Hey friends! Sooo... I have another new book out! It is a surprise book I was not planning to write in the slightest, and then *did* write awfully very fastly. Hang tight--I'll explain....
This is a weird time for me & for the blog. We're doing a phase change on multiple fronts here.
The Facts Are These:
-Since I've been out and vocal as nonbinary trans and queer-positive in my public tarot work, the current political climate threatens everything I've built and shared here thus far on Interrobang Tarot. I will keep this site up as long as possible, but I'm bracing for a censorship crackdown, and the possibility of queer and/or witchy re-criminalization, anytime now.
-I'm in the process of moving and deleting all my remaining Meta accounts in light of their policy changes on AI and anti-LGBT hate speech. My exit posts are not getting seen much (big shocker), so this means letting go of my sizable (but algo-tanked) followings there to start over from scratch on fediverse apps like Bluesky and Pixelfed (coming soon), which I'm happy to do.
-This is a chance to start over in more ways than one....
-It so happens that tarot is not now nor never has been my sole, primary, deepest, or longest running passion. Though it's a dearly beloved interest and a core part of my philosophy, I've been a bit fried on holding tarot as my main focus anyway.
-I've been sitting on a bonkers, stranger than fiction, picaresque backstory and real life Fool's Journey that knocked me full of poetry and trauma both, and left me completely unwilling to share core aspects of my arts, my voice, and my personality until middle age.
-37 And a half now. Close enough!
-So I just came out as a former whiskey-tango train-wreck, recovering rapscallion, child of the Great Recession, and folk-rock singer/songwriter with a spicy checkered past full of jackass hijinks I haven't been telling in this public Patreon post right here.
-So then my Discord and Patreon community asked for more memoirs, checkered past bombs, and witch tips. And I was all like "LOL you guys I don't write MEMOIRS or teach WITCHCRAFT! ...But let's do a quick series of blog articles on Highway Trash Magic tips for times of crisis while I'm fried on tarot spreads anyway." My crowd was into that. You too can read the first handful of articles for free here, just follow on Patreon to access. There are some changes and added notes between the Patreon articles and the final book chapters.
-So I sat down to write that "mini-series" of "blog articles," and a 300+ page tome of black comedy memoirs and witchcraft philosophy for times of abject chaos spilled out instead, beatnik stream-of-consciousness style, in the span of about 3 weeks. My Discorders requested the book format puh-leeze, to make it more readable and workable through. So I edited, designed, and dropped it in the span of ONE week to beat certain *current events.* Gratitude to the Patrons for prompting and funding this escapade over the holidays.
-This is one of the silliest, most unhinged feats of art nonsense I've done yet--and I've done some spontaneous Hot Nonsense in my day. (As you will learn should you be foolish enough to read the thing.)
-The book is one part black-comedy memoir, one part modern-folkloric witch school, and one part peer-to-peer resource roundup for spotting, playing, and escaping scoundrels, bullies, and exploiters, and navigating complex trauma with a strong sense of self and growing artistry. It was written much too fucking fast in a conversational, blog article style, with typos, slang, emojis, jokes, and Bad Ideas!, along with folk wisdom you can use to stay playful and kicking through chaos. It includes dangerous notions like What Actually Happened and What I Really Think about what happened. (Aw lookout!) Just be warned that this school is Clown School, and I shall be an Unreliable Narrator throughout as I pivot from shy & retiring tarot blogger back to my core calling of "traditional" 🔥🎻 "folk" 😉😉 singer.
This is a weird time for me & for the blog. We're doing a phase change on multiple fronts here.
The Facts Are These:
-Since I've been out and vocal as nonbinary trans and queer-positive in my public tarot work, the current political climate threatens everything I've built and shared here thus far on Interrobang Tarot. I will keep this site up as long as possible, but I'm bracing for a censorship crackdown, and the possibility of queer and/or witchy re-criminalization, anytime now.
-I'm in the process of moving and deleting all my remaining Meta accounts in light of their policy changes on AI and anti-LGBT hate speech. My exit posts are not getting seen much (big shocker), so this means letting go of my sizable (but algo-tanked) followings there to start over from scratch on fediverse apps like Bluesky and Pixelfed (coming soon), which I'm happy to do.
-This is a chance to start over in more ways than one....
-It so happens that tarot is not now nor never has been my sole, primary, deepest, or longest running passion. Though it's a dearly beloved interest and a core part of my philosophy, I've been a bit fried on holding tarot as my main focus anyway.
-I've been sitting on a bonkers, stranger than fiction, picaresque backstory and real life Fool's Journey that knocked me full of poetry and trauma both, and left me completely unwilling to share core aspects of my arts, my voice, and my personality until middle age.
