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Minimalist Tarot

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Compelling design for unique ideas.

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hello!

I’m Christel and I’m an artist & designer—and an adventurer in the natural and hidden worlds. I can help shepherd your project from the realm of ideas into physical existence. MORE →

hello!

I’m Christel and I’m an interdisciplinary designer—and an adventurer in the natural and hidden worlds. I can help shepherd your project from the realm of ideas into physical existence. MORE →

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rEcEnT pRoJeCtS

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Zeta Ophiuchi

An “equitable exchange of energy” collaboration with mystic Chrissy Sawyer.

Zeta Ophiuchi represents the gateway to the Void, an invitation to expand and transform in ways that are as yet unnameable. The creative process Chrissy and I followed was highly intuitive and experimental, and unfolded through our sharing of deep spiritual insights and experiences.

This project represents a new kind of collaborative work for me, one that combines spiritual exploration with visual communication of the numinous and esoteric.

SEE THE WEBSITE

WATCH A PROCESS video

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financial services brand & website

Spirit-First Finances

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spiritual teacher brand & website

Anne Bérubé

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podcast brand & social assets

The Way Change Works

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synth musician brand & website

The Killer Bee Relay Team

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naturopath brand & website

Dr. Stephanie Cordes, ND

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marketing & strategy brand

SOULO Projects

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visual artist brand & website

Trillium & Twig

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author/speaker brand & website

Nancy Regan

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entrepreneurship course

SoulOPRENEUR LAUNCH

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shop-ready website

Farmers’ Markets Nova Scotia

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ocean research brand

Ocean Tracking Network

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health/wellness brand & website

Verdure Wellness clinic

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print & digital book design

OTN: The First 10 Years

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digital brand & website

Black Market

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podcast brand & website

“MAYBE” Podcast

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WaNt To WoRk tOgEtHeR?

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The birds in Hyde Park run this town #birdlaw

The birds in Hyde Park run this town #birdlaw

May 18, 2023: M A C R O C O S M Today I’m askin

May 18, 2023: M A C R O C O S M

Today I’m asking about the new moon in Taurus tomorrow, along with the grand fixed cross happening as Mars moves into Leo on May 20—and many scales of magnitude beyond, an exact conjunction of our collective south node with a massive force in the universe known as the Shapley attractor on May 23.

I had trouble getting cards to come out of decks despite multiple rounds of shuffling. My Astro deck produced only one card: “Opposition.” This point in time requires a perspective shift akin to the shift between Newtonian and non-Newtonian physics. There at points at which the rules that have always governed the world we know cease to work any longer. There are forces exerted on our planet the effects of which we have no way of measuring or understanding.

The Shapley attractor is one such force, pulling thousands of galaxies towards it in a huge cluster and away from an opposing “supervoid” called the dipole repeller. It’s almost like witnessing a cosmic cell division, the implosion / separation that produces life. Maybe this is still the first breath of creation, a single burst of life that lasts for a universal moment and then collapses back into nothingness.

Of course, the first card out of the Thoth deck is Art, the alchemical play of ‘solve et coagula’, dissolve and reform, the only act there is. While we go on with our itty bitty lives, an orchestra of movement is happening. Yet another reminder that humanity needs to ready itself to join a much larger world on the galactic scale, interacting with many other life forms that differ dramatically from us, and get over our own petty shit. There is a real, divine hierarchy in the wider world of What Is, and it operates like liquid of different densities settling in a measuring cup: in conditions where deception is impossible, everyone simply gravitates to where they belong.

The two cards from the Mystical Healing deck clearly indicate that this is a time of higher guidance of the purest quality. Seekers are advised to go to a quiet place and/or separate themselves from routine, and to bring their heart’s desire into focus [for full reading, go to Clarity Readings in my Linktree]

May 4, 2023: Full moon in Scorpio eclipse on May 5

May 4, 2023: Full moon in Scorpio eclipse on May 5-6, king’s coronation and power shifts

“You are a weak monarch in a dangerous interregnum.”

The above quote is from the latest episode of Succession, but it made me think of King Charles. For months I’ve been wondering why the court astrologers would schedule a coronation hours after a lunar eclipse in Scorpio, which will conjunct Charles’s natal sun almost exactly. Steve Judd, a London-based astrologer, has made a few comments about this (see his youtube channel) and confirms that it’s very weird scheduling, pointing to some deeper working.

What is that deeper working? I’ve been discussing this with an experienced mystic friend of mine, Chrissy, who lives in the UK. Based on several card readings and numerological examinations and my own opinions, what seems to be happening is a renegotiation of the terms of “kingship”. Charles is his mother’s opposite, astrologically and otherwise, and many astrologers believe that he won’t be long for the throne. What I see in the cards is that the coronation eclipse is a merging of power between the monarchy and another force.

If the other force is the mysterious financial corporate entity known as the City of London, there would effectively be no more monarchy in England since “monarchy” literally means “to rule alone.” It’s possible that an invisible board of governors are being made equal partners in the British Empire. And considering the eclipse shadow will cover, quite precisely, the Americas North and South as well as the UK, it may mean that the colonial financiers of London will be pulling out of Europe (due to instability) and more deeply into the American economies.

