The WitchWood

OSWOA for Sale

2009-08-20T12:20:00.001+10:00

Over the coming months I will be releasing a number of collectable small works of original art (OSWOA). There will be fairies, dragons, goddesses and more. All paintings will be 4"x6" in size so they are easy and inexpensive to frame or to store in most archival photo albums. What better way to build a collection of beautiful, magical art; put them on your wall, or create a beautiful book of original artwork that can be passed on from one generation to the next.

Title: Night Blues
Size: 4"x6" on 5.5"x8.5"
Medium:Acrylics on 300gsm watercolour paper
Price: US$150.00

Title: Golden Beauty
Size: 4"x6" on 5.5"x8.5"
Medium:Acrylics on 300gsm watercolour paper
Price: US$150.00

Title: Ancient
Size: 4"x6" on 5.5"x8.5"
Medium:Acrylics on 300gsm watercolour paper
Price: US$150.00

Those interested in purchasing one of the above artworks can contact me through my website at http://www.dreamsofgaia.com ...

Brightest blessings to all,
xxx

Original Artworks For Sale

2009-07-28T18:11:00.006+10:00

I am happy to announce the release of several older originals for sale. They were initially for use in the Dreams of Gaia tarot, but have since been reworked or replaced, which means that these beauties are now available for purchase.

To view the new additions to the original artwork gallery please click here ... and don't forget that there are a number of smaller and older original artworks available in the bargain basement.

Special Offer:

The first three (3) customers to purchase an original artwork over US$500.00 between now and the 31st August, 2009, will receive a 4"x6" dragon, goddess, or fairy themed acrylic mixed media painting for free. Yes ... FREE!!

The first three customers will be given the choice of subject and colour, while all decisions pertaining to composition and level of detail will remain with me, the artist. Portraits are not available and this offer is for dragon, fairy, or goddess/god illustrations only.

This offer is on a first come first served basis!!! The first three customers and their nominated choice of artwork, will be listed on the home page of my website. All 4"x6" paintings will be completed at a time convenient to me between the purchase date and the 30th November, 2009. Those interested in purchasing an original artwork should contact me via my website or purchase the original through the secure shopping cart facility. Please understand that this offer is strictly limited to the the first three (3) customers to purchase and pay for an original artwork valued over US$500.00 between now and the 31st of August, 2009. A layaway option is not available for this offer. Please also note that refunds will not be made available to those who purchase an original and are not among the first three customers.

Good luck and brightest blessings to all,

Fairies and Fantasy

2009-07-10T16:58:00.001+10:00

I am delighted to announce that I now have a select range of products available for purchase through Selina Fenech's Fairies and Fantasy website. For many months I have wondered and pondered the necessity of making available different products and giftwares, but my workload has never allowed me much freedom. It seemed rather fortuitous and fated when Selina approached me several months ago, expressing an interest in taking my artwork on board with her latest business venture. Selina's business acumen and desire to create a high quality range of products has always impressed me, so I was quick to say yes.

So far my work is available on mousemats, journals, greeting cards, coffee mugs, pendants, keychains, mirror compacts, tote bags and prints. Both Mythic Oracle and Oracle of the Dragonfae are also available for purchase, as will be my book Dreams of Magick once it is released.

More artwork will be made available over the coming months, so if you have a particular favourite that you would like to see used, just drop one of us an email and will see what we can do.

Until then be sure to stop by http://www.fairiesandfantasy.com/pages/micheleleephelan.php

News and Updates

2009-06-22T14:39:00.005+10:00

40TH BIRTHDAY SALE

It's my birthday in another couple of weeks, and you can help me to celebrate my 40th by buying a print or original artwork from my online store DREAMS OF GAIA.

For those of you who are on the mailing list, or who wisely join the mailing list, there's a special offer running on all prints. If you buy two small, medium, or large open edition prints you will get a third print of the same size, and of your choice, for free. Take advantage of this offer by placing the email address you signed up with, and the name of the print, in the comments and questions field in the shopping cart.

There have also been a number of graphite original drawings added to the Bargain Basement page. To view them all you have to do is click on the 'CLICK HERE FOR SALE' link just below the main website title @ DREAMS OF GAIA.

The sales will last from now until the end of July, so be sure to come join the party.

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

I have twitter and facebook for those who are interested in watching me there. I tend to update on a daily basis regarding progress on the tarot, new art works and sales at Facebook so the most current news is posted there before anywhere else.

Facebook: DreamsofGaia or Michele-lee Phelan
Twitter: dreamsofgaia

DRAGON ART BY GRAEME AYMER

Dragon Art by Graeme Aymer is a book I am delighted to be associated with. This 200 page hardcover book, with a foreword written by John Howe himself, showcases Dragon Art by the best of the best - Eggleton, Maitz, and more. I am no master by any stretch of the imagination, so you can imagine my delight and awe to have five of my own dragons included in this book alongside the art of my idols. With walkthroughs as well as art, Dragon Art will be available through Amazon.com and (hopefully) selected bookstores soon.

LATEST ARTWORKS

To view the latest artworks completed for the tarot, please visit my gallery at DeviantArt -- Artoftheempath@Deviantart

New Artwork - The Watcher & The Lover

2009-05-06T09:12:00.004+10:00

Several months ago now, I painted 'The Blade' who then later evolved into 'The Watcher' for the tarot deck. I was never 100% happy with the painting but as I had already taken to her face several times with a scalpel to remove the paint and begin again, I didn't see how I could fix both her face (which I hated) and the lack of animal/insect/bird element to the painting. Yes, she had wings, but that bespoke 'angel' more than bird.

Original Version of the Blade

The only option that seemed to be available to me was to paint her again.

But a few weeks ago, I fell asleep with a new crystal tucked beneath me. It's a stone for creativity, inspiration and insight, and would you believe that in the wee hours of the morning a solution came to me that had me springing out of bed and preparing paints upon a palette even before the sun had risen.

The idea was to take the original 'The Blade' and do something totally frightening. I reached for a wee square of sandpaper and gently sanded away the layers of paint from the nose up, removing the majority of any ridges and leaving the surface ready and willing to take a new layer of paint. You know, I should have been terrified but I wasn't because if I messed it up I was still going to have to repaint anyway.

Anyways ... after I finished sanding, I drew a hawk/owl/eagle mask and then began to paint. I also tweaked the contrast by darkening the bottom with a deeper purple. Below is the finished alteration. I am happy now. Now she is what I wanted her to be. She is less 'angel' and more dreamlike in nature and appearance.

