I made this meme. Does anyone else feel this way when they yap to their boyfriend about their autistic hyperfixation?
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Friday, January 30, 2026
do techbros misunderstand Meditations by Marcus Aurelius? also I am still Ojibwemaxxing
Hi everyone! So I realize that the title of this post might be a bit clickbaity and I don't actually want to bash anyone's efforts to engage with the classics. However, what made me want to write this post was the fact that I recently read a book called Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations by Richard Wagamese, and I could not help but be reminded of what is probably the most famous example of the “philosophical journal” style of book, which is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a non-Indigenous learner of Anishinaabemowin, the Ojibwe language. I’ve written on this blog before about universal truths that are found across different storytelling traditions. For example, Basil Johnston’s retelling of the Ojibwe story of the wolverine reminds me an awful lot of my boy Satan from Milton’s Paradise Lost. For today though, I wanted to focus on how some people may misinterpret Stoic philosophy as being about isolating yourself, becoming hyperindependent, and avoiding relationships with others. I believe such ideas are erasing some of the nuances in Meditations and could be harmful. Aurelius does mention the important of community. So does Wagamese. In Embers, Wagamese draws from Anishinaabe worldview to remind us that all of creation is our community, so that includes creatures and plants.
Perhaps people who are huge fans of Meditations won’t like that I’m speaking of it alongside Embers. One is a timeless classic and one was written in the same century as us. However, Wagamese certainly draws from some very ancient teachings. And he seems to have been interested in making this wisdom accessible even to people who not know anything about Ojibwe culture. Aurelius was keeping a diary for the sake of his own self-improvement and did not intend for so many people to read it. Also, I understand why people who hate new age spirituality and self-help books might be reluctant to read “Embers.” Trust me, I hate that kinda stuff and I only read The Power of Now because my dad and my boyfriend like it. However, I enjoyed Embers. And I do not think an Ojibway writer writing about Anishinaabe teachings should be reduced to “new age.” Richard Wagamese isn’t a white woman.
Okay, lets pull up a banger from Meditations now. This is from Book 11, number viii. There are of course, many different translations of Meditations. But I am using this one on Wikisource because it is easy to access: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Meditations_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Antoninus/Book_11
Here is the banger quotation. Notice especially the ending, where he talks about how you should value community but you shouldn’t lose yourself in it.
- A branch cut off from the bough it belonged to cannot but be cut off also from the whole tree. Similarly a man, if severed from a single man, has fallen away from society as a whole. Now in the case of a branch, it is cut off by another agency, whereas man by his own act divides himself from his neighbour, when he hates him and turns from him, yet he does not realize that at the same time he has severed himself from the whole Commonwealth. Only there is this singular gift of Zeus who brought society together, that we are enabled to join again with the man we belong to, and again to become complements of the Whole. Yet, if it is often repeated, the effect of such separation is to make what separates difficult to unite and to restore. Generally speaking, too, the branch which originally grew with the tree and shared its transpiration, by remaining with it, is different from the branch which is engrafted again after being cut off, whatever gardeners may say. 'Grow together with them but do not share their doctrines.'
What do we make of this? Aurelius is not against forming relationships. He is against forming toxic, codependent attachments that would prevent you from thinking for yourself or having your own opinions.
A lot of what Meditations talks about is Logos or Reason, which is sort of like your inner god. It is an unshakeable part of you that should not be impacted by any life circumstances, however good or tragic they may be. You always have Reason even when you have nothing else. Guess what? Wagamese also speaks of having part of the Creator within him.
Lets pull up a banger from Embers. This is also a tree-related passage. It is about mast seeding, which is how trees use their roots to communicate with each other so that they all know that they should bear fruit at the same time. Pecan trees do this. This is what he says. Keep in mind that he wrote this stuff because these were thoughts that occurred to him during his morning meditations, so in a way it is sort of like Aurelius’s journal but less private:
“I’ve learned nuts are formed from symbiotic relationships between trees. They communicate through fungal networks in the soil. In a process called mast seeding, different species of trees communicate and come into fruit (the delivery of nuts) at the same time, ensuring their ongoing survival. Tree talk, tree people; as my own people say. These days I’m definitely a nut, learning to exist in unity, synchrony and harmony.”
