The Magic of Tarot

Welcome back to another segment of Tell Me About It Tuesday.

After reading Veronica's post about tarot yesterday I felt inspired to write about my own experiences with the tarot.

(Strength from the Paulina Tarot)

Magic has always interested me, especially when I was younger. I was drawn to it. I didn't get interested in tarot until I was about nine or ten years old. I'm almost a little embarrassed to admit this but it was from a T.V. show called The Vision of Escaflowne.

The show was a about an average high school girl named Hitomi. She was on the track team and she also told fortunes for her classmates via tarot. I just remember being so entranced by the cards and her ability to know their meaning just by looking at them. She ends up getting whisked away to another planet called Gaea and her psychic powers become even more powerful. It's a good show and I do recommend it to any anime lovers.

(A picture of some of Hitomi's cards)

I couldn't believe that someone could actually know your past, present, or future by using something as simple as cards. I wanted to have my fortune told by someone but being that I was a little kid and my parents frown upon something like this, I kept it my dream to myself. Then one day in my freshman year of high school my friend Amber brought her own tarot deck to class. I don't remember the name of it. All I can remember was that the cards had cartoon-ish looking dragons on them. She did a few card spreads for us and then asked if anyone of us wanted to have our own reading. I jumped at the chance. She told me to think of a question and only that question. So I closed my eyes and focused on my question while shuffling the cards in my hands. I gave her back her cards and she started the spread. I don't remember all the cards that were used. All I remember was the last card. The card that was supposed to be my answer.

I was about seventeen when I bought my first deck which was the Rider-Watie Deck. I thought that this would be a good one to start with since this was the deck I saw the most. I used this deck a lot in college because I had friends that wanted advice about something in their lives and I was more than happy to get the practice in. It wasn't until my friend Mark showed up for on of our plays that noticed his deck, the Revelations Deck.

I didn't know about the vast possibilities when it came to the cards. This is when my friend, Tanya, asked me if my deck spoke to me or if I ever felt drawn to it. I told her not really. I just got it because I thought it was a good one to start with. She told me when buying anything magical you need to feel something for it. It needs to speak to you. And it took me a while to find the right cards but after all this searching I finally did. 

(The Zerner Farber Deck aka The Enchanted Tarot)

This was the first card that I saw and I fell in love. I finally understood what my friends meant. I felt drawn to these cards. I could hear them calling out to me. And they have been very helpful in all my readings. 

If any of you are ever interested in tarot and want to see what kinds of decks are out there I recommend Aeclectic Tarot or Tarot.com  although you can find decks pretty much anywhere. Just remember when purchasing your deck 

1) have a connection with it. If you feel drawn to it or if it speaks to you or maybe you can already see a story when you look at the cards. You need to feel something for it.

2) Never haggle for the prices of magical items. Just my advice.

Or maybe you don't really feel like tarot is your thing and you want to try orcale cards. There are a huge selection of those are well. In fact May-May uses them. His cards are the Oracle of Shadows and Light.

Well that's all I have for you today. And if you ever want a reading from me all you have to do is ask ;)

Icing kisses,

J.S.

This Is Our Life Thursday: Graduation!

Oh I have been dying to write about this.

This is what I saw as I gazed at the computer a couple of months ago. It was a sign. I had asked for a closer burlesque opportunity and here it was staring back at me. Immediately I saw there was a class and signed up the very next morning. A lot of people said I was crazy to drive to Dallas every Sunday for six weeks. It was too far, gas costs too much, blah, blah, blah. I knew I was in the right place. The first moment I knew that was when I met my teacher Dirty Blonde.

(Here she is!)

Seriously best woman alive, ever. I was nervous at first because I really didn't think I was learning anything. But after the second class things seemed to click. At one point we had to perform our routines for the classes and get feedback from her and the other students. When it was my turn she gave me some good advice on where on how to the use the stage to my advantage and the best piece was to just have fun. 

"You're a natural. You have this infectious smile and I already know they are going to LOVE you"

And so it came. It was Friday, July 17th, and I had already my make up on from the show. We did a brief run through of the show to make sure all of our tech stuff was taken care off and we headed up to the dressing room and waited for our names to be called. 

I was nervous. Terrified, really. Not about performing or being on stage, but of what the audience was going to think. Would they like it? Would they think it was stupid? Would anyone cheer? I took a breath and squeezed my potion bottle that I got from Veronica and focused. I felt better and then I was at the bottom of the stairs behind the curtain that led to the stage. Waiting for my cue to walk up steps to the stage. My heart was pounding in my chest.

