FORGING the BLADE Will Be Out Soon!

Posted C. LaVielle11 CommentsPosted in Getting Published

Over a year ago I received my seventy-fifth and last “Sorry, this isn’t for us.” letter from an agent.

There is an old saying that defines insanity as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.” Granted, I had been constantly rewriting the manuscript and the present version is very different from the first, but the concept and plot haven’t really changed. It’s an adventure story about a sixteen-year-old who gets trapped in a parallel universe and her struggle to return home. It is also a Fool’s journey through the tarot major arcana, beginning with The Fool, Chapter 0, and ending with The World, Chapter 21.

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The agents saw nothing new and therefore exciting about the story and weren’t sold on the concept of using the tarot major arcana to create the plot-line and so they decided it wasn’t worth selling. But whenever I give anyone the “elevator pitch” for the book, their eyes light up and they say something like “I’d love to read that. When’s it coming out?” Unfortunately my friends and casual acquaintances are not even close to what a statistician would call a “true cross section of America.” I have come to realize that FORGING THE BLADE is a niche book, and my niche is people interested in magic and tarot and young adults who are avid fantasy readers.

An agent can’t sell a niche book written by an unpublished author with no formal training in writing to a large publishing house–no matter how good it might be. I have come to understand this.

So what to do? Forget about publishing a manuscript that’s taken over ten years of of research, personal growth, and writing to produce? I was almost ready to do this, but Jessica Morrell, my editor, said “Forget about the agents. It’s a great story and it needs to to be out there.”

So I looked at other options.

A small publishing house might be willing to pick it up. But a small publisher wouldn’t give me any more help marketing my book than a large publishing house, and their marketing range would be much smaller. And I still would have to either pay them to publish the book and/or share a large percentage of the profit. And I still would have very little control over what the book looked like.

Or I could self publish.

CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon, offers the following:

  • Software to design book covers
  • Software to convert a manuscript to book format
  • The option to purchase your own ISBN#, which means you own all rights to your book.
  • On demand book production and distribution
  • Global marketing by Amazon
  • All the profits
  • Free upload of your book to Kindle.

I will have to market the book myself, but any published author will tell you that they also have to market their books.

For me, the choice was obvious.

FORGING THE BLADE will be out soon on Amazon!

The Fool’s Journey through the Tarot Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: The World and the Fool

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

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So what did I tell you?

All that wondering around looking for enlightenment and It was right under your nose the whole time.

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So was it worth it?

Did you learn anything?

The point is, you are all the cards. Each one of them lives and works inside each one of you.

Understanding each card and the unique way it manifests in your life helps you solve your problems more effectively and with much less trauma and drama.

***

The ritual closes with the major arcana cards appearing all together and doing a one card tarot reading for the Seekers.

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: Judgement

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

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Do you see It!?

A sustained C natural played on a French horn sounds from a speaker hidden in the trees behind her.

It’s everywhere.

All around us.

Inside us.

Right here.

Right now.

And forever.

Maybe you see a part of It?

It will take lifetimes, but don’t stop until you can see It all.

The note stops.

The woman puts her palms together in front of her face and bows.

Namaste!

(Before the first seekers arrive we will ask The Tao, The Divine One, all the gods and goddesses, all the angels, saints and ascended masters, and all the spiritual teachers, guides, and power animals of every seeker to please be present, if appropriate; and to somehow reveal themselves to each seeker if and as appropriate. It is Judgement’s job to hold this sacred space for all the seekers. After the last group of seekers leaves we will thank everyone we invoked for their guidance, protection, blessings, and divine presence and bid them hail and farewell.)

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: The Sun

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

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Behold! The Sun.

It is the center of our solar system. Its light, composed of all the colors of the rainbow, and brings life to all creatures and plants on Earth.

It is a symbol of wholeness and unity. And like The Sun, I am whole.

My body and spirit, my conscious and not-conscious are one.

All things are possible to me.

I am the human that humanity is striving to become.

You are all children of The Sun. Wholeness is within you.

Never stop seeking it.

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: The Moon

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

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Stop and attend.

Seekers stop in front of two pillars, one black and one white.

You have come far on your journey, but you will go no farther until you learn to let go of the physical world and enter the realm of The Moon. If you have truly learned the lessons of the first 17 cards, this will be a safe and fairly easy passage.

This realm has many names: Psychiatrists call it the Right Brain, the Unconscious; The Golden Dawn calls it The Astral Plane; Qabalists call it Yesod; Australian Aborigines call it Dream Time; Carl Jung called it The Cosmic Unconscious; Peter Pan called it Never Never Land; and your soul calls it Home.

Do you see the shadowy face next to the Moon's profile? Matty didn't paint that. We had a visit from The Goddess.
Do you see the shadowy face next to the Moon’s profile? Matty didn’t paint that. We had a visit from The Goddess.

