Garen Abel Unokan

[garenabelunokan]

I Read Tarot Cards For A Psychic Hotline — Here's What It Taught Me

"I’m also lucky enough to be in a loose kind of coven with my witchier friends... it was these joyous meetings that gave me enough courage t

I wrote for Refinery29 UK about how reading tarot for a psychic hotline changed my outlook. enjoy!

[garenabelunokan]

something I find interesting about telling people I write or work in the arts is how pissy they get when you give more than one answer or say "lots of things!" and move on because you are not trying to get into the whole spiel.

look, if "I Write What I Like" was good enough for Steve Biko, it should be good enough for you!

[garenabelunokan]

How do I prepare for your call? And how can you do the same?

As with all things in life, some degree of preparation is necessary. You would never go for a run without warming up and stretching first, or leave home without checking you have everything you need — and so it is with Tarot.

And as with plenty in life, there are as many ways to read Tarot (and prepare for the process) as there are readers, and what will resonate and work for me will not necessarily be of any use to another reader. However, it’s always exciting to be given a chance to peek backstage, so let me draw the veil back and show you around…

Natural Needs First: I find it really important to check in with my body as I draw closer to the start of my session. The body-mind connection is so important, and thinking of my body as divine and as conscious as my soul has helped me in all aspects of my life, not just spiritually.

My checklist for this is as follows:

🃏 Have I had some fresh air and some time to connect with Mother Nature? ✨ Have I moved my body in a way that warms me up and moves my blood around? 🃏 Do I need a nap if I’m going to be reading into the early hours? ✨ What do I need to eat or drink? I often kill two birds with one stone here and make sure that the herbal tea I choose has properties of opening the way for communication and enhancing divinatory skills — my favourite is peppermint.

Clearing the Space The (extremely correct) words “cleanliness is next to godliness” and “a tidy space means a tidy mind” echo through my mind in my mother’s voice every day, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this. In general, I like to keep my living space as clean and tidy as I can, not just for hygiene and safety reasons — I find the flow of good energy in and bad energy out is much better when my home is tidier. We don’t want blockages!

For Tarot specifically, I like to:

✨ assign a special area for reading 🃏 make sure that that area is tidy and free from obstructions ✨ place some of my plants nearby 🃏 cleanse my home with incense ✨ hum or sing — a way of tidying the mind directly!

It’s much easier to hear the messages I’m getting through the cards when my surroundings aren’t interfering with transmission.

Taking Care of the Spirit Ensuring that my reading tools are in good working order is something I like to do before and after I receive your calls, as well as very regularly in my own magical life.

The light from full moons and supermoons are wonderful for cleansing and charging decks and crystals, as well as the smoke cleansing I mentioned above. However, there are countless ways to cleanse your tools: through sounds and vibrations, strong sunlight, a good and thorough shuffle – some readers even knock on their decks to throw all the accumulated energies out! I like to go one step further and charge every single thing I’ll be using to communicate with you. This includes but isn’t limited to:

🔮 my tarot deck 🌝 the cloth on which I place my spreads 🔮 my laptop and its charger 🌚 the telephone I use to receive calls 🔮 the specific area in which I’ll be reading for you 🌝 any crystals I wear or have nearby (usually moonstones)

I always check in with them after a session too, thanking them for the clear communication and messages I’ve received and for the opportunities to connect with querents.

What Should You do to Prepare? It’s mostly up to you, as you won’t be the one channelling in the same way and therefore will not be undergoing the same stresses. However, it’s important to make sure that you are in the best possible space in which to receive messages, especially if you’re asking questions you consider difficult or are having a longer session. The Natural Needs checklist will be incredibly useful for you as a way to start checking in with yourself, and gives a good foundation for spiritual experiences.

What Should I Ask? That depends entirely on you — what do you want to know the answer to? Sometimes we’re not quite sure of what we actually want to know, and therefore find ourselves frustrated with answers that feel opaque or confusing, not realising that we’ve been opaque or confusing in our approach! I’d like to clarify that this is not the same as asking for a general forecast, which I liken to casting a net out into the sea and seeing what comes back.

Here are some provocations that might clarify and enhance your future queries:

🌚 Do I want to know about this specific person in general, or do I want to know about them in relation to me? 🔮 Am I willing to receive the answer I get to my question, even if it’s not the one I want? 🌝 Am I willing to do the work of understanding the answer I get and applying it in my daily and/or spiritual life? 🔮 If I am interested in knowing something specific, will I be brave enough to trust my reader and ask a focused question? 🌚 Am I asking a question I already know the answer to but refuse to accept?

Of course, the nature of divination means that nothing is set in stone. We all act under free will — there are many times I’ve averted something I’ve seen coming in the cards, because the answer I got ending up being a call to action. On a practical level, having a pen and paper/notebook to hand might also be useful, so you can write down what your reader discovers and refer back to it later. If it’s been a particularly intense reading, things like moving, cleansing, or even napping are all ways of re-centring yourself.

Happy discoveries!

