Hello Everyone!

We are excited to welcome S.L. Armstrong and K. Piet who are talking about their new anthology Cast the Cards and a little about the Tarot behind it.

When we chose to offer anthologies through Storm Moon Press, we were faced with what themes we would do and, most pressing, what theme would be in our first anthology. We tossed ideas around for a few days, always coming back to the theme of tarot cards. It’s an important aspect of two of the three founders of the press, and so we thought it would be an ideal first. Of course, we were made aware that tarot themes were overdone, but we disagreed. How could something so subjective and mythical be overdone? There’s always a new way to approach the topic of tarot cards, and when we did a little digging, we discovered there wasn’t an anthology quite like what we were proposing (or what we ultimately put together).

 We were very lucky in how the various submissions wound up. When we’d put out the call for submissions, we’d not been specific about much. That had been intentional. What we wound up with for our final line up was a beautiful, balanced book filled with intense, erotic stories and warm, gentle romances. Fantastical and contemporary side-by-side, and we’d chosen two M/M, two F/F, and two M/M/F. It’s a wonderful anthology with some excellent authors who were such a joy to work with from beginning to end.

 For this blog stop along the tour, we asked our authors to tell us what card in the tarot they most relate to and why. They came through with flying colors, offering some wonderful insights.

 [Erik Moore] I identify with the Ten of Wands.  The card represents success in a chosen venture, but with the added caveat that this often results in additional burdens, responsibilities, and stresses.  It  speaks to me in the sense that I am notorious for taking on more tasks than I can necessarily handle, but consistently managing to accomplish everything, even if it means letting my health or sleep schedule suffer as a result.  I have difficulty letting go of tasks or passing them off to others, due to a combination of not wanting to burden others and a belief (rightly or wrongly) that I can perform the task better.  (Often, it has been the case that when I have attempted to hand off a task, the end result is unacceptable, so I end up redoing it anyway.)

 The Ten of Wands is neither an encouragement nor an admonishment of this state of being, simply an observation.  It does imply that an examination of your tasks may be in order, though, and the reversed reading suggests that one or more of the burdens you are carrying are unnecessary.  I strive to keep this card in mind when I find myself inevitably feeling overwhelmed, and question whether my task list can be pared down to spare myself some stress.  Unfortunately, the answer to that question is frequently “no”, and so the message of the card is perseverance and pacing yourself, which goes a long way to keeping me (arguably) sane.

 [S.L. Armstrong] The first time I drew a card to represent myself almost two decades ago, it was The Moon. Since then, if I do not choose it myself as my signifier, it will come up in just about any sort of spread I do. It is a card I am deeply attached to and represents me 100%. I even have a character I am writing who is The Moon personified, and she is one of the characters closest to my heart. The Moon is magic and madness and addiction. It’s fantasy and lies and fear. At the same time, it’s about revealed secrets, tapping into instinct, and facing that in yourself that is darkest and most frightening.

 Imaginative and full of change, that pretty much describes me. I’m moody and just brimming with ideas for novels and little stories. I have worlds upon worlds in my head populated with hundreds of people I’ve never met, with hundreds more waiting for their introduction. I am plagued by insecurity and anxiety, and I almost never look at myself with completely clear eyes, but I have a deep sense of spirituality and connection with what I cannot see. The Moon is me, through and through, in almost all respects, and I couldn’t think of another card I’d rather represent.

 [K. Piet] I identify with the Page of Cups, which embodies the exuberance and impulsive innocence of youth with the soothing, if sometimes conflicting, qualities of the emotions and creativity. There is a sense of duality and blurred lines in the card I feel reflected in my own life and personality. While I’m extroverted, I’m very emotionally driven. Part of me is analytical and drawn to the sciences, especially those that involve the human body and all its complexities. Contrast that with the other side, drawn to the fantastical, the dreamer that loses oneself within imaginary worlds of fiction, song, theatre, and circus. Even the balance and fusion of male and female energies exists both in my personality and in the Page of Cups, an androgyny that isn’t apologized for but is accepted as part of the fluid nature of the individual.