-37 And a half now. Close enough!
-So I just came out as a former whiskey-tango train-wreck, recovering rapscallion, child of the Great Recession, and folk-rock singer/songwriter with a spicy checkered past full of jackass hijinks I haven't been telling in this public Patreon post right here.
-So then my Discord and Patreon community asked for more memoirs, checkered past bombs, and witch tips. And I was all like "LOL you guys I don't write MEMOIRS or teach WITCHCRAFT! ...But let's do a quick series of blog articles on Highway Trash Magic tips for times of crisis while I'm fried on tarot spreads anyway." My crowd was into that. You too can read the first handful of articles for free here, just follow on Patreon to access. There are some changes and added notes between the Patreon articles and the final book chapters.
-So I sat down to write that "mini-series" of "blog articles," and a 300+ page tome of black comedy memoirs and witchcraft philosophy for times of abject chaos spilled out instead, beatnik stream-of-consciousness style, in the span of about 3 weeks. My Discorders requested the book format puh-leeze, to make it more readable and workable through. So I edited, designed, and dropped it in the span of ONE week to beat certain *current events.* Gratitude to the Patrons for prompting and funding this escapade over the holidays.
-This is one of the silliest, most unhinged feats of art nonsense I've done yet--and I've done some spontaneous Hot Nonsense in my day. (As you will learn should you be foolish enough to read the thing.)
-The book is one part black-comedy memoir, one part modern-folkloric witch school, and one part peer-to-peer resource roundup for spotting, playing, and escaping scoundrels, bullies, and exploiters, and navigating complex trauma with a strong sense of self and growing artistry. It was written much too fucking fast in a conversational, blog article style, with typos, slang, emojis, jokes, and Bad Ideas!, along with folk wisdom you can use to stay playful and kicking through chaos. It includes dangerous notions like What Actually Happened and What I Really Think about what happened. (Aw lookout!) Just be warned that this school is Clown School, and I shall be an Unreliable Narrator throughout as I pivot from shy & retiring tarot blogger back to my core calling of "traditional" 🔥🎻 "folk" 😉😉 singer.
People want Teachers who have their shit together! People want to magic their way into buying houses and finding partners and getting grownup jobs and climbing social ladders and having the kinds of adventures where you figure out what canapés are! Nobody wants to have to magic their way into making up-cycled free-box trash look like a stage set, or skipping town in a hurry without ending up in a tent camp, or blasting the daylights out of some jerk-faced slum neighbor, or wasting the fuck out of a con-artist’s time on the Greyhounds to shake him off your trail when you’re First Mark on the Bus! (Oh yes, we’ll get to all the above life skills and more here…)
Anyway, Here's the Table of Contents:
Introduction
1. Of Checkered Pasts & Changes
Checkered Past Story Time!
Gaybies & Gentle-Thems, My Resumé
The Trash-Fire, The Garden, The Game
The Verse Returns
All Folked Up
2. North Of Boston Boondocks Memoir Things
Some In Defense of Me Things
The Boondocks Scamps
3. Playfulness Keeps You Alive
First Rule of Highway Trash Magic School: Playfulness Keeps You ALIVE.
Dirt Cheap Games for When The Going Gets Rough
First Rule of Survival School: Don’t Off Yourself Yourself, Genius
Pesky Death Wish Management Techniques
The Dread Pirate Roberts Technique of Death Wish Deferment
4. Crafting Up FAST
Reading & Resources for Newbies & the Magic-Curious
Ways NOT To Acquire Game In A Hurry
Best Techniques for Crafting Up Fast
5. How To Comport Yourself When You’ve Got Game
Step 1. Do Not Telegraph Your Game!
Vetting & Clocking: Some Signs of Good Resources Things
Some Signs of Good Game in Other Crafters
Some Signs Commonly Mistaken For Game But Aren’t Necessarily
How We Comport Ourselves As We Grow
6. Rock & Roll Trash Magic & Origin Story
Where Did I Get My Game?
The Highway Trash Magic Grimoire Tradition
The Songbook of The Witch
7. Picaresque Survival Skills
What The Fuck is a Picaresque?
How To Get Space-Fucked
Haunting Archetypes & Calls to Adventure
Signs You’ve Got an Archetype on Your Case
The Call To Glamorous Failure
Rapscallions Vs. Scoundrels 101
8. Revoking Your Capitalism
What’s The Deal With Initiations?