[garenabelunokan]

SUMMER SOLSTICE: WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The sultry, hazy feeling of it has been strong in the air for the past two weeks — that disconcerting feeling of assuming that it’s only 3pm only to find that it’s time for you to be winding down for bed, if not already sleeping. That’s the Summer Solstice Effect — the long, balmy evenings have a way of tricking you into thinking you have much more time than you actually do.

You’ve probably also seen the witchier, more occult-inclined people in your life or on your radar getting quite excited about it being round the corner. But why — what is it? The Summer Solstice is defined as the day of the calendar year with the longest day and the shortest night (its twin is the Winter Solstice, with the longest night and shortest day). It’s also the day of the year that marks the astronomical start of summer: of holidays, and sun, and long days spent with those you love. Plenty of cultures actually celebrate the day as Midsummer, as it usually will have been warm and lighter for a month or so up to this point. This year (2022) Solstice falls on Tuesday the 21st of June, with the exact time it starts and ends depending on where in the Northern Hemisphere you are.

Traditionally, people all over the world observe this day by flocking to sites of spiritual significance and power including Stonehenge, Arthur’s Seat, and Svalbard. There’s even a Midnight Sun Baseball Game in Alaska that spans the entire Solstice sunset! The urge to commune makes complete sense, as it’s the most sunlight we get in a 24-hour period all year.

The peak of the Sun’s fiery energy powers us up, providing us with the shining energy we need for the rest of the year as the nights get incrementally longer and we restart the cycle towards Winter Solstice. It also boosts any magical or occult workings done on this day so if that’s your wheelhouse, read ahead to discover ways to boost your spiritual development.

Ways to Celebrate

Fire: This is an obvious one because it’s a Sun festival: this could mean bonfires, candle magic, or fireworks. Maybe you burn in effigy something that you want to banish for the rest of the year; maybe you can set something on fire on your altar as an offering. Please remember to always handle fire and fireworks with incredible care and the appropriate protective gear, and to never let children go near them.

Water: watching the sun be swallowed up by the horizon is even more magical when it happens over a body of water. Wild swimming groups all over the world hold special events; I myself celebrated Summer Solstice 2021 by walking into the North Sea and letting the ocean take all of my worries into her watery grasp. As always, let someone know where you’re going or go with a group, and never underestimate wild waters or overestimate your own abilities — there’s no shame in using floaties!

Earth: There are some herbs that are more potent when picked at a particular time or date, and so it is with Summer Solstice. Herbs and plants that are in season and appropriate for this time of year include: St John’s wort (so named after the saint of the same name, whose feast day falls on Solstice), lavender, chamomile, strawberries, and roses. There are lots of guides on how to incorporate these plants into your celebrations, with some good resources being The Old Farmer’s Almanac and The Outdoor Apothecary.

Air: Summer Solstice also falls on International Yoga Day this year, with the theme for 2022 being “Yoga For Humanity”. A series of sun salutations would be wonderfully appropriate – honouring the Sun’s power as well as drawing down its energy into you and everything you touch. Honouring your boundaries and limits is also a way of celebrating Solstice, so don’t overstretch yourself and if necessary, consult a doctor or healthcare professional.

However you celebrate this year, I hope it brings many blessings upon your house!

[garenabelunokan]

“If John Boyega were your boyfriend, the two of you would develop a language composed entirely of facial expressions. A slow blink at the same time would translate to “We have to go home right now.” You’d never stay at parties longer than you had to.”

A willing foe, and sea room.

[garenabelunokan]

This Is the Correct Way to Layer Condiments on a Burger

Want your burger to be its best self? Use this guide for which condiments to use on a burger and how to layer them in the best order possibl

me for Allrecipes! dive in and pretend it’s still summer — oh wait it’s going to be 15 degrees in glasgow this week it might as well be still be august

[garenabelunokan]

Tropical Creatures - Garen Abel Unokan

How do we keep traditions and languages from dying out when the very land they come from is in mortal danger?

I wrote about migration and climate change through the lens of tropical houseplants for Scottish BPOC Writers’ Network. link above!

[garenabelunokan]

How Do You Care For Natural Hair When Battling Depression?

Our hair reflects our mood and that is something we all know...

i wrote a personal essay about natural hair care and depression for Black Ballad

[garenabelunokan]

Waitress Face Zine Issue One

A zine created to celebrate and commiserate about life working in hospitality. Stories and illustrations submitted and additional material from me as well. Tales to make you laugh and maybe cry, to make you feel a little less alone in the eternal struggle of your "pay-the-bills" job.

guys I’m in a zine!!! if you want to read more about the time i got food poisoning from a veggie burger/want to support a really talented illustrator/both of the above, go check out the link 🏃🏿🏃🏿🏃🏿

[garenabelunokan]

I’m still a virgin, even after all this time. There are so many people who would have died for my touch and yet I had not a single one. I…

I always quietly pray that cat-callers will turn into deer. or at least get a very bad, violent headache, that would be nice

[garenabelunokan]

Customer: “Come.” (Sometimes accompanied by a forceful grab.) Translation: “I have mistaken you for my pet dog.”

I actually wrote this in September 2016, but the summer holidays are here, and then Christmas launches next month/October, and anyone who works retail will not know peace until January, so it’s still relevant