Interview with Grace Duong of Mystic Mondays | 2020 Many Moons Lunar Planner
The best part of the Many Moons publications is getting to collaborate with one-of-a-kind magic makers. For the first October Full Moon of the 2020 Many Moons Lunar Planner, Grace Duong of Mystic Mondays gifted us a ritual to amplify abundance. Grace is a multidisciplinary artist, intuitive, Tarot reader, and reiki master from Philadelphia. She is the creator Mystic Mondays, a Tarot deck and app created with vibrant colors and simple, geometric shapes. Through her art and Mystic Mondays, Grace is on a mission to empower people to build a stronger relationship with themselves and their own intuition, much like what the Tarot did for her.
Learn more about Grace below:
Hi Grace! I was wondering if you could talk about how your Tarot deck came about, and what you've learned from creating it.
When I moved to Los Angeles in 2012 (I’m based in Philly now), I was exposed to Tarot readings and energy healing and often sought it out as a form of therapy. My cousin had gifted me a deck years before, but it wasn't until I started to receive Tarot readings that I started to see the magic of it. After awhile, I realized that I was seeking outside of myself, so the journey with creating my own Tarot deck allowed me to learn the Tarot on a deeper level, seek the answers by going within, and trust my intuition. Since Mystic Mondays was launched on Kickstarter, it was also about tapping into divine feminine energy. After so many years in the masculine energy of striving and doing, this was one of the first times I asked for help and learned the art of receiving. Ask and you shall receive!
For your October Full Moon contribution to the Planner, you offered us a ritual around abundance. What did you have to change, or implement, to experience true abundance in your energy and life?
We all have the power of manifestation and I believe that our thoughts create action. I'm constantly looking for ways to expand my way of thinking, to become aware of what may be blocking my own abundance—it all comes down to our beliefs. What helped me transform abundance is to redefine what it means to me. Abundance is not just material wealth, it's also your relationships, your health, your lifestyle. My family immigrated here from Vietnam/China and we did not grow up with much, especially with my father's gambling addiction. Witnessing the scarcity-minded thinking that my family had instilled a belief in me that I did not want to live my life based in scarcity. It took a lot of shedding, and continues to do so, to transform scarcity minded thinking into an abundance mindset. We have the power to transform our lives; everyone has a choice.
Do you have any daily spiritual routines? Any consistent practices that you have changed your life? What do those look like?
It ebbs and flows with where I am and what is happening with my life, but I always love to journal wherever I am. I also meditate, mostly before I go to sleep. I used to have a morning routine, and maybe that will return, but I like the idea of rituals because you can do them any time of day. As a monthly ritual, I like to do pull a Tarot spread for myself to check in.
What is your current favorite Moon phase? Why?
If you asked me a month ago I'd probably say the New Moon phase, as I like the idea of new beginnings and planting seeds. Maybe it's Scorpio season, but I'm really appreciating the Full Moon, the end of the cycle. Death is a part of life, and I appreciate that in some sense, in order for transformation and growth, an old part of us has to die in order to be reborn.
What are a couple of things (anything, a record, something you are learning) that you are excited about? Why?
I'm excited about future travel and continuous self-transformation. I'm a seeker at my core, and having purpose is incredibly important to me. I'm excited that as I continue on this path that I uncover MY truth and allow myself to share that with others. Becoming my most authentic form of self and meeting myself on the other side is a lifelong journey, and I hope that through my experience and creations that it helps other people and their journey along the way. I'm learning to enjoy the present and to appreciate the adventures that are presented to us for our highest healing.
I'm also excited about the Mystic Mondays app updates which are coming soon! And a new Tarot deck which will be coming out in fall 2020 :)
Order Your 2020 Many Moons Lunar Planner Here!