The Griot
FADO 3
Historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, musician. Who will preserve our stories from one generation to the next? And how? And what when our existence is actively denied, our memory repressed, our histories undermined, our knowledge ignored?
I’m sure you’ve heard, Pluto is at long last in Aquarius; for good. As such, I am looking to Lorna Simpson’s Waterbearer, pictured above, who looks away from the viewer, pouring her water with abandon. What does it mean for her to turn her back on those who cannot hear her? If she is a griot then why does she not command universal admiration?
The Griot, the third class in my FADO container, will be a meditation on the oral histories that survive hundreds of years by way of the enigmatic water-bearers.
In the examination of Simpson’s striking art, we will look again, see what has never been seen, bear witness. The Griot realizes tarot as a technology of the sacred. In many different languages, we dial up the Divine. We hear ourselves in the echo of a myth. Certainly, there is a slippage, in the long distance between our histories, between the celestial guidance we seek, and the rough dirt road we walk evermore on, there is the space between what one says on the phone and what’s actually going on. But there is an efficacy of word-power behind the water-bearer’s storytelling. And it’s subversive.
Those who remember are of an ambivalent characterization. Their testimonials question our perceptual limitations. Their words have occult power, and by their speech, their sacred pouring, what had been far-distant in the night sky, impossible to transcend, becomes critically intimate, immanent.
“ I sat cross-legged on my mat, and as soon as I closed my eyes and turned inward, a wave of Love crashed into me, a wave so formidable that it forced my upright body backward and onto the floor pillows behind me…waves after wave after wave of Love..for me.” - Christina Cleveland, God is a Black Woman
Every reading is a pouring, back and forth, between reader and querent. I become a repository for my clients, listening and remembering and witnessing their grief and suffering, their aspirations and triumphs alike. A Diviner is a vessel who imbues their cards with star-light, star-power to renew their clients and rid them of their shame, fear and confusion. To cascade a blessing from one hand to the next, as inspiration and faith is found as earnestly as I allow myself to embody a sacred receptive power. Of course vessels must be kept clean, to wash as regularly as they consult the oracle because blood is bound to be spilled when you cut the cards. It’s as confessional as it is caring. And the more radically honest you present yourself, the more distinct and resounding the Oracle’s voice becomes. The easier it is to follow, the stronger the trust becomes. I trust that the Divine voice I follow is leading me north, amidst this crippling darkness, into a serenity that will become a portrait of redemption.
Meditate on this elegance and grace with me, for it will be ours to be inhabit:
Curious about FADO enrollment options?
As a reminder, there are two primary ways to participate in the full Fado container.
The first way is to enroll for the total course by setting up a payment plan (at $65 monthly rate vs the $80 stand-alone sign up rate) or invest in the total course tuition upfront. This will give you year-long access along with additional resources unique to students who enroll in the full course.
The second option is to enroll via these individual substack class announcements. Students who sign up for any single class, w/o signing up for the full course, will maintain 2-week access to the class recording.
Beauty, anyway
Before I leave you darling reader, I wanted to share a recent interview in which I was honored to be included in a 5-part Four Queens interview series, Regarding Beauty, with the inimitable Selah Saterstrom. Selah is truly one of my divination Queens!, and her writing is so evocative, poignant and poetic that it is entirely oracular to read her words in their own right.
Selah has been writing about beauty as “a concept that might be a trapdoor and beauty’s path is errant” and I immediately jumped at the chance to talk with her about such tangential, beautiful modes. I hope you enjoy the conversation and please let me know what you think ❤️
x,
Christopher
p.s. Wild Cards starts today, there’s still time to join! Send me message if you still want to join this round <3