She is the Watcher.

Please click on the image below to see the full-size version.

Arcana: The Dream Walkers - Major Arcana
Card: The Watcher
Represents: Temperance, Insight, Perspective, Judgement
Size: 12"x17"
Medium: Acrylics and Coloured Pencil

Next is a reworking of the original 'The Beloved' artwork below. As with 'The Watcher' there were aspects to the original version that bugged me, so while I was in the mindset to make changes, I did exactly that. I'm a lot happier with the newer version.

Again, please click on the image below to see the larger view.

Arcana: The Dream Walkers - Major Arcana
Card: The Lover
Represents: Love, Passion, Confidence, Self-Esteem
Size: 12"x17"
Medium: Acrylics and Coloured Pencil

- Increased self-esteem and confidence through learning and self-expression.
- Creative expression of a passion, a vocation.
- Love for life, culture, beauty, and creativity.
- New love, new passions, new creative opportunities

Click to view the original version

Pan

2009-04-07T22:15:00.001+10:00

Title: Pan's Rose Garden II
Size: 8.5"x11.5"
Medium: Acrylics
One of two illustration for 'Messages From Nature's Guardians' written by U.K. "fairy and Elemental Expert" Fiona Murray.

A Little MeMe

2009-03-31T00:18:00.002+11:00

stolen from moonvoice

15 years ago, I was...
1. a mother of a beautiful one year old boy
2. not painting, or drawing, or writing
3. happy on the surface but empty inside

10 years ago, I was...
1. officially diagnosed with major depressive disorder
2. introduced to art and writing as a form of treatment for my depression
3. starting to acknowledge my self-loathing, explore the cause of for my low self-esteem, and release some of the anger I felt towards myself and those around me.

5 years ago, I was...
1. stepping back from my spiritual path. I felt it necessary to focus solely upon my art and career. It was not the time nor the place to divide my focus when I still had so much to learn about art and painting.
2. I made the decision to paint traditionally instead of digitally.
3. excited and terrified the demands of being a 'professional'artist. I sold my first 'personal' original artwork 'Fierce Fae - Dryad' to Selina Fenech

4 years ago, I was...
1. I was confused. I knew who I was, and that I needed to be honest and accepting of who I was, but I was too easily swayed by other's expectations of me, and a need to be liked. Self-esteem issues were still my biggest problem.
2. trying to find my place as an artist where did I belong? Did I want to do fairy art, or go the 'tarot' path? Did I embrace the spiritual me? Or did I need to become even more commercial?
3. A wee fluffy ball called Tuatha came into my life

3 years ago, I was...
1. reaching an all time low as I continued to battle with insecurity and jealousy, and a fear that my style would never be liked or accepted ... or noticed.
2. painting bookcovers and character portraits and while it challenged me artistically, it left me feeling unfulfilled. I was beginning to feel the lack of spiritual connection
3. surprised to find my artwork hanging on the walls in a real gallery and seeing them sell

2 years ago, I was...
1. painting my first children's book, and discovering that this was not my future. I was all to happy to paint covers and character portraits, and do the occassional spot of illustration work, but I had realised that I needed to more spiritual fulfilment
2. I opened Dreams of Gaia, and began to embrace my spiritual side once more, but I was still not brave enough to step out off the commercially safe path
3. Lucy Cavendish came into my life and my world changed in that very moment

1 year ago, I was...
1. happily painting the artworks for The Mythic Oracle, and signing a contract that would see me creating my own tarot deck
2. discovering that I had a pretty unshakeable confidence in my self as an artist. I found myself feeling creatively fufilled and no longer questioning myself or my path as an artist. Yes, I was still battling on a personal front, but as an artist, I had at last found my place
3. learning how to let go of old hurts

So far this year, I have...
1. found myself seeing life with eyes no longer clouded by the shadows of the past
2. come to the realisation that for me art and faith are and always will be intertwined, and that it is now time for my art to reflect my beliefs more noticeably
3. come to accept who I am, warts and all, and love who I am, warts and all

Yesterday, I...
1. worked on my latest artwork, painting lots and lots of leaves
2. had a decent night's sleep full of dreams of magick
3. began to come down off the emotional and spiritual high of the last few weeks

Today, I...
1. woke feeling a little blue and gave myself a bit of exercise therapy which left me feeling a lot better
2. painted the last of the leaves and airbrushed the 'glow' in around the phoenix so I can work on completing the phoenix and ourobouros
3. find it a lot easier to know when to reach out to others, and when to be a hermit and focus on being kind to myself and treating myself well

Tomorrow, I will...
1. begin my day with a workout
2. finish the last painting for my book
3. begin work on the last few passages of text require for the book

The rest ... who knows ... I will know when it happens :)

To Thine Self Be True

2009-03-27T12:23:00.001+11:00

Too many times I have read that in order to be happy, we must accept and embrace who we are - our strengths and our weaknesses - and yet often in the same 'acceptance' message we are given a grand list of things we should and should not do, aspects of our self that we should try to change and behaviours we should avoid. We are told not to be aggressive, controlling, passionate, or competitive, or judgemental. Instead we should exist in a world where we feel unconditional love for others. We should be gentle, be kind, be understanding and compassionate.

But tell me, by avoiding, by repressing and by changing who we are to fit this mould of gracious spirit and beauty, are we truly being accepting of our self? Are we truly loving our self by allowing others to label aspects of our individual personalities as good or bad? Or are we once again listening to another outside source who seeks to tell us how we should behave and live? Do we change because we truly want to or because someone in a position of standing tells us that we need to? Do we accept our true 'self' warts and all, or do we change who we are so that others find it easier to accept us?

To walk a path of honesty one must be true to one's self. To change who you are, to avoid or repress aspects of your nature is to live a lie. Yes, we all have within us the ability to do harm to our self and to others, but by truly accepting our weaknesses we also take responsibility for them. What we do with them is our choice.

It is better to know yourself intimately, to understand your nature in all of it's beauty and ugliness, and to change destructive behaviour into constructive behaviour; to utilise it in a manner that improves who you are as a person. Anger can be used to create beauty, aggressive methods can be used to bring swifter resolution, especially in healing, competitiveness can be the fuel that helps you achieve a goal, judgement can keep you safe from harm, control can help you focus your talents and achieve an outcome. Only one rule should be adhered to - do no harm.

