Saving the only life you can

This morning I pulled the moon — that sacred journey within your own sweet self, your shadow and light blending and each also defining the other. I am invoking the 8 of Cups. To me this card is finding your inner light that is your own sacred heart, your own deep well and knowing what you must do and determining, as Mary Oliver said, to save the only life you can.

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This reading is part of my own Divination/Invocation Practice. As always when I speak of life, love and tarot I speak only for myself.

Divination — The Moon is from The Modern Love Tarot, by Ethony

Invocation — The Eight of Cups is from The Light Seers Tarot, by Chris Anne

Christmas Chaos

This morning I pulled the Five of Wands. This holiday time of year it’s so easy to get drawn into conflict with the ones we love. I know, that sounds contradictory. I am invoking the Star and the message of Jenya Beachy, “We are the gods that the universe invoked into the world at this time and place because we are necessary.”
Thou art God(des) — Blessed be to you and all your and my loves. And, let it go.

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This reading is part of my own personal Divination/Invocation Practice. As always when I speak of life, love and tarot I speak only for myself.
Divination — The 5 of Wands is from The Modern Love Tarot, by Ethony
Invocation — The Star is from The Witches Tarot, by Ellen Dugan

On Christmas Eve Day

 

Good morning sweet person. It’s Christmas Eve day and that’s a hard day under the best of circumstances and these are not best of times or circumstances. Today I pulled the Magician. As above so below. We do not get to choose the cards we are dealt but we do decide how to play them. That’s our power. We can create the best outcome, given the circumstances, possible.
We have agency and free will in our lives and our relationships. My family is divided like our nation is divided. So many of my loves are sick now and so many are isolated. Death has touched the lives of some friends. Many are not going to be able to be with some or any of those they love.
I am invoking the four of Cups as a reminder that life is good and love is amazing even when we can’t be together. Today my family is taking Covid tests before we gather. We may not gather at all, depending on the results. And, that’s okay. Love seeks, but does not require, adjacency.

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As always when I speak of life, love and tarot I speak only for myself. This reading is part of my Divination/Manifestation Practice.
The Lovers is from The Modern Love Tarot, a totally awesome indie deck by Ethony
The Four of Cups is from The Light Seers Tarot by Chris Anne

Today's Divination/Manifestation Practice

As part of my Divination/Manifestation Practice: Today I pulled the Lovers. In response I am invoking the Page of Cauldrons. In my experience love is something that manifests in infinite ways. Love is ever shapeshifting, ever undefinable, many things except still just one thing, all love is one love, recursively defining itself as in — love is love. It took many love(s) for me to see this and I know that my message is only my message and only relevant to me. The Page has a beginner’s mind. She steps out of the sea that is all our source and brings a message, your message, do you hear it? Many blessings to you today.

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As always when I speak of life, love and tarot I speak only for myself. This reading is part of my Divination/Manifestation Practice.
The Lovers is from The Modern Love Tarot, a totally awesome indie deck by EthonyThe Page of Cauldrons is from Branches of the Celtic Tarot, by Kristoffer Hughes

Lovin' Molly (1974) CNM Movie Review

 Unfortunately the list of movies and books of consensual non-monogamy (CNM) in a contemporary setting is short. In the 1970s, when I was young, that list was dismal. Paint Your Wagon was a standout but another title that deserves honorable mention is Lovin' Molly (1974).

In today's vernacular you'd call the story an MFM triad of two brothers in a polyamorous romantic and sexual relationship with one woman that was (um-mostly) consensual. It is based on Larry McMutry's lesser known 1962 second novel "Leaving Cheyenne" and the movie almost works. It has a star studded cast that includes young Anthony Perkins, Beau Bridges, Blythe Danner and Susan Sarandon. It's worth a watch even though it sadly falls short of its potential. That's kinda understandable given there was no real narrative for functional contemporary CNM at the time.

Bubbles and Buckets

 As Andie Nordgren said in The Relationship Anarchy Manifesto, "Each relationship is independent, and a relationship between autonomous individuals."

All relationships count. Sex is not a sorting hat. Love is a shapeshifter and takes many forms. We call this friendship, that romance and yet love is constantly reimagining itself. Who's to say what shape is the most valuable, at least beyond our own individual bubbles?

If you tear down the hierarchy of relationships and toss away the buckets we tend to sort relationships into a lot of the labels like "exes", "partner", and "lover" either gain new meanings or cease to have any.

Compersion - terms not specific to polyamory

 I think it's great that folks in the polyamory community come up with great terms to communicate dynamics in human relationships that were previously difficult to describe. It annoys me though, when sometimes they claim that those terms only apply to polyamorous relationships.

For example, this is how I explain "compersion" and jealousy. In my opinion, compersion is that happy feeling you get when you find out your best friend got vaccinated. Jealousy is what you feel when you can't get a vaccination appointment yourself then go on social media and see a picture of your happy best friend hugging their grandma; even though you're happy for them too. Moral of the story: compersion and jealousy are two separate things not polar opposites on a spectrum and not polyamory specific.