This week, our card is Genius Loci from Pleasure Alchemy. Where are you right now? What does it mean to be in this place? Allow yourself to truly be where you are. This space has much to teach you. This moment in time is where you have to be.
You literally cannot be anywhere else.
Genius Loci is a Latin phrase meaning the spirit of a place. In ancient times the Roman people believed that spirits lived in the landscapes around them, and that every landscape had its own special protective spirit that watched over the land and its inhabitants. The spirits were co-creators and companions. The Romans tried to live in harmony with them, often erecting shrines and leaving offerings.
Centuries later, Western landscape architects and designers co-opted the idea of genius loci as they worked to design gardens that they believed would illuminate the “spirit” of the local landscape in a new way. Unlike the ancient Romans, these architects didn’t actually believe that spirits were present in the land around them. Instead, their aim was simply to design gardens that worked with the local topography to supposedly1 enhance the natural beauty already present.
So, why has this card appeared this week? What can Genius Loci teach us?
When I pulled this card from the deck, my thoughts went naturally toward the significance of the day in my location. Today, April 8th, there’s an almost complete solar eclipse where I live. In this place, something special will happen that literally won’t happen in other parts of the world. It’s pretty incredible. Another eclipse like this won’t occur here for a very long time and people are naturally really excited about it.
Where we are can literally change who we are. And if we can be aware of where we are and conscious of how it is impacting us, maybe we can understand ourselves and the world around us better.
Take a moment right now. Think about where you are. Is this a happy place? Is it peaceful? Is it stressful? Why or why not? And how—either consciously or unconsciously—are you working with or against this spirit of the place as you go about your life?
When I pulled this card my mind also went in another direction. I started thinking of place from a less physical and more metaphorical standpoint. What is the spirit of this current place I am at in my life? In the grand scheme of things? In the universe? What am I learning right now? What am I being taught?
I am not happy in my life right now. I am frequently hopeless and sad. I am also inexplicably angry. What does it mean for me to be in this place in my life? How can I move through it? What is the spirit of what I am learning? And how can I honor, respect, and also be okay with the unhappiness I am currently living?
As always, I do not have any concrete, all-knowing answer for what a card means. These are just thoughts on the Genius Loci card filtered through my lived experience. Filtered through the spirit of the place where I currently find myself.
What does this card mean to you? How might Genius Loci be useful for you this week?
Thoughts for this week:
What does it mean for the sun to disappear and then reappear?
Whose native land do I live on?
Have I ever kissed the ground beneath my feet?
What is my favorite place in the whole world?
How might I build a shrine?
Beware the trap of white settler colonialism! Were they really “enhancing”?
It is interesting to note what the mind is drawn to with the cards. In this case, I was taken with the color of the card. The tonal quality really resonated with my sense of place. I don’t know why. It doesn’t appear logical, but it does feel right.