Margot Velvet

Author: Margot Velvet

  • Tarot Practice

    Tarot Practice

    (This page contains columns which I know do not display well on mobile. For ease of reading, switch to desktop view or read on a computer.)

    My best friend is learning tarot and I jumped on the opportunity to get a simple three card spread from her. While I was waiting for my reading, my husband and I decided to pull cards for each other. Our results are as follows:

    My Spread: Three of Cups, Four of Swords, Knight of Pentacles

    My Past was bright, with fun relationships, celebration, partying and joyousness. I interpret this as a reference to living with my previously mentioned bestie – my soulmate.

    My Present is all about resting and taking a breath. Meditation. Rejuvenation. I am centrally focused on becoming balanced. This needs no interpretation: it is straight truth.

    My Future indicates progress. A strong work ethic and drive to push ahead will reap reward. I must keep doing the work, put my shoulder to the wheel. Keep on keeping on.

    His Spread: Three of Pentacles Reversed, Page of Cups Reversed with Ace of Cups Crossed, King of Wands Reversed

    I should specify that his Present card was actually crossed with a secondary card, as he felt the need to pull the top one and overlay it. I drew his three cards and he drew the top cross.

    His Past was rife with disharmony. He was alone, shouldering the burden and feeling woefully unsupported. This is evident without needing interpretation.

    His Present is at a standstill. He is stuck, avoiding responsibility. He deflects with immature responses. He is doubting his inner nature. The cross card tells us the solution lies in paying attention to those who love him most and taking their advice. He must lean on his spouse and practice self-love. The way forward is by deepening his relationships.

    His Future reads of a stark warning: don’t be hasty. He must not lose his temper. He must let people love him and he must shed his ego.

    I think, in particular, our Presents are most interesting. Both sets of cards play off of each other wonderfully. My head has been deep in the clouds of learning, reflection and practicing intuition. A few weeks ago he asked me if I would start helping him learn to do the same. (We call this “working on his Purple Light” as we both agree he is an Indigo Star Seed.) He has been learning about his higher self, his intuitive gifts and his connection to the Universe along with me.

    Shortly after this, I received this spread from my best friend:

    My Bestie’s Spread: Two of Cups, Temperance, Eight of Cups

    Cups, cups, cups and more cups!

    My Past, once again, references a happy and peaceful relationship. This time in particular, with just one person. A soulmate (*ahem* enter bestie, again!). This aligns perfectly with my previous reading. There is an emphasis on spiritual love, mutual support and intimacy.

    My Present is, again, centered on finding peace and balance. It’s about crafting better situations. “You’re finding ways to renew yourself, filling your own cup.” This card was initially reversed, but righted itself as it hit the table, indicating that I have been struggling to find that balance and, for the most part, overcoming those issues.

    My Future suggests a need to walk away from difficult or painful situations. At first I am tempted to draw interpretation from my husband’s scary Future card, but deep down I feel this one is about my blood family. This card makes me nervous. Do I have the strength to stand up for myself and move away from the familiar?

  • Full Moon in Sagittarius

    Full Moon in Sagittarius

    A MoonOmens live Global Meditation ::: 6/5/2020

    “I am allowed to believe
    in myself. I am allowed
    to be proud of myself.
    It is my duty to shine.”

    -Tricia Huffman

    The past couple of weeks have been rough. I am dealing with a new body; not quite so different and yet radically changed.

    I am lighter in form, but struggling. I have been changing my daily rituals, routines, and habits to become healthier in many ways but bettering myself in some ways is wrecking havoc in others.

    Initially I was 322 lbs and constantly menstruating, losing so much blood in such large quantities that it was disrupting every aspect of my life. My uterine lining was nearly triple normal thickness. I was physically and emotionally drained. I was spending huge amounts of money on feminine products. I missed work due to uncontrollable blood clots and ruining my clothes midday. I stopped having sex with my husband. Everywhere I went, I needed to know where the bathroom was in case of the inevitable emergency. My hands were raw from washing them all day long. I became inhuman in the eyes of doctors and was instead a diagnosis: morbidly obese with endometrial hyperplasia. Doctors ran tests to determine the cause. I had painful procedures done to my most intimate parts that still scare me to think of. All of this and the answer was: you’re just too fat. Fat stores estrogen. Estrogen promotes uterine lining growth. I bled almost every single day from March 2019 – February 2020. I became a shadow of who I once was.

