Author: C. LaVielle

OryCon 32

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Getting Published, Young Adult Fantasy

As sci-fi/fantasy conventions go, OryCon is medium sized, has a good, steady following, and has been around since the late seventies. It’s Oregon’s only convention of this sort. I was told that all the others failed in their first few years. Even though OryCon is packed with writers and thought provoking writers’ panels and workshops, it is a very different sort of gathering than the Willamette Writer’s Conference. WWC has a serious air about it. Writers go there to pitch their manuscripts, network, and improve their techniques by attending excellent workshops. OryCon is an extravagant outpouring of fans’/writers’ love of science fiction and fantasy, and their joy at being with over a thousand other excited people who are ready and willing to talk for hours about the genre and all the philosophies and ideas connected with it. “It’s my yearly dose of sanity,” quipped one conventioneer. And the costumes were fabulous. Wizards conversed with pirates and steampunkers strolled down the halls with barbarians. In fact,… Read More »

OryCon and Lake Oswego High School

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Getting Published, Tarot, Young Adult Fantasy

And what, you may ask, do OryCon and Lake Oswego High School have in common? They both are sources of critiques for my manuscripts. OryCon is a huge Science Fiction/Fantasy convention that’s been around since the late seventies. I’ve never been before and I can’t imagine why, it looks like fun. How could it not be with over 1,500 sci fi/fantasy lovers all in one place? At the OryCon Writer’s Workshop I’ll get a fellow writer’s and a pro’s critique on the first 7,500 words of both my manuscripts for just $10 apiece. Such a deal! Of course, this means that I had to critique two manuscripts. The ones I received were Vampire Seminarian by Jeff Nichols and Tales from the Curr’s Head by Anna Lewis. They were fun to read and I was surprised at how inspiring and instructive it was. Looking at another writer’s work, seeing what they do well and not so well, and thinking about what it needs to make it… Read More »

Tarot Keys Zero – IV

Posted C. LaVielle4 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot

I’ve just returned from visiting with a friend at The Random Order. This is a great name for a coffeehouse—an oxymoron you can really sink your teeth into, one that sets a caffeine-fueled brain racing. As I turned the phrase this way and that in my mind, one of the many ideas that surfaced was that very few things in this universe are truly random. There’s usually a pattern or method to be found if you look hard enough. The order of the tarot major arcana keys is not random. Unfortunately, due to their complexity, you can see many patterns, some more useful than others. To me, the pattern of the first five keys is polarity, positive and negative, yin and yang. The Fool , key zero, is the androgyne, both masculine and feminine, yin and yang. The fool is each and every one of us. As the song says, “Everybody plays the fool,” and we are all on a fool’s journey. Zero is the… Read More »

Happy Samhain!

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Wheel of the Year

The veil between the worlds is thin this time of year and spirits walk. This evening or tomorrow evening would be an excellent time to have a Dumb Supper and visit with your ancestors. Set up an altar on your kitchen or dining room table and decorate it with your favorite Samhain/Halloween stuff – gourds, marigolds, tiny pumpkins, skulls, orange and black candles, etc. If someone you love passed away last year, put their picture on the altar with a few of their favorite things. Put out pictures of your other ancestors too if you like. Cook a wonderful dinner and set an extra place at the table. Cast a circle and invite your ancestors to join you for dinner. Serve up the food and make sure you are extra generous with that extra place setting. Relax and enjoy your meal in total silence so you can hear what your ancestors have to say to you. Some years our dining room is full to bursting… Read More »

The Major Arcana and the Hero’s Journey: The Emperor

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey, Uncategorized

This is Big Daddy, Big Business, Big Government, The Pentagon, and Science and Industry. All the things we love to hate, but still count on to keep us safe from foreign invasion and common criminals, bring food to our tables, solve problems, distribute Social Security and Medicare, and fix the potholes in the streets. The Emporer is the quintessential macho man; the fertile, tough, authority/father figure; The Magician on a double dose of testosterone. He stands for law and order, assertiveness, fairness, strong leadership, use of practical intelligence to guide and support creativity, protection of the weak, and all round studliness. A super hero, you might say. But think again. Super heroes swoop in and right wrongs, uphold law and order, out wit the bad guys, and slap them around. But then they leave. The Emporer stays and deals with the consequences of his actions and takes the flack if he bungles it. That, of course, is the only way to create an empire, rule… Read More »

