Dear Community,

Hello loved ones... You beautiful majestic creatures! Some of us are heading out of town and off to Oahu, HI. It's less of a vacation and more of a pilgrimage back home. Still, we certainly can't complain.

We plan to breathe in as deeply as the humidity will allow us, send gratitude to every mosquito that makes it known we're impeding upon their turf, and generally slow the fuck down... at least for a few days.

We've been rushing around getting ready for our trip and trying to ready this space for some upcoming changes when we realized what we really needed was to slow down and clear space... that all this was enough.

After we stumbled upon this little twitter truth bomb we took some deep inhales and exhales. We heated up a yoga room and used this as mantra while we sweated, stretched, strengthened, and played with our local yoga community. We opened our hearts and let our skin weep. We twisted and collapsed into heaps of flesh, grounded to earth. We marinated in the healing sacred scent of Palo Santo and rhythmic resonation of each other's breath.

So, that was our long winded way of saying, we're taking a short break and will return to regularly scheduled programming soon. In the mean time, if you're local, here's a list of who's holding down the fort...

Janet Riley Subbing, This Wednesday, 10/14/15 @ 9am, Deep Dog Yoga Event Link: HERE

Not local? Feeling low on unicorn community?

Go visit You Are Fucking Majestic Tumblr for a little pep talk and we'll see you on the flipside.

Much Aloha,

The COM|PASSionate REVOLT Community

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*Events are put on by the CR Community/CR Community members. Other events are by friends of the CR Community or of interest to the CR Community. Feeling a little nervous about getting out and involved? Email us and if we can we'll make some introductions so you have a friendly face to say "Hi" to when you get there!

**Most of these events will be local to Southern CA (unless we notice an event that sets us off into road trip dreamland.) If you want to do a COM|PASSionate event round-up for your local area let us know!

***Are you an individual, meet-up or community group that has some COM|PASSionate events of your own? Email us for details on how to submit your event to our calendar!

****Have your own story about healing or thoughts on healing? Are you a queer vegan healer? Want to talk to your community about ways you're living consciously and connected? Do you want your blog, org, or event to be featured on one of our running series or want to do an interview introducing yourself to the COM|PASSionate REVOLT Community? Are you a unicorn in a pony world disguising your magickal star dust sprinkling mane to live amongst the commoners?

Pitch us a blog series or interview idea!! Contact us at compassionaterevolt@gmail.com!

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There are photographs in this post that were borrowed lovingly from the internet and do not belong to us. All are linked and credited to the best of our abilities in hopes of attracting more traffic to the photographers and websites who have blessed us with this imagery. The inclusion of a photograph here should not be interpreted as an assertion of the subject's or artist's identity or beliefs. If there is a photo included here that belongs to you and you want it removed, please email compassionaterevolt@gmail.com and it will be removed promptly, no questions asked.

Tarot Tuesdays: The Map and Compass to the Human Heart

There are lots of beautiful spreads to assist in exploring through tarot. One of the simple ways I like to pull is to hold a general topic in mind that I need some guidance on while shuffling. I'll then cut the deck with my non-dominant hand and flip the card. I'll lay it down in front of me in the direction that it was flipped. If we're doing a group pull, everyone shuffles and everybody draws. If someone feels like they need a little more insight, direction, or are confused about their card they can have a conversation with the deck as they pull sequential cards. After everyone finishes pulling we flip the remaining stack of the deck over and read this card as "The Heart of the Matter." We trust the deck- not just the cards that are plucked intentionally out of the stack, but also the cards that hover beneath and support our present pull. This always adds another layer of insight and depth to the initial guidance of the cards that showed up as the deck was cut.

My partner and I recently did an anniversary pull in a physical space that holds particular charge for the journey of our relationship. After we each pulled we flipped the deck to the find the "Heart of the Matter." We were unsurprised to see The Hermit's maniacally knowing grin in a time when we could use a slow down but don't really have time to stop. "Her way is to simply sink deep while on the move. She reminds us to take, but not waste our time, and challenges us to develop the discernment to tell the difference." Having done some traveling together (both with The Hermit and each other) it was nice to have her courageous truth seeking reflection in front of us, "she is both map and compass to the human heart... prepar(ing) us for brave entry into a new phase of existence."

We were especially amused, not just by her visit, but by the cards that poked out from the stack on the way up to her. Near the bottom, from the uneven stack we saw the 0 of The Fool (a card my partner was drawing often early on in our relationship), lying close to the surface of the charged physical environment. The wise naivete from which we started our journey- as "hopeful" and "trusting" travelers. "The trip was unplanned, leaving lots of room for improvisation and spontaneity... the Fool trusts her heart first in all matters." A little further up the familiar letters of the Lovers peaked out, again reminding us of the rewards that await if you choose to "follow your heart," and inviting the "risk of opening your heart to these loved ones, despite any insecurity or anxiety." Lastly, the Five of Bottles, closest to the surface. On the still, content, and healing anniversary day of our pull it was the Six of Bottles, that actually showed up directly when we cut the deck, moving us from "short-term crisis mode, to a long-term struggle and endeavor for positive change... a time of rebirth, renewal, restructuring and recommitment." However, the Five of Bottles remained close by, a reminder of the knowledge and wisdom gained from the challenging and more disheartened times we had overcome together.

Intentional spreads offer different ways to organize and understand the cards we pull beyond their individual meanings, but the magic of tarot is that it's all already there... and what needs to draw our attention will if we're open to seeing it! While our pull was in the moment, it was about our relationship journey. The discarded stack held many of our powerful milestones even as the cards that were pulled offered guidance in the moment.