    I lost 55 pounds in three and a half months which has put an end to that problem. At first it was a miracle. Daily life resumed. The burden on my wallet ended. I could go out and have a normal social life without worrying that I’d need to leave early with a jacket wrapped around my waist. No more emergency trips to Walgreens. No more awkward bathroom trips. But something else was stirring and I knew for a while this was not sustainable.

    I ended up in the emergency room on June 7th. The events leading up to that are uncomfortable to speak of and I’m not sure I want to divulge the details anyway. All of the inner turmoil served as background noise to my life over the last several weeks. It was hard to meditate and reflect on anything in particular. My body was so out of balance that meditation could not be a tool for introspection, only relief from the present.

    Things are already improving now and for that, I am exceedingly grateful. I am not sure how much littler I can become. I set a goal of 220lbs. I am currently 40lbs shy of my end goal and I don’t know if I can reach it. It saddens me to think that it might just be impossible. It’s something I need to reevaluate and get comfortable with.

    I did participate in the Global Meditation… but I fell asleep. I needed it.

    The full moon in Sagittarius released some burdens for me and has made things clearer in its beautiful light. Thank you.

    I am looking forward to the next meditation on the 21st. A lot has happened in a short amount of time and I am ready (and capable!) to jump back in.

  • On Magical Places (pt. two)

    On Magical Places (pt. two)

  • On Magical Places (pt. one)

    On Magical Places (pt. one)

  • May 31st, 2020

    May 31st, 2020

    JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD. Defund The Police.

    Last night, people all over the world were protesting police brutality and the death of George Floyd (among countless, countless other atrocities). In the aftermath, I am left heartbroken. Not because of the looters and rioters, but because of the unanimous response of condemnation that I am seeing across my social media and timelines.

    I am a white woman, living in suburbia, and I am living just a hair above the state poverty limit. I recognize my privilege. I see it every day and it’s not fucking fair. And I see what POC are going through and my heart is aching, ACHING, with them. I stand in solidarity to all oppressed peoples. There is no room in my life for hate or disgust, only love and (currently) despair.

    Everyone (especially white people): LISTEN TO BLACK VOICES. BE THEIR WITNESS. It is not fake or imagined or exaggerated. Use your privilege for good – your silence is screaming apathy. The rioting and looting is the result of years and years of unjust brutality against POC and a president who can’t keep his mouth shut and only seems to make things worse at every turn. It’s pent up anger spilling out. The police have created this problem by making institutionalized racism and MURDER normal and turned a blind eye to real justice. We are at a breaking point. And those people out there condemning these riots and the actions of these people: Can any white person, in their heart, be sure what their breaking point would be after living a life of oppression, loss, and inequality?

    I donated to the Chicago Community Bond Fund to help pay bail for some of those 1,000 people arrested last night. The City of Chicago implemented a curfew without warning, then promptly shut down the CTA and lifted almost all of the drawbridges – effectively trapping those left in the city without a means to leave, rendering them all ‘criminals’ and arrestable. I could barely believe it was happening. The Cook County jail is sure to be full to bursting, and in the middle of a global pandemic situation, this is criminal. This could be a death sentence for some.

    I was watching the Twitter feeds roll in in real time. It started very peacefully, but then videos of police initiating violence started coming in after curfew began. Here is what was happening in Chicago:

    https://twitter.com/Valerie_k13/status/1266945178453118978
    https://twitter.com/may20p/status/1266912334989217792?s=09
    ^^^ THIS THREAD IS IMPORTANT – Click the link and watch the videos ^^^

    The Chicago Freedom School opened it’s doors to those left trapped in the city and could not leave. Lots of people were offering rides to those left downtown without an exit strategy. This coming together in the midst of chaos was beautiful.

    I hope people come to realization that this was completely avoidable if everyone (law enforcement, govt, friends, family, society!) practiced compassion.

    Where is our empathy? Why is the common reaction to be empathetic towards to businesses first? Why are you worried about Macy’s and Gucci and Nike and Target and AutoZone? Corporations are not people. A store can be rebuilt. Inventory is insured. Unemployment income is available. A LIFE EXTINGUISHED CANNOT BE REPLACED.

