black magic✨🔮

Hello friends and comrades. You may recall I talked about the Hierophant in episode #5, nearly two years ago exactly and not long after I had been let go from my day job. Now I’m talking about the Hierophant again and have started a new job as of today. I don’t know what it means but maybe it means something. Time will tell.I think the message of this episode is very different, as I’ve been taking a new approach to how I write these episodes. For example, I do actually write a script now instead of hitting record and hoping everything I say ends up making sense, which was my previous method. That’s why I take a little longer to put a new episode out these last few months, if you were wondering (and if so: thank you for sticking around and being patient). My interested in making these hasn’t waned in the slightest, it just takes some time to dream up new ideas and connect synchronicities and patterns that end up shaping how I write about each card. It’s a slow process, but it’s one I really enjoy. I talk about this more in the episode, so maybe give it a listen and let me know what you think.I also talk about Leonora Carrington, David Lynch, and René Magritte, so I wanted to share some of their work as a visual snack to go along with the episode.And below are the images for the Wild Unknown and Waite Smith versions of the Hierophant. I love you and I’m glad you’re here!!black magic✨🔮 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

You drink Starbucks because you fear death.Hello friends and comrades! I’m finally back for one more episode before the new year: Strength.I make a bunch of references in this one, but the two most significant resources to me were Rudy Rucker’s Infinity and the Mind, as well as Carl Sagan’s essay Does Truth Matter? Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization. And while you *could* make fun of my improper pronunciation of Jung and Nietzsche, maybe you can instead quietly admire my vulnerability in refusing to edit out my mistakes. I am paradoxically both brilliant and dumb! My capacity for learning is infinite! This is what the episode is about!Sincere thank you to Melissa Perry for composing and performing the music I play in the intro and outro, I feel like a real podcaster now!black magic✨🔮 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Darlings, where have you been?! It’s been too long and I’ve missed you too much but I’m glad we’re back together now. This episode, I talk about temperance—a concept I am learning to resent less and appreciate as a necessity for good art and a life well lived. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Happy summer, sweetie darlings. This week, I am revisiting the World and talking about anima mundi, alchemy, conformal cyclic cosmology, astrology, Dracula, absolute reality, and if there’s even a f*****g point to any of this. You know, thought daughter summer things!Below are Waite-Smith images for The World and The Fool. I love you and I’m glad we’re here together. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Happy belated Beltane, darlings! Beltane marks the beginning of May and the halfway point between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, so you might say summer has now begun its approach. It certainly feels that way in Montreal: the days are warmer (if not a little rainy), tulips bloom, and terrasses are open (the true mark of the end of Montreal winter).In episode 18, we revisit the Seven of Cups, a card that I have previously interpreted for the second ever episode of this podcast. My tarot deck has a habit of sending me the same cards again and again, and I don’t like to skip because usually I need to be reminded of a card’s meaning more than once; unlearning a lifetime behaviour or habit takes repeated effort and practice, after all. Beyond that, we often need time and experience to ripen our understanding of a card’s theme. It’s usually worth reexamining our initial impressions and interpretations.I hope life is blooming wherever this episode finds you 💐🌞 Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, my darlings! Here is episode 17 of black magic✨🔮. This week, I: cry about the solar eclipse; wax philosophical about finding “god”; remind you once again that I’m an Aries Rising; read poetry; and tell you to make your bed. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, beloveds! Here, at last, is episode 16 of black magic✨🔮. This week, I talk about getting everything you ask for and how goddamn scary that can be when you’re not prepared for the changes that demands. There is no desire without suffering, baby! You either stay stuck yearning for what you don’t have, or you rip out your old life to make room for the new.Below are the images for the Wild Unknown and Waite-Smith versions of the Nine of Cups. I love you all! If you listen to this podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, maybe give me a 5 star rating if you want! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, my beloveds! Here, at last, is episode 15 of black magic✨🔮. Thanks for your patience while I’ve been slaying goblins and unsuccessfully seducing vampires in Baldur’s Gate. I promise the worst of the hyperfixation has passed and I’ll be back to posting more regularly very soon.This week’s episode is about setting resolutions or intentions (however you prefer to view them) for the new year, working with the energy of the recent solstice and full moon. It’s also about leaning into the totality of human emotions, good and bad, and how practicing this can make life more meaningful and simple pleasures more sweet.Below are the images for the Ten of Cups. Happy New Year, dear friends. I’m so grateful you’re here. ✨🥂 Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, my loves! Here is episode 14 of black magic✨🔮. This week, I talk about the concept of judgement, what is worth our time and energy in this life, how you can start tuning into your higher calling, and a little bit of astrology for some spice.Below are the images for Judgement. I love you! If you listen to this podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, maybe give me a 5 star rating if you want! Ok bye! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, my little ghouls and goblins! Episode 13 of the podcast is here just in time for Halloween! I’d love to claim that I planned it this way, so I will. If you’ve upgraded to a paid subscription to black magic✨🔮, you’ll also be receiving a media playlist to help you celebrate this weekend, so keep an eye out for that. And if you’re not upgraded but you want the playlists, you know what to do:(Or honestly you can just ask me and I will probably send them to you, I love to show off.)Here are the images for the Two of Swords. Have fun this weekend and don’t raise any infernal creatures of the damned that I wouldn’t! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Fall and happy full moon in Aries, my loves! Here I am with episode 12 of the podcast – can you believe it?? This week, I talk about the Ten of Wands, which is a card that asks us to examine how and where we spend our energies; how burnout blocks us from knowing ourselves, what we stand for, and doing work that aligns with our values and purpose. I speak on this mostly in the context of being a writer who is still learning her process and often doesn’t feel like doing the most concrete part of writing – literally sitting down and typing the words onto the page – but I think this translates to any type of work you do, especially if it’s creative in nature.I also talk about this Martin Scorsese profile, which I am obsessed with this week and have already harassed some of you with screenshots, but I just think his message is SO IMPORTANT. Chase your goals, hone your craft, rip your art from your skull and your guts, but also touch grass! Look at the sea! Don’t feel guilty about allowing yourself to simply exist!Here are the images for the Ten of Wands. I love you! If you listen to this podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, maybe give me a 5 star rating if you want, idk just something to think about. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, beauties! Here’s episode 11 of the podcast: all about The World, choices, realities, the ever progressing spiral of existence. I realized while I was editing this that I totally misremembered the Loco Wine bottle – they started as the spiralled line I describe in the episode, but they evolved into thick brush strokes. Just so unique and striking, and the wine was so dreamy. I hope one day I can return and tell Vittorio how much his philosophy that “the spiral is life” has resonated with me to this day.Here are the images for The World! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Summer’s ending and I’ve been feeling extra yearn-y and nostalgic these days. This week’s episode is about indulging our desire to revisit the past and reconnecting with our inner child to align with our true passions and goals. And also about whether or not you should text your ex back, because Venus and Mercury retrogrades are bringing people out of the woodwork.Here are the images for the Six of Cups cards. Good luck out there! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, my friends! Summer is ending and I’m more devastated about it than usual. I’m pre-grieving an era of my life that hasn’t even ended yet. There will never be another summer of 2023! And this one was particularly great and, therefore, worthy of mourning. Change is inevitable though, and trying to fight the future will only double our pain. That’s the chaos and power of the Tower, baby!Anyway, here’s a poll:And here are images of the Tower cards for reference:P.S. Jessica Dore, who I mention in the episode, has a great Substack here and I can’t recommend her book, Tarot for Change, enough.P.P.S. Please do not come for my pronunciation of “melancholy”, it is a joke!! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