Don't avoid being you. Don't believe that aspects of your personality are weaknesses just because you read it in a magazine or book, especially if those aspects of your nature have improved who you are and your life. Embrace being you. Love being you.

Yesterday I said that Love is something that connects us to the Source, to Gaia, to those around us. But it is impossible to embrace a message of 'unconditional love' for others if we cannot embrace the same message for our 'self' and by allowing others to tell us who we should be and how we should behave we do exactly that.

CLEARANCE SALE OF ARCHIVED ORIGINAL ARTWORKS

2009-03-22T16:00:00.001+11:00

I'm having a clearance sale to celebrate the beginning of Autumn. Archived artworks are falling in price like leaves falling from the tree branches overhead. The artworks are sourced from my earliest days as a newbie artist through to more current artworks that were archived simply because of the sheer body of works I have painted over the last few years.

While some show the marks of a newbie artist and others do not, all were created with love and are seeking new homes with those who will love them flaws and all. If anyone has any questions or would like to see close ups of the individual artworks, just contact me and I will organise a viewing by email for you. Artworks will be sold on a first in first served basis and removed from the page once they are no longer available.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CLEARANCE SALE OF ARCHIVED ORIGINAL ARTWORKS!!!!

Ten Things I Believe

2009-03-18T13:17:00.002+11:00

I’ve been asked by several curious souls if I could go into further detail about my beliefs, and so I’m going to offer ten things I believe for them to contemplate. I cannot prove a single point as fact, but my belief is unshakeable. Why? Because I have experienced dreams, memories, and have in the past had out of body experiences in which I have visited places that have at a later date proven to be real. Yes, some would be sceptical, but when I had the out of body experiences I was but a child who had little exposure to books or television, who as an adult then discovered that what I had thought to be dreams were in fact a reality. There have been other signs and experiences along the way, and not a single one has ever lessened my faith.

In many ways, I am a mystic. I have experienced several very mystical encounters that wakened the beliefs that I hold. I am certain that I have believed as I do for a very long time.

So, here are ten things I believe in no particular order of importance.

1. I believe that there exists in the cosmos two forms of energy - soul energy and manifested energy. Soul energy is aware and sentient, and draws upon the manifested energy to create - emotions, desired outcomes, beauty, life - and to sustain. Soul energy feeds upon manifested energy in order to create and in the process that soul energy creates more manifested energy. The cycle is one of consumption and creation. Manifested energy can be positively or negatively charged and because a soul energy also feeds upon manifested energy it can be influenced by the positive or negative charge of the manifested energy.

2. All soul energies are created by the Source. The Source is not ‘God’. The Source is akin to something like a cross between a heart, a kidney, and a womb, while soul energies and manifested energies are like blood that is pumped through and ‘cleaned’. The Source is where soul energy is born and where it returns to when the physical shell that houses it passes. The Source pumps soul energy and manifested energy around the cosmos. I have no knowledge of how this Source came into existence for that is something nobody knows. The Source simply is.

3. Soul energies can take upon themselves one of several roles - they can choose to be housed within a physical body and be born, live, and then die in order to experience and learn from corporeal life. They can remain within the Source to contemplate the lessons they have learned, before choosing to return once more, or ascend to a level of 'guide' and 'teacher'. If to ascend is their choice, they become spirit guides who walk in our dreams, communicate with us empathically, inspiring our curiosity and desire for knowledge by placing little signs along our path. They are shape-changers, often taking on the form of a stranger who offers a kind word of advice, a animal guide who offers wisdom, a shell on the beach that inspires you to create.

As guides they also continue to learn themselves through as they can also study life while being separate to it. As they learn, they elevate their energy. They become higher energies at which time they become something akin to angels and dragons etc. These higher energies travel back and forth through all planes of existence and all realities. They can move between worlds and exist outside of the constraints of time. They are explorers and messengers, shape-changers who can take corporeal form at will. They are the ones who have appeared to humans as gods, angels, and dragons. The older and wiser they become, the more their soul energy resonates and grows until such time as they evolve into truly cosmic beings like Gaia.

4. I believe that the planet on which we live is a living, sentient being. She is Gaia - an ancient soul energy, born billions of years ago. She is a creationist soul energy, capable of creating and taking life. She is a creator of corporeal bodies born of the elements - earth, air, fire, and water. Through the elements and nature she creates manifested energy which we draw upon to sustain our own soul energy.

5. I believe that we were created in order to become custodians and caretakers of Gaia and that we exist in order to do three things - protect, create, and learn. We experience life, we learn from those experiences, and when our physical body dies, our soul energy returns to the Source. When we are in soul form we remember everything, all memories from each lifetime. With those memories and the knowledge we have gained, we choose the destiny we wish to fulfil and the life lessons we wish to experience and learn. We are not afraid of life and death in our soul form, and therefore we have the ability to choose a passing that is sometimes quite horrific or debilitating. We learn from each experience, regardless of whether our passing is difficult or painless, our lives hard or simple. We learn from the things that make us afraid, we learn from the ugly, just as we learn from the beautiful.

6. I believe that there is no such thing as good or evil and that these are but constructs of human society. I believe that once we leave one life all “sins” and crimes are wiped clean. I do not believe that the next life is affected by ‘karma’, but that a soul energy accepts that they need to experience life in a karmic manner in order to learn about cause and effect. The emotions we experience as a result of our actions are real and can be both exhilarathing and debilitating. We often cannot control them or change them, but we can learn from them at all times.

7. I believe that soul energies can return as a part of a soul group. Soul energies who have known, loved, and learned from each other in the past, can choose to be together again, with some creating an eternal pairing. They will be lovers, siblings, parent and child, and each will seek the other out from one life to the next. Soul energies learn from each other within these pairings and groups. In some lifetimes the lessons are hard to accept, while in other lives seems to be blessed with naught but peace and prosperity. One of the main lessons is the awareness of how one soul energy within a soul group can impact upon all or a few of that soul group. Soul groups can teach about cause and effect.

8. I believe that spirit guides send reminders of our pre-birth choices by sending us little signs, showing us things that inspire us, guiding us towards things that inspire passion and curiosity. They do not decide our fate. Fate is chosen by a soul energy before it takes on physical form. Choices made both in corporeal and incorporeal form are the responsibility of each individual soul energy. Spirit guides serve only to watch over us, guiding us and mentoring us when we have need.

