Good morning!
Welcome to Digestable, your mouthful of things happening in the world.
Today’s news, fermented:
Last weekend, Providence got thereabouts two feet of snow. It’s been treacherous to get around, but today is in the 50s and raining. Maybe that’s why all my weekend recs are plant-and-land-focused:
From Dirt: on preserving Cherokee beans, and the memories that seeds hold (a read or a listen from Emergence Magazine)
Something needed good news from West Virgina - how Black farmers are restoring land in coal country
This Twitter thread about how white people read and love Braiding Sweetgrass. If you, like me, are a white person who read and loved Braiding Sweetgrass, take some time with this! This thread made me feel grateful for nuance, for this person who took the time to explain their thoughts and offer context about other Indigenous scholarship, and for what I got to learn from Braiding Sweetgrass (still).
For today’s animal, a little toad en route, via BoschBot.
~Caro’s Tarot~
Buenos dias on this chilli Friday morning in Medellin. Y’all might or might not have noticed the absence of tarot for the past couple of weeks, and I would love to talk about it in the hopes it resonates with some readers.
I’m not going to lie, the beginning of the year has gotten to a slow start. Mentally – I have been pretty exhausted, exhausted from still living through this pandemic, exhausted at the political state of the world, exhausted because how can you not be when you’re living in a system that never lets you rest? And if you choose rest, you feel guilty because you are not being “productive” towards a means or goal.
Now when you get to this state of mental fatigue, especially for those of us with neurodivergent brains, it’s easy to get stuck in a negative feedback loop; to choose low frequency activities such as watching Tik Toks for the hundredth time that day (listen, don’t feel called out, I am such a sucker for Tik Tok, and it’s made addicting on purpose), or feeding into negative self-talk (give yourself some slack, living is hard out here in capitalism land). I have been in this negative feedback loop for the past month, I don’t know why or what triggered it, but I have admittedly been low energy and have bent to some of those low frequency activities.
I’ve longed for the energy to meditate, exercise, cook, write – things I know bring me to a state of joy, happiness and contentment. It is always easier said than done, and it is important to note that it is perfectly OK to be in this space from time to time. We can’t be happy and chipper all the time (and if you are….listen we gotta talk, cause you can’t be pushing those bad feelings down like that all the time, they will pop back up eventually, trust me). I say all of this, because it is an intimate part of the spiritual journey. Getting knocked off center, in those low moments, is where we typically learn so much more about ourselves. I want to channel this energy, I want us to learn about ourselves and radically accept who we are, even in moments of low confidence and energy. Y’all know tarot for personal growth and self reflection is my jam, and for that reason I would love to focus our tarot card question on this today – so let’s ask the universe, how can I boost my energy levels? What do I need to know to improve my health and well being?
Eight of swords – phew this one looks intense, let’s hear what it has to say:
“You’re feeling trapped, blinded, unable to take action because all your swords are stuck in the ground and they seem too difficult to pull out. But those ropes aren’t very tight, and with just a little struggle they’d fall right off. Don’t surrender to hopelessness and negativity. You might have made some mistakes that have gotten you here, but you have the skills you’ll need to get yourself out of this situation”
….ok, wow, like I have always said, you gotta be able to handle the truth if you’re going to get your cards read. This card is telling us to release ego, ego keeps us trapped in those ropes – ropes we convince ourselves are too difficult to wiggle out of, we think this is a forever state and it is simply not. So whether today’s reading resonated with you or not, always remember that you have the power, skills, wit, and intelligence to push past that ego, and get back to a more centered version of yourself.
Have a wonderful and reflective weekend readers!
With gratitude,
Caro
DJ tomoro’s low-key music show
A song of the day!
*Hot Goss*
Brought to you by the superb Latifah Azlan.
Presented with absolutely no comment other than my SQUEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALS OF JOY AND EXCITEMENT:
Okay, maybe a little bit of commentary. YOU GUYS. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, First and Only of her name; Light of this Earth; Icon, Legend, and the mf-in Supreme; Beauty Maven and Instigator of the Inclusive Makeup movement; the Divine Feminine personified; Fashion Visionary and occasional singer is with child. And this time, it's for real!
It was the baby bump seen around the world, and personally, I very publicly shed a few tears over it because I am unhinged and being in a Zoom call at midnight will inevitably start becoming very disturbing for your emotional stability. To the colleagues who were in that meeting with me three days ago, I am so sorry for what you witnessed. But also very grateful that you gave me the virtual room to process the news with all of you. And in a few months, you'll get to repeat that experience when Rihanna's child arrives on this planet.