Welcome Winter.

This is a newsletter in four parts:

in Part 1 I offer a personal reflection on this past year
in Part II is I share a Tarot pull for the Winter Solstice and the year ahead
in Part III I talk about new Offerings
in Part IV I talk Shop

Part 1: A reflection on the Year & season

It is cold where I live, in a way that can get underneath layers. I have been wearing the same pink wool sweater when I sit down to write or make art. I have been brewing a lot of tea. I have been trying to get outside to stare at the sky and greet the birds.

*A favorite tree in the park near my home,*

This month in the Jewish calendar is Tevet. In the mystic Jewish tradition, each month of the calendar has a letter, a body part, a sense, a zodiac sign. For Tevet, the Zodiac sign is Capricorn, the letter is Ayin (ע), which means eye. The controlling body part is our liver. And the sense is anger.

I have been thinking about the Evil Eye and symbols of protection and how to create them. I have been thinking about how we can turn our Eye towards good for others, how we can focus our anger on what is Holy. And I have been thinking about the power of our liver, of detoxification and renewal.

The last two nights of Chanukah are contained within Tevet. I made these cookies and got to feed them to new friends. I made latkes and ate them with Fromage Blanc and compote de pommes.

I love being Jewish and I know that there is enough space for my despair, joy, and anger within these traditions that I love. Hanukkah is the story of a small miracle. We share the light of our candles with others to increase the light in the world.

*Hanukkah is a celebration of the miracle of olive oil. This is a drawing I made in 2016.*

Tevet also marks the start of Capricorn season. My birthday falls a week after the Winter Solstice, and I love using this moment as an opportunity to reflect on the year and look forward into the New one.

One of my rituals is to go back through my journals and photos from the year and reflect. I created the drawing below to honor this Year of the Snake and write about the months. You can download it as a PNG and add your own reflections, or print it out to write by hand.

*A graphic organizer to reflect on 2025*

This was my reading for 2025:

I learned many lessons related to these three cards this year. I have come into my body in new ways — I am in the midst of a Yoga immersion, and I have a partner who loves weight lifting and who shares this love with me.

I have come into direct contact with my Shadows. I have sat in their presence, in their pain, and tried to listen to the Desire underneath.

I think about this video when I think about these three cards. I had just gone through a huge physical experience where I had to sit with my pain, to face and name my Devils. And here I am standing inside Notre-Dame, this Holy building that has been rebuilt after destruction. Turning towards, breathing in.

*The first drawings I made for a Tarot deck, back in 2021*

I had the honor of publishing my Tarot deck, Discovering Beauty, this year. Birthing this deck out into the World will be one of the great gifts of my life, and I am eternally grateful for all of the people who have supported and continue to support this project.

*A Tarot reading with my partner in Hammamet, Tunisia*

This year has brought me new partnerships and projects that have given me so much hope amidst a great deal of hopelessness. I have lucked into sacred spaces when my heart felt like it might crack down the middle. I have found G-d in new lands and new languages. I have seen the ocean.

I have so much for which I am grateful, and I know that the most important thing I can do with my abundance is to share it. If you do not have a weekly / monthly / giving practice, I invite you to look at Resource Generation, to support Indigenous land back, as well as donate to help community-led water efforts in Gaza.

*At the 103rd Street 1 train station in New York*

Mutual aid can save the world. May we constantly remember that there is enough for all of us. May we speak back to power. May we love our neighbors and fight for their safety and dignity.

Part II: The Winter Solstice and the Year ahead

I did a pull for the season ahead, thinking about the Winter Solstice and this New Moon and moving into Capricorn and 2026.

I pulled IV Earth at the center, and then VII Earth and VI Water on either side.

VI Earth

How and why do we give of ourselves? VI Earth (the Six of Pentacles) asks us to be generous with our perceptions and with our true selves — to give for the joy of giving and receive from a place of active presence. To be in present tense with our gratitude so we can be available for the energy that is there to meet us.

It is a card that reminds us that life gives us what we need when we are available to receive. Our giving is not transactional but instead unconditional — I give openly and without expectation, and I am open to receiving in the same way.

Being open with our perceptions requires courage. It is a brave, brave thing to allow ourselves to be known. It is one of the greatest gifts we can give another.

VI Earth is a card that requires boundaries, the ability to discern what is a YES and what is a NO. How can I give of myself truthfully — without people pleasing, without trying to be “perfect” for anyone. We avoid resentment when we are brave enough to disappoint someone in the moment.

VII Earth

VII Earth (the Seven of Pentacles) is a card about recouping our energy, even as we are in the midst of creating works of great labour. It is about taking a pause, a rest, so that we do not hit burnout.

In our capitalist society, we are taught that life is a to-do list that we will never complete. VII Earth is an antidote to this type of striving. It acknowledges that there is a grand planting happening — during the Winter Solstice, we plant seeds as the Sun slowly rekindles Her Light and Heat.

And yet in the midst of this planting, VII Earth asks us to find ways to fill ourselves back up with energy. To nurture ourselves as we begin to nurture the great works of our lives. To remember that our health — physical, spiritual, communal — is dependent on our ability to rest.

