Ùna Maria Blyth is a queer, neurodivergent writer living in the Shetland Isles, a remote archipelago located between Scotland & Norway. She is the author of Muses No More: Portraits of Occult Women (Hexen Press, 2024). Click here for links to interviews & readings.
Click here to visit her Ko~fi house of delights
In addition to Muses No More, Ùna has written for a range of publications including Folklore for Resistance, Sabat, Rituals & Declarations, Doggerland, Fire & Knives, and the academic text Reframing Immersive Theatre (published by Palgrave Macmillan).
A former member of London-based ritual immersive theatre company FoolishPeople, her academic background lies in political philosophy (University of York) and film (Central Saint Martins).
Cartomancy with Ùna
“For many, the notion of fortune telling suggests the reader's capacity to *know* the future, as if it's something fixed or a matter of fate. As if the reader knows what that fate is & the querent does not. But what if the future is an unknowable messy stew of relational occurrences, individual decision-making and collaborative storytelling amidst cacophonic influences & collective cultural weathers & ruptures & ecological events?
What divination devices such as tarot can offer us is a range of wildcard options, of new possibilities within that messy stew. Gates & doors & portals into flipside thinking & alternative action. Next steps which empower us rather than making us feel small. Divination is an art practice, not a scientific one. It exists in the realm of symbols & dreamscapes. It's valuable in this sense. Let your thoughts circle back to Surrealism, agony aunts, parlour games, the project of psychoanalysis as a creative art. Yes, I happen to have some training in counselling, philosophy, mindfulness, yoga. This informs what I do, sure, but only to an extent. There are more profound influences at play in my lens - my queerness, my madness, my life experiences & personal ethics. My blind spots too. I don't see the future as a fixed entity. I'm never completely unbiased and I don't try to be. I'm human. You are too.
I adore cartomancy because I feel at home (yet ever refreshed) in the world of stories & images. It's that simple. I also love helping others in this way, so if you're curious please click here to make a booking.”
~ Ùna
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