Artwork Description
Swoon – Oracle Deck: Pith Helmet-Thick Skin
Dimensions: 17 x 11″
Year: 2024
Medium: archival digital print on Moab Entrada 300 gsm
Edition: ed. 1/20
This card is an appreciation of your adaptations. Sometimes we all need a little barrier against the elements. A little costume to get us in character to face the world. You might know these as your quick wit and ability to laugh off life’s absurdities, your (basically) fine and (probably?) pretty healthy means of managing anger, and all the good enough ways you handle the ten million things coming at you in a day.
Terra found this old pith helmet in the Klank shed and made it part of her woods tracker Halloween costume. She liked the way it helped her feel secure and prepared for anything. How it made her feel capable and strong.
The Pith Helmet might indicate that now is a moment to locate some of your favorite tools and resources that aid endurance and bring an added layer of safety. To prepare for the seasons to change, or sustain yourself for a long haul endeavor up ahead.
At the line between beneficial armor and unhealthy coping mechanisms, this card errs on the side of resilience. It’s the ways we protect ourselves that can be taken off when the coast is clear. The added layer of toughness which can be undone by little rituals like a nap and a shower to wash away the residue of a hard day. These are the adaptations to an unpredictable world whose real use is to keep our squishiest selves safe so that we can stay sweet and soft, and open-hearted in the middle.
–Swoon