Dearest Kumquats,
Wow. What a difference a day makes, huh?!
Why it seems like only yesterday that I thought I was re-launching my indie documentary series Artist in the Wild on Youtube….sigh….
Because it was just yesterday.
My plan yesterday was to release the episode first to my paid Substack members with a slight delay to the regular subscribers for the sake of dangling carrots to get more of you to join.
So, I had the email all ready to send. Before I did that, I wanted to go ahead and schedule it’s release on Youtube. I was torn between using a new troll-free channel or one that already has hundreds of people subscribed. I was poking around all my channels.
But then I fell down another one of these password-retrieval-worm-holes and came out a changed woman.
My frustration was such that I recognized my guides were offering up a lesson for me.
Not a lesson like in school, but more like a wise gate keeper was sitting on the fence at a fork in the road, asking me if I was ABSOLUTELY SURE that I wanted to go that route, in a way that sounded feels like a warning. It’s always up to us, after all. We choose if we participate or not. I really try to listen when my guides do that kind of thing.
Of course, I know about the Mercury retrograde starting on Aug 4th. In my experience, by the time the retrograde starts arrives, the planet has already teed it up for me, I just have to step forward and take the shot.
I actually have come to appreciate retrogrades because they give a pause in the forward flow of energy. There may be short term delay but it’s for our long term gain. This gives us a chance to tidy up…to go back, clean out clogs and seal up any leaks. Maybe it’s not fun work, but it is the preventative maintenance that makes our personal microcosms hum along.
Many of you readers know that I usually lean into this energy and plan an offering or project, especially for Mercury, because there are 3 of these pause moments each year. The common belief is that it’s not great energy to START new things, but it is great for GOING BACK. Mercury’s domain is significant— including communication, writing, commerce, technology, etc.
And I have been sitting on a tiny mountain of footage waiting for me to get my ass in gear and start sharing again. So, diving back into this now felt like great timing to me!
However…
Ya’ll know that I gave up Amazon in 2018 after I found out how they treat their employees at Christmas. And that I also left social media again for the third and final time after my latest run-in with trolls and posers this past spring. Freedom is priceless. I do believe the more we un-tether ourselves from the controllers’ corporate tentacles, the more we get our freedom and culture back in our control. And some of us just have to figure out how to do it.
My Ayahuasca journey said that to me too—let go of things by choice, before they can use force.
I’m sure you’re all aware of the conspiracy (and astrology) warnings about internet black outs or power outages, which would obviously be a tactic they would use to cause hysteria and try to corral us into things we would never agree to unless we were freaked out.
Whether they get to that point or not, I came out of the YouTube password-worm-hole and felt like I had almost made a horrible mistake. After all I have seen and experienced, why in the hell would I put my trust in a Google-owned company like Youtube to look out for me or my projects? I already KNOW they don’t have my best interest in mind, so why go that way?
The excuse always is— money, promotion, more subscribers, go where the people already are…blah blah blah.
But I am trying to create a world that values love, creativity, collaboration, community. It’s an entirely different economy.
Yes, I need to be paid for my work.
But do I want to make a deal with more demons to do it?
No. I don’t.
And my Scorpio parts won’t let me build on bullshit foundations. We turn over the rocks to make sure.
Long story long: I am going to just stick with releasing these episodes on Substack while I caught up on all the footage I have. I will use this retrograde (Aug 4- 27) to be sure….but I think I’m not only going to refuse to partner with YouTube, but that I will be unhooking from Gmail too. They go together and I know them to be toxic.
It’s not a small thing for me to leave. But I left Yahoo once before too. Maybe it’s time to go back.
Also, I really do love YouTube.
Right NOW.
I also know that they never let us have anything we love for long. They are always ruining things, so it does feel like it’s only a matter of time.
I always say that being an artist means being on the frontier. And this is why. I go through this stuff first and report back, which saves you a lot of time. I take the hits first for a lot of things. It’s part of the job.
And so is having a lot of integrity.
All that said….
I’m going to release it to you later today!
I’m REALLY EXCITED!
Here’s the only bit of yesterday’s email that is relevant today…
So, this very blog was named for my documentary series.
Season 1 was just a few episodes shot back in fall of 2022 and was very rough. But it allowed me to do a real-life mock up and work out a lot of kinks.
Season 2 is a fresh start for an old idea, in a new location.
Most of the shows I watch on Youtube are talking head videos. Lots of astrologers, tarot readers, magic nerds, spiritual folks, cooks, creatives, etc. Many of their videos are actually recorded live streams, which is brilliant for them because they don’t have to edit anything! It’s just one person sitting at their desk.
I follow some homesteaders too, which is great nature footage— of course I love that but you really need great locations, equipment and some help, preferably (either with shooting or editing). So I decided to mix in both some candid conversation and some creative projects….of course, with me, everything is a creative project. LOL.
I need to shoot fast and edit dirty if I am going to keep up with doing all this on my own. Basically I’m trying to just do what I do, but the process of taking a viewer along for the ride DOES slow me down. I still have to be efficient with my projects.
So, I’m training myself to be very deliberate as I attempt to:
Catch up on the back log of footage I’ve gathered.
Idiot-proof my own systems for working in front of the camera AS WELL AS the post-production stuff, off-camera.
Keep the flow of storage moving on the tech side so I don’t overwhelm my small vintage laptop.
Respect the Mercury Rx on the 5th— always a good time to do some preventative tech TLC, as an offering.
Now is a fantastic time to support me and my work!
The premium side is now called The Mystery School and tuition is only $8.88 per month.
Thanks for reading Artist in the Wild! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
If you are having hard times too but really, really, really want to join— make me a trade or gift offer. I’m more than happy to keep the economy more creative.
But you don’t have to do that to enjoy the show.
It will be released at 12pm Eastern and 9am Pacific TODAY.
Let me know what you think.
Ever onward!
Love, Trixie
If you're hunting for an alternative to Gmail, hey.com or fastmail.com have great email services. I use both, for professional and personal use. They're all about privacy and putting the customer first, two things Google cannot say.
Good. One of the few things I've learned in life is that it's always better to leverage your existing skills and materials. Holding onto old tools and creations pays off in the end. Smart businesses do the same. They keep old machines and useful employees around even when their abilities aren't currently needed. Sooner or later circumstances will require those old abilities. Having them on hand enables faster response than trying to hire or build them from scratch.