Fun Renunciations For Scamps & Rapscallions
The Witch & The Village
Showing Up For The Long Work
9. Magic or Magical Thinking?
Tricky Definitions
Some Signs Your Craft Practice Is Working Well For You
Some Signs You May Be Experiencing Harmful Magical Thinking
Some Green Flags For Probs-Not-A-Cult Situations
The Ghosts In This Machine
10. Oppression is a Numbers Game
The Victim Paradox
The Numbers Game & The Great Recession
Cutting the Bullshit
Your Victim Paradox Questions
11. Predictive Divination for Survivors
Top-Shelf Predictors For Survival Situations
Assessing Your Predictive Abilities
12. Fate, Will, Chaos, & Crossroads
The Six-Way Crossroads
Chaos’s Labyrinth
Core Beliefs
The Mysteries
The Otherworlds & Spirit Work 101
What’s The Deal With Deities?
13. Shapeshifting, Glamor, & Theater
Shapeshifting Vs. Same-Shaping
Masking Trauma Vs. Masking Play
Millennials Are Glamor-Fucked
Hallmarks of Propaganda
Signs of Dishonesty & Deceit
Acting & Glamor Craft 101
14. Heart-Centered Cunning & Patron Critters
Pick Your Trash Pal
Pick Your Fable
15. Things To Do When You Have Walked Into Some Crimes Part 1: The Police & The Slum Feud
When Do You Go To The Police?
High-Rascal Slum Wars
16. Justice-Calling & Rebalancing Magic
Questions To Ask Before Attempting Witchy Vigilantism
Cutting To The Craft
The Dark Triad
Gray Rock Yellow Rock
Craft Approaches to Justice & Protection
Effective Phrasings, Due Cautions, & Not Getting Caught
17. Baneful Magic for Social Justice
The Hexing of Public Figures
What Magical Strategies Work For Social Justice?
18. Some Ways To Wander Into An Abuse Cycle
What Attracts Bullies & Abusers?
The Common Denominator
The Kicked When You’re Down Effect
Kick It Back
19. So You’re “Between Apartments”
Safer Solutions For Coasting While Slightly Unhoused
Cross-Country Couch-Surfing With Style & Grace
20. Highway Crushing & Riding The Hounds
Animist Road Magic
Solo Travel Tricks & Portable Protections
Don’t Kid a Kidder
21. Navigating Rough Neighborhoods
Some Things To Do When You Have Wandered Into a Crimey Place
22. Commuting on Foot Alone At Night… In Bear Country
Night Walking In Girl Skin
Lurking 101
How to Hang With The Wildlife, Respectfully
23. Holding Your Own In Bars With Boys
Bar Smarts Crash Course
Of Poisons Profound & Profane
Red Flags Red Flags
Not-A-Problem Problems
Sobering Up For The Rest Of Your Life
24. Things To Do When You Have Walked Into Some Crimes- Part 2: The Not-Noticing-Things Type Person
Keeping It Crimes-Adjacent
Anglerfish Bait
25. Is Stealing Ever Fun Sometimes?
Fox Robin Hood Failures
The Plight of the American Service Worker
Impudence Studies
Just Kids
The Hindsight of Premonition
Steal Not From The Poor To Give To The Other Poor
The Plight of the American Cosplayer
My Midnight Heist Era
Redistribution Revolution
26. Scrounging & Flow
The Four Pillars of Resource
Ends, Means, & Abstractions
Do You Think You’re Owed Something?
The Scavenger’s Flow
Shopping The Hive
Pestering The Saints
Mending, Making, Making Do, & Making The Best of It
27. Passing Through Spaces Richer Than Your Blood
Class-Chaotic Dialogue
Once Upon A Decision
Are We In Poppies Or Possibilities?
Ways To Wander Into Spaces Richer Than You Are
Ways To Wander Through Spaces Richer Than You Are
Commit To The Bit
28. Things To Do When You Have Walked Into Some Crimes Part 3: So Your Roommate’s a Dealer
Red Flags Green Flags
Burn The House Down (Figuratively) 🔥 Protocols
Occult Deescalation Techniques
Some Witch Identification Field Guide Things
The Power Dynamic
Imperfect Amends
A Note On Perspective
29. The Fallout & The Fool’s Rage
All Peopled Out
The Virtues of Solitude & Cynicism
The Human Conditions
A Resurrection of Voices
30. Survival Hurts
It’s a GAME
When To Take a Hit and How To Take a Fall
Physical Pain Management for Trash Witches
Emotional Pain Management for Trash Witches
31. How To Crawl Back Out of A Grave
Holding Onto Yourself In a Fucking Trauma Circus
Ego Training
Murder-Boarding Back to Center
Accountability is an Antidote to Shame
Pride is an Antidote to Oppression
Excavating The Voice
32. Reviving Echo
Echo-Location
Apple Crisp
Antimatter
Say Cheese
More Than One of Us Did Her Dirty
Logic
Loopholes
Three Old Laws
Beatnik Curse Breaking
Oh You Lovers of Logic--
33. Post Traumatic Growth For Beautiful Losers
Sweet You & Your Cracked Transformations
The Tenets of Clown School
Gaybies & Gentle-Thems, My Elevator Pitch
Introduction
1. Of Checkered Pasts & Changes
Checkered Past Story Time!