Even trees have friends!!! And they talk to their frens. So you see, grindset advice that does not encourage you to form community or a support system is probably a bad idea.
Wagamese and Aurelius both suggest holding oneself to a very high standard while simultaneously having extreme compassion for others, and this is also how I personally want to live my life. By having very high standards for myself, but not for other people. I don’t want to judge others. If I am focusing on self-improovement, I would not have the time to do so.
That’s all for today’s chronic yapping post. Thanks for reading it!!
Unconventional essay writing advice that involves thinking about love and friendship
What’s up fam? It’s yer girl. Today, we are going to discuss unconventional essay writing advice. If you’re an undergrad, chances are that you have to write tons of these. Everyone hates essays, right? And everyone finds them boring to read too, don’t they? Well actually, I’m going to give you some unconventional essay writing advice that makes it fun to write essays. It will also make it fun to read essays.
First, I need to start by explaining why the form of the essay is important. A lot of people believe essays, or perhaps nonfiction writing in general is boring. They think it doesn’t stir the emotions as much as fiction does. The truth is, a well-written essay can be as moving as poetry. Want an example? Read “Of Friendship” by Michel de Montaigne. He argues that loyalty to your best friend is above all other loyalties. It is much more important than loyalty to the state. He supports codependent monogamous friendships!!! AND HE WOULD NEVER SNITCH ON A HOMIE. Here is an excerpt from “Of Friendship,” (1588) in John Florio’s translation (1603). It talks about two besties or bros named Gracchus and Blosius. Blosius says he trusts Gracchus, so he would listen to his fren if his fren told him to set fire to all the temples. Here it is:
When Lelius in the presence of the Romane Consuls, who after the condemnation of Tiberius Gracchus, pursued all those that had beene of his acquaintance, came to enquire of Caius Blosius (who was one of his chiefest friends) what he would have done for him, and that he answered, “All things.” “What, all things?” replied he. “And what if he had willed thee to burne our Temples?” Blosius answered, “He would never have commanded such a thing.” “But what if he had done it?” replied Lelius. The other answered, “I would have obeyed him.” If hee were so perfect a friend to Gracchus as Histories report, he needed not offend the Consuls with this last and bold confession, and should not have departed from the assurance hee had of Gracchus his minde. But yet those who accuse this answer as seditious, understand not well this mysterie: and doe not presuppose in what termes he stood, and that he held Gracchus his will in his sleeve, both by power and knowledge. They were rather friends than Citizens, rather friends than enemies of their countrey, or friends of ambition and trouble.
“THEY WERE FRIENDS RATHER THAN CITIZENS” LET THAT SINK IN!!
I use this deeply moving passage as evidence to say that thinking essays are boring is an equally horrible take as thinking there is nothing to be learned from fiction (perhaps I will write an essay on this sometime). A good essay tries to convince your reader that you have a respectable point. Evidence for your thesis, such as in the form of primary source quotations, is very important. However, what’s even more important is having a voice. You should sound like you have convictions when you write an essay.
Now, for any kind of writing, you’ve probably heard the suggestion to write first and revise later. This is pretty good advice. Make it exist first, because you can make it good later. All first drafts suck. I definitely agree with this advice, but don’t edit out your raw voice. To cultivate voice, write blog posts and diary entries. Basically anything informal where you use little or no editing and just talk about your thoughts and feelings. I do this on this blog all the time. I write informally about literary fiction or monographs just to get my thoughts and first impressions of a text down. But in this post, I would like to propose unconventional advice that applies specifically to essays.
My unconventional essay writing tip has to do with thinking about love and friendship as you write!!!
Now hear me out. Imagine people who are close to you as you write. Your homie, your mom, your fair beloved, etc. And write as though you are addressing them. Start it off in the style of a letter if that helps, and then eventually delete the part of your draft that starts with “dear ___.”
Can there be any doubt that Montaigne was thinking about a homie the entire time he was composing “Of Friendship”?
But your essay doesn’t actually have to be about friendships or relationships for this tip to apply. If you care about any idea enough, the only things you probably care about more are the people you love. And naturally, you must want to communicate ideas idea that matter to you with them.