The Virgin Mary, Isis, The High Priestess, and the Empress

Posted C. LaVielle11 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, Uncategorized

It seems like a huge patriarchal rip-off that neither the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, nor the Russian Orthodox Church considers the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ, to be divine. They caution their flocks that they may honor and venerate Mary, but they must not worship her. In all fairness, she was a mortal. By all accounts, a nice Jewish girl that would have made a good wife for any doting mother’s son—until voila! The Immaculate Conception. This move is not without precedent. Seducing mortal women was one of Zeus’s favorite pastimes. But the key word here is seduced. At least Leda got to enjoy it. God didn’t seduce Mary. He didn’t even offer polite conversation. All she got was a visit from his messenger, the Archangel Gabriel, who said, “Honey, you’re pregnant. In nine months you will bear God’s son. Take good care of him so that he can grow up and be crucified.” She did. And he did. Mary… Read More »

The Empress, The Goddess, and The Earth

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Major arcana

The Empress is the symbol of the Great Mother, and the Great Mother is the Earth. It’s her body. The rivers, lakes and oceans are her blood, the mountains are her bones, the rolling hills are her breasts, belly, and buttocks, and the wind is her breath. Every pagan knows this. But knowing something intellectually is not the same as knowing it with all your senses. I learned this lesson several years ago in Enna, Sicily as I stood on The Rocca di Cerere (Rock of Ceres) and looked out over a checkerboard of miles and miles of newly planted wheat fields. It was the Mediterranean growing season. Persephone had returned from the underworld and Demeter’s love and joy were pouring out of the earth. Magic swirled up out of that rock and tap-danced through my body. I felt like a flash drive that was plugged into the Mother Computer, downloading file after file of nourishing knowledge that would take years to assimilate. The town… Read More »

Vampires and Synchronicity

Posted C. LaVielle1 CommentPosted in Getting Published, Synchronicity

So how’s this for synchronicity? I submitted the first 7500 words (about three chapters) of both “The Remaking of Molly Adair” and “Molly Adair, Beware” to the Orycon writer’s workshop. This is a great deal. You meet with two published authors and another writer who has submitted a manuscript. One pro critiques your manuscript and the other critiques the other author’s. The two submitting authors critique each other’s manuscripts. So you get two valuable critiques and the chance to ask two published authors questions about your manuscript. The whole thing costs $10. I have been dithering about my second manuscript. Much as I hate to join the throng of YA fantasy authors who are writing about vampires, I’ve decided to add one to my cast of characters. The piece of information that Molly needs will have more impact and drama if it comes from vampire’s cold, red lips. However, I know nothing about vampires, and started plotting a quick and painless way to learn about… Read More »

The Tarot Major Arcana and the Hero’s Journey: The Empress

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey, Uncategorized

The year is just a smidgen of the way past Fall Equinox, The Harvest Festival. The farmer’s markets are bursting with fresh, local apples, pears, Italian plums, winter squashes of all shapes and colors, piles of bright orange pumpkins, tomatoes (finally), corn, wild crafted mushrooms, and golden, raw honey. For such a chilly summer, the northwest harvest has been bountiful—except for tomatoes. If the weather holds, even the grape harvest should be excellent, but late. What better time to talk about The Empress? She is The Great Mother, Mother Earth, Mother Nature, the nurturer; the one who showers us with beauty and bounty and reminds us that, yes indeed, there is plenty to go around if we’d all just behave ourselves and share. She lounges in the midst of a beautiful garden of ripe wheat, the universal symbol of nourishment. The waterfall behind her reminds us of her counterpart, The High Priestess, the ever virgin, mysterious guardian of the secrets behind the veil. But there… Read More »

Moon Magic and the High Priestess

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot

Several years ago, a group of fabulous women organized a Moon Magic weekend and invited a bunch of their feminine type friends. I was lucky enough to be included. All the attendees, either singly or in groups, had to present a workshop relating to the Moon. Everyone in the study group I belonged to at the time was going, so we decided to do a workshop together. The thing we happened to be studying was the tarot major arcana. One of the techniques we used to understand each of the cards was to place ourselves in the position of the figure on the key we were studying and meditate for a few minutes, noticing how the pose made us feel and where our train of thought went. The results were most instructive and really helped us get in tune with the message of each card. So we decided to bring all the stuff in the High Priestess card, which is ruled by the moon, and,… Read More »