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Joanna Powell Colbert - Sacred artist. Creator of tarot decks. Earth mystic. Moon lover.
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yule

squirrel in the tree
Posted in Collective, Seasonal Lore

Reflecting on 2020 in the Season of Nourishing Darkness

When I woke this morning and opened my blinds, I was surprised by bare branches. Overnight, a windstorm stripped almost all the golden-russet leaves off…

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Releasing the Old Year.
Posted in Personal Journey, Seasonal Lore

Cackling the Old Year Away

Tarot and Texas, baby. Taking a deep breath to relax into the Solstice season in Lisa and Eric’s warm home. So grateful to spend the…

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Lucia Party 2000
Posted in Personal Journey, Seasonal Lore

Holding Vigil on St. Lucia’s Night

I am mourning the loss of my beloved friend Waverly Fitzgerald, who died Friday night after living with cancer for several months. I am not…

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Winter Solstice Spread
Posted in Seasonal Lore, Tarot

Tarot Spread for Winter Solstice

Today the Moon is in its balsamic phase, the depths of darkness in the lunar cycle, when we surrender to the unknown. We also find…

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seal skull, shells
Posted in Seasonal Lore

Entering the Dark, Sacred Silence

While on retreat two weeks ago, I went for a contemplative beach walk. I found 9 upturned clam shells filled with sand and water; part…

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Posted in Seasonal Lore

Embrace the Nurturing Darkness

This past week, daylight diminished by minutes each day. Storms blew in (we even had a wee bit of snow) and out again. I found…

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Posted in Seasonal Lore

Island Winter Moments

My life is made of cloth woven by Grandmother Spider, its threads spun by the sisters who spin up the sun.  Every day I pause…

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Dark Madonna & Daughter by Joanna Powell Colbert
Posted in Sacred Art, Seasonal Lore

New Art: Dark Madonna & Daughter

My journey through the Underworld with Hecate this month (via the “30 Days of Hecate” course) has led me, somewhat surprisingly, into the arms of…

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Posted in Personal Journey, Seasonal Lore

Yuletide Pentimento

One of the things I love most about this season is the bittersweet remembrances of years gone by. Each Yuletide is a pentimento, a layered…

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Snowy Solstice
Posted in Seasonal Lore

How I Celebrate Winter Solstice

Ahhh. Hear that? It’s the sound of snowfall, of twinkling lights on a Yule tree, of children fast asleep. It’s the hush of Winter Solstice,…

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Slipping into the opening between the worlds, neit Slipping into the opening between the worlds, neither here nor there, the pause between tender petal and icy blast, creativity and contemplation, fatigue and energy, winter and spring. ::
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I’ve been such a hermit lately, coping with health challenges, nesting into my cozy space. I feel the flicker of spring fever, taking delight in the call of red-wings in the marsh and the flash of primroses and daffs in my garden, planted by a friend last week. Still the snow falls silently and steadily, calling me to mugs of tea and blankets on the sofa, as I pick up a pencil to capture the grace of daffodils in the snow.::
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#walkingthewheel #winterturningtospring
I’ve celebrated Brigid’s Day for decades now, I’ve celebrated Brigid’s Day for decades now, this poignant holy-day, this liminal time of Winter-Turning-to-Spring. Neither one nor the other, but both: snowflakes one day and blossoms the next. ::
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I shared some recollections of past Brigid’s Days in my e-letter this morning (link in profile). Here are 3 images I created over the years. In 1985, I drew a pen-and-ink rendition of “Brigid at the Forge.” In 2014, I was swept away by Brigid’s fire and created one of my favorite pieces in watercolor, oil pastels, and colored pencil. A couple of years later, the colored pencils came out again for the Adelita of Earth / Knight of Pentacles in the Herbcrafter’s Tarot, showing a young woman crafting a Brigid’s cross out of yucca … the marriage of ancestry and place. ::
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Blessed Brigid’s Day to you!  May you glow with sacred fire. ::
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#brigid #brigidsday #imbolc #candlemas #herbcrafterstarot
Today I turn seventy-one-derful. (Thank you Liziah Today I turn seventy-one-derful. (Thank you Liziah for that yummy phrase). Ruminating on all the paths not taken, all the ones I did take, all the paths that still beckon me. Life is brutal, and so beautiful. Grateful for it all. 💚 #capricorn
Two Capricorns walk into a cafe… and one brings Two Capricorns walk into a cafe… and one brings a bouquet of flowering witch hazel. Thank you @kathiehardy 💚
Oh those winter sunrises! Starting out the day wi Oh those winter sunrises!  Starting out the day with awe & wonder. And coffee. ✨
A waterfall of New Year’s blessings … may all A waterfall of New Year’s blessings … may all beings be happy, healthy, safe, and kind. 💚🕯🙏🏼
Setting goals and intentions for the New Year no l Setting goals and intentions for the New Year no longer lights me up like it used to do. I've slowed way down this past year, in part due to ongoing health issues. I'm asking for help more often and finding the practice of letting go to get easier every day. ::
::
My priorities are pretty simple: Spend time with people I love. Make lots of joy-inducing art. Call the circle and collaborate with others; ask for help. Get my health back. Read good books. Move my body. Love the land. Love my community. Make a difference, even in tiny ways. ::

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And (because it's always "both/and", not "either/or") here's a golden oldie New Year's spread from the Gaian Tarot book that I created 20(?) years ago. Still a good one. ::
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:: New Year's Spread: Out with the Old, In with the New ::
1. What do I leave behind in the Old Year? 
2. What do I open up to in the New Year? 
3. Key Opportunity of the New Year 
4. Key Challenge of the New Year 
5. Hidden concern (pull from bottom of the deck) 
6. Deep Wisdom / Counsel (pull from middle of the deck) 
7. Key Theme of the New Year
::
Happy New Year!
May you & your beloveds nestle into the comfort of May you & your beloveds nestle into the comfort of nurturing darkness and the joy of returning light. Happy Solstice! #wintersolstice
From my porch: Good morning snow! Good morning pon From my porch: Good morning snow! Good morning pond! Good morning blackbirds! #wintersolstice

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Winter/Yule • Candlemas • Spring • Beltane • Summer • Lammas • Autumn • Hallowmas • New Year
Gaian Tarot • Herbcrafter's Tarot • Pentimento Tarot • Tarot Spreads • Ancestors • Goddess • Mama Ocean • Death & Dying • Grief • Spiritual Practice • Activism • Aldermarsh Retreats • Circle Way • Community • Place  • Family • Island Life

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