I love most about Summer is the festivals.  Last weekend we enjoyed a home-town, low-key festival in our own backyard.  We spent this past weekend in the Big City to the North at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival with thousands of unfailingly polite and friendly folk & world music fans.   We tended our souls all weekend, that's what we did.  With sun and sea and sky and some of the most heart-riveting music we've ever heard. 

I was already completely in love with Eliza Gilkyson before we arrived, but I can now say I am totally and irrevocably in love with Ruthie Foster, Linda Tillery & Nina Gerber, and Kellie Jo Phelps too.  I heard some music that didn't do much for me, and some that I liked OK — but these folks just blew me away, especially when they were all on stage together.   In fact, their last set left Craig and I both in tears.

Songs for Beltane

May morning dawned cold and windy here, but I still went out and washed my face in morning dew.  At my secret spot, swallows were flitting, red-winged blackbirds were trilling, and wild strawberries were in full bloom.   Lots of white flowers for May —hawthorn, wild strawberry, serviceberry (aka saskatoon) and one I didn't recognize.  I plucked a sprig of flowering hawthorn and brought a "branch of May" inside. 

Some time back I promised to post my Beltane playlist — so here it is, my favorite Songs for May. (A little late but then, I think of Beltane as a whole season, not just a night and a day.)   There's a few traditional songs on this list, which may not be to everyone's taste, but I love them.

Songs for Spring

Since buying my iPod about a year and a half ago, I've had a lot of fun creating playlists according to themes. My favorites have turned out to be my seasonal playlists, my elemental playlists and (of course) my playlist of Songs to the Moon. I've been playing my Spring Playlist over and over lately and it finally occurred to me that others might enjoy it too. My tastes in music run to acoustic, singer/songwriter, contemporary folk (like they play on Folk Alley, with a little Celtic, country, roots, reggae and rock thrown in. If you're looking for the hard stuff, you won't find it here.

So here's my iTunes playlist, an iMix called "Spring Songs for the Pagan Wheel of the Year." (Disclaimer: if you buy any of these songs through iTunes I'll receive a few pennies.) These songs focus on Imbolc and Ostara — I've got a great Beltane playlist shaping up, which I'll share in a few weeks.