What is the minor arcana? These four suits – wands, cups, swords, and pentacles – represent the day-to-day. They are about practical and sometimes mundane matters. In a reading, they give insight into what is going on with daily life, experiences, and challenges. They offer practical guidance, whereas the major arcana gives the big picture – themes and lessons to be learned. When looking at the minor arcana in a reading, be sure to look at the individual card – its suit, number, position, and the cards around it.
Continue reading “Tarot: Understanding the Minor Arcana”Author: Raven's Mantle
Tarot: Understanding the Major Arcana
Tarot is a powerful tool for self-discovery. The Major Arcana represent the steps through this journey, starting with the Fool and ending with the World. Here, we’ll take a look at the meaning behind each of the Major Arcana.
Continue reading “Tarot: Understanding the Major Arcana”NaNoWriMo, RPGs, and MMOs. Oh my.
NaNoWriMo
Here I am, on day seven of NaNoWriMo. It only took five days to switch gears entirely. Remember in my last post one of the bits of advice I gave was to go with the flow? Well, I did just that and ended up starting a new story. It started with a rather elaborate dream and is already taking on a life of its own. I plan on rolling with this for a while because it’s rather intriguing, and I have no idea where its going. Which happens to me quite often. I just roll with it, and a lot of the time the story basically writes itself. It’s really weird watching myself write and being surprised by what’s happening in the story. But that’s just how I do it.
Continue reading “NaNoWriMo, RPGs, and MMOs. Oh my.”It’s That Time Again, and 5 Tips for Writing
It’s that time of year again….
NaNoWriMo.
For those not familiar, November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) – a month-long writing event where you are challenged to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. I’ve been participating since 2011. Some years I have made the 50,000-word mark, and others I have fallen short. This year I will be attempting a rewrite of a novel I started in 2014 (was it really that long ago??). Hopefully, I’ll get it finished this time around. The idea for this novel has been quite persistent and I think it is high time I write it. And the characters are insisting.
Continue reading “It’s That Time Again, and 5 Tips for Writing”I’m back, but I’m rambling…
I made kale chips today.
They weren’t the best – they came out too salty, but it’s the first time I’ve made them, so I’m not complaining. They were nice and crisp, not burned. Just right, other than being too salty.
Why does that matter?
It was a small step to doing something, especially when “something” has been hard to do.
Continue reading “I’m back, but I’m rambling…”Cookies and a 5k
Welcome to the second installment of the Raven’s Mantle. First, I want to say I appreciate follows and the likes on the first post. It is my hope that I will be able to routinely deliver content that is useful, or at least entertaining. I might be a bit erratic for a bit with my posts until I settle down into a routine, but that’s how I am.
What’s on my mind today? First, that I ate too many cookies (I only had two, but that’s a lot for me), and second, the usefulness of a fitness tracker. Now what does that have to do with the main theme of this site, which is paganism and spirituality? Well, there is a definite tie between physical health, mental health, emotional health, and spiritual health. Over the last several years I’ve had some health challenges, and I am trying to get my game back, if you will. During this time there was a dramatic downturn in the “level” of my spirituality as well. Most of the time I just didn’t have the energy to engage in any practices, so much of what I was doing disappeared. I had a regular meditation practice, was fairly active physically, and was in routine practice with divination and seeing. But that has fallen away and now I am struggling to get back to it. My physical health has been a major part of my spiritual atrophy, hence the fitness tracker.
Welcome to the Raven’s Mantle
It has taken me far longer to write my introductory post than I would like to admit. I wanted it to be something insightful, maybe with a witty introduction, but with everything that is going on in the world that just didn’t feel right. Try as I might I cannot compose something eloquent enough, powerful enough to convey my thoughts on the state of the world, and especially of this country. Every month in 2020 so far has brought more and more challenges, and now we are watching this country burn, in some places literally. We are seeing just the tip of the iceberg on this pandemic. But you don’t need me to tell you that. So what does one write for an inaugural post in light of all this? I still don’t know. But I just want to say I am here writing and will continue to do so. The original theme of this blog was intended to be spirituality, paganism, and related topics, with plans to document my progress through ADF’s Dedicant’s Path program, but I suspect it will be something more than that. Time will tell. I hope you will journey with me at this time. Maybe we can get through this together.
The Raven's Mantle 