Tarot – Robin L. Cole

The Beautiful Rebellion Tarot has begun shipping!

Published on July 31, 2018 by robinlcoleLeave a comment

FullSizeRender (3) — I love how the hand-poured wax seals make every deck an individual!

I am super excited–and proud–to announce the release of my first tarot deck, The Beautiful Rebellion Tarot! This interdependently publish deck is now available through my Etsy shop, ModernMysticRLC, in a limited edition run. Nearly a third of the 300 decks printed for this first edition run have sold through pre-orders (squee of joy!), and those orders were released into the world yesterday and are their way to their new homes.

Guys, this is such a huge accomplishment for me. I’ve been reading and collecting tarot for over two decades now (aaaaand I just made myself feel real old right there). It has been a passion of mine for just about as long as I can remember, and putting together this deck using such stunning artwork–another long-standing interest of mine–was such a wonderful, enriching experience. I am beyond excited to see how much love this deck has received in the months leading up to its release, and I can only imagine how much it will grow from here. (I’ve caught wind that there might be an unofficial “When Will Robin Need to Start a Second Edition” pool going among some local tarot readers already as well…)

Pre-Order Weekend (as July 28th and 29th of 2018 will now forever been known in our house) was a blast and went much smoother than I anticipated. (Take that, Mercury!) My wonderful husband, now dubbed Mr. Modern Mystic, pitched in for deck wrapping as I wax-sealed each deck. His hand-tied handy work was much appreciated and, I dare say, he did a better job that I could have done. With his aid, and the helping hands of my best buddies, we got all 90 decks up and out yesterday morning, and I can’t imagine having done it without them!

Mr. Modern Mystic is my hero for many reasons. His dedication to helping me with this deck is just one of them!

Our very posh deck-creating studio: a.k.a. our living room.

FullSizeRender (4) — Yup–for those with keen eyes, that is Critical Role playing on the TV while we worked. Critter love knows no obstacles–even a 6ft table stacked high with tarot decks!

And there she is–my personally curated, lovingly created, artsy-fartsy hand-made tarot deck. I all who purchase her love her as much as I do. I may be a tarot slut from way back, but this beauty has stolen my heart and I just can’t seem to put her down!

Copies of the deck are still available in my Etsy shop, and will also be available in my person for my NJ natives at the Soul Journey Release Party in Butler, NJ on Saturday September 8th. I will be attending and offering tarot readings at this year’s Ninefold Festival in Colorado Springs, CO and will have a small stock of decks available there as well.

PHEW! And that’s all for today’s announcements. Today I am a happy indie author/artist–but y’all know I can’t sit still for long! So, what’s next?

Another book or two, a hardcover art-style guidebook for The Beautiful Rebellion Tarot, another tarot deck (this one dedicated to shadow work, using vintage photography and a collage/scrapbook style) down the line… I have lots of creative goodies in the works and hope to be coming back to you soon with some new announcements and release dates!

In the mean time, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your love and support.

Projects & Progress: March 2018

Published on March 5, 2018May 6, 2018 by robinlcoleLeave a comment

FullSizeRender I have to start this off by saying, to all The Warding’s fans, I’m sorry. I failed you last year. I really meant to have the The Last Dance, book three in the series, finished and published in 2017. Sadly, that did not happen. For whatever reason, this part of the story has taken me a lot more effort to write than the first two installments. This part of the tale is just super slow going for me, and I don’t have a good excuse for that. I’m really hoping this means its going to be a stellar installment when all is said and done (and worthy of the wait!) but, in the meantime–I’m sorry to make you wait. Continue reading “Projects & Progress: March 2018” →

The Modern Mystic Shop is live and you can save 10% with WELCOME10!

Published on August 17, 2017 by robinlcoleLeave a comment

When I’m not writing fiction, I’m often slinging cards as a tarot reader. It probably surprises no one here that I am allllllllll about the #girlboss life! I will never giving up that dream of one day leaving my day job to write and read for you all full time instead! So, to my can’t-stop-won’t-stop mentality, the next logical step was to push my tarot reading up to the next level, giving me that extra income that will (maybe) allow me to spend more time writing and less time answering phones in the near future!

