Boozhoo! Hello!

My name is Jennifer and I was born in Detroit, Michigan, but I currently live in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I was inspired to take the course because I have had this book on my shelf for the past two years where it was gathering dust. I would stare at the spine and tell myself “I’ll read it soon”, but never did. I came across a post on Patheos “A Great Mystical Book With a Surprising Title” and the real surprise for me was that it was “Meditations on the Tarot”. I researched the author (Carl) and was again surprised to find out that I have listened to episodes of “Encountering Silence” before and really enjoyed them. I was excited to find out about the course and was even more excited after attending the Introductory Zoom meeting. I have been interested in the Tarot for many years, I own many decks, and being a Christian I was very interested when I saw the title of this book while researching information about Christian Hermeticism. My approach to Tarot has always been for that of creative meditative purposes rather than divination. I felt drawn to the symbolism of the cards in ways I had trouble explaining. I couldn’t find an “in between” so to speak, or wherever I was with it. People I know are either into Tarot to divine the future or they suggest I stay far away from it because the Tarot is “evil”. So here I am, ready to embark on this contemplative journey that I feel very drawn to. I’m learning a lot already and I’ve only read a few pages. It is definitely a book to take slowly.

Some things about me: I write, mostly poetry, read a ton, and I’m also LCO Ojibwe so many of my spiritual practices are rooted in a blend of Midewiwin tradition and Catholicism because those are the traditions I was raised in. I never saw much complication in this blend of beliefs, but I grew to find many felt I had to ‘choose a side’ or something. I feel more balanced this way, so I believe I’ll just stick to what I know and remain open to learn more. I love learning about other faiths, both Christian and non-Christian, and I feel blessed to have had many great ‘teachers’ who were willing to share with me about their beliefs. I guess a quirky thing about me is that I have a habit of watching the same movies over and over again to the point where I memorize lines and bring them into conversations way too often. Haha. I’m a big film buff as well as a book buff so even though I am mostly homebound due to chronic illnesses, I find I have a lot of time to devote to these hobbies.

I am looking forward to beginning the course, and in meeting all of you! Thank you very much, Carl, for putting this course together.

P.S. – “Boozhoo” is “hello” in Ojibwemowin.