9. I believe in Atlantis. I believe it existed and that Atlanteans were a more advanced race of humanoids from another dimension or planet. I believe that they dwelled upon Gaia during the time of Neanderthal man and that their manipulation of our genes played a major role in our leap from Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon man. The beings we call Atlanteans saw great potential in humanity, and remained upon Gaia, living among us, pairing with us and guiding our steps towards building the some of the great civilisations of human history. I believe that some of us are direct descendents of Atlantean and human pairings and that those peoples are capable of using their minds in almost miraculous ways - they are psychic, empathic, exceptionally intuitive. They are people touched with 'knowing'.

10. I believe we can de-evolve. Sometimes a soul energy wishes to spend a life or two experiencing a simpler world. They do so in order to be free to contemplate past lives, or to remain a part of the physical world in a manner that allows them to watch humanity and/or life in a less interactive manner. This is why I am often so horrified by the callous destruction of many old growth forests. For me, the trees are alive, and just as sentient as you and I. They are 'Watchers' - soul energies who have chosen to 'watch' instead of interact, and yes, I know that their destruction is simply the means to and end, and necessary in order for that soul energy to be released, but we destroy with little regard, and even less respect for the ancient life within.

On A Less Spiritual Note ...

2009-03-16T23:56:00.001+11:00

I promise this is my last journal entry until next week. I need to return my focus to painting for the rest of the week. I think my brain might need a rest too. It has been exercised out of its usual apathy by this sudden reawakening of my "other" muse ...

And so, on a less spiritual note …

I’ve had a few people ask me how much will change with regards to my art and writing now that I’ve ‘outed’ myself spiritually, but I’m not really sure if a lot will change on the surface. I will still call upon Gaia for inspiration, protection, and love, and I suspect that many will continue to see someone who reveres her Goddess irrespective of whether I ‘worship’ Gaia as a Goddess or not. I will most likely do nothing to change that perception either, for it would be a rather tiresome endeavour to explain what I believe every single time I write or speak, and more often or not, people’s perception does not change even if you explain your point of view.

I will still use the term ‘Goddess knows …’ at the beginning of my sentences, and ascribe to the energies both names and titles that will sometimes seem to be in direct contradiction to the thoughts and feelings I have expressed over the last few days. I do not do this in order to confuse, but simply because they are the words and terms with which I, and others, am most familiar with.

I will still label my art “Goddess” art, and depict gods and goddesses, dragons and fairies as I have always done, but there is a change coming where my art is concerned. For many years I have balked at depicting some themes and concepts because I was afraid of what others may think of me. That too is a fear I have let go of, so don’t be too surprised if you start seeing the occasional nude and more sensual theme being explored along with same sex pairings. I have long held the belief that a soul does not see gender, and it’s a ‘message’ I wish to promote further in my art. There could also be more dream-like artworks that have a more surreal nature to them. Symbolism is something that will now feature heavily in my work, even more than it has in the past.

Another label I’ll be attempting to rid myself of is ‘fantasy artist’. Despite all appearances *cheeky grin* I don’t paint fantasy.

But then I am also quite trapped by the medium I use to promote myself. How does one define what I do in a few words without using the terms pagan, goddess, or fantasy and still be found? Sadly, the search engines of cyberspace are label-oriented, word-hungry little beasts and this visual artist needs to be able to promote and market herself. If I did not, I’d most likely do what the musician formerly known of as Prince did and simply ascribe a symbol to represent me and who I am. *laughs*

I will continue to promote myself as a pagan and goddess artist. In the eyes of the masses, I do paint fantasy, pagan and goddess themed artworks, but for me they are so very much more than that – they are a visual expression of the soul energies that have taken hold of my senses and inspired me at the time of their creation. But others will see whatever they choose to see. To some they are angels and divine beings, to others they are gods and goddesses, to still others they are naught but fantasy and a construct of my eccentricity and imagination.

I’ve already come to accept that when it comes to my art people see what they choose to see, and I also accept that when I write something people will often interpret what I say in a way vastly different to the message or thought I was attempting to convey. People will label me with different words regardless of whether they are accurate or not, and whether they know me or not. There was a time when the opinions of others held me prisoner, so now, I guess what I am trying to say is that it no longer matters to me what others believe of me so long as I remain true to myself.

Yes, you are sensing a note of defiance in my words. In the past, I have allowed others to tell me who I should and should not be. I have come close to finding the strength to stay true, but have then allowed my need to be loved to override my need to be ‘authentic’. Sometimes others have even gone so far as to insist that I should change so I am more likeable, and sometimes I have believed them.

When I was less sure of myself, I doubted and believed that they must be right and that to be liked and accepted, I had to become the person they wanted me to be. I know others have felt this way, and I know how heartbreaking and soul-destroying it can be to feel as if another will like you better if only you were less … you.

But no more.

I am not responsible for another’s choices, and if they choose to see something other than what or who I am, of they don’t want to accept the person that I am right now in the present, then that is their choice, and in many ways, their loss.

I am happy being me. I am proud of who I am. I am creative. I love, and I am loved. I am determined, and focussed. I create order out of chaos. I am competitive and prone to burst of jealousy that are inspired by insecurity and doubt. I have an ego the size of a mountain, but a heart that is even bigger. I am generous, and compassionate, and kind. I am capable of sharing and of being exceptionally selfish. I am open-minded, but also very old-fashioned and conservative at times. I am gregarious and I am also painfully shy. I am good, and I am not so good. I have a wicked sense of humour, and I can sometimes be cruel and insensitive, and yet I am also empathic and intuitive. I am everything I have mentioned above, and so very much more … but that being said ...

I am just me and I am no longer willing to change as single thing for anyone except myself.

I also love to ramble too. Have you noticed?

I am moving forward and away from a need for approval that has long held me prisoner. I am also letting go of a need for understanding. Some will see someone who is open and caring, who shares her thoughts and art with simple joy, while others will see that large ego and a desire to have that ego stroked. Some will connect with what I have to say, and others will shake their heads believing that I have a bad case of verbal diarrhoea. I can never be sure of how my words will be received or understood, so I have decided to just write and let people take from my words whatever they choose to, just as they do with my art.

I will be focusing more on my writing over the coming months. It is time for me to begin writing again with more frequency. *innocent look* Truly, there was a time in the past when I used to write in this manner every day, but then I let my fear silence me. I was so afraid of being misunderstood that I allowed my fear restrict me. It is an insidious fear, this fear of not belonging and need for approval. You never quite grasp just how much it imprisons you until you start looking at the things you no longer do because you were afraid of how others would react.