  • Inventory – Stones and Crystals

    Inventory – Stones and Crystals

    (this page does not display correctly on mobile. Wish List is shown first, then the Procured List)

    Wish List

    Procured List

    • Obsidian // bowl or slab – scrying
    • Blue Kyanite
    • Agate // slab (2), cabochon (3), worrystone
    • Agate (Apricot) // chip
    • Agate (Blue Lace) // chip
    • Agate (Botswana) // chip
    • Agate (Brazilian) // rough
    • Agate (Flower/Blossom) // heart
    • Agate (Moss) // worry stone, heart, palm stone
    • Agate (Mozambique) // rough
    • Amazonite // mala beads, partial chip, rough, crystal key
    • Amethyst // rough (4), polished chip, heart
    • Amethyst (Black) // cluster
    • Amethyst (Chevron/Dream) // palmstone
    • Amethyst (Moroccan) // cluster (2)
    • Angelite // rough, specimen
    • Apache Tear // tumble
    • Apophyllite // cluster, specimen
    • Aquamarine // precious jewelry , specimen
    • Aragonite // cluster
    • Aragonite (blue) // rough
    • Aragonite (pink) // rough
    • Aventurine // heart, rough, aura cube
    • Black Tourmaline // rough, earrings
    • Bloodstone // tower, pendulum
    • Calcite (Blue) // rough, pyramid
    • Calcite (Brown) // rough (2)
    • Calcite (Caribbean) // geo form
    • Calcite (Green) // specimen
    • Calcite (Honey) // rough (3)
    • Calcite (Orange) // rough
    • Calcite (Moroccan) // slice
    • Carnelian // palmstone, chip, arrowhead, heart
    • Celestite // specimen
    • Charoite // cab
    • Chrysoprase // rough (3)
    • Citrine (heated amethyst) // cluster
    • Citrine // DT, smokey point
    • Dolomite // chip
    • Fluorite // specimen, worry stone, point (4), tower, wand, cube, rough (2), faceted
    • Fluorite (Bingham) // specimen
    • Fluorite (Illinois) // specimen
    • Garnet // precious jewelry
    • Geode // half
    • Goldstone // skull (red), chip (green), heart
    • Green opal // tumble
    • Halite // lamp
    • Hematite (Michigan) // specimen
    • Hematite (rainbow aura) // tumble
    • Howlite // worry stone, mala beads
    • Indicolite (Blue Tourmaline) // tumble
    • Iowaite // rough
    • Jasper // worry stone
    • Jasper (Bumblebee) // sphere
    • Jasper (Desert/Polychrome) // palm stone (2)
    • Jasper (Gold) // rough
    • Jasper (Kambaba/crocodile) // tumble
    • Jasper (Ocean) // palmstone
    • Jasper (Picture) // chip
    • Jasper (Wyoming) // palm stone
    • K2 // tumble
    • Kyanite (black) // specimen (3)
    • Labradorite // pendant, slab
    • Lapis Lazuli // pendants (polished, rough), wall hanging, bowl pipe
    • Larimar // cab
    • Lepidolite // rough
    • Malachite // specimen
    • Moonstone // partial chip
    • Moonstone (Rainbow) // freeform
    • Obsidian // rough specimen
    • Obsidian (snowflake) // heart, pyramid
    • Opal // cab
    • Opal (black) // precious jewelry, faceted gemstone
    • Opal (Hyalite) // specimens (4)
    • Orgone // penta-sphere, Psyduck
    • Orpheite // specimen
    • Peacock Ore // rough (6)
    • Petrified Wood // freeform (3), palmstone, tumble
    • Phosphosiderite // chip
    • Pyrite // cube
    • Pyrite (Quartz) // rough
    • Pyrite (Sun) // sun
    • Pink Tourmaline (Quartz) // rough, palmstone
    • Quartz // pendant, chip, cluster, nugget, point, arrowhead, jewelry
    • Quartz (Aura) // point, cylinder tower (2)
    • Quartz (Garden/Lodalite) // mini tower (2)
    • Quartz (Hematoid) // palmstone
    • Quartz (Lemurian seed) // point(2)
    • Quartz (Milky) // chip, rough
    • Quartz (Rose) // chip, rough (2), worry stone, jewelry
    • Quartz (Smokey) // chip, specimen, jewelry, polished point, cluster
    • Quartz (Yellow, dyed) // cluster
    • Rhodocrosite // moon cab
    • Rhodonite // cabochon
    • Ruby Fuchsite // freeform
    • Ruby Zoisite // cube
    • Rosasite // Rough
    • Selenite // tower, point wand (2), charger
    • Selenite (rose) // rose
    • Septarian // rough (3)
    • Serpentine // sphere, rough
    • Soapstone // cactus, eagle, ram, coyote
    • Sodalite // rough(2), heart(2)
    • Sulfur (Italian) // cluster
    • Sunstone // freeform
    • Tanzanite // faceted gemstone
    • Tiger Eye // chip, heart (2)
    • Unakite // worry stone
    • ??? // chip

    Gemsbymail.com
    Laura MacDonald
    Gifted
    Virgo Gems
    LoveAll Land and Sea
    Quest Bookshop (Theosophical Society)
    MotherEarthRocks Shop
    BCPJewelry

  • Dear Mother in Law,

    Dear Mother in Law,

    Today, your son showed me some of your trinkets.

