The Word: 2020

Posted on January 6, 2020January 5, 2020 by Modern Gypsy | 24 Comments

I’ve been choosing a word of the year since five years – this is my sixth – and it has been an intensely transformative journey. Which is somewhat magical, really, considering that the very first word I chose for myself five years ago was Transform.

Words, after all, are spells. They have an inherent magic and power that can work in ways you may never have anticipated to bring you the exact medicine you need at any point of time. And Transform is a spell that’s been woven into the very fabric my life, impacting it far beyond just one year.

Which is why I don’t take the word of the year practice too lightly. I need to be clear on at least some aspects of what I’m drawing towards me with the word that I choose. perhaps for this reason, it was much harder for me to tease out the word for this year.Continue reading→

December 2019: Tarot spread for the new moon in Capricorn

Posted on December 25, 2019December 22, 2019 by Modern Gypsy | No Comments

The December 2019 new moon falls in the sign of Capricorn. Symbolized by the mountain goat, which maintains perfect balance while it climbs over precarious rock ledges, the Capricorn archetype is one of disciplined and dogged determination towards the attainment of our worldly desires.

Spiritually, the Capricorn archetype teaches us about integrity and helps us to harness the ability to plan our work, and stick to it, no matter what. In these times of 24×7 consumption culture, it’s easy to be addicted with shiny object syndrome and forget about our goals and plans. Capricorn teaches us about the meaning of integrity: to align ourselves with our highest ideals and actualize our potential. Continue reading→

Looking back at 2019: Reflections on Flourish

Posted on December 23, 2019December 22, 2019 by Modern Gypsy | 3 Comments

Flourish. That was my word for the year. It felt like the perfect combination of growth and ease after the very gentle energy of Bloom in 2018.

And a perfect combination it has been. So much has happened in 2019, that I’m still wrapping my head around it all.

Flourish helped me to deepen and expand my art practice. I spent much more time at the painty table – even during the summer, which used to be my leanest art period, and my artistic voice and vision grew louder and deeper.Continue reading→

A year ahead tarot spread

Posted on December 19, 2019December 14, 2019 by Modern Gypsy | No Comments

I have a love-hate relationship with year ahead tarot spreads. While I love sinking into some dream time with planners and tarot cards, I find that the traditional 12-card tarot spread – one card that represents a theme for each month of the year – just isn’t very useful for me.

For a while, I used Joanna Powell’s year-ahead spread. While I did like that one a lot, it felt too spare for a year-ahead reading. I wanted something gloriously big and expansive, yet practical and actionable/usable.

So I pulled out my decks and came up with a gloriously big, messy, juicy year ahead tarot spread. This one combines oracle and tarot cards, and can be easily tailored to your tastes and your own unique oracle card collection.Continue reading→

The Visioning workbook is here!

Posted on December 16, 2019December 14, 2019 by Modern Gypsy | 13 Comments

It’s that time of the year again! The time when you cozy up with pen and paper, a hot cup of your favorite beverage {black coffee without sugar for me, please}, some soft music, and start your year end planning: reflecting on the year gone by and planning for the coming year.

As an avid journaler, I really cannot let this time of the year go by without spending some time in quiet reflection. But I haven’t always been super successful with making new year plans – not by a long stretch! There have been many years when the change of the year was met with a dreary ho-hum, couldn’t care less attitude. Because just idle reflection and day dreams are really not enough to help move you forward in any sort of direction.Continue reading→

December 2019: Tarot spread for the full moon in Gemini

Posted on December 11, 2019December 7, 2019 by Modern Gypsy | No Comments

The December 2019 full moon falls in the sign of Gemini. The Gemini archetype is very curious, an excellent communicator, and a disseminator of knowledge. It is the sign of the writer, of those who tend to think deeply, are highly perceptive, and prefer to learn from experience.

Spiritually, the Gemini archetype is about courageous conversation, be it with another person or with the Universe. Gemini adds its vibration to the advancement of culture and civilization through conversation, be that via books or blogs or letters.Continue reading→

Looking back at 2019: Establishing an art practice

Posted on December 9, 2019July 20, 2020 by Modern Gypsy | 5 Comments

Unlike in previous years, where I tried and often failed to stick to a formal art practice {like aiming for a finished piece of art each day or trying for a set number of pieces each year}, this year I decided to let my art practice be organic.

What the past few years taught me is that art – and indeed creativity – is cyclical. There are months when I am much more prolific than others. There are times when I get obsessed with a certain style or a particular art supply. And there are times when I don’t pick up the brush as often, and that’s ok!Continue reading→

The 2020 book bingo reading challenge

Posted on November 28, 2019June 30, 2020 by Modern Gypsy | 89 Comments

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” ― Groucho Marx

Of course, these days it’s not only the television that distracts us. There’s Netflix and Amazon Prime and all the other streaming channels, as well as the access we have to the world wide web right at our fingertips.

But Marx was on to something. Despite the world of information we have access to 24×7, nothing beats the knowledge you gain when you take the time to lose yourself between the pages of a book.

And what better way to commit to spending some quality time with a diverse range of books, than to sign up for a reading challenge? So here it is – the 2020 book bingo reading challenge!Continue reading→

November 2019: Tarot spread for the new moon in Sagittarius

Posted on November 25, 2019November 24, 2019 by Modern Gypsy | 11 Comments

The November 2019 new moon falls in the sign of Sagittarius. The freedom loving Sagittarius archetype is in a constant search for inspiration, new avenues of exploration, and adventure. This is a sign that gets bored of the status quo easily, and needs the rush of a new quest to keep them on their toes.

Spiritually, the Sagittarius archetype teaches us to cultivate our own personal relationship with the divine. Contrary to what most religions and a lot of spiritual teachers say, you don’t need an intermediary between you and Source/God/the Universe. You have that connection available to you at all times. Learning to tune in and trust that connection is where a lot of us seem to stumble, though. The Sagittarius archetype teaches us to trust that things will work out and that there is always a higher purpose behind everything that happens in our lives.

Continue reading→

On my art table: Angel’s Wings + dreaming an impossible dream

Posted on November 21, 2019July 20, 2020 by Modern Gypsy | 12 Comments

Are you afraid of your dreams? Those big dreams and desires that seem to come out of nowhere and spill into your journal. The ones that seem to come from an expanded state, but that make ‘little you’ want to retreat into your shell because it seems TOO BIG and TOO IMPOSSIBLE a dream to achieve?

Yes, those ones.

The ones you won’t tell anyone because it makes you uncomfortable to even hold the dream, and you’re convinced that you will be laughed out of the room if you state it aloud.

I had one of those impossible dreams…it sneaked into my morning pages a few months ago…and it made me gasp aloud. I felt that beautiful expansive energy of the dream for a fleeting second before Prissy Missy, my inner critic, jumped in and said NO!Continue reading→