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Hey, Reader!

Queer spiritual tools are vital. Queer spiritual practitioners are vital. Queer spiritualities are vital.

These things aren't just nice to have. They aren't just considerate. They aren't just an option or an alternative.

I recently had an experience that demonstrated to me (once again) just how essential it is for queer folks to integrate queer perspectives, to work with queer tools, to deeply integrate queerness into our spiritual worldviews & practices.

This week, for lack of a better word, I've been feeling a bit stuck. Not exactly mired in the muck, dug in so deep that I can't move...more like my ship is underway & moving in the right direction but I forgot to pull up the anchor or there's a problem with one of the sails. I'm moving forward, but something small is hindering. I went to my tarot deck, gave it a shuffle, and searched the deck for Death and the card that was behind Death in the order of the deck.

I pulled Death from the deck and the card that was behind it - in this case, The High Priestess. The card behind the Death card symbolized the thing that I'm feeling pulling me backwards, holding me back, the thing that needs to be released to help me move forward more easily.

Given my current context of having just announced my new name & pronouns, settling into a more masculine gender presentation, and generally settling into a new layer of my trans-masculine identity, as a friend so wonderfully put it, "coming out as even more gay than I already was," my first impulse was to read this card as indicating a need to set aside some aspect of attachment to a feminine identity.

But even though that *felt* intuitively right, it's not necessarily the most traditional or straightforward interpretation. There were others I thought were worth considering, so I opted to pull a clarifying card - the 6 of Swords. Generally, this is a card of transition. Furthermore, in the Gay Marseille deck, the 6 of Swords is illustrated with the accoutrements of hormone replacement therapy: vials labelled HRT, a syringe, & a needle.

There couldn't be a clearer YES to validate that this reading was indicating my transition & my evolving relationship with my gender as the heart of what I felt holding me back from moving into the future.

I totally believe that I could have gotten to this same conclusion with a different deck. I regularly give spectacularly queer readings with deeply traditional decks. However, gender is a deeply sensitive topic and working with a tool that speaks eloquently to its nuances brought a level of clarity & confidence to the reading, in comparatively few cards.

Different lived experiences need tools, worldviews, and practitioners that can speak directly to those lived experiences. Spirituality is not a one-size fits all experience. Your spiritual experience, tools, and experience should be able to respond to and speak to your daily life and lived experience.

I'm so grateful for tools like the Gay Marseille, to all the amazing queers past & present who are trailblazing queer spiritualities, & to be among the ranks of queer spiritual practitioners!

This Pride Month take a look at your spiritual practice and notice if there are any places in your practice where you're having to put in extra work to "translate" from a cis- or hetero-normative perspective. Can you find a new tool, a new perspective, or practitioner that meshes with your worldview and lived experience?

If you're seeking tarot insight from a queer practitioner who will honor your identity and lived experience, my books are open for tarot sessions! Book yours here!​

Honor your queer ancestors this Pride!

Pride month is for honoring who we are. It’s also for honoring the legacies that have made that pride possible. That’s where ancestor work comes in!

On 12 June, I am going to be sharing all about the queer ancestors in a FREE workshop!

Honoring Our Queer Ancestors is a workshop for helping you connect with your queer ancestors & discover a reservoir of queer joy, hope, strength, magic and liberation!

In the workshop, you’ll learn:

• Who the queer ancestors are
• How our queer ancestors are a reservoir of queer hope, healing, magic, strength, and vision for a better future
• How to connect with your queer ancestors, honor them, celebrate with them, heal with them, and learn from them

12 June 2024 at Noon ET. A recording will be sent to all registrants.

​Register for the FREE workshop!​

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In Case You Missed It:

• I'm gonna be giving a talk on Queer Animistic Spirituality & the Natural World as Queer Ancestor at Salem Witch Fest in August! You can learn more about the conference here or register for online attendance at my talk here!
• From Instagram:
  • ​How it feels to finally be YOURSELF!​
  • ​I was literally put on this earth to heal ancestral trauma by being a queer slut​
  • ​PRIDE MONTH MEMES FOR MERCURY!​

This Week's Joys & Gratitudes

• Friends! I have found a great new group of friends recently and it's been absolutely amazing!
• Goodwill! (& thrift stores, in general!) When I pulled my summer clothes out of storage this year I was shocked to find that almost NOTHING fit and everything that did fit didn't quite look *right* with the ways that my body has changed since last summer. I've found a local Goodwill that usually has some good stuff and it has been SUCH a huge help as I re-learn what I like how I want to dress now!
• MYSELF! I am so grateful to myself for finding the courage and the clarity to change my name, to articulate exactly what I want to be doing and sharing through my work, to show up as myself in relationships and in all aspects of my life. This absolutely is the result of so many different webs of support and care from many different people, of course, but also I myself am an essential part of that and it feels good to recognize that - that *I* did this. That *I* chose this. That it didn't just happen *I* took initiative and made it happen.

What's bringing you joy this week? Where are you finding magic? Feel free to hit reply and let me know!

Until next time!

In Joy, Magic, and Solidarity,
Lex

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P.S. Know someone who would find magic in this newsletter? Please forward it on! Word of mouth is one way we weave connection & magic!

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