    They were all carefully packed away in your chifforobe, loosely organized but done so with love. He told me about how he made the buckskin medicine bag and filled it with herbs and calcite dust. He collected seashells and fossils and rocks for you.

    He showed me your tarot decks: one perfectly preserved and wrapped in a scarf, a well-worn paper booklet placed upon it that still wore your fingerprints. The other, a practical Rider Waite. I was so happy, actually, relieved, when he said you preferred the Waite deck over the fancier one. I think it has better vibes, too. I pulled the most perfect card from it today. We left it shuffled as you had it, however many ages ago it was that you’d used it last.

    I wonder if you were a Star Seed. I wonder if your spirit really was too much for your body. I wonder if you truly were so magnificently special that you just couldn’t make it here in this reality, and your co-existence with a physical body was doomed, no matter what. I wonder if you infused your light into your son. I wonder if he has the same gifts. (We’ve talked about this at length during our quarantine conversations.)

    I hope you have forgiven me for all the things I did not do. I assumed you had and then promptly put it out of my mind, perhaps selfishly. I hope all that I have done since has made you happy. I hope that continuing on in your tradition honors you.

    And I hope you don’t mind if I use your deck! I read that it is bad luck to buy your own first deck, that it must instead be given or gifted or found. Your son offered it to me in your absence.

    I am sorry that the last thing you ate was Chef Boyardee ravioli. I remembered that recently and it’s been bothering me. It just doesn’t seem right. I know, it’s dumb. I know you don’t actually care. 🙂

    I’m sorry for not saying anything to you out loud while you were dying, besides thanking you for raising such a wonderful son. It was forced because I was sad and scared and all those people were there and I hated it. But I read from The Prophet to you the night before, and that holds more meaning to me than all the rest of it combined.

    I hope you have forgiven me for sometimes misplacing my bitterness toward the disease and putting it on you. I know you know how left out I felt, how third-wheely it could be sometimes. It was really hard for both of us in completely different ways. I did not want to compete for your son’s time. So, I chose not to. You always came first and I understood, I never challenged that. I know sometimes you did, and I have forgiven you, too. I hope it’s okay to say it.

    I told your son today today – or maybe yesterday – that I did not have any impressions of you ever being here or visiting. The first and last time that happened was right after you died, soon after we got rid of the hospital bed in the living room. (I wanted it gone – I think you would have approved of its immediate removal.) I also told him that I believe we can call out to loved ones and they can hear us and respond. They can visit and answer our call. I know he has called out to you in the past, but he didn’t know he could do it and have any effect. He knows now.

    Just sayin’.

    You would be so proud of him.

  • New Moon in Gemini

    New Moon in Gemini

    a MoonOmens live Global Meditation ::: 5/22/2020

    “I am here in this moment filled
    with emotions and feelings. A lot
    has unfolded this month, and as
    I make sense of it all, I surrender
    and trust that all is well and
    divine timing is at work.”

    ~ Shawn Fontaine

    I am not aware of any presence beyond my own. I have arrived at my garden to find myself transported, trapped, entangled in the wild and unkempt wilderness. It is dark and purple and I am bound by ropes of plant material – not ivy, but strands of thick green vegetation. Like a maze of pumpkin vines, they are wrapped around my body, strapping me to the earth as I lie on my back, looking helplessly up at the swirl of the sky.

    I am not breathing normally. My lungs are struggling to take in breaths that are satisfying. I pant. I am distracted. It’s not even nighttime. I don’t like this – this doesn’t feel right. Why am I alone? Where is Gemini? I am fluttering between the garden and real life, blipping in and out of each.

    Of course… I am Gemini. I am both Twins.

    I take a moment to concentrate on breathing and bring the me in real life to the me in the garden. I am disjointed, disconnected. I need to actually pull myself together. Bring the physical to the spiritual. In real life, I have brought a selenite tower. It is crude as a wand, but it will work. My left palm is open, facing up and open to the stream of universal truth and knowledge. My right hand holds the tower, pointing inwards at an angle. I am swirling the crystal, stirring the energy that holds the vines in place. I am twirling the vines up and away with the crystal, like spaghetti around a metaphysical fork. I fling it off and away, and go back for more. I release this energy, this symbolic impediment, this stagnation, back into the universe.

