Welcome to Messages from Sea & Cedar
An e-letter and community for lovers of tarot, earth wisdom, seasonal & lunar lore, and creativity as a spiritual practice.
I’m Joanna Powell Colbert — a tarot deck creator, earth mystic, beach walker, moon lover, and caller of circles.
I teach online courses and lead retreats centered on earth-centered spirituality, seasonal contemplative practices, creativity as a devotional path, and using the tarot for inner guidance and self-exploration.
I spent nine years creating the Gaian Tarot. I worked in the medium of colored pencil painting to combine my love of the natural world with the rich, archetypal imagery of the tarot. It was first published in 2010 and is a perennial favorite in the tarot world. I went on to create a majors-only deck in encaustic mixed-media collage, the Pentimento Tarot, honoring tarot history and ancestral wisdom. Over the next couple of years, I collaborated with Latisha Guthrie on the creation of the Herbcrafter’s Tarot, which explores the relationship between herbs and how people use them for medicine, creativity, delight, ritual, and more. I’m currently working on the Sacred Wheel Oracle, a deck and book inspired by the Wheel of the Year, the lunar cycle, and the seasons of our lives.
I live on the edge of woods and lake near the shores of the Salish Sea in Bellingham, Washington, on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Lummi (Lhaq’temish) Nation and Nooksack (Nuxwsa’7aq) People. Every day I make offerings to the land and to my ancestors. Every day I learn a bit more about what it means to be an elder.
You can find out more about me on my website. I also post sporadically on Facebook and Instagram. And my online courses can be found here.
About Messages from Sea & Cedar
I started blogging in 2003 with the Gaian Tarot Artist’s Journal and started a newsletter a few years later. So I’ve been blogging and/or sending out electronic missives for 20 years. At some point, I named my e-letter “Messages from Sea & Cedar” to reflect the ways in which my heart and soul (and my art and writing) are rooted in the Place where I live.
Moving to Substack means yet another iteration of my blog and e-letter. In some ways, I hope it will be a return to those early days of blogging when we created community in the comments section instead of social media. I’ll write about the topics still near and dear to my heart after all these years — working with the tarot and other oracles, being rooted in and nourished by the Place where we each live, tracking the cycles of our lives as we observe the seasonal round and the lunar phases, journaling, making art, and more. And I always love those unexpected tangents and topics that appear when you live a creative, soul-centered life. I love questions that don’t necessarily have answers — or have many different answers. Who knows what we’ll explore together here? It’s a whole new adventure.
Why Subscribe?
The regular e-letter will go out to everyone on my list for free, as it always has. My goal is to post twice a month in this way. I have learned, however, after two years of chronic illness, to surrender to rest when it is needed. So I’ll be exploring the space between the goal of regular publishing and honoring the needs of my body. My (free) e-letter is the best place to hear about my news, projects, ponderings, events, and sales.
If you’d like more, please consider joining the community as a paid subscriber. In the spirit of reciprocity, you’ll receive in return:
Exclusive weekly posts.
Access to subscriber-only comments and subscriber-only Chats. Here’s where we create community conversations.
Live Wisdom Circle on Zoom once a month. More community!
Sneak peeks at my works-in-progress, including my Sacred Wheel Oracle.
My deepest gratitude for your help in supporting me as a working artist and writer.
A monthly subscription is $7, or $70 annually, which works out to $5.60 a month. There’s also a special tier for Founding Members who want to offer extra support and receive a couple more perks in return, including two Zoom “retreat” gatherings a year.
I gladly welcome you to the circle, whatever tier you choose to join. Thank you for being part of my extended community.
Stay up-to-date
Never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.
Here’s what a few folks have said about receiving my e-letter:
“I’m reading this in bed, in the dark, and drawing comfort from it, from knowing you’re doing the hard work, too, showing up for your life to the best of your abilities. This small, quiet oasis in the wee hours is a gift. My little dog is snoring gently nearby, the heater is warming this insulated room beautifully. And where earlier I woke into despair and anxiety right now, in this moment, I’m able to touch the skin of gratitude as well.”
“If there was a huge Thumbs Up icon for this email, I'd post it. Thank you so much for the ‘personalness’ of your blogs/newsletter. You take the time to sit down with all of us guide us into saying ‘all will be okay,’ as if we are sitting around a table with you. I know I've said it before, ‘You are a kind soul, Joanna!’ “
“I just wanted to say what a blessing your work has been to me over the last decade. I bought a special issue of the Gaian Tarot when it first came out (as a gift to myself when I turned 50) and it still speaks to my heart now (I have just turned 60). I hope you manage to keep well on all levels. With grateful thanks.”
“I had to respond even before finishing your newsletter (I always have the urge to do this) mostly because I want to respond quickly to let you know how much I love you, feel supported and nurtured by you. I want you to feel the same. I bought both of your tarot decks and I love love love them. I am always grateful that you speak wisdom and trust. You personify bravery and courage. You honor vulnerability… a true guide, teacher, and healer. I rise up every time I read your newsletters.”
“Just want to say how your email this morning warmed and nourished me. My heart is smiling as I feel part of a greater wholeness, a standing firm with like-minded / spirited / souled people. While we have never ‘met,’ I grow more tall and aware and confident as your words remind me of the incredible strength and compassion of the circle in which I most lovingly belong!”
I am so grateful and honored to receive these messages. Thank you.
Links in this post to my tarot decks are affiliate links.
Messages from Sea & Cedar by Joanna Powell Colbert is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and more, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you.
