Tarot Tuesday: The Wild Unknown

August 25, 2015 in Tarot Tuesdays

Oh, hello there, lovelies!

How goes it today, friends?

I've been getting in a little community and travel therapy this past week. My body's tired but it's been magick for the spirit!

I didn't come back with a lot of travel themed souvenirs but I did go a little tarot deck crazy. I was traipsing about the historic Pike's Place Farmer's Market and stumbled away from the crowds towards the familiar calling scents of Patchouli and Nag Champa. It's funny how a small new age/dirty hippie store looks kind of the same no matter where you go. I strolled about the small space a bit aimlessly, seeing the familiar oils, essences, and incense burners. Noticing a tarot reader in back and tarot section in their few shelves of books I took a quick gander. I then took one last grounding breath of aroma therapy and turned myself bravely towards the chaos of the market at midday that awaited outside the shop's doors.

Luckily (or due to the Fates), I got a few extra minutes outside of the shop waiting for afternoon travel plans to solidify. I foggily gazed back at the store and noticed a Wild Unknown poster in the window. I had been eyeing this deck for awhile, knowing I could order it online, but also sort of waiting for it to find me. Intrigued, I went back into the store and sure enough, on a second glance, with a little more intention, there it sat in the display case I had stood directly over a few minutes before! I couldn't resist and I'm so happy I didn't!

I'm sure there will be many more Tarot Tuesdays devoted to a lovefest with The Wild Unknown but for now I couldn't think of anything more appropriate for this little playshop space that we've built here together other than Kim Krans' opening invitation into this beautiful deck:

"I quickly noticed the realm of tarot is a confusing & intimidating place. There are a lot of contradicting voices out there about how to use the cards & what they mean... You'll probably come up against these feelings too as you start to give readings to yourself or others. Doubts, fears, "I can't do this", "I don't know enough".

Well here's the thing: you do know enough. You've been a person on earth every day since you were born. You've experienced all the emotions and situations these cards depict. Quiet the naysayer... don't let him prevent you from sitting down with a friend (or yourself) & using these cards to help you talk about what's going on in your life. It will be positive. It will be radical. You'll find things start to reveal themselves through the cards that have been hidden away, covered with dust. May these cards bring you moments of peace & steadiness. I would be so honored."

{Kim Krans}

In Honor of OUR Wild Unknown,

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…”

COM|PASSionate Events

August 20, 2015 in COM|PASSionate Events

Happy Friday everyone! As this scheduled post gets published we're traipsing about on our last day in Seattle. We're pretty sure we're going to still be swirling from our time at Gender Odyssey and enjoying our little Pacific Northwest adventure.

Changes in locale got us thinking about the wisdom of the weather.

This got us thinking about how change and desire can sometimes be scary. It got us thinking about how we often turn away from the things that we can see as objectively powerful when they become personal.

${Image Credit: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kmallikarjuna/misattributed-shakespeare?sub=3100572_2644530#.ev17PBe4a Quote credit: http://www.turkishclass.com/poem_136}$

We're contemplating how to find beauty in all the different kinds of weather that grace our journey and, subsequently, not turning away from it for fear that it will pass. We want to turn our faces to the rain and the sun and the wind so that we can have momentous gratitude for all of it... even if just for a moment!

Take in every little bit of your weekend, REVOLUTIONARIES!

EVENTS

Get out, take care of yourself and heal in community!

SATURDAY 8.22.15 Greet the Day Yoga, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda* Sub Sue Sellers
MONDAY 8.24.15 Summer Flow, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*
WEDNESDAY 8.26.15 Midweek Mindfulness Practice, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*
THURSDAY 8.27.15 Bones + Breath Yoga, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Don't forget there's lots of upcoming ways to get involved!

Gender Odyssey is coming up at the end of August! Aunty Kate is doing the keynote and the programming looks rad! Even if you can't go to the whole conference a lot of the community programming is FREE! Check it out!
Some music and art love!
- Heart of Art Gallery : This gallery/event space just popped up into our awareness and we are loving everything we've seen! We haven't made it out yet but hope to soon! Let us know if you go to anything! 80's night coming up!!!
- Annenburg Space for Photography just popped onto our radar (okay, full disclosure we weren't doing anything artsy or cultured- we saw banners in Highland Park while we were getting vegan donuts at Donut Friend). We're hoping to catch the Emerging exhibit soon. We're also interested in this lecture on Radical Love. Lots of great free events!
OCFTM Annual Beach Party coming up on September 19th!

RECOMMENDATIONS

Making art if/when the inspiration hits is an amazing way that we are in practice of momentous gratitude! Making great art takes nothing less than full surrender to your desire to get it out of yourself and into the world!

A little queer folk to send the message home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcypNxgQHDA

"I ain't to proud to show my pain, to call out loud in the Northwest rain, and wash... my tears away..."

Enjoying the show (all of it),

The COM|PASSionate REVOLT Community<3

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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 Tuesday: Clarity

August 17, 2015 in Tarot Tuesdays

Hello again Tarot Enthusiasts, Healers, and Those in Search of Healing!

I have a little practice offering this morning in the Playshop!

