Summary: This episode is a Wild Soul Interview with Courtney Alexander, the creator of Dust II Onyx: A Melanated Tarot! The cards feature 78 mixed media collage paintings accented with metallic and holographic foils, featuring cultural myths, symbolism, history, and icons within the Black Diaspora. The guidebook features multiple keyword lists (numerological, elemental and astrological) and full color images of the artwork with titles and art descriptions. Each card has been carefully researched, with nearly 75 resources cited, providing a wealth of educational material. The entire deck, from the paintings to the research to the design was created and birthed by Courtney. In her Courtney’s own words, here is what this deck has meant to her: “Dust II Onyx...uses tarot divination to merge the multitude of intersections within black culture. I was inspired by my own spiritual journey deconstructing, decolonizing and disconnecting from my Christian heteropatriarchal foundations. As an African-American unable to trace my ancestry beyond a few decades, this work has helped me gather the shards of my identity that once felt scattered. I felt conflicted about jumping into other African spiritual traditions within the diaspora to find myself. I wanted to be conscious of my desire to appropriate traditions without forethought to how they connected to my own cosmology—considering the thousands of ethnic groups that exist within this expansive continent that is my soul's original home.” In this conversation, Courtney and I dive into: • Courtney’s search for Tarot decks that represented her as a person of color, and how that fueled her journey to creating her own: the Dust || Onyx: A Melanated Tarot (8:00) • The EPIC story of how Dust II Onyx Tarot came to be, and how Courtney went on a profound experience of soul death and rebirth on the way to making it (20:39) • Working on the Death Tarot card and working through fears surrounding death (31:12) • Some astrology talk + the placement of some of Courtney’s planets (44:21) • Creating a Kickstarter campaign for the Dust || Onyx Tarot deck + the creation & production process (46:55) • Where the name Dust II Onyx came from (1:04:57) • The second edition of Dust II Onyx + the sponsor a deck program (1:08:45) Find full show notes for this episode: https://wildsoulpodcast.com/blog/creating-representarepresentation-in-tarot-courtney-alexander-dust-onyx Follow Courtney at: https://dust2onyx.com/ To pre-order the 2nd edition of Dust II Onyx!: https://dust2onyx.com/products/preorder-dust-ii-onyx-2nd-edition-second-print To sponsor a deck: https://dust2onyx.com/collections/decks/products/sponsor-a-deck ABOUT THE PODCAST Hosted by intuitive tarot reader, holistic counselor and teacher, Lindsay Mack, Tarot for the Wild Soul is a weaving of deep conversations with folks who use Tarot in their lives, channeled energetic offerings, intuitive readings on the months ahead, and mini Tarot lessons. ABOUT LINDSAY Lindsay is an intuitive tarot reader, holistic counselor, teacher and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is the founder of Wild Soul Healing and Tarot for the Wild Soul, as well as the host of this podcast. She has been studying and reading Tarot for over 20 years. As a joyful and healthy survivor of childhood abuse & PTSD, Lindsay is passionately dedicated to honoring and helping to bring space, light and healing to those who are experiencing mental, emotional or physical suffering. It is an organic part of her healing work with the Tarot, and she is honored to be sharing these offerings to those who feel called to them. WEBSITE: www.lindsaymack.com INSTAGRAM: @wildsoulhealing MUSIC: www.bensounds.com