But no more. *laughs* (I’m thinking of making that my mantra)

At first, I will focus on writing in my journal, and pair my art and words as I continue to work on the tarot deck. This will exercise my mind and let me rediscover all the things about writing that I have forgotten. But over time I plan to contribute to several different writing ventures that have less to do with my art, and more to do with … other stuff.

I am on the next stage of my journey, and that entails my focusing more on weaving symbolism into my art, and my being less afraid to paint and write about themes and concepts others may not accept or understand quite so readily as they would a pretty fairy or beautiful goddess.

I have always believed that I am meant to both paint and write, and now it is time for me to explore that belief and see where it takes me. Again, I am both afraid of and excited by the not knowing of where this is going to lead me, but for the first time in my entire life I have come to understand that I do not need the approval of others, nor their permission, or understanding.

I cannot be anything other than who I am and I will no longer apologise to those who don’t like me, or don’t understand me. Nor will I be something I am not just so someone else can feel more secure about who they are.

Shedding of Old Skin Part Two

2009-03-16T12:43:00.003+11:00

Writing for the tarot deck has been an awakening for me. After years of not writing, I suddenly feel as if I am waking from a deep sleep. Working with the energies around me has been both inspiring and terrifying. I have been forced to look back at my past and let it go. I have also been forced to see that while I can steer my path through my choices and actions, and I can create my future by focussing my will and intent upon a desired outcome, I cannot control that outcome. It will be as it is meant to be, regardless of my wishes or desires. Our lives will always be impacted upon by outside influences, and those influences can sometimes move us in mysterious ways.

I am … changing. I am in a process of letting go, of saying goodbye. This is why I am shedding aspects of myself that were never really me to begin with.

In many ways, when I publicly took on the mantle of ‘pagan’ almost a decade ago, I did so because I wanted to belong, and the pagan community is so beautiful and magickal; I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to be a part of it so badly that I was willing to alter and mask my own spiritual beliefs in order to blend in.

I became the Chameleon.

I knew within weeks of joining my first pagan forum that I was not like the majority of the Wiccans I first met. So I labelled myself “eclectic” and became one of the solitary types who practice alone and apart from a coven. I surrounded myself with books so I could learn and use the correct terms and speak the same language, but I knew there would be the inevitable questions about what I believed.

I knew back then that my beliefs were different. I knew who I was and what I believed, but I learned to be silent because I wanted to belong. I had witnessed on more than one occasion the scorn and contempt that a number of people, pagan and otherwise, have for "new age" beliefs and practices. I have witnessed it online, and I have witnessed it first hand, and sadly enough it has often been pagan souls who have been more intolerant than any other.

Intolerance is an ugly creature, and it can exist in any community; even a community who believe themselves to be open, enlightened, and accepting of all paths. Exposure to intolerance can make people very aware of expressing those beliefs that make them different. It can inspire them to hold those beliefs within, never revealing them because to do so would bring them undesirable attention. Until recently, I have always been too afraid of that kind of attention. I did not want to be different.

After being attacked several times for embracing beliefs that were too “white-lighter” and “fluffy” for the hard-core pagans, I stopped talking about energies, and spirit guides, and angels, or the fact that I can hear my crystals sing to me. I stopped talking about my dreams and dream-walkers. I stopped talking about the Source and what I believed Magick to be.

I wanted to belong so very badly, and “pagan” was in many ways a life raft I clung to in order to prevent myself from drowning. I was vulnerable, and still healing hurts born in my teenage years. I was afraid to openly embrace my beliefs. To me, to do so symbolised standing alone, accepting that I was alone on my path. I did not want to be alone. I still needed the reassurance that comes with being a part of a community.

I am not proud to admit that I have lied in order to fit in … me … a person who demands honesty from others, as much as she demands honesty from herself.

The truth is that I don’t believe in a God and a Goddess and yet I have said that I do in order to fit within a the pagan community. For me, there is naught but soul energy, creation energy and the manifested energy we create. One day I might sit down and write out the finer details of my spiritual beliefs, but for now all I wish to do is to continue the process of shedding old skin.

I have some beautiful friends who are Pagan. They are souls I love dearly, and one or two of them walk a path that is both New Age and Pagan, just as I have one or two who are what I like to call ‘New Age Christians’. It is a beautiful thing to see and experience minds that are so open to new thoughts and beliefs and to watch them weave those beliefs into their rituals, ceremonies, and prayers. They do not hide them. They embrace their faith fully whether others are accepting or not. It is glorious to behold because they are shining example of how I feel we are meant to believe.

It is so hard to express the thinking behind what I am going through at the moment. I have come to a place in my life where I know it is time for me to stand alone and walk in my own skin. It is a time for me to take off the mask and reveal who truly am, not just to others, but to myself. It terrifies me, but it also exhilarates me. I am both afraid and excited. I feel both alone and yet embraced. I feel free in a way that is very hard to put into words.

I have had some worry for me, asking if I am burning bridges by being so public about the changes that are taking place, but if I am, then so be it. I need to be able to look within and see my true self. I need others to look at me and know that the real me is before them. If some choose to be offended by my honesty, or feel that I have deceived them in the past by declaring myself something that I am not, then so be it. I cannot steer their path. I can only walk my own.

I realise now that I don’t need to embrace a label – as much as I love to use them – nor a belief, or a community in order to belong, because I belong to a much larger “something”. Oh, the writer in me wishes I could name that “something” but I cannot, and I choose not to try. All I know is that I belong, and that I am not alone. I have never been alone, but that I’ve always been too afraid to trust in something I could not see.

I am at a place in my life where I am no longer afraid and I feel like my journey is only just now beginning. Everything before now has happened so that I would come to this point.

I don’t know what it means, or where I am going. All I do know is that I am loved.

Shedding of Old Skin

2009-03-16T12:42:00.001+11:00

Pagan: (noun) A non-Christian, Muslim, or Jew. A person who worships nature or the Earth, specifically one who practices a form of worship in imitation of any of the various religions that historically preceded Christianity.

Shed: (verb) to lose by natural process.

I first heard the word "pagan" nearly twenty-six years ago when I was fourteen years of age. It was a term bestowed upon me by a priest, during a discussion we were having about what it was that we each believed. We all sat around a fire, talking and laughing, not judging or ridiculing, regardless of whether we were Christian or not. It was one of the delights that I derived from my participation in a local Christian Youth Group. It was a safe environment and one that I felt a part of despite the fact that was not a Christian.

