The era of Serpentfire is officially over.
Then as it was, then again it will be
And though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea
Blind stars of fortune, each have several rays
On the wings of maybe, down in birds of prey
Kind of makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to grow
But as the eagle leaves the nest, it's got so far to go
Changes fill my time, baby, that's alright with me
In the midst I think of you, and how it used to be
Yesterday, September 12th, I signed a publishing agreement with Tarot Stack. My tarot and oracle decks, which have been self-published and my lifeblood over the last decade, are now being passed into new hands.
I cannot fully articulate this monumental moment and its meaning. This is a bold move for my business, a beautiful move, and a necessary one.
I loved every moment of creating these decks and self-publishing. Doing this all on my own - going my own way, marching to the beat of my own drummer and being successful at it - has been an incredible gift to my mind, body and soul. To think that I built Serpentfire out of nothing but a beat up old laptop that was so slow a sloth would have been frustrated with it! To think that my lifelong interest in magick, the occult, vintage sci-fi and fantasy art and desert dreamscapes would culminate into something so huge! To think this misfit neurodivergent fae girl would have such an impact! It’s unfathomable. It’s glorious. But its time has come and gone and it has been a deep desire for a couple of years to allow these lil birdies to fly on their own, without their momma.
You see, all artists need phoenix moments where we torch our careful, well-loved creations in order to live for a while in the fertile void from which all things grow. If I’m honest - and I plan to be brutally so - I’ve felt really stuck for a few years creatively and professionally. The vast majority of you don’t know me personally, but I think these feelings are energetic frequencies and so I’m sure you’ve picked up my ambivalence. Certainly when it has come to social media, but also in general about being a public figure (more on this in some forthcoming published pieces on parasociality). It is challenging to be an artist and a writer with a large audience, especially when that audience has come to expect a narrow scope of aesthetics and topics from you. This is why back last December I tried ‘re-branding’ from Serpentfire to Fae Wolfe: honouring the delicate, tiny, sensitive faery creature I truly am by also embodying the wild, feral beast that would protect her from the daily public exposure. But as much as it was a deep and resonant intention, without the ability to let the first incarnations of Serpentfire (aka the decks) go - without the ability to truly shapeshift creatively into new forms - I remained beholden and stuck.
As it turned out, slapping a different name onto this entity wasn’t enough. I needed to let go of what made it a brand in the first place. Total surrender is wholly necessary.
So here we are. Stepping from one portal into another.
Serpentfire gave me quite literally everything. Ten years of my life dedicated to this craft, learning endlessly about my capabilities and capacity, developing a healthy and empowered sense of self for the first time, pushing my creative limits over and over and again, learning through burnout that I am autistic, meeting countless amazing people that I would not have otherwise, embarking upon wonderful collaborations, connecting with some of my all-time idols, feeling deeply excited to share myself, being humbled by helping others through their shadow, being a guiding light at times, navigating the uncertainty of artistry on a mass scale, selling my work internationally, being featured in magazines I’d gobbled up as a teenager, becoming a master at many mediums and being carried from my 30s into my 40s on the back of this magical cryptid creature called Serpentfire.
I am in awe, and I am so grateful for every single fucking moment of it.
I have many ideas of what’s next - but I’m learning to take my time and be with my feelings, so that’s where I am for now. I am simultaneously grieving and glimmering.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN A PART OF THIS JOURNEY! Customers, wholesalers, my three amazing assistants: Angie, Sawa, Anthony - my vast network of amazing humans, my friends, my family, my beloved fiancee, my animals. I fucking LOVE you and I couldn’t have done this without you.
Now is the era of being published through Tarot Stack - we have been in business together for a couple of years now. They have an indie publishing company and I have hopped aboard! She Wolfe Tarot and Serpentfire Tarot will be available exclusively through them as of mid-December. Celestial Bodies (from our fully funded Kickstarter) will be available early next year, same with Your Wise Animal Body.
I am very excited for this partnership and the new incarnation of Fae Wolfe that is to come.
Cheers to the end of an era. If Serpentfire has touched your heart in any way, I’d love to read about it (and surely shed a million tears).
I also plan on (hopefully) making some Serpentfire forever shirts in the near future, with this ^ logo. The number of times people stole the pyramid off of me - whew. All part of this epic journey.
Love and wolves,
D xx
Congratulations on the big changes and everything you’ve accomplished! Wishing you so much joy and freshness on this next chapter - love you
Your decks inspired and blossomed my tarot practice over the years. My toddler adores his deck and goes through his affirmations each morning, attempting to shuffle as I do mine. All of your decks have brought so much expansion to my soul and life. Thank you 🖤 Wishing you a soul-filling and wondrous new journey ahead.