Happy 20th Anniversary to Us!

An authentic life is the most personal form of worship. Everyday life has become my prayer.
Sarah Ban Breathnach

I hope you don’t mind if I toot my own horn (and flinf some confetti, as my friend Thalassa would say).

My blog turns TWENTY tomorrow. (I am letting you know today because I don’t want to pull an iota of celebratory focus from Juneteenth. Plus, it will be time for my Card of the Week).

I will refrain from saying anything like “it’s been a long, strange trip” (even though it has), but I will say that I am kind of proud of this gift, from my heart to yours.

It has been two decades of faithful service, at no charge to you, just for the pleasure of opening doors and hearts in whatever ways I can.

You see, my blog was, from the beginning, never directly about my Tarot reading services. Yes, it’s always been an electronic business card, with contact info, hours, and other pertinent information if you were interested in working with me or following my work.

But the main thing — the thing that got me motivated to create it in the first place — was to reach out and connect with like-minded souls; to meet together in the aethers, exploring interesting subjects, bouncing ideas and experiences around, and jamming with whoever else might also find a variety of esoteric, diverse ruminations of interest.

It has brought about an extraordinary synergy, because in turn, you have profoundly honored me with your generosity, knowledge, sense of adventure, and constant inspiration.

A Retrospective

[Warning: geeky deets ahead that may not be your cup of tea…]

I was a relatively early blogger because I had been on the internet since its earliest days. First, as a techie working in the IT industry and an active participant in Usenet (anyone remember them?), and then, by making rich, life-long friendships via The Well – the world’s first online community (which I still belong to and highly recommend if you are looking for non-trivial conversations with some of the most fascinating, intelligent people on the planet).

Because The Well offered space for members’ web sites, I met with my good friend Vicky Earp (the brilliant graphic artist who created my owl, Moon, and stars logo), and together we hammered out a site using Adobe GoLive (a tool for building and maintaining sites).

And so, just before Summer Solstice, 2003, my website was born. (Yes, a Gemini!).

Vicky built a template for me that held several pages, and I took it from there, using GoLive to update it, often at an HTML code level.

Every day (yes, every single day!!) on the Home page, I would post a magical tidbit or a scrap of lore, history, or other observations. This was where I began my Tarot card of the week posts.

Some of you might also remember, it was on this original site that I launched my infamous Mercury retrograde contests (featuring tales of Merc retro woes).

I had to discontinue those when the negative aspects of Mercury retrograde began to amplify and then manifest in my own life. In other words, it appeared that by giving undue attention to the shadow side, it grew and even became contagious. A true lesson for life in general, n’est-ce pas?

However, the happy outcome of those contests was that I made some wonderful friends that I might not have otherwise (looking at you, Tina!).

But technically, it was very challenging. Every time I updated, the old content was lost – there were no archives or any way to save previous posts. Plus, I was eager to interact with my visitors on the site, inviting comments and participation.

I wanted to be a part of this newfangled thing called a “weblog,” which mercifully was shortened to “blog.”

The final straw was when I learned that GoLive was being discontinued and replaced by a new package by Adobe that was cumbersome, very expensive, and far too technical for me. I knew I needed to find an alternative.

Luckily, by that time, there were lots of user-friendly blogging sites like TypePad, LiveJournal, and Blogger (Blogspot). I chose the latter as my new home, and the fun really began!

Owl’s Wings: Where You’ll Find a Little Bit of Magic Every Day

Since this was before the siphoning off of everyone and their attention spans to Facebook, Twitter, et al.,  there were countless deep, thoughtful, ongoing discussions. It was marvelous to make so many online friendships, many of which I still treasure today.

Also at this time, I renewed my commitment, which I’d begun on my Well site, to posting daily updates. Yes, daily. That’s why in the 4 years or so that I was there, I wrote over 1,100 posts.

During that time, my intrepid band of readers and I worked our way through The Artists’ Way (by Julia Cameron). Yep, the whole thing — over the course of a year.

I researched and wrote discussions about feng shui, the elements of magic, the sabbats, magical cooking, prosperity practices, prayers, spells, Goddesses, poetry, and lots of Moon lore.

I posted images for “Wordless Wednesdays” and wrote about holidays and spiritual observances for nearly every day of the year, from every culture and age. I started celebrating the Solstice Sun Wheel with you.

And of course, Tarot. Lots of Tarot, focusing primarily on my Card of the Week.

But Blogspot was becoming increasingly unstable and frustrating for the kinds of customization and interactions I wanted.

So, with the help of Joanna Powell Colbert (I lucked out and was one of her very last website building clients!), at Samhain 2009, I moved everything from Blogspot over to my shiny new digs on WordPress, which is now my permanent home (as far as I can imagine).

Still more time passed, and in 2016, you may recall, I did a big renovation. This time it was thanks to the expert guidance of my “Web Goddess,” Shari Smith.

My makeover was launched on April Fool’s Day, 2016, which, by the way, I am still committed to making some sort of an international Tarot holiday.

My new theme was Enchantment and Illumination, and each was then organized in accordance with The Witch’s Pyramid: To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Hold Silence.

But later that year, I entered a testing period when, in the space of three years, I was clobbered not once, not twice, but with three different, potentially life-threatening kinds of cancer. Plus all the excruciating treatments and challenges that come along with that.

To top it off, just as I was starting to get my mojo back, Covid shattered the world. That’s when I decided it was high time to transition from my beloved career as a Tarot reader, to my dream since childhood – writing books.

So, Shari helped me re-invent my entire website yet again to accommodate this new direction in my life. She also worked her magic to ensure that it is much more mobile friendly and meets all the latest standards and requirements for a streamlined, professional performance.

And Here We Are

I have to say I am pretty proud of the fact that I have almost never missed a Card of the Week, not even at the very worst parts of my cancer treatments. It has only been in the past month, due to the traumatic family situation around my dad’s final days, that I had to miss.

With that behind, I intend to keep things going for a long, long time to come.

Because this is a labor of love, y’all.

I love visiting with you, sharing the cards, listening to the Mystery, and invoking the magic together.  We are the witnesses and midwives to a tremendous time of change, and I believe with my whole heart that together, we can be the tipping point for Good.

And as I find my way in this new phase of my life and move forward, I am more determined than ever to finish my Tarot book that is a compilation of my Cards of the Week.

After that, several other books are tapping their feet, hands on hips, rolling their eyes, and waiting their turn.

On this 20th Blogiversary, I am profoundly grateful to you for being on this journey with me.

Now, it’s your turn! In the Luminous Sparks comments section (remember: the blog post ones don’t get removed!), I’d love to know:

• How long have you been visiting my site(s)?
• Do you remember how you first found about me?
• What are some of your favorite topics from the past?
• What might you like to see going forward?

And in the meantime, may our everyday lives be a prayer.

Blessings!