Gaybies & Gentle-Thems, My Resumé
The Trash-Fire, The Garden, The Game
The Verse Returns
All Folked Up
2. North Of Boston Boondocks Memoir Things
Some In Defense of Me Things
The Boondocks Scamps
3. Playfulness Keeps You Alive
First Rule of Highway Trash Magic School: Playfulness Keeps You ALIVE.
Dirt Cheap Games for When The Going Gets Rough
First Rule of Survival School: Don’t Off Yourself Yourself, Genius
Pesky Death Wish Management Techniques
The Dread Pirate Roberts Technique of Death Wish Deferment
4. Crafting Up FAST
Reading & Resources for Newbies & the Magic-Curious
Ways NOT To Acquire Game In A Hurry
Best Techniques for Crafting Up Fast
5. How To Comport Yourself When You’ve Got Game
Step 1. Do Not Telegraph Your Game!
Vetting & Clocking: Some Signs of Good Resources Things
Some Signs of Good Game in Other Crafters
Some Signs Commonly Mistaken For Game But Aren’t Necessarily
How We Comport Ourselves As We Grow
6. Rock & Roll Trash Magic & Origin Story
Where Did I Get My Game?
The Highway Trash Magic Grimoire Tradition
The Songbook of The Witch
7. Picaresque Survival Skills
What The Fuck is a Picaresque?
How To Get Space-Fucked
Haunting Archetypes & Calls to Adventure
Signs You’ve Got an Archetype on Your Case
The Call To Glamorous Failure
Rapscallions Vs. Scoundrels 101
8. Revoking Your Capitalism
What’s The Deal With Initiations?
Fun Renunciations For Scamps & Rapscallions
The Witch & The Village
Showing Up For The Long Work
9. Magic or Magical Thinking?
Tricky Definitions
Some Signs Your Craft Practice Is Working Well For You
Some Signs You May Be Experiencing Harmful Magical Thinking
Some Green Flags For Probs-Not-A-Cult Situations
The Ghosts In This Machine
10. Oppression is a Numbers Game
The Victim Paradox
The Numbers Game & The Great Recession
Cutting the Bullshit
Your Victim Paradox Questions
11. Predictive Divination for Survivors
Top-Shelf Predictors For Survival Situations
Assessing Your Predictive Abilities
12. Fate, Will, Chaos, & Crossroads
The Six-Way Crossroads
Chaos’s Labyrinth
Core Beliefs
The Mysteries
The Otherworlds & Spirit Work 101
What’s The Deal With Deities?
13. Shapeshifting, Glamor, & Theater
Shapeshifting Vs. Same-Shaping
Masking Trauma Vs. Masking Play
Millennials Are Glamor-Fucked
Hallmarks of Propaganda
Signs of Dishonesty & Deceit
Acting & Glamor Craft 101
14. Heart-Centered Cunning & Patron Critters
Pick Your Trash Pal
Pick Your Fable
15. Things To Do When You Have Walked Into Some Crimes Part 1: The Police & The Slum Feud
When Do You Go To The Police?
High-Rascal Slum Wars
16. Justice-Calling & Rebalancing Magic
Questions To Ask Before Attempting Witchy Vigilantism
Cutting To The Craft
The Dark Triad
Gray Rock Yellow Rock
Craft Approaches to Justice & Protection
Effective Phrasings, Due Cautions, & Not Getting Caught
17. Baneful Magic for Social Justice
The Hexing of Public Figures
What Magical Strategies Work For Social Justice?
18. Some Ways To Wander Into An Abuse Cycle
What Attracts Bullies & Abusers?