"Give it up for the male harlot, Mr. Jay Scarlet!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and I glided up to the stage. A long crimson cloak covered me and hid my face. The music started off slow and haunting and it picked up to a faster a beat. I slid off the cloak and turned around and the screams got louder. 

(The first reveal)

And I owned that stage. I heard nothing but screams and laughs and whoops. It was so amazing. I felt that spark again. I was exactly where I wanted and needed to be. And then it was over. I tilted my head and blew a kiss to the audience before walking off the steps and then running up the stairs laughing like a little kid. I went downstairs, in a borrowed bathrobe, and watched the second half of the show and loved every second of it. The guys I got to work with I feel like we're going to be friends for a very long time. 

So after the show I was told to go to a small 24-hour diner that was just a block and a half away from the theater and have "stripper breakfast". To better initiate myself to the fabulous world of burlesque. Although I was just starving from eating all day and I really wanted pancakes. So the crew and I went to the diner and ate and soon everyone showed up in tow. Unfortunately I had to open at work the next day (always take the next day off people, just my piece of advice) so we had to leave.

Right before I left I took Dirty's hand and said thank you again and again. Thank you for starting a school in Dallas, thank you for helping me on my first real burlesque routine, thank you for the opportunity, and thank for everything else. Her reply was: "Thank you for coming, thank you for performing, I am so glad that I got to meet you, you're a natural"

I love her I really do. She is fantastic, fabulous, and fierce. And she invited me to come back in September to do another boylesque show. Of course I'm going to do it. I have to see all my brothers and sisters again.

 (The first being Chess Shires)

(Eros Jones)

(Ida Bubbestein)

(MT Molotov)

(Lyric Laveau)

(Mitch Kitsch)

(G.I. Jim)

(Vincent Vermuth, brother to Vivienne Vermuth who did my kick ass make up)

And the last but certainly not least is Stephan the Southern Fried King of Burlesque. This guy was so amazing and so great to work. He's very talented and I would really kill for his fantastic legs.

So yeah that's it. I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday the photographer who came to the show is still uploading pictures so when I get more trust me I'll be posting them. So you'll guys will just have to be satisfied with the one on top and one of whore face.

Also a huge thank you to everyone that participated in the art contest. It's going to be very tough to choose but I will let you know by next Thursday. 

I love you all and I hope you have a magical weekend.

Icing Kisses,

J.S.

Tell Me About It Tuesday: That's Amore

Welcome to the first entry of Tell Me About It Tuesdays.

I was at work scratching my head about what to write about and then I got my answer from one of my friends at work. He had recently broken up with his girlfriend and asked me if I could stay a little bit longer just to talk. And as we talked I kept seeing little red flags pop up when he talked about her. And I even made a point to tell him that. But he would say "No, I'm saying that wrong". So I listened and more and more red flags kept popping up.

Then a thought came to me. Why, why do we rationalize our bad relationships? Why stay with someone that makes you feel like your the only in the relationship? And then the wisest of sayings crept out of my memory.


"We accept the love we think we deserve"


Who in their right mind would think that they deserved that? And then I remember my one and only ex-girlfriend. I remember our eight months together and how I was always getting burned. Why didn't I get out sooner? I was young, that was my very first relationship, and I thought that I deserved it. I thought that I deserved all the things she put me through.  So today I want to tell you what you deserve.

1 Kindness-Everyone deserves someone who is kind. Someone that will hold you at your weakest and embrace you at your strongest. Someone who cares for you and not just themselves. And if you

2 Patience-Everyone deserves someone that will be patient. Sometimes we have things that we need to get through and that takes time. A person who loves you will not only wait but try to help you through whatever you are going through.

3 Honesty-Honesty and communication are the keys to any good relationship. Love doesn't keep secrets or makes you paranoid about your significant other. Be open with each other.

4 Acceptance-Love accepts you for you. It doesn't make you change yourself for somebody else. If you want to change yourself for your own needs then love supports it. Love sees all of your quirks and tells you how unique and amazing you are.

5 Safety-The one you are with should make you feel like you are safe in their arms and vice versa.You should feel safe that you are not going to be judge by something you do or say. When you are lying in bed together, or on the couch watching a movie or TV, you should feel protected from outside world. The reason why is whenever you two are alone you are in a sacred and safe place that only you two know.

6 Hope-A loving person hopes for the future and works hard at making that future a reality. They doesn't sit and waste their time nor do they focus on the negative aspects of life. Instead they try and look on the brighter side of things and make things  better.

