ABOUT ME
I was not taken in by a clandestine mystery school, a group of initiates trained in the esoteric arts, or gifted a deck by a guru who spotted my own magical prowess — no, my first encounter with the tarot was in a gift shop, on a sweaty New York summer day, with all the mystery and intrigue of the sidewalk hot dog I’d consumed earlier that afternoon. I was visiting the Met Cloisters museum with an ex-boyfriend when I was drawn to a tarot deck in the museum shop, its beautiful medieval illustrations compelling me to purchase it. Though I didn’t know it, I was in the middle of my Saturn return, a time when life tends to offer lessons in maturity, patience, and working with the limits of your given reality. At the time, I’d been exploring occultism, ritual and symbolism through my art practice, but always from a distance, with a bit of a wink to the viewer. It seemed unimaginable to me that a mass-produced object purchased at a store could ever be anything other than a souvenir of my dissolving relationship, but I would slowly discover that these cards, while not magical in and of themselves, were a kind of tool that, when wielded properly, could be used to illuminate insights and truths from both within and without.
Much like a scene in any movie to ever depict a tarot reading, the first card I pulled, on the night I bought the deck, was Major Arcana 13: Death. I remember laughing (nervously) at how uncannily direct it was in response to my question about how to navigate my current romantic dilemma. The dancing skeleton seemed to scream WALK AWAY - SURRENDER - LET IT GO. The tarot often works this way, as a mirror to what we already know but are unwilling to admit or acknowledge. Would I heed its advice? No! But in retrospect, the card seemed to be nudging me to release not only my romantic relationship, but everything in my life that was keeping me tethered to withering fruit, languishing on the vine.
On the night I pulled the Death card, I was tired. Tired from stubbornly holding onto a relationship that I knew had run its course. Tired from trying to compel myself to be an artist in the way that I thought I needed to be (that is to say, in the Art World). And tired, most of all, from getting sick all of the time, which had been happening with increasing frequency recently, but more generally for the better part of a decade. Every few weeks or so, life would come to a screeching halt and I’d submit to my bed, ‘Quil in hand, flattened yet again by another invisible invader. This rhythm was making it increasingly difficult to do much of anything, let alone create art or romance.
One of Saturn’s avatars is Father Time, and all who are living must answer to his rules: those of material reality, the conditions of the society in which we live, the fact of our limited lifespans and of bodies that age, get sick, and require constant maintenance. Named Kronos (for time) in ancient Greece, he was often depicted with a scythe or a sickle, revealing his connection to the harvest and to the idea that we are tasked with doing what’s necessary to sharpen our life force in order to reap the rewards of our efforts. My physical condition felt like a classic Saturnian lesson in working with the limits and demands of my physical body, and of the frustrating need to slow down in order to gain any traction forward.
After many fruitless doctor’s visits, I eventually found an immunologist who was kind, thorough, and led me to a diagnosis: CVID (Common Variable Immune Deficiency), a condition in which the immune system doesn’t produce enough antibodies to defend against viruses and infections. This initiated a period of healing on many levels, both medically (I started bi-weekly infusions of self-administered subcutaneous immunoglobulin therapy) as well as spiritually and emotionally.
Tarot became the starting point of reconnecting to both my inner self, as well as to something that exists beyond the bounds of Saturn’s orbit. The initial skepticism I felt when I purchased my first deck was a kind of whetstone that I used to test my ideas about what’s possible, an orientation which helped me to think critically about what’s happening when we use a deck of cards to connect to the numinous. Over time, by seeing my inner and outer worlds reflected in the cards with such precision, my doubt was shaped into a kind of humbled trust.
The tarot is just one of many intermediaries that people have used throughout time to connect with a higher (or perhaps inner) wisdom — but because it is so deeply archetypal in nature, and its imagery so evocative, it speaks eloquently to fundamental aspects of the human psyche and to shared experiences across time. Rather than being a vehicle for escapism (something meant to help me transcend the physical world, escape my mortal coil, or achieve a disassociated sense of bliss), tarot helps me to live in the material world, and to live symbolically — to perceive the metaphorical threads which are woven into the fabric of reality, and which exists for all to observe and connect with.
In the world of mythology and throughout many ancient cultures, humans lived with the sense that they inhabited an animated and responsive world which was alive with gods and goddesses, muses and fates. This mythic orientation towards the world has long since faded for most, but tarot is a tool for cultivating this feeling of connection. The sense of living and participating in an ensouled world is a balm for feelings of disconnection — from self, from others, and from the world at large. Engaging with the tarot allows us to enter a kind of mythic time, and to interact with life symbolically — that is, to live with the awareness that life to speaks to us through the language of archetypes and symbols, if only we take the time to listen.
ABOUT TALIS
Talis began in 2017 as a clothing line for psychic protection inspired by my study of the occult, apotropaic magic, and astrology. It evolved to include collaborations with other designers and artists, including Landbreakers clothing, Fruitstitute LA, and a journal I edited called the Journal of Psychic Protection. In addition to the original line of shirts for psychic protection, I also also offer talismanic clothing, tarot and astrology consultations, classes, and writing.
Talis clothing and related objects have been sold at The Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Creatures of Comfort, the Marciano Foundation, Ooga Booga in Los Angeles, The Future in Minneapolis, The Witches Confluence, as well as a handful of independent art book fairs.
I'm also an artist and studied art-making, theory and history as an undergraduate at New York University and received my MFA in Sculpture from Bard College in New York.
ABOUT MY APPROACH: TAROT AND ASTROLOGY
Astrology
A birth chart reading is an analysis and interpretation of the picture of the sky at the moment you were born. A reading can provide a deeper understanding of your life's challenges, patterns, and gifts. I use a combination of traditional and modern techniques, and my readings take a psychological approach (the chart can reveal facets of the psyche), a spiritual approach (looking at the birth chart as an imprint of the soul's desired growth) as well as a practical approach (assessing the current and future "weather" to help you align with and prepare for the larger timing cycles of your life). Consultations can be tailored to your needs and desires, but most hour long sessions will include an analysis of the birth chart and a consideration of the present and future through the use of different timing techniques.
Tarot
Working with the tarot is akin to dropping a plumb line down to the core of your psyche — or straight upwards to your guides, if you prefer — and getting in touch with the truth of the present moment. It is helpful for deep self-exploration, revealing past dynamics, uncovering deeper layers of the present, and illuminating future potentials and opportunities. I conceive of a tarot reading as a dialogue that I help to facilitate between your conscious and subconscious mind, or your present and future self. In this way, a reading helps to bypass your conscious mind and connect to the part of your psyche which already knows the answers. Seeing your inner and outer life reflected back to you in the cards can be an affirming experience which brings you deeper into contact with your own inner knowing.
MY BACKGROUND
I have learned from and studied with many invaluable teachers and thinkers. My astrological practice is informed by a hybrid of traditional and modern approaches, and I try to blend similarly ancient and modern approaches in my Tarot practice as well. Some of the teachers who have impacted me most include Richard Tarnas, Demetra George, Austin Coppock, Chris Brennan, Christopher Warnock, Mark Jones, Mary K Greer, and Rachel Pollack. My work is also influenced by depth psychology (especially the work of Carl Jung and James Hillman), mythology (especially Greek), and art history. I have also studied intuitive development with Naha Armady of 22 Teachings in Los Angeles, and core shamanism with Mimi Young of Ceremonie.