The Common Denominator
The Kicked When You’re Down Effect
Kick It Back
19. So You’re “Between Apartments”
Safer Solutions For Coasting While Slightly Unhoused
Cross-Country Couch-Surfing With Style & Grace
20. Highway Crushing & Riding The Hounds
Animist Road Magic
Solo Travel Tricks & Portable Protections
Don’t Kid a Kidder
21. Navigating Rough Neighborhoods
Some Things To Do When You Have Wandered Into a Crimey Place
22. Commuting on Foot Alone At Night… In Bear Country
Night Walking In Girl Skin
Lurking 101
How to Hang With The Wildlife, Respectfully
23. Holding Your Own In Bars With Boys
Bar Smarts Crash Course
Of Poisons Profound & Profane
Red Flags Red Flags
Not-A-Problem Problems
Sobering Up For The Rest Of Your Life
24. Things To Do When You Have Walked Into Some Crimes- Part 2: The Not-Noticing-Things Type Person
Keeping It Crimes-Adjacent
Anglerfish Bait
25. Is Stealing Ever Fun Sometimes?
Fox Robin Hood Failures
The Plight of the American Service Worker
Impudence Studies
Just Kids
The Hindsight of Premonition
Steal Not From The Poor To Give To The Other Poor
The Plight of the American Cosplayer
My Midnight Heist Era
Redistribution Revolution
26. Scrounging & Flow
The Four Pillars of Resource
Ends, Means, & Abstractions
Do You Think You’re Owed Something?
The Scavenger’s Flow
Shopping The Hive
Pestering The Saints
Mending, Making, Making Do, & Making The Best of It
27. Passing Through Spaces Richer Than Your Blood
Class-Chaotic Dialogue
Once Upon A Decision
Are We In Poppies Or Possibilities?
Ways To Wander Into Spaces Richer Than You Are
Ways To Wander Through Spaces Richer Than You Are
Commit To The Bit
28. Things To Do When You Have Walked Into Some Crimes Part 3: So Your Roommate’s a Dealer
Red Flags Green Flags
Burn The House Down (Figuratively) 🔥 Protocols
Occult Deescalation Techniques
Some Witch Identification Field Guide Things
The Power Dynamic
Imperfect Amends
A Note On Perspective
29. The Fallout & The Fool’s Rage
All Peopled Out
The Virtues of Solitude & Cynicism
The Human Conditions
A Resurrection of Voices
30. Survival Hurts
It’s a GAME
When To Take a Hit and How To Take a Fall
Physical Pain Management for Trash Witches
Emotional Pain Management for Trash Witches
31. How To Crawl Back Out of A Grave
Holding Onto Yourself In a Fucking Trauma Circus
Ego Training
Murder-Boarding Back to Center
Accountability is an Antidote to Shame
Pride is an Antidote to Oppression
Excavating The Voice
32. Reviving Echo
Echo-Location
Apple Crisp
Antimatter
Say Cheese
More Than One of Us Did Her Dirty
Logic
Loopholes
Three Old Laws
Beatnik Curse Breaking
Oh You Lovers of Logic--
33. Post Traumatic Growth For Beautiful Losers
Sweet You & Your Cracked Transformations
The Tenets of Clown School
Gaybies & Gentle-Thems, My Elevator Pitch
This project was a collaboration with my younger self, and my younger self was nuts. Or to paint in less ableist terms, undiagnosed neurodivergent, closet queer, invisibly ill, and trapped in a half lighthearted, half dark & twisted Recession era Manic Pixie Dream Girl cycle quite against her preferences and "potential."
I don't know how long I'll be willing or able to keep this one in circulation. It's a *large* offering in word count, hot nonsense, and spicy truth-bombs, but may be for a precious, small audience as I pivot this quite shaken & stirred platform back to music and verse for the next chapter....
Catch it while you can in my home shop, in the new Patreon shop, or on paperback! All 33 articles corralled herein are priced accessibly as possible for the rebellion at $22 on Amazon , and half off in my home & Patreon shops at a mere $11, to undercut The Man and introduce a sliding scale option for you that ironically pays better than KDP for me anyway. Fortune's Inkwell is likewise still 50% off in the home shop. Win/win.
Hope you enjoy this one! Maybe leave a nice review if you do? Stay tuned for more news as we transition into the next era here.... And take care of yourselves through the chaos!
I don't know how long I'll be willing or able to keep this one in circulation. It's a *large* offering in word count, hot nonsense, and spicy truth-bombs, but may be for a precious, small audience as I pivot this quite shaken & stirred platform back to music and verse for the next chapter....
Catch it while you can in my home shop, in the new Patreon shop, or on paperback! All 33 articles corralled herein are priced accessibly as possible for the rebellion at $22 on Amazon , and half off in my home & Patreon shops at a mere $11, to undercut The Man and introduce a sliding scale option for you that ironically pays better than KDP for me anyway. Fortune's Inkwell is likewise still 50% off in the home shop. Win/win.
Hope you enjoy this one! Maybe leave a nice review if you do? Stay tuned for more news as we transition into the next era here.... And take care of yourselves through the chaos!