My tip is for essay writing. Perhaps you can apply it to other forms of writing. But I intend it is an essay writing tip because I actually think there’s something very intimate about the essay form. When you have intellectual discourse with someone, it’s like seeing the inside of their brain. This is why it feels amazing to read an essay by someone you love, especially if it’s a raw, unpolished draft with their authentic voice. If your fair beloved sends you a spicy photo, that’s basically just like seeing an anatomical diagram compared to seeing their rough drafts.
You may wish to argue to change the political system in some way. Perhaps there is some famous book, and a certain passage from it is very popular, but you want to argue for the importance of one of its more overlooked passages. Perhaps you think human civilization has been entirely wrong about a concept for over 500 years. Why not start off your essay on these topics like a letter? The distinction between public and private thoughts is fake anyway.
Sure, you may write about an esoteric subject you’re interested in that your loved ones neither know nor care about. But ultimately your deepest held beliefs are informed by things that you think would benefit THEM if your ideas were implemented by society.
Do you think literature is supposed to instill virtue? Do you think society devalues beauty, and that this is cheapening art? Or perhaps you have the opposite take, and think that bourgeois aesthetic ideal are used to justify violent oppression. Maybe you have takes that criticize the school system, or the healthcare system, or the justice system because you know someone who has been personally wronged by the. Someone you love. Sometimes, that’s what it takes for people to stop feeling a distinction between social issues (issues that “happen to other people who are not like me, who either deserve it or who I can not help”) and personal issues. Your writing may seem arcane to your loved ones. But really, in a way you’re doing it for them. Aren’t you?
So start your essays off as letters. In some ways, this unconventional writing advice is like the advice of “touch grass to write better novels.” Sure you should probably read literary fiction if you’re a novelist, but your burst of inspiration is most likely to come from living life. I have a fren who loves Jane Austen. He told me that the reason why he loves Pride and Prejudice so much is because he thinks Austen sounds like she loves people. She doesn’t sound like a bitter misanthrope. If you descend into misanthropy, it may result in your downfall as a writer.
Being a good essayist does require touching grass. But more specifically, it requires forming meaningful relationships.
I was reading a critic’s work where he kinda sounded like he hated medieval literature. Medieval fans may not like that this guy was spouting the typical “it was the Dark Ages” narrative. But the point he used to criticize stuff by medieval writers who went monkmode was that they have a murderous hatred of the world that they clothe in asceticism!! Do not be like that!! resist temptation to go monkmode.
Thank you for reading this. As you can probably tell, I am a chronic yapper.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
For hapless souls who are languishing in limerence: The Dionysian Passion of Werther
It's real yearner hours. Smash that like button if ur still up brooding, pondering, languishing, and lamenting. This post is going to be about one of the worst things ever lmao: limerence. I would give you guys a definition of what limerence means, but I think it is better to SHOW you what it means. There is a very famous novel about a limerent character called The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe. Here are some letters that Werther sent to his friend Wilhelm about a lady named Lotte:
- 3 September: "Sometimes it is beyond my comprehension that any other man can love her, is allowed to love her, since I love her solely, with such passion and so completely and know nothing, having nothing but her."
- 19 October: "Oh the gap, the fearful gap, I feel here in my breast! — Often I think if once, just once, I could press her to my heart the gap would all be filled."
- 27 October, evening: "I have so much and my feeling for her devours everything, I have so much and without her everything is nothing."
- Read Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis and tell me if you think Venus or Adonis is more limerent. Spoiler alert: IT'S VENUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- How did Elaine of Astolat die in the Arthurian legends? That's right, UNREQUITED LOVE FOR LANCELOT.
- Orsino from Twelfth Night, just like this random guy on Goodreads, also thinks men have more Dionysian passion than women and make better yearners. So he says "There is no woman's sides/Can bide the beating of so strong a passion/As love doth give my heart; no woman's heart/So big, to hold so much; they lack retention" in Act 2 Scene 4. However, VIOLA IS LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH HIM and says she knows that women can be equally down bad. She is disguised as a boy in this scene, which is perhaps why Orsino takes her seriously enough to listen to her objection to what he says. Shakespeare is literally making fun of people who are like the random guy on Goodreads.