    I feel … simultaneously embarrassed for myself, because I am so sure this looks dumb. I am also confused, because it seems to be actually working. In the garden, I am free of the earthen prison. In real life, I am calm and breathing and relaxed. My brow has softened, and I feel … lighter!

    I am One Gemini, both Twins, body and spirit, and I put the garden visualization aside. I snap back to real life and zone into what the speaker is saying. My eyes are closed and I am crying, though just a tiny bit. This session confuses me. I am feeling too human; I am stupidly incapable and unable to grasp the true lesson today. I did not even get to check in on my Light Plant. I tell myself that it is okay to be imperfect; just go with it. Listen to your body this time. Quietly I sit, watching the blackness behind my eyelids churn slowly like a lava lamp. I feel the familiar tingle in my extremities. I relax. I breathe. I listen.

    The speaker says something along the lines of,

    “My past self would be so grateful to see where I am now. All they wanted was to know that I would make it through and be okay. Here I am.

    So here I am.”

    And there is the truth. How quickly I have forgotten how recently it was I was searching for reassurance. I got it. I made it. I was saved. I moved on. And so soon after, I lost sight of my own struggle – almost immediately!! I apologized to the Universe for being a brat. I thanked the selenite for the role it played – as a symbol or an actual item of power, I am not certain.

    Now, it is back to work.

  • Green and blue and Beautiful

    Green and blue and Beautiful

    In one ear is the deep thu-THUMPing of my husband.
    The other tells me of the mixed tune of the water fountain on the lake, continuously splashing its playful song, and the swish of the tree leaves overhead.
    The breeze is a breath above cool – room temperature and almost imperceptible except for when the gust lifts the hair on my legs and arms.
    I can close my eyes because I know it will all be the same when I open them.
    I love him so much.

  • On Spirit Guides

    On Spirit Guides

    Just now I was having a panic attack in the kitchen. Overcome with anger and frustration with the state of the world (this, in the time of pandemic and pandemic-deniers) and politics, complicated by my lack of sleep, I was literally rocking in my chair with my head in my hands on the verge of tears.

    My husband piped up, “Think of other people, that can help.” So my mind went to my family — suffering in the loneliness of quarantine. Not helpful. I tried to sing a favorite song from my childhood, “Don’t Turn Around” by Ace of Base (so cheesy, I know) but the way it came out of me, garbled and remorseful, was such a mockery that it made me laugh instead.

    For some reason, I picked my head up and asked my husband, “Do you believe in spirit guides or guardian angels, that kind of thing?” He said he didn’t know and turned the question back to me. I thought for a bit and considered the hokey TV psychics (most notably the British guy from Most Haunted who always consulted trusty “Sam”) and said “…mmmmNo. Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

    “Why do you ask?” he queried. “I think you do. Don’t you feel better now than you did five minutes ago?”

    “Well, yeah.. but I don’t know. Thinking about woo-woo stuff makes me feel better.”

    “So rationalizing it does what, exactly? I think you answered your own question and immediately threw out the answer.”

    “But if I had a spirit guide or a guardian angel, wouldn’t I know? Wouldn’t I know who they were?”

    “No. Think about that. If their purpose is to guide you, if you knew for sure they were there, it would defeat the purpose.”

    Okay, so he worded things a lot more elegantly than that and the conversation continued on. The point is quite valid. If we do have guides or angels, their purpose is to gently guide us, to push us in the right direction, to subtly influence us or provide inspired insight or comfort. Would it not be … ruined? if we knew they were there…?

    Humans are stubborn. Our desire to rebel is strong and difficult to resist. Most of us are guilty of being defiant just because we don’t like being told what to do. We like to think our good ideas are OUR good ideas. We can sometimes be reluctant to give credit. And even in times when a thought seems to pop into our heads, seemingly from nowhere, we still take credit for subconsciously putting it there… somehow.

    I am open-minded to spirit guides, even if I am still (even after this, sorry, Universe) skeptical. I tend to disbelieve people who see and know their guides, especially by name. I don’t know if I believe fully in angels – except in the case of passed-on relatives who are occasionally visiting their loved ones. I definitely am resistant to the idea that people are assigned guardian angels (especially with wings and halos – it seems so, SO wrong somehow!); some random soul who is charged with looking after you from beyond. Seems ludicrous. But then again… anything can be possible. So once more, I am left with more questions than answers.

    For now, I am satisfied with wondering and keeping my distance. Spirit Guide, Angel, if you are out there listening, thanks for helping me feel better. I won’t blow your cover. 🙂