I'll be hosting the following events at Observatory this month:
Anima, Animus, Animate: Exploring Masculine and Feminine Archetypes Through the Tarot
Date: Friday, September 9th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Masculine = Male. Feminine = Female. Right? Not necessarily. The masculine and the feminine are archetypal and ancient energies that exist within us as a collective as well as individually, regardless of gender. Long before Jung interjected “anima” and “animus” (inner female and inner male) into our understanding of the self, the Major Arcana, or Major Trumps, of the Tarot incorporated facets of these concepts into its depiction of the journey of the soul. Kathy Biehl, a professional proponent of symbolism as life guidance, will lead a visual and experiential exploration of the masculine and the feminine through images from the Tarot. Using a variety of decks from her private collection, she will discuss the diverse and nuanced ways in which the masculine and the feminine find expression — and each other. After surveying artists’ interpretations of the archetypes, she will introduce participants to their own inner masculine and feminine, through guided meditation.
Bio: Astrologer, Tarot master, attorney and author, Kathy Biehl lives and works on a bridge between intuition and the rational mind. She has been reading the Tarot since her mid-teens, when her mother unexpectedly gave her a deck after an otherwise ordinary day of high school. An undergraduate diet of German literature (heavy on Romanticism and fairy tales) and art history cultivated her innate bent for interpreting and working with symbolism, which informs her writing, classes, guided meditation recordings, and client consultations. Androgyny and gender confusion became an unintended but ongoing research project during her two decades in and around Houston’s alternate arts community, which she chronicled in her long-running zine The Ladies’ Fetish & Taboo Society Compendium of Urban Anthropology. Her website is EmpowermentUnlimited.net.
And also:
Plant Medicine: An Initiation into an Alchemist’s Art
with Intuitive Herbalist Kate Temple-West
Date: Sunday, September 18th
Time: 2:00–4:30 PM
Admission: $40 cash
Presented by Phantasmaphile
***You must email phantasmaphile [at] gmail dot com to register for this event, as we have a limited class size.***
For millennia people have made medicine for the body and psyche through direct relationship with nature. This knowledge is our birthright. Awakening our senses to the energetics of healing is something we can access with intention and creativity. In this class we will look at the history, myth, science, and art of magical herbal preparations. We will experience first hand local shamanic plants and learn to make our own tincture for creativity and enhanced intuition. Our work with plants will open us to further transformational healing and connection to the natural world.
*Please bring a towel or small blanket to sit on, as we will be working on the floor.
Kate Temple-West is an NYC-based herbal practitioner. She trained extensively with acclaimed herbalist Robin Rose Bennett in her 4 year apprenticeship program, as well as an additional two years in her clinical practice program. She was also a student of Matthew Wood, and an apprentice of renowned herbalist Lata Cheitri Kennedy at Flower Power Herbs and Roots in Manhattan’s East Village. She is a member of the American Herbalist’s Guild, and a certified permaculture designer who strongly believes that we have the ability to adjust our habits and technologies to comfortably live in a way that no longer harms the earth, but instead promotes regeneration. Please visit http://www.friendlyherbalist.com/ for more information.
Hope to see you at one or both!
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