- The biggest yearner in the history of yearning was literally Sappho and she was a lesbian
- Go No Contact with the LO (very very difficult to do, I know) but you can keep a No Contact journal, message a close friend about how you're doing when you go No Contact, or post in a limerence-related forum online where other people can give you supportive comments to help.
- Improve other areas of your life so that the LO becomes less appealing try to have self-compassion while doing so. You deserve a better life, so give yourself one!!!
- To avoid behaviour that could be seen as creepy, read posts about people who have been LOs so you can understand what limerence is like for a person on the receiving end. This will help you understand how certain actions may impact them. You can also read posts by people who have been victims of stalking to gain an understanding of how they feel and avoid any behaviour that may even slightly approach stalking.
- Improve your self-esteem I heard someone say he doesn't have very good self-esteem because he has not accomplished certain goals. For example, he wants to get a car, but doesn't have one. Compliments from his friends help him feel better about himself. However, a person with high self-esteem will not be positively or negatively influenced by other people's words so easily, and they will not believe their worth depends on something as small as whether or not they have a car. You have inherent self-worth and you deserve love. Remembering this will help you improve your life.
- Do not have a negative attitude towards romantic relationships or friendships and do not become bitter. People who are dealing with limerence may have the urge to become hyperindependent, but that can actually lead to more limerence because a lack of satisfying relationships can cause limerence. Learn about friendship red flags and green flags, and work on forming a support network. Everyone needs one, and you will actually risk becoming more clingy and desperate without one. Knowing you have 2-3 solid friendships and actively putting in effort into them will prevent you from wasting effort on some random person who you have pedestalized and romanticized and who doesn't care about you.
- Forgive yourself and forgive your LO. Your LO is not evil and did not want to hurt you (assuming the majority of people have positive intentions). You were both doing the best you could with what you knew. Forgiveness is important for moving on, so is letting go of shame and anger.
Thursday, December 11, 2025
unfortunately another suburbanite has decided to start a podcast lmao
I decided to give it the title "PhDeezNuts" to challenge the concept of professionalism. Here is the cover art:
Enjoy and share it with your frens!!!!!!
Monday, December 8, 2025
yer girl is still alive i was just schoolmaxxing + here are the 10 best books I read in 2025
what's up fam it's yer girl. I wanted to post this to give a life update so you know that I'm still alive. I managed to get out of the suburbs, which has always been my life goal. And I have been schoolmaxxing. I have been doing a lot of random stuff. For example, I wrote this article on a very obscure book I read. I am also considering starting a podcast soon. Sorry if you think podcasters are cringe, but I will be contributing to their population increase soon.
I read 73 books in 2025. I wanted to make a list of the books I thought were the best in case y'all want bookmaxxing recommendations. I have chosen 10 of my favourite books and tried to cover different genres so that there's something for everyone here.
1. The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
9. All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie
- More fantasy because I loved the Masquerade trilogy!!! I'll be checking out some of R.F. Kuang's novels, as well as the Dune books and LOTR.
- More nineteenth-century fiction because I loved Jude the Obscure and Great Expectations! I would really like to read Dracula, as well as books by Austen and the Bronte sisters.
- More books by Anishinaabe authors because I liked Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Louise Erdrich will be next.
- More nonfiction books about India for tradmaxxing purposes. The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen sounds great, as does The Burning Forest: India's War in Bastar by Nandini Sundar.
- More Shakespeare of course!!!
- More philosophy, probably Plato's dialogues.
- More nonfiction about nature, creatures, and ecology. Give recs if you know about CREATURES, I don't really know where to start.
