Painting The Voyager Tarot

My good friend Lily did a tarot reading for me in 2018. It was late and we were sitting in her house in Olympia when we were both at Evergreen. She has a way with decor, and her room was neon purple with fairy lights strung up everywhere and art that she had made or collected over time. We drank wine out her cosmically drippy ceramics.

She pulled out her well loved Tarot deck, we spent hours. In part it was her skill at reading and communicating the power of the cards that made the process so powerful but also the beauty of the VOYAGER deck.

Their imagery and symbology was direct and relevant. Each collage of images a kaleidoscope of feeling, specific to that card. Just by looking at them and taking in the images and colors, you come away with their meaning. I was at a very powerful intersection in my life. I was working hard to finish my time at Evergreen. I was in the process of writing my own curriculum so I could go back to Portland and work at City Repair for my final semester. I was also feeling a dissonance in my relationship that I was struggling to reconcile. All of my agitation and possible “stuck-ness” was channeled into my school work and plans for Portland but also about a month-long stint of trying to spend all of my energy by going out in Olympia. Super dark, cold and sheets of rain, Olympia bar scene was particular, but comforted me in this moment. I would dance at RHYTHM AND RYE, and maybe drink at the Crypt, but mostly Rhythm and Rye. I would come home after midnight despite classes the next day. I was deregulated and it felt good to have all of my feelings and recent actions expressed back to me on the table. I tried to write everything down- to capture it. It felt like the best conversation with my mom, best friend and therapist wrapped into one. The next day, there was a heaviness, that I had confronted myself with the intention of just understanding and putting my actions into context. Something broke, there was a settling, and I was free. The demanding, floaty-chaos, gone. I delved inwards, starting focusing on bodily needs, starting eating more, and stopped going out every night.

I got The Voyager tarot a few months later and charged them for the first time by laying them all out on the tables outside of Crema (my favorite café) and munching my favorite cookie above each card. It was a gloriously intimate and joyful first moment with my own set.

Now I pull cards when I need to, and I’m gaining skills to be a better reader to loved ones.

I painted a canvas bag in Israel after I pulled the star card to have the reminder always that I am luminous, and by recognizing my own star qualities, I can do good things. I pulled it when I was specifically struggling with self-esteem and doubt in my abilities. I had a canvas bag with branding I didn’t want to be a free billboard for, so I painted the star card right ontop.

After that I painted the other side (still in process) and painted the nurture card for a dear friend and mentor when I was gifted more bags from Reudor’s mom. Thank you Zoharit!