Melissa Cynova 
A couple of years ago, I was sitting next to the as-yet-unknown-to-me Shannon Loftis a the Northwest Tarot Symposium. We were told to take our tarot decks out for the exercise and she pulled out this gorgeous, square tarot deck that I’d never seen before. What the hell. I began annoying her immediately. Where did it come from? What do you mean you can read it sideways??
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU MADE IT? Like, created it? What magic is this?
The Augenblick tarot was created with images from the Library of Congress. It can be read reversed, right side up, and on either side. This is mind-blowing for little old me. The idea that the cards can take on two new dimensions is just fantastic. Is it the Devil you know, or a new one sneaking up on your left? Or is the Devil getting in your way and forcing you to push against it on your right?
Luckily, Shannon was (and is) incredibly patient with my geeking out all over her. And here’s the thing – the deck is going to be available on Kickstarter on October 1st. I’m going to be posting the bejeesus out of this deck and I hope it sells like crazy. I love new ideas in tarot. I love beautiful art. I love decks that challenge me. I love Augenblick. (and I just adore Shannon) The Kickstarter is here!!!
Here is more about her!
LFT Questionnaire
1. What you appreciate the most in your friends.
Honesty (to yourself, about yourself, to others), Kindness and allowance, skilled use of puns in any and all situations.
2. Your idea of happiness.
Cold weather (48 degrees is my most perfect temperature), comfortable clothes, as close to silence as I can get, books, tarot decks, crystals, solitude, no bugs.
3. Your idea of misery.
Bugs, any temperature higher than 65 degrees, noise, sticky humidity, karaoke.
4. Where would you like to live?
On the edge of a forest, maybe by a lake. But lakes mean bugs. Maybe if I got the forest and the lake bit I could make peace with the bug part.
5. Your favorite colors and flowers.
Blue is pretty much the favorite color. That deep blue the sky gets before the blackness of midnight – that shade. And flowers? Um, lilacs for scent, Ranunculus for looks.
6. Your favorite poets.
Rainer Maria Rilke. So much. Ohmygod. Like, maybe I knew him in a past life. Maybe I WAS him in past life. It is like someone reached inside me and pulled the words out of my soul when I read his stuff.
Mary Oliver and William Stafford are also solid favorites of mine.
7. Your heroes/heroines in fiction.
Kate Daniels (from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews), Adam Parrish (from the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater), Bonnie Torres (from Laura Anne Gilman’s Paranormal Scene Investigations series).
8. What role does divination play in your life?
I’m not sure I know how to vocalize that. It has, at this point, become so intrinsic to my sense of self and my exploration of the nature of life that I can’t quite single it out enough to say what kind of role it plays. It’s religion, it’s self-talk, it’s counseling, it’s analysis, it’s a way of thinking. *shrugs*
9. Your heroes/heroines in real life.
Maggie Stiefvater, Christine Payne Towler, nurses, anyone who has survived cancer
10. What is your present state of mind?
Mentally exhausted and longing for rain.
11. What is your favorite tarot deck or divination tool?
Favorite divination tool is definitely tarot. I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that I will never have a definitive “favorite” tarot deck. I love them all so differently and can never choose one over the other. Some of my most cherished decks, though, are: Mary-el Tarot, Daniloff tarot, Slow Holler Tarot, and the Tarot of Durer.
12. Your favorite songs?
Whiter Shade of Pale by Proco Harum
Flowers in December by Mazzy Star
Sweet Thing by Van Morrison
O Magnum Mysterium (performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale)
Calm Like a Bomb by Rage Against the Machine
I Am Not Okay by My Chemical Romance
13. What is your favorite word?
See answer for #19
14. What is your least favorite word?
Dollop.
15. What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of rain. If I could hear nothing but the sound of rain for the rest of my life I would be happy.
16. What sound or noise do you hate?
The sound of snoring makes me murderous.
17. What turns you on?
Intelligence, Competency, Kindness.
18. What turns you off?
Lying. People being dicks. Gloating.
19. What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck. Just because it’s so utilitarian. Noun, verb, adverb, etc. It can be everything. I grew up in a conservative Christian household and I was a “good girl” so I didn’t start swearing until I went to college and was no longer supervised but boy howdy, let me tell you how much I swore when 18 years of repression tried to flee my body all at once!
20. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
You don’t have to go back there ever again, I promise.
