š Scrolls and Streams: Emptiness, the Value of Rest and How to Make Big Life Decisions
Also: sign up for Five and Nine's first class: Tarot for Writers, a four-part class for writers and creatives! See below for a discount for listeners.
This is Five and Nine, a podcast and newsletter at the crossroads of magic, work and economic justice. We are currently between seasons. You can catch up on Apple, Spotify, Google and Instagram.
Scrolls and Streams š š is Five and Nineās monthly selection of insights and commentary that have caught our eyes and ears. All links are shared in the spirit of āthis was interestingā and not necessarily āwe fully endorse this.ā
Published every š waning gibbous moon, also known as the disseminating moon.
The Remarkable Emptiness of Existence (Nautilus)
But our quantum understanding of vacuum energy says it should be infinite, or at least incredibly large. Definitely not small. This discrepancy between the theoretical energy of the vacuum and the observed value is one of the greatest mysteries in modern physics. And it leads to the question about what else might be lurking in the vast nothingness of our atoms and our universe. Perhaps von Guericke was right all along. āNothing contains all things,ā he wrote. āIt is more precious than gold, without beginning and end, more joyous than the perception of bountiful light, more noble than the blood of kings, comparable to the heavens, higher than the stars, more powerful than a stroke of lightening, perfect and blessed in every way.ā
Here's How to Make Life's Most Important Decisions (So Money Podcast)
With the new year comes new decisions: Should I quit? Take the new job? Get married? Have kids? Start a business? Buy a home? Guests today are Stanford ProfessorĀ MyraĀ H. StroberĀ and social innovation leaderĀ Abby Davisson, co-authors of the new bookĀ Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Lifeās Big Decisions. In our conversation, they share a road-tested strategy for making high-stakes decisions with confidence and personal alignment.
Return to the temple of Nature š± Five of Pentacles (Xandua Tarot)
How do we counter the massive, purposeful inequality and inequity within society? By reaching out. By getting to know your neighbours, and by providing the care that is needed. By assessing your own standing within society and sacrificing it for those without. By building groups of affinity, of purpose. By joining organisations already working hard to make viable changes. By supporting striking workers. By protesting. By resisting the urge to think this is just how things are. By calling out and calling in those you disagree with. By taking the burden of work off oppressed people, taking it squarely on yourself. By starting a garden. By building a bridge. By hoping. By returning to nature, moving from abundance and fighting like hell.
āDonāt feel guilty about restingā: Why rest is so important and how you can do it better (BBC Radio 4)
āGet a box and put things you associate with rest in itā, says Claudia. āI really like crochet, so I might have a crochet hook and some wool, or a book of short stories and some bubble bath, because those are all things that I find restful. Then you've got a box you can turn to if you feel in need of some rest.
Yes, Your Job Is Important. But Itās Not All-Important. (New York Times)
In these early days of 2023, Iāve been thinking a lot about how who I am and what I do for a living are two very different things. Iām a writer and professor and editor. I love my work, but it is still work. I am, admittedly, a workaholic. Like many people, I am overextended and overcommitted. I work far more than I should, even though my time is finite and apparently, I do need sleep. I am ambitious, yes, but ambition alone is not responsible for the intensity of my professional life. The older I get, the more I question why. At the end of my life, will I want to be remembered for who I was or what I did for a living?
New Class! Tarot for Writers: Unlocking Creative Pathways Through Intuitive Tools
A new Five and Nine class series starting at $100.00. Listeners can use code TAROT for a 10% discount on the full course.
Did you know that the Rider Waite Smith deck, one of the most popular tarot decks in the world, was designed by a struggling artist, editor and writer, Pamela Colman Smith? Tarot has been a guide and tool for creatives for hundreds of years to help unlock new pathways of thinking and making.
In this 4-part class, we'll look at the history of tarot; workshop how to use tarot for creative production, from exploring the history of characters to identifying the best way forward in one's writing career; and do a few practice readings with each other.
This course is meant to be practical, and participants should bring a chapter- or article-length work that they can hone in on for the course. Participants will come out of the course with a beginnerās writing practice and finessed piece, along with a tarot writing toolkit that includes a series of monthly and daily spreads they can use, a short overview of tarot, and readings for future self-guided study.Ā
Join An Xiao (Ana) Mina, Xiaowei R. Wang and Dorothy R. Santos of Five and Nine, a podcast and media production collective operating at the intersection of magic, work and economic justice for this class designed to help you unlock creative pathways. Weāre proud to be working with The Shipman Agency, a full service literary agency for writers.
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Five and Nine is a podcast and newsletter at the crossroads of magic, work and economic justice. In this new world, weāre all rethinking the meaning of work and justice in our lives. Our lives and livelihoods are more essential than ever in identifying ways forward for society that can be grounded in care, compassion and sustainability.Ā
Directors of Magic. Dorothy R. Santos and Xiaowei R. Wang
Creative Director. Xiaowei R. Wang
Lead Producer. AX Mina