- More historical fiction. I also want to write more of it :)
- More nonfiction on AI such as AI Morality by David Edmonds and Brave New Words by Salman Khan
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Satan from Paradise Lost is kind of like a wolverine (hear me out)
Only the wolverine was discontented. When he saw the extent of the gifts of the other animals, he grew envious. Soon he wanted the strength and the size of a bear, the elegance of deer, and the swiftness of the fox. In his increasing disappointment, the wolverine began to despise himself and his gifts and feel bitter at Kitche Manitou. At length, he resolved to return to the mountain top and ask the Master of Life for greater and better gifts. When the wolverine attained the crest, he boldly called out, “Kitche Manitou! Hear me! You have not been just to me. You have not been just to all the animals. To some you have given greater scope and a greater measure of gifts. By this uneven distribution you have made some great and some less.” More audacious, the wolverine continued, “I demand that you redress this great wrong. For myself, I wish more strength, more comeliness, more speed.” But Kitche Manitou’s thunderous voice broke through the selfish list of wolverine. “To each animal being I have given sufficient power for the fulfilment of his being and form. The power I have conferred on each is a form of my power, and is a reflection of my gifts. “No injustice has been done. If you have not developed and fostered the gifts I have presented to you, it is you who have perpetrated an injustice upon yourself. You have betrayed yourself. “For your presumption, you shall wander alone and despised. And for your refusal to develop your attributes you will, henceforth, feed upon what has been left over by your fellow creatures who have nurtured their talents. Go!” Wolverine left the mountain top more bitter and envious than before. He had not been daunted by Kitche Manitou himself! As Kitche Manitou ordained, so the wolverine became solitary, vicious, and avoided. Hungry ever, he must feed upon the portions left by other animals.
What could be less then to afford him praise,The easiest recompence, and pay him thanks,How due! yet all his good prov'd ill in me,
Sight hateful, sight tormenting! thus these twoImparadis't in one anothers armsThe happier Eden, shall enjoy thir fillOf bliss on bliss, while I to Hell am thrust,Where neither joy nor love, but fierce desire,Among our other torments not the least,Still unfulfill'd with pain of longing pines;
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Sigmimptember
What’s up fam it’s yer girl. You may have seen my blog posts from previous Septembers about a monthly challenge called No Simp September. This is when you go the whole month of September without dating or having a crush on anyone or simping. You just set a lot of goals, which can be athletic, academic, creative, social, etc. And then you do these goals instead of simping. Chronic simpers can try giving themselves “three lives” but then if they yearn more than three times during the month it means they’ve failed the challenge.
The issue is that some people are already in relationships! This means that they need a new monthly challenge. Allow me to introduce the solution: SIGMIMPTEMBER
My fair beloved who is even more handsome and irresistible than Satan from Paradise Lost was the one who came up with the term “sigmimp.” This is a person who is both a sigma and a simp. So they are hobbymaxxing while still fulfilling their simp duties by adoring their partner.
Sigmimptember has similar rules to No Simp September. You have to make a lot of goals at the beginning of the month and do your best to achieve them. The difference is you’re allowed to be a simp. You don’t even have to tone down the simping if it isn’t distracting you from your goals.
You should tell your Sigmimptember goals to your dearly beloved so that they can encourage you to achieve them! Y’all can congratulate each other on your Ws, which is wholesome.
Have fun frens!! Good luck with SIGMIMPTEMBER.
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Vicky is a demon who killed my firstborn son and tried to force me to eat human flesh (I still like her though)
I have to tell you guys about V*c, or "VickYYYyyYyyYyYY" as I like to call her. Many people believe she has been my best friend for 10 years, and this is true. But she has also been my worst enemy for 100,000 years. Allow me to explain the lore.
The time Vicky killed my firstborn son
Long ago I had a vendetta against a suburb. I hated it there, and I thought everyone there was super cringe. I hated them for scorning and excluding me for being weird, and I vowed to get revenge on the suburbanites. I summoned a powerful immortal demon named V*c by drawing this sigil and saying "shingo malingo tik" three times:
Thursday, August 14, 2025
why I study the ojibwe language
Aaniin kina wiya! Today I'm going to talk a bit about Anishinaabemowin, or the Ojibwe language. I am a non-Indigenous student of Anishinaabemowin. Sometimes, people are interested in knowing why I like learning this language so much. It is very challenging to learn, so part of it is for the thrill of the intellectual challenge. But there are also some things about Anishinaabemowin that I consider to be very beautiful and that reminds me of Ojibwe culture and their worldview.
Anishinaabemowin has a very interesting grammatical structure. You see, most Indigenous languages of North America are considered polysynthetic. This means that they have a high number of morphemes per word. A morpheme is the smallest unit in a language that holds meaning. The English word "cats" has two morphemes, the noun "cat" and the "s" which is a plural ending.
