Oh dear. Someone (me) has been slacking on the blogging front. I have some decent-enough reasons! The weeks since Imbolc have been full of travel, family, and beautiful adventures in the Witchcraft and Tarot communities. This morning, I pulled a card to represent these events and what they meant for me, personally:

HierophantThe Hierophant: Structure and order, but also a calling of Spirit manifested through relations with other people. The Hierophant and the High Priestess have similar traits in that there is a sense of Spirit and call to action or vocation within both of them, but the High Priestess often represents a calling within ourselves for ourselves while the Hierophant, evoking images of “the Church,” more often represents a calling within community. At least, it does for me.

I'm on the far left. To my left (and following left-to-right) are David Salisbury, Luna Pantera, Jason Thomas Pitzl, Elena Rose, Athena Nikai, and Shauna Aura Knight.

I’m on the far left. To my left (and following left-to-right) are David Salisbury, Luna Pantera, Jason Thomas Pitzl, Elena Rose, Athena Nikai, and Shauna Aura Knight.

Last month, at PantheaCon 2015, I had the honor and pleasure of being on a panel alongside some fabulous other Pagans, moderated by T. Thorn Coyle which focused on young leaders in Paganism. You can find it at this link, episode 78.Alongside these incredibly inspiring colleagues, I share some of my own Hierophant journey–nurturing a fledgling community while also trying to nurture myself. Leadership is a blessing, but no blessing is easy or convenient. I hope you enjoy and if you are a young leader yourself, I hope it’s helpful!

While you’re there, listen to these other two panels from the weekend, Episode 77: “Honoring or Appropriation: What’s the Difference?” and Episode 76: “Bringing Race to the Table” which was moderated by Crystal Blanton. In fact, if you’re pressed for time, listen to episode 76 and 77 and save me on 78 for another day. Both of these open the doors to deeply important conversations we as Witches need to keep having about racism and cultural respect.

The Hierophant can mean leading people through uncomfortable truths-but the strongest Hierophants don’t “lead” but inspire by examining themselves, first. I also wrote about the moments I witnessed, the screams and cries that I heard, and the ways I learned I could be a better ally at my other blog on witchesandpagans.com.

The Hierophant also supplies tools. At the inaugural Northwest Tarot Symposium, I taught my popular class, “Tarot for One: The Art of Reading For Yourself.”

Leading "Tarot for One." Thank you for the pic, Jaymi Elfrond!

Leading “Tarot for One.” Thank you for the pic, Jaymi Elfrond!

The class was a hit! In a world with so many Tarot decks and readers, it’s wacky how hard it is for us to read for ourselves. It’s hard for me, it’s hard for others. I was so happy the class was so well received and that my exercises proved helpful to attendees.

Me and Gina Thies

At the NWTS party with Gina Thies!

It was wonderful to be back in my hometown, gathering with Tarot friends from around the country–both old and new. In just a few more weeks, it’ll be time to meet up with many of these same people again at Reader’s Studio, 2015!

More (ought to be) required reading: Jason Thomas Pitzl put together this powerful manifesto that has restored my commitment to Witchcraft.