music for stargazing
twinkly songs, celestial sounds, and a little more magic
On my birthday last November, I drew tarot cards for each month of the upcoming year. For May, I drew the Seven of Wands. In case you're curious if that has turned out to be accurate, here’s how it's showing up in my life this month:
This is melodramatic, I know. These are all very solvable and fairly stupid little stick problems. Nothing terrible has happened to me. I've managed to squeeze in quality time with friends and I’ve had lovely evenings at home with Paul. I’ve had some wins at the thrift store. My cat is no longer constipated.
But I'm still feeling ho hum. Death by a thousand tiny sticks. I feel short on time and poorly rested. I keep googling “am I burned out quiz.” I keep daydreaming about moving somewhere with a lot of sheep.
And so this week, I wanted something magical and celestial. Something to turn my attention upwards and away from stupid little sticks and towards the skies and planets and galaxies. This week’s vibe is floating above the doldrums of the every day. Twinkly star songs for dreamily staring at the heavens on a blanket in your backyard. Sometimes when I’m feeling unnecessarily gloomy, I just need a little magic and mystery.
(link directly to the playlist on Spotify)
There’s something to be said for trying to look at the world with more magic and wonder. A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to understand tarot cards with more depth and detail and built myself an extensive reference notebook. I copied passages from my favorite tarot books and combined them with research into the art and history of each card. I became better at reading Tarot by doing it, but, I also accumulated a lot of facts tangentially related to the cards themselves. While working on The Star, I learned the etymological roots of the word disaster.
Disaster is a combination of “ill” and “star.” A bad star. An unlucky star. Imagine a time when looking up at the stars meant seeing your fate lined out for you. You could be born under a bad star. The stars could align. This concept peppers our language. We wish upon a star. We thank our lucky stars. Love can be written in the stars. Good or bad, your future was written in the sky.
I’m skeptical of leaning too far into these kinds of ideas. I’ve never put too much stock into the mystical. I mess around with Tarot but I never see the cards as prophetic but more as invitations to reframe a situation. But maybe there’s something in that kind of measured magical thinking, too. There’s magic in the tangible ritual and the creative thought process. The older I get, the more I think allowing a little of that into your life is a healthy and necessary thing.
And that is perhaps the appeal of this week’s theme and playlist for me. In an attempt to find twinkly star songs, I’ve also reminded myself that there is something soothing about looking towards the stars, towards magic, and towards wondrous things as a way to cope with the many sticks coming at us.
While writing this I’m realizing that I’ve let some of that magical thinking slip lately and lo and behold, my stress levels have also been rising. I used to pull random adjectives from a hat and get dressed based on the combination of words. I used to be more intentional about small rituals. Lighting a candle, pulling a tarot card, journaling about how it struck me. It’s been a long time since I have actually gazed at the stars with delight or strolled around outside looking for cool rocks or have been delighted by some strange coincidence. So, I’m reminding myself to do these things and I hope you do, too. I mean, it’s nearly lightening bug season and what’s more magical than that?
Dear local friends and readers: This Saturday, May 17 is the Halftone Zine Fest. Paul will be there with all of his wares and I’ll be there looking proud of him.
One more small note for the week: I thought it might be nice to compile everything I’ve included on these playlists into a mega-list. I’ll update it each week. Here’s a link.