VI Water

VI Water (the Six of Cups) asks us to go back in time and to seek the counsel, the voice, and sensitive knowing of our younger self. We are asked to engage with the gentle curiosity of childhood to hear what is being spoken from our past.

Are there children in your life that you are being asked to learn from this year? How does your own inner child react to the needs of children? How old is the inner child that is asking for your attention?

I am thinking about crafting and playing, finding the practices I used to love when I was little, and engaging with them to feel into this past knowledge. Sitting in the grass and sinking my finger into the dirt. Recreating spaces to help the little one inside feel my adult strength and power.

I am thinking about how vital this inner work is to treat the children in my life with the kind of exceptional openness and space that they deserve to grow up exactly as they are.

May we protect children this year.

This is a Tarot pull / journaling prompts to work more deeply with these themes:

This is how I begin planting the Seeds: I found areas of my life where I want to set intentions: Knowledge, Family, Community, Spiritual, Fun, Art, Career (in the sense of Life’s work), Health.

& I write the Seeds (“I will” statements) I want to plant in each area. I will add paint and hang this Sun in front of my altar to look at each morning.

I trust that the light of a candle, a whispered prayer over a cup of tea, is enough to get these small seeds to root. The work of tending and planning will come. We have time. Spring follows Winter.

Part III: 2026 Offerings, Circles, Patreon, & Tarot readings

Discovering Beauty Circles

In 2026, I will be hosting 3 monthly circles where we gather to

🌑 celebrate the New Moon through ritual
🃏 learn together through Tarot
🎨 explore creativity and spirituality through Art

The theme of the Lunar month will guide our learning. In this month of Tevet, we will dive into the myth of Capricorn, explore the Evil Eye, the Devil Tarot card, and wrestle with how to use our anger towards that which is holy to us.

Every Sunday before the New Moon, I lead a gathering of like-minded witches where we create a circle to hold our calling in and letting go. Through song, ritual, and community, these spaces serve as a container to plant seeds at the dark of the Moon.

The next ritual will be Sunday, January 18th at 11 am EST / 8 am PST/ 17:00 CET.

Once a month, over Zoom, we will gather to take a deep dive into Tarot. I will present and teach, and create a community space where we can learn from each other.

The first Tarot circle will be Saturday, January 3rd at 2 pm EST / 11 am PST / 20:00 CET.

Each month, I will lead an art workshop that will function both as a lesson and a creative incubator. I will present a prompt centered around a theme or story, originating from the message of the Lunar month, and will guide us in a creative project.

The first Art circle will be Saturday, January 10th at 2 pm EST / 11 am PST / 20:00 CET.

Patreon

For the last few years, I have been posting on TikTok and Instagram, and while there are things I enjoy about the platforms, I hope to move into a more intentional space that feels truer to my values.

Patreon is a way of creating a small and intentional community to share work. I am hoping to use Patreon as a way to connect more deeply through...

By becoming a member of my Patreon, you will get access to all three circles on Zoom each month. We will also get to engage with one another's work after these gatherings, sharing our magic and our creations in an intimate space.

I will also be posting about my art creation and the projects I am currently working on, including pages from my sketchbook. I am currently teaching myself to tattoo, and I am working in partnership on two oracle decks.

I am thrilled to have a small space to share about my process and work.

I pull Tarot cards at the New and Full Moons, Equinoxes, Solstices, and Cross-Quarter days. This space will include my writing about these cards, journaling questions, and affirmations to work with, as well as Tarot pulls for you to do.

I will also share small daily magical practices, and how to incorporate ritual into everyday.

Tarot Readings

I have been reading Tarot cards for others for over ten years, and I have had a relationship with the cards all my life. I read with my own deck, Discovering Beauty Tarot, with the understanding that all of the answers they offer are already contained within you.

I have three options for Tarot readings:

Tarot readings via Zoom
Tarot readings via email
Tarot readings via snail mail

Read more about each offering below, and sign up for a reading here, using the form at the bottom of the page.

I offer 1-hour Tarot readings on Zoom. Over the course of the hour, we will pull 9 cards together. After our meeting, I will send you a photo of my handwritten notes and a photo of the spread.

I offer 9-card spreads sent as a PDF over email.

I offer 3-card spreads that I will send to you via mail.

Part IV: Shop coming Spring 2026 / other ways to Shop

I am planning to open an online shop in the Spring, which will have Discovering Beauty Tarot in Her first edition, along with some other items which I am excited to share. In the meantime, you can order from online retailers and purchase in person.

I also offer art commissions, and have some space this Winter if you are looking for illustrative work. I love making logos and packaging, wedding illustrations, paintings of animals, and houses.

Thank you so much for reading.

I send out these Newsletters at the Equinoxes and Solstices, 4 times a year. The next one will be in mid-March, at the Spring Equinox. Until then, may the Winter be warm and full of depth and love.

I hope to see you at a Circle or over on Patreon.

I am sending you all of my love,

Sophia

she/her

PS a short comic I made in November