7 Reliability-You should be able to count on someone. Someone that keeps their appointments and doesn't fall back on their promises is a good person. If someone says 'I'm always here for you whenever you need me' best keep that promise. Love is the person you call at 2 am when you're car is broken down on the side of the road.

9 Empathy-A caring person is someone that everyone needs. Not only will they ask about your problems and try to make you feel better, they will also go out and try to help their fellow man. A person who doesn't care about other living creatures doesn't have much love in their hearts. Also there are times when people get into a disagreement and sometimes it gets heated. A real realationship moves past it and forgives.

10 Fun-And this is the most important one. Love is fun. Love makes you feel like your a little kid again. It makes you believe in the magic of your childhood. It sees a hill and tells you 'hey let's have a race to see who can roll down that hill the fastest'. It makes you laugh, smile, and takes your breath away. A relationship without fun has no life and won't thrive.

I'm not saying that you need all of this but you do need a lot of it. It's what we all desreve in relationships. However there are also things we do not deserve.

We do not deserve abuse. If you are ever hit by someone then you leave. Love is not abusive. Love doesn't take list of all of your flaws. Love doesn't lie to you. Love doesn't force you to do things that you don't want to do. Love doesn't make you sacrifice. Love doesn't make you fear. Love isn't proud or boastful. Love isn't in it just for the sex or your appearence. Love does not dishonor you or others. Love doesn't leave you as a second choice.

And I really could go on but you get the picture I'm sure.

You, stranger at your computer, deserve love and  happiness. It is one of our unalienable rights. Something that can never be taken away. And I hope you receive that gift, if you haven't already. And if you haven't know that I love you.

Till Thursday, Sprinkes,

Love always and Icing Kisses

J.S.

Wayward Mermaid Confessions And Nervous Feelings

So what do you guys think about the new look? To be honest I just got tired of staring at nothing but darkness so I wanted to add some color and life to the blog. I like it this new look a lot better than the last one and I hope you guys do too.

So this week I have two things I wanted to talk about. The first one is something that I've actually wanted to talk about for a little while now. When I first started blogging when I was 17 I wanted to have a place where I could put all my thoughts and feelings and not be judged or criticized for it. But every time I started I always kept back something.

I can't say that.

People will think I'm weird.

No one would want to read that. 

I never really felt like I had a safe space, other than my journal. Then a few weeks ago May-May and I were working on music and he asked if I wanted to go swimming. I love the water so of course I jumped at the offer. We changed into our trunks and swam around and around and just talked. It was very open and freeing just to talk to a friend about crazy ideas for the future, thoughts on romance and love, and small fears that we were both hoping to get over.

"So what do we call this?" he asked me as he swam over to the other side of the pool.

"I don't know....I always kind of felt like a mermaid in this pool ever since you made those tails."

"Hmm...Mermaid Confessions?"

"Wayward Mermaid Confessions!"

And whenever we want a to have a magical discussion we say "Wayward Mermaid Confession?" and then grab our trunks and our tails and head to the pool where the moon and the stars are our only light.

(a picture of Selene my mermaid goddess)

But I wanted to extend that magic to all of you. I want the blog to be a place where people can say something that they are afraid to say elsewhere, or to ask questions that they are too afraid to ask. This is a safe place for everyone. Here we are all family and there is nothing but love and acceptance.

The second thing is this. 

Tomorrow I perform at the Dallas Academy of Burlesque and I'm already starting to get butterflies. The thought of being on stage thrills me to no end. I can't wait for that but still something in me shaking and partially freaking out. This was something that I confessed to May-May and he told me that maybe the reason why I'm nervous is because I just jumped into the class. There was some thought before I signed up but it was more a snap-decision. Part of me agreed with this but another part had a different reason. I am a firm believer that you shouldn't care about what strangers think of you but we all have insecurities and to say that I don't have any would be a lie. I am worried about messing up on stage or people thinking my routine is stupid or any number of things that could go wrong. I know I can't listen to these thoughts though. Thinking something bad will happen will actually cause something bad to happen. Positive thoughts will make positive things happen. So tonight after I get back from work I'm going to take a nice hot bath and light some candles and relax. 

(drawn by the amazing Colours07)

So that's what I have for you all this week. Also if you haven't checked out my art contest you really should. And one more thing, I'm adding two new segments to the blog. Memory Lane Mondays, done at the first of monday each month, and Tell Me About It Tuesdays where I'll give you guys insights on what May and I like to do when we're not doing C.C. business. Also if you guys want to email us any thoughts or questions (casanovacupcake@hotmail.com) we are more than happy to listen and/or answer.

Til next time,

Icing kisses,

J.S.