In Anishinaabemowin, there are a lot of very long words that are dense with morphemes. It feels like every syllable holds so much meaning.
There's an example I can give of this that comes from "The Seven Generations and Seven Grandfather Teachings" by James Vukelich. Vukelich talks about the Anishinaabemowin word "indaanikoobijigan." This usually means "my ancestor" but it can also mean my grandparent, my great grandparent, my grandchild, my great grandchild or my descendant. To understand "indaanikoobjigan" better, Vukelich mentions the "aanik" morpheme, which also appears in words like:
aanikoobidoon (string it together, tie it)
aanikegamaa (chain of lakes)
aanikanootamaw (translate it for her)
aanik-ogimaa (someone who fulfills the role of a chief if the current one can no longer do so. "ogimaa" is chief)
Vukelich concludes that aanik indicates something linked in a process or working in a chain, and so "indaanikoobijigan" is like "one to whom I am inextricably linked"
His book has other examples of Anishinaabemowin morphemes as well. Being aware of the structure of Anishinaabemowin words just makes it seem like a poetic language, extremely rich in meaning with tons of potential for metaphors.
I'll do some more Ojibweposting later. Giga-waabamin miinawaa!!
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Printable activities for Snekcoatl fans (including self-care bingo card drop for Improovers!!!!)
What's up fam? Yer girl had a birthday party recently, and one of the activities I had my frens do when they came over to my place was a printable wordsearch I made. If you would like to find the names of mythological snenkes from all over the world, here is a link to the pdf: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WmSnduoP4adBo4SCpItvKOWVT6T5V4qU/view?usp=sharing
Also, for those of you who are Improovers (people obsessed with self-improvement), I have decided to make a self-care bingo card. You can print this out or post this on your Instagram story. Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NU3Vk0407TZyWSLQr34i3TD9NYH7wbxu/view?usp=sharing
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
The cards speak to me! (yer girl is lowkey the oracle of delphi)
What's up fam? It's yer girl. I wanted to tell you guys about how much I love oracle cards and how much I have benefited from them on my healing journey. I know what y'all are thinking "now wait a minute snekgirl, I didn't know you were one of those new age spiritual types. I thought you were an atheist!" And that is true. But rather than thinking of oracle cards as a way of connecting to a higher power, you can think of them as connecting to your own intuition if you're an atheist. This is why I encourage people to use oracle cards. If people in your life treat you as if you're still a child who doesn't know what's good for you, if they act like they think you don't know how to make decisions by yourself, then oracle cards can feel very empowering because they remind you that you know yourself best. They encourage you to take matters into your own hands instead of being passive when a problem or uncertainty arises in your life. They will train you how to listen to your gut feelings again, the way you used to before society gaslighted you.
Oracle card decks can be expensive (although the art on them tends to be exquisite, so it's worth it imo) but there are free online ones, and some new age cafes have oracle cards you can use for free as well. I have the Sufi wisdom oracle, but honestly I prefer the Starseed oracle and Kuan Yin oracle.
Since I like art, folklore, and writing inspirational messages for people, I am also thinking of making my own oracle cards and posting them online for people to use.
Before shuffling the deck, say a prayer to yourself. This can be an actual prayer if you're religious. If you're not, think of any deity that is relevant to you but imagine it as the manifestation of an abstract concept rather than thinking of praying to a being that exists. It could be any concept that is relevant to the question you want to ask the cards about.
For example, if I need refuge from particularly disturbing thoughts that day, I pray to Santa Muerte. She's a skeleton, but her embrace is warm. And she offers protection for those fearing violent deaths, or those who simply have no one else to turn to. If I'm stagnating on creative growth, I think of Xochipilli, "the prince of flowers" as he symbolizes the springtime and that is the time of growth and renewal so I think of it as the season of creativity. If I want to turn to a protective, motherly figure who can also be fierce, I think of Sedna or Nuliajuk from Inuit beliefs. And if I want to do justice to a certain research topic and approach academics with integrity, I think of my favourite, Quetzalcoatl the Aztec god of wisdom.
Of course, go with whatever speaks to you. Imagine Venus is you're trying to maximize enjoyment in a relationship. Imagine Mars if you're trying to rizz someone up, as he symbolizes action over passivity and courage over being a wimp. Those are just my suggestions.