This weekend I drew the Seven of Bottles (or traditionally Cups).

This card holds so much meaning for me both in it's classical interpretations and in The Collective Tarot's poignant queer imagery. The Seven of Bottles or Cups reminds us to get "grounded within when making choices." It is aware of the many choices that are presented to us-- some based in reality and some wrapped in illusion. It invites us to take a breath before moving if we need to. However, it also reminds us not to get overwhelmed and subsequently stuck in inactivity.

Clarity Practice

Essential Oils: Sage + Mint

You can either use a diffused spray version or dab a bit of diluted mint and sage onto your wrists, underneath your nose, on your temples, and on your third eye.

Pull the Seven of Bottle/Seven of Cups from your deck. Take a moment to sit with the card. Send awareness and attention towards decisions presenting themselves in your life. This may be a singular point of focus or just general querying around life journey movement.

Take some slow twists. Lying on your back with knees into your chest and then falling over to one side and the other allows you to be grounded to the earth as you twist out new space. However, any twists that your mobility allows for can be utilized here. In this way internal organ body and rest and digest system are engaged in your practice.

Next find a position that allows for the deepest and clearest breath. One of my favorites, supported savasana, is shown: here. This pose allows for open breath and open heart while also supported and grounded from underneath. Giving heart space to this practice is open but receiving heart space is kept safe. Some options for those with lower back sensitivity are to bring the soles of the feet to the earth with knees bent, walk the feet away from each other, and let the knees fall together gently. Alternately, if one doesn't have lower back issues, the soles of the feet can be brought together while knees fall outward (reclined butterfly or cobbler's pose). Care should be taken that a heart opener can intensify when paired with a hip opener. Our hips hold our powerful water energy that can help us sink fluidly into change. However, our hips also hold a lot of our emotional memory and can be a great source of vulnerability for many.

${Image Credit: http://playarunners.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Michelle_Yoga_Poses_588.jpg}$

Again, any heart opening exercise should be done safely and with compassion for oneself. Choose one that feels good to you!

Once in your chosen position, start to take some deep breaths. Create balance for yourself by finding an even count on inhalation and exhalation. Take in the sage and mint to clear and uplift your consciousness to a bird's eye view of the decisions at hand. Allow yourself to view your potential movement with neutrality and equanimity. Once you feel like you have a good scope on the situation focus on taking your breath down into your core and making any decisions from this deep centered space.

During the process attempt to keep your breath even and flowing. Notice if your thought process starts to draw up anxiety and your breath becomes shallow. Draw your breath down and even it out. It's also helpful to be aware that many of us rush through our days without breathing very deeply. The depth of your breath in itself may create unfamiliar sensations in your body.

While this is a relatively safe practice, always follow your own internal guidance and take care of where you're at. Pause for breaks if you need to. Decisions don't have to be solidified all in one session.

After you feel your practice is completed, engage some sort of folding/turning in practice. If on your back you can draw your knees into chest and repeat twists. You can also fold forward over your knees or even lay on your side in the fetal position. Take some time to see how your decision feels in this less conscious portion of this practice. Note if you start to feel more settled or if it's difficult to let your decision sink into the rest of your body.

Hopefully this practice is helpful! Know that you can do it for as little or long as you wish. If you're someone that has a difficult time staying still or is dealing with a particularly long to do list, set a timer for an amount of time that feels right to you in your schedule so you fully focus on your breath practice and don't have to keep checking in with a clock throughout the process.

Wishing you clarity,

Traci

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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.

COM|PASSionate Events

August 14, 2015 in COM|PASSionate Events

Heyo ADVENTURERS! Is everyone ready for the weekend?

We've been thinking a lot about change and journey- all the ways that we plan for the worst and hope for the best. We've been contemplating the positive potential of intentions versus the negative potential of expectations. We've been doing our damn best to travel with the spirit of The Fool and the wisdom of The World.

We've been thinking about what it means to traverse the road of life in this way. We've been asking ourselves how to sink into trust that this is the best way to live. We're taking road trips and paths less traveled. We're stopping to smell roses (and fennel and sage and lavender) that we find on the side of the road. We're uncovering wonders in each other and treasures in ourselves.

How are your journeys going, loves?

EVENTS

Get out, take care of yourself and heal in community!

SATURDAY 8.15.15 Greet the Day Yoga, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*
MONDAY 8.17.15 Summer Flow, Yorba Linda*
WEDNESDAY 8.19.15 Midweek Mindfulness Practice, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda* Sub Amee
THURSDAY 8.20.15 Bones + Breath Yoga, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Don't forget there's lots of upcoming ways to get involved!

Gender Odyssey is coming up at the end of August! Aunty Kate is doing the keynote and the programming looks rad! We're still not sure if we're going to make it up Seattle but we're crossing our fingers! We've heard the community and events around the actual conference programming is also the jam! Check it out if you can or put it on your roadtrip wishlist!
Some music and art love!
- Heart of Art Gallery : This gallery/event space just popped up into our awareness and we are loving everything we've seen! We haven't made it out yet but hope to soon! Let us know if you go to anything! 80's night coming up!!!
- Annenburg Space for Photography just popped onto our radar (okay, full disclosure we weren't doing anything artsy or cultured- we saw banners in Highland Park while we were getting vegan donuts at Donut Friend). We're hoping to catch the Emerging exhibit soon. We're also interested in this lecture on Radical Love. Lots of great free events!
OCFTM Annual Beach Party coming up on September 19th!

