Back to My Roots

I first came to metaphysics through fire, as many people do. The alchemical process creates an irrevocable change. The phoenix is a mythological bird representative of this process.

Fawkes, the phoenix in the Harry Potter books, gets tired and faded then bursts into flames. Harry is at first startled and sad, but quickly learns that out of the charred ashes, Fawkes is reborn and renewed.

Earth, Air, Fire and Water are the elements of Ancient Physics, that resonate with us today in spite of our highly technical world. This is because they are symbolic building blocks to understand all energy. They are deceptively simple to understand, which is why some people dismiss their relevance.

When I went through divorce as a young woman, my world collapsed (Earth). The emotions (Water) that rocked my world nearly swept me away. I lived in NYC and realized that crossing the street had become a preoccupied act (never a good idea).

I began to go to yoga classes for the first time (I’d learned yoga originally from a wonderful book, now out of print: The Yoga Thing, when I was 20). My goal was to meditate, but my busy mind (Air) did not allow silence.

I began to study Tarot as a way to learn meditation, because as an artist, I realized that I saw in pictures. What I didn’t realize is that studying Tarot would open my psychic/intuitive ability, and change my world (Fire).

I am once again engaged with Tarot as a student, since I teach it. It is like rekindling a marriage. The fire of the initial romance has returned instantly and I am awake, alert and yearning. The alchemical process has begun once more and my surprise has been that I did not anticipate it even as I walked into it.

Magic always has a degree of the unexpected, which is why faith is so important when one engages it.