The priest who ran the group was a truly wonderful man. Not once did I ever feel slighted or made to feel as if I did not belong. Nor did he ever attempt to convert me. Instead, we discussed our different beliefs and embraced the similarities. He was one of the first to help me define who I am and what I believe. He played even more of an integral role than my own parents, who are not religious nor spiritual people. He was the first person to waken the "spiritual" me and expose me to concepts that are at the very core of my faith.

I did not realise or understand then that his use of the word "pagan" to describe me was to simply define me as one who was not Christian, and over time it became a label that was ingrained on a subconscious level. It was never discussed after my family moved to another town, and yet it was never forgotten. It had become something that helped me to understand who I was.

But am I Pagan simply because I am not a Christian? No. I am not, but I did for a long time believe that my spiritual love for nature made me so.

By the definition of pagan stated at the beginning of this journal entry, I would have to say that there are at least two aspects of the abovementioned definition that make me question how I can continue to define myself as pagan.

1. Worship – “A pagan is one who worships nature or the Earth”

I do not worship anything – no God, no Goddess, not even Gaia. I revere nature and Gaia, but for me She is in every breath I take. I respect and wish to protect them, but I do not feel compelled to worship either on a religious level. Nor do I worship a “God”, nor the Source. I believe in this Source with every fibre of my being, but I do not worship it nor believe it to be “God”. I believe in older and ascended energies, but again, I do not believe them to be gods.

2. “Specifically one who practices a form of worship in imitation of any of the various religions that historically came before Christianity.”

I do not worship, and more specifically, I do not follow any of the religions that predate Christianity.

So am I Pagan? Some would say yes, because there are many ecclectics walking the Pagan path who are accepting of all beliefs. Yet some would also say that I am not.

Suddenly, I found myself no longer wanting to be confined by a word and weighed down by the expectations others have of me if I was to continue to call myself Pagan.

In essence, I am stepping away from a need to label myself and define myself. On one level I am and always will be pagan but it is all a matter of individual perception. By shedding the label I am refusing to be defined in such a limiting and restricting manner that some would accept and others would not. I am rejecting other's expectations and idea of who I should be when they see the word 'pagan' next to my name.

I want to be able to share who I truly am - but to put it in a box labelled "Pagan" would be confining. I don't want to put what and who I am in a box anymore. I want my spirituality to be free and able to grow and evolve with me as a real and tangible part of me.

I also find myself feeling somewhat startled by the awareness that has taken hold of my thoughts over the last few weeks, and yet it has instilled within me a renewed sense of peace and of self. I find myself knowing that it is time for me to shed parts of my self that are no longer accurate and no longer fit who I have grown to become.

I did not shed the Pagan label earlier because I was not ready to walk alone in my own beliefs and wear them as I would my own skin, and while it is wonderful to be a part of something larger, we all have to learn to walk alone in our 'self' and be at peace with who we are and what we believe.

2009-03-09T16:41:00.003+11:00

My cat Tuatha is such a poser sometimes. Here he is, with his upper body leaning against the top of the box I keep my acrylic paints in, looking as if he does not have a care in the world, except for the camera his momma just stuffed in his face. ;)

I do love my kitty.

A Matter of Faith

2009-03-09T09:15:00.003+11:00

I'm not a religious person. I'm a bit of an odd-fish when it comes to defining what I believe.

I do not follow any religion, whether it be monotheistic or polythiestic. I am not Wiccan, nor am I a witch in the modern sense of the word.

At the core of it, I follow something closer to the New Age movement. I explore spiritual matters without the constraints or dogma of religion, and at the core of the New Age movement is the belief that we are all connected by energy. I believe in a source of creation, a place from which all energy flows and all energy returns. Is that my 'God'? In short, no. The source is more my idea of 'Heaven'.

But what about the gods and goddesses I paint? I have said on more than one occassion that I worship Gaia, have I not?

Indeed I have, but while I name Gaia as my goddess, it is but a label I use to make something very large and powerful small enough to hold and carry in my thoughts, words, and prayers. God, Goddess, Angel, Dragon -- they are naught but labels I ascribe to energies - which have existed, and exist in both in physical form and spirit form - who are more evolved than we are. Their more advanced state of evolution ascribes them with abilities that seem god-like to us. Are we capable of attaining those the same abilities? Yes, I do believe we are by expanding our own consciousness and by gaining wisdom while living in a state of positivity we waken dormant abilities that we are all born with.

So Gaia is not my Goddess in the true sense of the word. I ascribe to the belief that the Earth is a single living organism. I call her Gaia. When I dream, I can tap into the energy that is Her. But is she a goddess? No, she is so very much more than that, and without her we are cannot exist in our physical form. We are dependent upon her for life. This is why I am so passionate about walking on this earth with gentle steps.

But what is this Magick I refer to all the time? In short, Magick is life force ... energy. It is like music, a song, hence my calling it the Song of Magick, and through the act of focusing our will and intentions upon it we can make magick happen. Yes, I do believe that we can manipulate the energy within us, and around us in order to make manifest a desired outcome. That is where 'faith' comes into it for me, and my strength of belief, my faith, rarely fails me.

We have the ability and choice to create positive and negative energy. We humans, we are creators, and the energy we create has impact upon the outcome of our goals, our self, and those who share space with us. This is where my belief in Karma comes into play and why I espouse a belief that we should all take responsibility for our choices and actions. There is a cause and effect for everything we do. What goes around comes around. We reap what we sew. Both are true. If we act with bad intentions, creating negative energy, working with negative energy, we draw negative energy to us like a magnet, which results in that karmic kick in the ass we often dread. If we exist in a state of positivity, acting and making decisions and choices with good intentions, then the outcome will usually be more to our liking. No, it might not be the outcome we ask for or expect, but rewarding nonetheless.

There is more to what I believe - reincarnation plays a big role. I believe in past lives, soul mates, spirit guides, ghosts, different planes of existance and alternate realities. If I chose to go into greater detail and discuss how I believe humanity came to be, then you'd also discover that I also have a very strong belief that we are definitely not alone in this vast universe.

But at the very heart of what I believe is faith. No, by faith I do not mean 'religion'. I mean faith - a belief that higher powers are guiding my life journey, combined with a belief in myself that I can fulfill my goals and succeed in all that I do. It is what motivates me. It moves me forward towards the outcomes I desire. Without that faith, nothing I have written would have any meaning or truth. It would merely be empty words on a page.