There are few tarot cards that we want to see less in a reading than the Devil. It’s a sinister looking card that challenges us to view our own flaws and frailties with an honest eye, no matter how uncomfortable or painful that might be. It dares us to be curious about our inner demons and what fuels them, what inspires our baser instincts and behaviours, so that we might finally slip loose from their chains or at least recognize the ways in which we are bound.I talk a lot about vices and trauma in this episode with the privilege of someone who, so far, has never really had anything uniquely terrible happen to them (like, yes people I love have died, but that’s something all of you have or will experience too). I acknowledge that my personal experience with abusing substances is positioned here as a choice and I know that is not the case for everyone. Addiction is very much a disease that often can’t be overcome through sheer force of will alone. Forgive any ignorance I spout, I am but a humble idiot who is forever learning.I’ll be sending out the first inspiration playlist for paid readers this week as well, so if you’re interested in receiving that (as well as weekly Sunday Reflection cards), please upgrade to a monthly or annual subscription to Black Magic!Here are the tarot images for The Devil. And if you’re unfamiliar with the subtitle for this post, I beg you to watch Batman (1989). Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello my friends! Since I talked a little bit about my sisters last week and how much they mean to me, I thought it would be fun to record an episode with them while I was home in Kelowna, and I was right! Between all the laughing and teasing, we talk about motherhood and what that can mean when you’re child-free, how we nurture and trust ourselves and the people around us, and iconic mothers in our lives.If you have thoughts on who is mother, head over to my post on Substack and leave a comment! Images for the Wild Unknown and Waite-Smith cards are below. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