All inspiration, magic, and divination, begin here. It is where you need to go to talk to a god, or an angel, or an ascended master. It is a place of amazing beauty and joy, and it is a place of great danger. Your darkest dreams and deepest fears exist here. It is a place of glamour, illusion, and mystery.

Nothing in the material world exists that didn’t first exist in this realm.

It is the place you never left.

Proceed. If you dare.

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: The Star

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I am the star. The bright point in the deepest darkness of your despair. Know that even though it may not seem that way, the Multiverse is on your side. It wants you to find success and joy.

I offer you each a treasure to remind you of this.

Offers a bowl of quartz crystals to the seekers.

Take a crystal, a star of Mother Earth.

Feel its gift of hope, inspiration, courage, and dedication.

Hold it in your hand as you continue your journey.

She bows to the seekers and steps back.

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: The Tower

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You have come far. With study, imagination, patience, and hard work you have built a life for yourself. (points to the tower) It seems perfect. Every stone is just where you want it to be. But beware. The Devil isn’t done with you yet.

It’s really a beautiful trap.

There is something in your life that needs to change, something that is holding you back. If you stay here, safely surrounded by the walls you have created to protect yourself, you will progress no further.

And it is so hard to leave.

But have no fear. The Multiverse always comes to the rescue.

There is a loud crash and a huge lightening bolt knocks off the top of the tower.

Your Tower moment could be as physical as an automobile accident, as emotional as a broken heart, or as achingly beautiful as a sunset. It might be a well-hidden land mine that explodes when you discover that an important part of your life is based on a lie. But the tower you built so carefully is always damaged beyond repair.

At this point you have two choices:

  • You can build another tower and crawl back into it.
  • Or you can move past the wreckage, open your heart, and allow the divine to teach you a new way of being.

Take your pick.

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: The Devil

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The Seekers arrive at a point where the path splits. Both choices look about the same, but one has a curtain of gold suspended across it. Before they can make a decision about which way to go a man appears. He is dressed in fabulous festival garb. He has obviously spent a lot of money at the vendor’s booths.

The Devil: Ah, seekers. My favorite people. And you obviously have a decision to make. And I’m here to help you make it.

Let’s be up front about this. Survival is the name of the game—if you don’t stay alive, you don’t reach enlightenment right?

To survive, you have to eat and you have to have a roof over your head and so you need…….money.

Now to get that money you need to have a job. And to get a good job that you like doing and that pays enough to feed you and put a roof over your head you need an education or training.

To get this you need….money!

And where’s the joy in life if you don’t take a few fabulous vacations? Have a few nice clothes? Buy the things that make your heart sing? And party down with your friends?

Do you have kids? Then it’s your responsibility to care for them and make sure they have all their needs met and help pay for their education so they can get a good job.

All these things require………money!!

Good, responsible people pay their own way, provide for their families, stay healthy, and enjoy life. They go this way. (points to the golden curtain.)

Lazy dreamers, whackos, and deluded idiots go that way. (points to the other path)

It’s an obvious decision.

The Devil’s job is to make sure the seekers go through the golden curtain.

If the seekers opt for the golden curtain, the trail behind it quickly loops back to The Devil.

The Devil: Was that fun or what?

Seekers will say no or just stare at him.

The Devil: Well, if it wasn’t, you obviously weren’t doing it right! Try it again. (Gestures toward the curtain)

At this point, the seekers will probably see the trap and head off down the other path.

The Devil: (calling after them)  You’ll be sorry!

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: Temperance

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Greetings seekers! You have come far.

You have befriended and tamed the beast within you.

You have studied hard and learned the ways of the Multiverse.

You have sacrificed yourself; fearlessly opening your mind and heart to the divine, so that you might understand its purpose for you.

You have died many deaths and come to know your true self.

Your conscious and not-conscious minds are learning to speak to each other.

With this knowledge comes power and assurance. Life is nearly effortless. Tasks which used to be difficult or impossible are now simple. More often than not you find yourself in just the right place at just the right time to accomplish your goals.

Yes, you have come far, but don’t stop here. The path to enlightenment lies ahead.

 

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: Death

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

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Death: And so we meet at last.

Prepare to die.

As seekers on the path to higher knowledge you must die many small deaths. On this path you have become and will become many different people: a child, a teen, a doctor, a husband, a mother, a grandfather, a sage. And you will have many beliefs and attitudes: the skeptic, the victim, the bold one, the griever, the mystic.  Each of these personas is but a step to becoming who you really are. When each of these masks no longer serves you, it must die to make room for the next, leaving only its memory and the things it taught you. Letting go of these self-perceptions and beliefs and allowing me to cut them away can be painful and terrifying, but it is most necessary if you wish to evolve as a human being.

And when your physical body ceases to function and no longer serves you, I am the one who cuts away your spirit, freeing it to move on to another life.

So do not fear me.

I am the thing that allows you to become your true self.

I am the archetype of the initiate.

(Death steps to one side and with a sweeping motion of its scythe, gestures for the seekers to continue.)