From the two tarot decks, the nine of swords appeared twice—this card indicates much anxiety about the future. Combined with the nine of wands, we may be seeing a picture of a king with a quick turnover due to stress and turmoil too much for a man in his mid-70s. It may be that Charles’s reign will be about setting up his son William for a longer reign, and perhaps that is the meaning of the duality/partnership/renegotiation of the throne. [Read in full by going to Clarity Readings in my Linktree]

April 18, 2023: Extended reading for the new moon

April 18, 2023: Extended reading for the new moon solar eclipse in Aries: Concerning stellar body movement outside of “time”

All human activity is driven by measurement of the movement of stellar bodies: time. But outside of the earthly use of calendars and clocks and events and seasons, what is the meaning of the cycles and spirals and aspects and alignments that our luminaries and planets make? That’s what astrology is meant to explore, I think. Instead of the task of figuring out the way to act most advantageously underneath the dancing lights that produce, in a roundabout way, time itself, astrology is a tool for uncovering the metaphysical nature of the universe as demonstrated by its most brilliant creatures: the stars.

One of the biggest material myths to overcome on the way to liberation is that humans are strictly subjects to linear time. Yes, the meat suit degrades and requires all sorts of upkeep dependent on external conditions governed by time. But just like the rest of the known universe, we are metaphysical beings that dwell in the timeless realms while tethered to a physical plane of measured decay at the same time. So what meaning, what impact do the stars and their perceived movement have for us as nonphysical spirit beings who inhabit a world shaped by correspondence and relationship rather than time and space?

Well, I’m not convinced that question can be answered in any kind of fulness—and I suspect that many astrologers throughout history would agree. But maybe by attending to the happenings in the sky that appear significant and studying moments case by case, broader patterns of understanding may appear. And I think that’s what comes out with these astro/card readings for me: not knowledge, per se, but intuitive wisdom about the workings of the universe beyond the physical… [For full reading, go to Clarity Readings in my Linktree]

April 4, 2023: Full moon in Libra on April 6 Vola

April 4, 2023: Full moon in Libra on April 6

Volatility, power and contradiction—that’s the nature of this full moon. I was born under a Libra full moon in Aries, and the dynamic between these two cardinal signs is very much a power struggle where balance is attempted through violent pendulum swings between self-assertion and enmeshment, individualism and group consciousness. What I see in the cards I pulled today is the spiritual journey framed as personal soul evolution, where the Holy Mountain represents full self-knowledge and any obstacles on the path come from within.

“Fortune” or “The Wheel” (tarot card 10) is the ever-revolving, thematically repetitive movement of time that drags us through choice after choice. There’s no getting off of it, not even through death. We may prefer to see it as a mountain to give us a sense of accomplishment at the peaks—but really, there is no achievement or finish, not until far beyond the realms of time and space. This is why grounding, cultivation and stability are so important: those with core muscles developed with consistent practice can not only walk the balance beam, they can remain sure-footed even when the beam rocks and bends and twists.

To know thyself is to understand how we create the interference that becomes internal conflict, unmet expectations and muddy perspective. There is no right or wrong way to live, there are only choices and lessons. The “Luminous Warrior” is the part of you that goes ahead with the torch, illuminating the way like the full moon. But seeing EVERYTHING is a lot to handle, especially if the world at this current turn of the wheel is a place that you hate.

Traditionally, Arian energy is pugilistic, and Libran energy is judgemental. They both assume an adversary (which is literally what the word “Satan” means). But if “the adversary” is simply a side of oneself, traditional warfare or jurisprudence results in a stalemate at best, or self-execution at worst. This is the “interference” of the 8 of Swords. But if we go beyond traditional archetypes, Aries becomes a hermaphroditic Mother/Father [Read full text by going to Clarity Readings in my Linktree]

Mar 30, 2023: The reclaiming of infrastructure and

Mar 30, 2023: The reclaiming of infrastructure and “work” in service to humanity

I have apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic dreams fairly often. They vary widely in content and feeling, but one aspect that is consistent in my post-apocalyptic dreams is the reclamation of commercial infrastructure for people to live and socialize in. My dreamtime experiences of what happens after the end of civilization as we know it is not a wasteland, but one in which a huge proportion of resources (both physical and non-physical) are freed up for use by regular people living life close to the ground.

There are no more jobs that require office buildings or commuting or technical support. There is no more advertising or mass trans-cultural entertainment. There are no more organizational structures that exist only to create and exchange imaginary money. People still work, but labour is vastly simplified and geared towards feeding, clothing, housing and amusing self and family and local community. “Ownership” is redefined—a big clue that the key to any future outside global capitalism is a fundamental change in human nature.

I ask the cards “how will this reclamation of infrastructure take place?” From the Thoth deck I get the 4, 1 and 2 of wands, all three fiery Arian power cards in the suit that deals with spirit or intuition. The 4 of wands is called “Completion” and speaks to an internal but collective process that must be finished before a new phase begins. The Ace is awakening of self-realization, the moment of suddenly seeing oneself accurately and feeling everything that goes with that. Clearly, humanity is still subject to some deep self-delusion that needs to be released. The 2 of wands is called “dominion”, which is really self-command/control—think of a teenager with a developing brain that has to work at self-control and emotional regulation in order to participate fully with the family. What with all the activity in Aries right now (sun, Chiron, Jupiter, Mercury), adolescent humanity is being urged to get its shit together and stop lashing out at itself. [For full text, go to Clarity Readings in my Linktree]

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