Dear Moon Muser,
It's the Aquarius New Moon on Jan. 31 at 9:46 PM Pacific Time.

I finally realized after 21 years of sending newsletters that the ones I most enjoy are really personal, so that is what I'm going to give to you today - Enjoy!

But, where to start?!

This year I'm most excited artistically with the 36-card Fairy Herbal Oracle Deck I'm working on. I painted it in the early 2000's and turned it into an oracle deck in 2008. Right now I'm writing the back of each card; filled with magical, spiritual insights, astrology, deities and healing similar to the 36-card Cat Herbal Deck which it accompanies.

I'm also excited about Tarot! I've been working with the tarot since I was a teen (and I'm 56 now) when I purchased my first deck, The Aquarian Tarot and worked through Mary Greer's excellent workbook, Tarot For Yourself. Other favorite decks are The Paulina Tarot, The Greenwood (out of print), Motherpeace and the Rider-Waite Tarot illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith.

Soooo...I intuited that I needed to finally attempt to paint my own Tarot! Whew! It is a tad overwhelming but I dived in (My Aries Rising helped, lol). The first card I painted is the 0 card, The Fool. I painted 100% intuitively, inviting images to appear in my mind's eye first and then painting them using acrylic gouache onto Montréal handmade paper (my favorite is by Papeterie St.-Armand). I wasn't sure if I could continue, but when I sat down again to paint out came card number 1, The Magician. Again, it came to me bit by bit 100% intuitively so we'll have to see if this continues, but I hope so!

On a personal note, I really enjoyed the documentary film, Alive Inside about what a HUGE, life-changing difference music makes for those with dementia. I also watched The Matrix 4 at the theater but had NO IDEA what the heck was going on since I'd missed Matrix 2 and 3.

Book-wise, I've always got a stack on the go and recently enjoyed Dave Eggers new futuristic book, The Every which is very true to the now - uber scary! I like how Dave is only releasing this book through independent book stores and NOT Amazon. My dear friend, astrologer Chad Woodward loaned me The Scalpel and The Silver Bear by Lori Alvord, M.D. and Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt (required reading in his college anthropology course on magic) and it's fascinating to learn about the first female Navajo surgeon and how she combines traditional Navajo teachings with her medical practice especially when treating Navajo patients...so much to learn!

Magically, I'm re-reading the fictional book, The Midnight Witch by Welsh author Paula Brackston about necromancy and a coven in London, England in 1913. I usually have a magical, fantasy book on the go.

Cooking-wise, I continue to make recipes from different cookbooks that are brand new from the library for my husband and I. I'm loving Jennifer Segal's new cookbook, Once Upon A Chef and plan to buy it. It has simple, delicious meals with a Mediterranean and East Indian flair.

My husband and I continue to work on the two bedroom, bathroom addition to our adobe-style California home along with a large barn and it's beautiful! We created all the windows by hand using clear Douglas Fir that we stained a reddish brown. It should all be done soon so we can get to Canada to continue building our cottage on a lake near where I grew up in Kingston, Ontario.

Fairy Herbal for the Aquarius New Moon

This painting is from my upcoming oracle deck and is ruled by Aquarius. Her affirmation is: I make wishes come true. *Click here for Starflower Fairy Signed Prints

About Kathy Crabbe
I am proud to be an artist and soul reader, in business since 1993. I love my work and hope you've enjoyed coming along for the ride and allowing me to be of service to you through all the creative, healing work I do. Thank you.

The awakening of my intuitive gifts came at age 40 when I found myself creatively blocked so I switched to my left hand which awakened my right brain and inspired me to create a Lefty Oracle Deck and become a professional soul reader. I have since published 4 oracle decks with the Fairy Herbal Oracle deck coming in 2022.

I live in Southern California and soon in the 1000 Islands, Canada for half the year with my pooch and partner in homes we’ve built ourselves.