A Thought

2009-03-06T10:57:00.000+11:00

To live a life ruled by Creativity and Inspiration is like falling into a fast-flowing river. To fight the current is an exercise in futility; one that will lead to your tiring and being dragged down beneath the surface, or smashed against the rocks. To survive, to be happy, you can do but one thing ...

... give in. Go with the flow and see where the river takes you.

2009-03-05T10:43:00.002+11:00

I've drawn out the lineworks for several of the major arcana cards for the tarot. I'm really happy with them too. Want a sneak peek?

I think I have mentioned this before, but I am not doing a traditional tarot. I'm breaking with tradition. In fact, some would say that I am blatantly thumbing my nose at tradition by creating a deck that is going to be quite radically different to a normal tarot. But without wishing to sound too 'fey' I am just doing what I was asked to do. I have had many readings and dreams all telling me the same thing - that I am charged with rediscovering the ancient voice of the goddess, not just for me, but for others too. So no, this is not just a desire to be published, but something I am compelled to create, and a divination tool is the means.

So why mess with the tarot? I've had several people ask me why I would even consider doing something so risky. I'm going out on a limb here because there will be many out there who won't take me seriously and who will scorn what I hope to create. So why do it?

Why not do it? Life is all about change and evolution. We all grow and change from one minute to the next. Change is a part of nature, and tarot is not immutable. When it first came into being, it consisted of only the major arcana; there was no minor arcana. That was added along the way. There have been other changes throughout the centuries, but the truth is that tarot has been reworked many times throughout recorded history; someone with a vision comes along and reworks it to fit that vision. That's me. I have a vision, and my dreams have told me that this is what I am meant to do ... and so I am taking the necessary steps.

It's not something that I really have much choice in either, because when I deviate, when I get scared and try to steer back to doing the easy thing, i.e. just recreating what's already been done, I get smacked upside the head. I am bombarded with dreams, my readings get all "Excuse me, but this is not how we want it to be!" and my ability to paint and write simply disappear. Honestly, when I don't do what I was asked to do, inspiration flees, and I feel as if I am trying to write and paint with a head full of quicksand or cement. I am tormented and tortured until I tow the line again and go back to doing what the powers that be want me to do.

Call me a loon, or eccentric, or think me blessed (or cursed), but know that everything I am, and everything I believe is going into the creation of this deck. I was blessed with the ability to both write and paint ... Why? Because I have a purpose, a destiny.

So yeah, there are those of us who don't like change, and those who embrace it, but regardless of which camp you dwell in, change is inevitable and in some ways, I am the means of its implementation.

My role is to create a deck that reawakens or establishes a connection with our Earth, whom I call Gaia. In many ways, I am giving the energies that walk my dreams, a more human face and form that will not intimidate so that they may walk in your dreams too, be seen and heard, but not as feared as they might have been if they came to you in the forms they have visited me. The tarot is the tool I have chosen to work with. I know it to be a very powerful tool for opening the mind, and so now I am tweaking it so it fills a new role as a means to commune with Gaia through tarot and dreams.

As a result, a good number of the traditional archetypes have been changed or replaced. Some of the female archetypes have been replaced by male, and others have been split with the aspects each card represented merged with others to create something new. No, I am well aware that new is not necessarily better. I will never say that what I am doing will create something bigger, brighter, and better, or that it should and will replace the old. I am creating something to serve a purpose. I am creating something for those who have never been able to connect with traditional tarot decks, and those who are open to exploring something new, a something more earth-based in symbology and message ... Through word and imagery, I am opening the hearts and minds of others to the voice of Gaia.

So who goes and who stays? Who is changed, and who is the same? To be honest, none of them are the same. Every single card in the major arcana is somewhat different. The Fool has been split in two, becoming the Child and The Youth, The Magician and Priestess now have altered messages, The Emperor and Empress have become The Mother and The Father, and their message also has changed. The imagery of each card places all archetypes within a nature or dream setting, while animal and plant symbolism adds to the 'earth' aspect of each card.

The Heirophant - a card whose symbology has always made it impossible for me to connect with it - has been replaced by The Record-Keeper. Although I am breaking with tradition, I do believe that the recording of history and tradition is very important. We learn from the past in order to shape our present and future.

The Star and Sun have been merged, for what is the difference between a sun and a star? The answer .. naught but our perception of them. While one is visible at night, and the other visible during the day, they are the same thing. Our Sun is but a star to those who might view it from a distant galaxy. So the night and day have been merged and made one. There is more to it than that, but the meanings I took from each have meshed in a truly harmonious manner and say what 'The Star' has bid me to say. The artwork for the card is going to be stunning. In fact, it is one card that gives me shivers because her message is one I think we all should strive to undertand and embrace.

Aspects of Temperance and Judgement have been meshed because The Watcher embraces both. She is an energy who asks that we watch and move slowly before we act; that we use our good judgement to base our actions and decisions upon.

The Tower is now the Catalyst, and takes on aspects of the Wheel of Fortune. The catalyst is the bringer of sudden and unexpected change. He is not an easy energy to work with. In fact, he's given me nightmares on more than one occassion, but he is part of everyone's destiny, for those changes and surprises he brings either make us strive to overcome in order to fulfil our destiny, or move us closer to it by forcing us to change our course or steer our lives in a direction it needs to go. No, what he brings to our lives is not always positive, or happy, but he is necessary.

Other aspects of the Wheel of Fortune are covered by another - The Seeker. She too is a 'destiny' and 'signs' oriented energy. She is the one who places little signs along your path ... those things that make your mind twitch and go tumbling off to find answers to questions those little signs make you ask. Those signs, the little coincidences ... they are important. She is the energy behind the questions we ask, that inspire us to learn, that also move us closer to fulfilling goals and reaching our destiny.

The Moon remains, because she would whack me upside the head if I even considered leaving her out. But her message has evolved to one that is less forboding and more just a plea that we embrace both the dark and light of our personalities and nature. We are creatures of duality, no matter how hard some might choose or wish to deny it. We are night and day, capable of great good and great evil, loving and cruel, capable of pure joy and great rage. She represents unity through duality, patterns, and cycles.

The Lovers have become the Soulmates, but their message has also changed somewhat. They have a message of love, trust, and commitment. They are not just lovers, but friends, parent and child, siblings and soul-connected. They ask us to be aware of the importance of that feeling of 'knowing' or of 'recognition' you sometimes feel when you meet someone. It happens for a reason - watch for it, embrace it, because sometimes that person, or animal, is meant to teach you something important, and other times it is a reuniting of two souls who have known each other before. The Soulmates represent a love that transcends time ... and death.