This month, I officially launched my own Etsy shop, loving called The Modern Mystic after my quirky brand of personal spirituality. A wide variety of customized tarot readings are available (with more being added all the time), as well as my most exciting new pet project: a monthly tarot subscription box!

ModernMysticTarotBox

Ain’t she pretty?!

To celebrate this much anticipated launch, and to thank each and every one of you beautiful souls for your continued support of my wacky little Warding world, I invite you to stop on by and take a look at the other passion in my life. From now until October 14th, you can use the code WELCOME10 to receive 10% off ANYTHING in the shop… including the multi-month tarot box subscriptions and a one of a kind custom tarot reading!

I think its pretty cool and hope you will to. Head on over and take a look. Tell your friends. Keep being awesome.

And have no fear; I haven’t forgotten Caitlin. She and I spent far too much of this year not seeing eye to eye, but I’m feeling myself again and am finally back to steady work on The Last Dance. The next installment of The Warding will be out in early 2018. Later than I wanted, but not by too terribly much. Promise.

Progress, at long last!

Published on May 31, 2017May 31, 2017 by robinlcoleLeave a comment

After a long creative drought, there is a lot going on in the mind and world of Robin L. Cole these days!

I’m (finally) hard at work on the third book of The Warding: The Last Dance. It took me much longer than I would have liked to get my footing in this one, but I have no one to blame but myself. Like Cat, I wasn’t prepared to be dropped into the middle of faery and needed to do some backtracking to figure out where I was headed. I’ve dug myself out of the weeds now and am hopeful for a late winter 2017 release. If I cannot get The Last Dance out before December, I will do my best to aim for January. So save up some of that holiday present $$$ and be prepared!

In addition to my next urban fantasy work (which I hope is eagerly anticipated), I am currently at work on three (yes, three!) non-fiction projects as well, all of which are near and dear to another passion of mine: Tarot.

The first book, co-authored by the amazing Valerie Colangelo, will be a workbook of sorts, featuring fun games and thought provoking exercises meant to help you learn to intuitively read your deck of choice. We’re working on balancing out the work and the play, and the first draft is looking good. No title has been settled upon as of yet. Expect to hear more about this fun venture in late 2017!

The other written project–which will not see the light of day until 2019, by my current best guess–is my personal take on a tarot-based spiritual practice, which I am calling The Path of the Modern Mystic. This book is largely based on the experiences I have had and the practices I hold close to my heart as a modern day pagan who relies heavily upon the use of tarot in her day to day practice.

The last project–which is likely going to be the most time consuming and is the biggest departure from my fiction writing–is the creation of my own “ritual deck,” a system along the lines of an oracle deck that can be used ritual work. This deck is something I started creating for myself, as my personal practice evolved and simplified, but I think it might appeal to a broader audience by the time it is done. I envision this deck being used in conjunction with The Path of the Modern Mystic, though it in no way replaces Tarot!

I have started the concept artwork for this deck, using watercolor markers as my format of choice. It will also be around deck. My reasoning for this was artistic at first. The first cards I was drawn to create were moon phases and cards pertaining to the pagan Wheel of the Year, as those were simple representations I wanted for my ritual altar that “normal” Tarot decks were missing. Then, the more I thought on it, the more a circular card made sense. The most important works of a witch happen within a circle. This shape was just meant to be for this deck.

Here’s a little sneak peak into my concept art sketchbook for the latest card I worked on: the New Moon:

So, this project is a loooooong way from final deck creation, but its speaking to my soul quite strongly and I can’t wait to share its progress with all of you. If you’d like to see images of this deck as it progresses, keep an eye on my Instagram. I hope to have this deck finished in 2019 as well, but as of now–no promises yet!

That’s it for now. There’s a lot going on these days and a lot of fun things coming in the days ahead! I’ve got more stories floating around in my noggin for Caitlin and Co. as well, so don’t think The Last Dance is the last you’ll see of them! If y’all want to keep reading her tales, I will certainly keep writing them.

I will try to post more frequent updates on Facebook as well as posting regularly on Instagram so you can all keep an eye on the progress of your favorite projects. I might even resurrect this sorely neglected blog. Who knows!

Much love to you all. Until next time…