Once you've prayed, shuffle the cards slowly and allow yourself to put your trust in them or feel a connection to them.
Now comes the time when you can ask the cards a question. Don't ask yes or no questions, and don't ask "am I right or wrong?" Ask things that are more open-ended.
Questions that I have asked the cards:
1. How will pursuing a PhD change me as a person?
2. What challenges lay ahead of me as I am about to start a PhD?
3. I worry that I may stagnate when it comes to artistic pursuits. How can I prevent this?
4. How do I maximize enjoyment in a relationship for both me and my partner?
5. How do I heal from a breakup?
6. How does learning about a new language or immersing myself in a new culture change me as a person?
7. How will moving to a new country change me?
To answer a question, you could draw a single card. But I recommend using a spread if you want a more precise answer. One of my favourite spreads is laying out three cards in a row to represent the past, present, and future. You can draw a fourth card to add clarity to your reading. You can arrange 12 cards in a circle to do a yearly forecast. Every oracle card deck is different, but they all come with guidebooks. The guidebook is indispensable! It will tell you card meanings and suggest spreads. Some guidebooks will give you alternate meanings for if you draw a card upside down. Others may offer separate meanings for if you draw a card for a "personal question" or a "relationship question." Some will add a prayer for you to say or a type of meditation to try.
Tarot cards generally have more intricate spreads, and an experienced tarot reader won't need a guidebook. But for oracle cards, you do need one.
Once you flip over the cards in your spread, you can start interpreting their meaning. The guidebook will help with this.
Here are some examples of things that the cards have told me:
- I possess great creativity and the ability to love deeply and I need to protect these parts of my identity while pursuing a PhD
- I will need to work very hard (getting in was hard, but staying in is also not easy lol)
- I need to seek collaboration on my creative projects
- When in a relationship, I need to focus on enjoying the present moment instead of worrying about the future.
- If I try my best in a relationship, the breakup will be easier to deal with because I will know that I did all that I could have done.
- I will become better at strategic and analytical thinking, problem solving, and taking action if I learn a new language
- When I move to another country, I need to let go of my emotional baggage and any negative vestiges of my past life
Sunday, June 29, 2025
announcing my rooner era and a rant about how society hates female desire
Hello frens. For those of you who know about my monthly goals for the month of June, I am proud to announce that I have finished them all. Yes, even my goal of going for a run at least 4 times this month!!!! That means that I am officially a rooner now. I even have Hoka shoes. I will continue rooning in July.
- Languages:
- Finish the workbook "Our Ojibwe Grammar" by Rick Gresczyk
- Move on to Lesson 9 of the Kidon Miinawaa Introductory Ojibwe online textbook after reviewing the relevant flashcards in my Anki deck
- 10 hours of practicing reading and writing in Hindi (the Linguin app has short stories and articles and Hindi, so I might practice with that)
- Rooning and other fitness related stuff:
- Go on at least 4 roons again
- At least 12 gym check-ins
- Get at least 400,000 steps of walking this month
- Try at least 3 at-home workouts from this youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@fitbymik/posts?themeRefresh=1
- Reading
- Finish reading Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State and the Birth of Civil Liberty by John M. Barry (it's really good so far. I love how the author talks about historical figures as if he knows them personally lmao)
- Finish reading the second book of the Masquerade trilogy, The Monster Baru Cormorant. (IT'S SOOOO GOOOD SO FAR EEEE I LOVE BARU CORMORANT AND ABDUMASI ABD THEY ARE MY FAVOURITE GIRL AND MY FAVOURITE BOY)
- Try to get like at least 1/4th of the way through at least one other book for research purposes
- Creative stuff
- edit the short story I finished writing recently
- write a poem inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi
- finish at least one lesson of an online asynchronous course on coloured pencil art that I'm taking
- Self-care stuff
- do the extended version of my skincare routine lmao
- do hair stuff and nail stuff. basically the girl maintenance stuff that I have been putting off for some time because I generally do not like being reminded that I have a corporeal form.









.png)
.jpg)











.jpg)