I could continue, but I think you all now understand what I mean by non-traditional. With this deck, I think the best thing one can do is to expect the unexpected. I would give you the expected if I thought I could get away with it, but believe me, I'd rather take on the outrage and scorn of the die-hard traditionalists than face my Goddess and tell her that I don't have the courage to use the gifts I was granted to fulfil the task she set for me. My dreams would be tortured for eternity.

And so I will end this here with a few links off to a few of the lineworks I finished yesterday ...

The Child
The Mother
The Star

Brightest blessings, my friends.
xxx

Website Update - February

2009-02-24T21:14:00.003+11:00

Finally! The Dreams of Gaia website has been updated. There have been a few changes to the site, with this journal now replacing the 'News and Updates' page. It is so much easier for me to keep you all aprised of new happenings via a journal which I promise to update at least once a week. I love my journals, and so it's something I am willing to devote time to each week.

Anyways, back to the changes made at Dreams of Gaia.

There have been several new artworks added on the 'Soul of Dragons Oracle' page, but I've not told you about the Soul of Dragons Oracle yet have I? The Soul of Dragons Oracle is a project I will be working on during those times when I need to take a step back from work on the tarot deck. The creation of a new tarot is proving to be a delightful, but sometimes challenging experience, that sometimes requires me to pause and recover from the demands being made upon my senses. Painting the artworks for the Soul of Dragons Oracle seems to help me release the breath I sometimes feel like I am holding whilst working on the tarot. Being charged by the Goddess to bring forth a creation of this nature is somewhat emotionally and psychologically taxing as each new archetype forces me to experience their story and meaning as I bring forth their splendour with brush and paint.

But the Dragonkin are proving to be much gentler and compassionate, allowing me to simply paint and relax.

I digress, don't I? If you visit my journal regularly, you will discover that this too is something I do quite often. *smiles*

The 'Soul of Dragons Oracle' will combine the energy of both dragons and crystals, bringing heaven and earth together in a magickal way. Dragons, creatures born among the stars, and crystals, the children of Gaia are a powerful and transformative combination. The dragonkin are portrayed as common archetypes, some ancient, others more modern, and their purpose is to help the user walk their life journey in a harmonious manner, aware of their own 'self' and the world around them, in peace and with joy in their hearts. They are here to waken the dragon's soul that dwells within you.

There are five artworks/cards already painted and on display on the page I have created for this new project. Each card is named, and has the crystals, their properties, and the symbology used in the paintings explained. The artworks can also be purchased as prints.

As for the tarot, work has been halted for a few weeks as I finish the last few paintings for 'Dreams of Magick'. All but two paintings have been completed, the page layout and content has been finalised, and once the two remaining artworks have been finished the book will be on its way to the publisher ... at last.

I have updated the 'Dreams of Magick' page to give you a sneek peek at the internal pages of the book, and being the wicked soul that I am, I have included just a little part of the cover artwork in the banner at the top of the page. This beautiful artwork, along with several others, are little gems that will not be revealed to the public until the book is in print and available for purchase later in the year.

Once the book is completed, it will be time for me to put my head down and focus on the 'Dreams of Gaia Tarot'. I hope to have the website for this ever growing creation online within a few weeks of finalising the book artwork so you can all have a sneek peek at the magicks being wrought in the name of Gaia.

So let me see now ... what else has changed? Oh yes! I have put the prices down on both my prints and original artworks. Yes, you read correctly. The prices have gone down. This reduction is due to a lowering in value of the Australian dollar. As the US dollar strengthens, I earn more in the exchange, and as a result I can now offer my prints and originals at a lower price. Be sure to stop by the individual galleries and take advantage of the reduced prices.

Before I bore you all senseless, I have one final piece of news. The Mythic Oracle is now available for purchase. You can purchase a signed copy of this beautiful deck through my website, or through Blue Angel Publishing or Amazon.com. I am very proud of this magickal deck. It was a very rewarding project to work on, and one that placed my feet upon the path I now walk. I hope you enjoy it also.

On that note, I will bid you all farewell and end this journal entry. May your days be bright, your step light, and your heart filled with joy.

Brightest Blessings
xxx
M

Shared Passions

2009-02-23T13:58:00.004+11:00

I just received the most wonderful gift in the mail. It's from my father. My father and I have a shared passion for crystals. He loves looking for them, polishing them and revealing their hidden beauty, and I love collecting them and filling my home and life with their magickal energy.

So you can only imagine how delighted I was to find a parcel waiting for me at the post office. My mother had told me to watch for it, but with the loss of our sweet dog last week, it had totally slipped my mind. But today when I went to check the mailbox, I found a slip there telling me of a box waiting for collection. Inside the box was one of the most beautiful arrays of tumbled stones I have beheld in a long time.

There is carnelian, lace agate, moss agate, several types of jaspar, clear quartz, smokey quartz, malachite and the most exquisate gem grade pieces of topaz. Truly, the topaz, it takes my breath away. There is such an amazing energy to the stone. I am now going to have to go and invest in some silver wire so I can wrap these lovelies and place them on a bracelet. I want them close to me.

It's truly a symbiotic love we share. My father collects crystals that are found throughout Australia, while I send him crystalline treasures from other lands. It brings me joy, just as his doing the same for me brings him joy.

Brightest Blessings
xxx
M

An Introduction

2009-02-22T22:48:00.004+11:00

Welcome to my first post at my new blogspot address. I hope to eventually streamline this journal so that it is fully integrated into my website, but until then, I hope you will enjoy being able to access my website via the links to the side of the page.

I will allow myself to get used to this new journal and the features available over the next few weeks, and then when I next update my website I will incorporate this journal, replacing my old livejournal address with this new one.

So who am I? I am an artist and writer, lover of fantasy, magick, the unseen and the dreamed. I am currently working on several projects for Blue Angel Publishing here in Australia, namely my first book, Dreams of Magick, and my first tarot deck, The Dreams of Gaia Tarot. I will be using this journal to post about new artwork and updates regarding the release of these two magickal publications. I will also be posting my amateur photography efforts, and making rambling posts about life, love, and the ups and downs of being an artist.

Anyway, I will sign off this first entry here. My website, Dreams of Gaia, can be explored by visiting the links to the left, while my other galleries and older journals can also be visited if you desire.

Until next time,
Bright Blessings
M