 The Page of Cups is a dreamer, a messenger, a studious person who uses their knowledge to try to help others. It is a card of beginning, renewal, and sudden inspiration. I often feel that my inspiration comes over me through the intervention of my unconscious mind (such as through my dreams), and it tends to shock the hell out of me, just like the fish that pops out of the goblet to speak to the Page on the traditional rendering of the tarot card. My massage therapy work is holistic and fluid, and my writing ideas tend to burst forth unexpectedly while I take action based on both logic and intuition. Some drawbacks are that I start many things I cannot finish, have a tendency to ramble, and need to both express my thoughts and have an audience receive them. After all, what good is a page holding a cup if there is no one to hear the message and share the wine?

 [Janine Ashbless] The tarot card I feel represents me is Strength. In some modern decks it’s known as Lust, and that’s particularly relevant to me.

 There are many different artistic interpretations available for this card, but they almost all show a woman and a lion. She may be holding its mouth closed (or opening it to peer inside), riding it or simply relaxing with it. I particularly like it that the imagery is so female-positive.  It reminds me of mythological depictions of the great goddesses like Kubaba, Cybele, and Durga, enthroned or accompanied by lions.

 This is a woman completely at ease with the deep animal instincts of the psyche. She’s not frightened of it in any way, despite its ferocity and power: she is the one in control. She trusts herself.  Representing the higher soul directing and controlling the sexual impulse, in conservative societies this card is often read as emphasizing self-denial. As an erotica writer, I see it as using the sexual instincts and imagination to fuel my creativity. I write stories – powerful, strong, scary, challenging, filthy stories (I hope!) which harness the vitality of my inner lion.

 [Emily Moreton] I associate myself most strongly with The Star, and not just because it’s linked to my birth sign, aquarius, or because I wear one round my neck, as a pentagram pendant. The star signifies optimism and hope for the future, and I’m a big believer in things getting better and in working to make things better. The star also warns against negativity and self-doubt, which may lead to lost opportunities, and sometimes I need to be reminded to seize the day. This is also the card I’d associate most strongly with my heroes, women like the Pankhurst sisters who campaigned for female suffrage in the UK, and Pauline Gower, who was instrumental in women being allowed to fly during World War II – they were all about making the world better, and certainly don’t seem to have let any doubt stand in their way! Finally, the star is a good omen when considering something new; I’m always trying new things, and I never turn down a good omen for them.

 [Marie Carlson] I had a hard time deciding what tarot card represents me, because there isn’t one with which I specifically identify, so I turned it over to my friends and readers. I received a few different cards in the responses, but the clear consensus was the High Priestess. I was a little taken aback at first, because I don’t always feel as powerful as being represented by the High Priestess suggests to me, but then they explained their choices and I better understood.

 The High Priestess dispenses wisdom tempered with playfulness and justice tempered with mercy. She represents female leadership through both caring and nurturing and strength and power. She is open to possibilities and mysteries and trusts her intuition. She is not afraid of the unknown.

 Being associated with the High Priestess is quite a compliment. Though I am intimately aware of how I struggle to balance various parts of my life in a way that allows me to be the change I want to see in the world, I am awed and touched to realize that what my friends and readers see is what I attempt to put out into the world.

 To me, the High Priestess has always been about having great power and understanding the responsibilities that come with it. (Yes, I just had a Spider-Man moment there.) Through my writing and my work, I try to change the world, to make it a better world for those who are outside the traditional power dynamics. The world is a dangerous place for us still, and I hope someday the world will change in a way that really does mean life itself gets better and not just that those who are different must learn to survive.

 I want to change the world, and being associated with the High Priestess is a really wonderful way to be seen.

Cast the Cards is currently available from Storm Moon Press (http://stormmoonpress.com/books/Cast-the-Cards.aspx) in various e-book formats as well as a print volume.

 We’re also offering a giveaway on this post for one free copy of the PDF e-book of Cast the Cards. Just comment to this post with which tarot card you associate with and, at the end of the blog tour, we’ll do a random drawing from the responses!

You can find out more at www.slarmstrong.net or @peachesnjasmin on Twitter, or K. Piet at www.kpiet.net or @yventide on Twitter.

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