RECOMMENDATIONS

We are going to make it up to Seattle for Gender Odyssey next week so we're going to leave you with some travel music.

We'll miss you SoCal but all the good coffee will help ease the pain! <3

spotify:user:compassionaterevolt:playlist:4pPK2n2ohX14YyRfxteRDP

Missing you,

The COM|PASSionate REVOLT Community<3

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***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!

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

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Isn't it Queer: The Less Than Peachy Politics of Pronouns (Obnoxious Alliteration Necessary)

August 12, 2015 in Isn't It Queer

Disclaimer: This piece uses a veritable shit ton of “queer-speak” or words used by activists in the queer, trans and genderqueer communities. Note, I am not apologizing but I am excitedly inviting individuals who have yet to read an article of this nature, to embrace the new vocabulary. Please take into account that all of the words developed by queer activists were made with the intention of validating people’s identities, uniting communities and helping individuals to grow and feel safe being themselves. My critique of the use of this new generation of words, is to stimulate conversation and encourage inclusivity and sensitivity. Also, if you have any questions about terms such as genderfluid, trans, or cis, I would like to kindly direct you to google. Enjoy!

I heard by a sour word of mouth recently that there are folks in the LGBTQ-ABCD's positive community that are less than positive in regards to genderqueer folks choice of pronouns. I was made aware of multiple genderqueer individuals that believe that in order to use they/them pronouns, one has to be androgynous (and also that masculine folks should use he/him and feminine she/her). That sounds to me like a rule made up by cis people. Just sayin. Why so derisive? Why so exclusionary? Why, and according to whom, don’t individuals get to pick their own pronouns? The dude does not abide. It’s another example of people, within their own communities, bullying each other because of their own projected discomfort with people refusing to conform to gender binaries. It’s problematic and does not foster progress toward a dynamic understanding of the gender spectrum.

I also want to acknowledge the more talked about tension between non-binary folks and transmen/transwomen regarding identification presentation. There are ways in which the philosophy of genderlessness, agender, genderfluidity etc. have been interpreted as being threatening to people who identify as transmen or transwomen. They/them pronouns are sometimes seen as threatening or invalidating to his/her already persecuted and marginalized identity. On the other hand, individuals under the non-binary and/or genderqueer umbrella also find it frustrating to be accused of being not “trans” enough because they did not choose to transition from their assigned sex and conditioned gender to “the opposite one”. This is a gender-binary enforcing concept at best, and especially harmful when so many genderqueer individuals struggle with their own transitions. There are challenging emotional aspects of accepting your place on the gender spectrum as well as whether or not you would like to pursue physical transition procedures, such as hormone therapy or surgery.

To summarize for our readers that are less fluent in queer-speak, there will always be debate about fitting into the community “enough.”

Oh, the age old question of enough. “Have they struggled “enough” to be part of our community?” For instance, “are bi-sexuals gay enough?”, “Do non-binary people count as trans?”, “Do you count as a “real” insert race if you are mixed race?”. You can see how well lubricated that downward slope becomes.These questions are often asked by members of marginalized communities in a pattern that mimics patriarchal, white, cis-male tendencies to constantly invalidate the power of one's peers in order to protect one's community from further persecution . These questions of “enough” are exclusionary and derisive. Ironically they use a vocabulary (cis, trans, non-binary…) initially intended to offer validation to previously unrecognized alternative identities. The idea that any one individual has to prove their pronoun, experience of culture or race, sexual orientation, or any other major facet of one’s identity, that really should defined by the unique experience of the individual, is ludicrous. An individual's experience of gender is an absolutely unique facet of their personality and they should be allowed to pick what identifiers suit them. Not to say white people should be allowed to pick their race, that’s not how it works Rachel Dolezal. That’s just appropriation.

I bring the fruit cocktail, vocabulary of queer politics to the attention of the reader less because I’m invested in people “getting it right”, and more to encourage people to remember why we are hacking the most colonial language in human history, in the first place. In my humble gay motherfucking opinion, language simultaneously defines and limits our existence. Which gives us the incredible opportunity to create communities that have space within them for everybody on the gender spectrum, by editing and improving the language we were taught. Yes everyone. Cis-gendered female femmes who dream of barbies for days, transmasculine fairies who are only butch on fridays and ain’t nobody can tell what they were assigned at birth, and transwomen who like forest green doc martins and a matching mohawk. Everyone at EVERY point on the gender spectrum should be welcome to identify as they please, and naturally, a good ally for this community would then be defined as someone who can hold space for people without questions of whether they are “enough”.

-To your personal revolts and riots and especially to your learning,

Cory

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Cory is a poet and sex worker in the Los Angeles area. They have worked in mental health, education, social justice and fashion blogging and aims to lead by example through bravely living an examined lifestyle.

"The learning process is something you can incite, literally incite, like a riot." -Audre Lorde

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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.