It is my sister Caitlin’s birthday, and it feels appropriate to publish a new episode today. Caitlin is endlessly supportive of my writing and every idea I’ve ever had to pursue my creative instincts. Not only that, the Wild Unknown deck that I feel such close connection with and use for all of my readings was a gift from her. I feel confident in saying this newsletter and podcast exist in large part thanks to Caitlin and the encouragement she has given me.My sister Hayley’s birthday was yesterday. Hayley gives me the type of astute advice that I am often too stubborn to want to hear at first, but I inevitably come around to understanding that she is (almost) always right. She tells me exactly how she sees things because she knows I need to hear it.I can count on one hand the number of people that make me laugh so hard, I truly think I might asphyxiate and pass away. Caitlin and Hayley are two of them. I like to think I am witty and clever, but they are the two rocks on which the knife of my humour is sharpened. Our blades may cut each other a little too deep at times, but the sting fades fast and we always carry on. If you have your own sisters, I think you know what I mean.This Black Magic instalment is about the Six of Pentacles, which asks us to remember the abundance of goodness and light we have in our lives. It asks us to share that bounty with our community in trying times or to lean on our people when we need a little extra support. I feel really blessed to have two bright lights like my sisters to lead me back from wallowing in darkness.As always, I’ve attached images of the cards from each deck below for reference.I talk about this at the end of the episode, but you can now subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and, if you enjoy Black Magic and want to support me in this little endeavour, you can now upgrade to a paid subscription on Substack! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

My friends, I have returned with a special episode from the road, where I welcome my first ever guest: Brandon Fletcher, an incredibly talented director, photographer, philosopher, and dear friend. You can find him on IG as @bwfletcher, and check out his creative work via @fakedpotatoes and his website. Fun fact: Brandon took the photos that I use for my Substack profile pic and the podcast icon!The Hierophant has been a tricky card for me to process, not being naturally inclined toward routine or structure. I often think I prefer to float along wherever the tides take me, but I’m learning lately that building some ritual into my day can help me feel less adrift. It brings me a certain clarity and sense of direction now that I’m unemployed and unmoored from the construct of a traditional work day. I feel like I’m in an era of rebuilding my own foundation and sense of purpose, examining the beliefs that do not serve me and no longer allowing them to guide my decisions or govern my time. Life is too fleeting and absurd to remain mediocre and unfulfilled.As always, I’ve attached visuals of each Tarot card below for reference. I really enjoyed recording this episode and I’m hoping to do more guest spots in the future, so please leave a comment and let me know if you liked listening! Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

I’m so thankful to have been laid off at the start of spring. I’m out of a job but at least I can go on my little Kendall Roy Walks in sneakers, a light jacket, and lots of SPF now.This last week has been a lot of hyper-fixating on Succession (no, like, MORE than usual), 5 pm naps, and vacillating between many different emotions; primarily feeling like this is the universe giving me a chance to grow and find something that aligns with what lights me up, and then also feeling like maybe I’m delusional and I should just apply for any and every job that I can.The Daughter of Cups is all about feeling our feelings and following our dreams and creative intuitions. I’m going to take some time and let myself do exactly that to see where it takes me. I’ve attached images of the Wild Unknown and Waite Smith cards below, as well as Lana’s “Kintsugi” because I mention it in the episode and I’ve been listening to Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd a lot since it released. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe

Hello again, friends! Life is entirely absurd: I recorded and edited this episode last night with the intent to publish sometime today, opened Slack this morning to find a surprise last-minute company meeting invite and, long story short, your girl here is victim to yet another series of corporate tech layoffs. Lol! Lmao!I just re-listened to my recording to see if sudden developments might make me reconsider my words but, if anything, I stand even more firmly behind my thoughts on the Hanged Man and the wisdom in letting things outside of your control play out. I’m cycling through a lot of shock, and some anger and sadness, sure; but mostly I am choosing to listen to my own extremely prescient advice and approaching this new suspended position I find myself in with curiosity and patience. The unexpected space this opens up in my life means there’s room for something new and I’m excited to see what it will be. Get full access to black magic✨🔮 at sarahblack.substack.com/subscribe