Learning new spreads can be great fun but tarot is all about looking at things in a new way! We get stuck when we can't step back and get a little perspective-- find a new viewpoint! So play with spreads that resonate with you! If you encounter a card or a pull that you'd like a little more insight on try flipping your deck and checking out the "Heart of the Matter." Let The Hermit illuminate truth for you with the light from her lantern... "she encourages us to create within our own selves a container that can literally hold a new vision."

Your fellow travelers,

Traci + The Hermit

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Traci {She|Her|Hers|They|Them|Theirs} is a yoga teacher, therapist and amateur tarot enthusiast! They try to believe in the power of their inner Magician, stay inspired by the Fool’s spirit, understand struggle through the lens of The Tower/Disaster and always stay reminded that, “The Star Awaits…”

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There are photographs in this post that were borrowed lovingly from the internet and do not belong to us. All are linked and credited to the best of our abilities in hopes of attracting more traffic to the photographers and websites who have blessed us with this imagery. The inclusion of a photograph here should not be interpreted as an assertion of the subject’s or artist’s identity or beliefs. If there is a photo included here that belongs to you and you want it removed, please email compassionaterevolt@gmail.com and it will be removed promptly, no questions asked.

Tarot Tuesdays: Queer Healing Playshop

Morning REVOLUTIONARIES! Welcome to the second installation of Tarot Tuesdays new PLAYSHOP Series! As soon as the idea of a "playshop" came into my awareness the philosophy of it has been treating me well. I'm a big believer that learning, healing, transfer of wisdom, etc isn't a top down (or for that matter, somber) flow. However, this all feels different when I'm the one offering some insight/information. Subsequently submitting whatever little nugget of information that pops up to this passion project and community starts to feel daunting and insecurity inducing. The questions start. What am I trying to say? Does it stand up to investigation? Why does it matter? How is this all relevant?

In the very first conversation I had with my partner, casually in a bar, amongst safe folks and drinks, they commented on why I started and ended comments with, "I don't know." They queried, "Do you say that a lot about things you actually DO know a lot about?"

It stopped me dead in my tracks.

I pride myself on being a relatively confident human- someone who is conscious not to take up an inappropriate amount of space but someone who can also speak up for myself. Why then in this safe and casual setting, discussing a topic that I did indeed spend a lot of personal, professional, and academic energy exploring, did I feel the need to preface every statement with a disclaimer that my thoughts were irrelevant?

After that pleasantly fateful night, I've been lucky enough to have my partner's loving and compassionate reflection call me on this pattern in my speech a number of times. As a talk therapist (and general INFJ listening ear), I'm also lucky to be entrusted with the stories of others often. I was struck with how common it was to hear this disclaimer in the narratives of other queer individuals around me as well. Once I tuned into it, I heard it everywhere, it might as well have been a community motto.

"{Insert an individual's experience here}, but I don't know." 

"I don't know, but {Insert an individuals opinion here}"

"I don't know, but {Insert an actual reference to an article/event/etc}." 

I have all sorts of explanations for why this is the case, but it doesn't change the current pattern or lessen the toll this passing negative affirmation may be playing on our spirits. It's also a desirably conscious and mindful quality to tread lightly with self-centric viewpoints. It's a courtesy we're not afforded nearly enough by the majority, but what place does this disclaimer have in a conversation about mindful self healing exploration and practice? If healing is personal and individual doesn't it have to be as queer as we are? For it to work don't we have to believe in the accuracy of our individual queer lens as we utilize it?

This is why I like the idea of a personal tarot playshop practice so much! First off, it's a practice, an action, something that can be done and redone, a little knowledge and skill gained every time. It doesn't have the pressure of a performance or require the dedication of a study-- unless we want it to. We can come back to it when we need it. We can't fail at it. We can't be wrong. Secondly, if we enter into it with the spirit of play we can enjoy it with youthful wonder. It can develop with us and validate us- unlike some of our childhoods.

Whether you're new to tarot or a studied practitioner I encourage you to try a playshop practice! Trust what you're pulling, how you're pulling, and what associations are coming up for you! Is there a way that helps you get into a moment of childlike curiosity? When my partner and I pull together we often plop our butts down on the cement, take some time to play music or talk about our intention for a pull first, and then take turns reading and discussing cards. We leave sidewalk chalk out, let our selves absentmindedly surround our cards with swirling doodles, and literally imbue our pull into our physical space. If we're curious about a card we pull another. If a card gets stuck together, falls out of a shuffle, or if we have to chase one down that starts to blow away in the wind, we put it aside and ask why it's trying to get our attention.

Tarot can be serious and insight inducing but it can also be comically humbling. Nearly every time we pull someone gets a card that instigates a sheepish grin and a loving protest of, "Shut up, Tarot, you don't know me!" Having a spirit of playfulness allows us to not feel so defensive and take in the sometimes somber wisdom that stares back at us. We trust the conscious play time we put aside for our tarot pulls.

So with that, happy Tuesday everyone! We hope you put aside some play time this week with your tarot decks!

Playfully yours,

Traci

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Traci {She|Her|Hers|They|Them|Theirs} is a yoga teacher, therapist and amateur tarot enthusiast! They try to believe in the power of their inner Magician, stay inspired by the Fool’s spirit, understand struggle through the lens of The Tower/Disaster and always stay reminded that, “The Star Awaits…”