Magick Monday: Maria Praena of Astrosoul Deck & Studio Artemy
Each Monday, I’ll be shining a spotlight on some of my favorite Magick Makers from the community. I am so excited to kick off this new series with a true gem of a human. Maria creates the most gorgeous decks and spiritual tools including the Astrosoul Deck and her upcoming Fortuna Tarot Deck - launching on April 7! Take a peek below for our Q&A sesh and get to know her a little better. Be sure to connect with her as well. Our magick is always stronger together.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m originally from a small city in southern Spain called Granada in the region of Andalucia. Ever since I was 18 I’ve been moving to different countries. Over the past 5 years I’ve lived in London (UK) but who knows where I’d be in the near future. Contrary to what people may think, I’ve never considered myself as an artist, though I’m a professional graphic designer and have been working in the field for the past 8 years. To me design is much more than just art, it’s a way to connect different elements and merge them together into one, similar to what an alchemist would do.
What are your sun/moon/rising signs?
I’m a Libra rising, my Sun is in Leo conjunct my MC in the 10th house, and my Moon is in Scorpio (Placidus house system).
If you follow a specific spiritual path, which one do you follow?
I think there’s not one but many spiritual paths. As we keep unlearning about ourselves and shedding old layers of consciousness, we’re constantly being reborn in this reality. What I mean by this is I believe our perception of spirituality changes as we grow in our journey, that’s why I can’t say I follow a specific spiritual path, though I’m strongly connected to my spirituality and what I need to work at the time.
Over the past years, I’ve worked really hard on detachment and letting go, as I’ve always had a strong need to control the outcome of things in my life. Gratitude has helped me a lot in the process, as I think it has a strong ability to sink ourselves into the NOW. It doesn't matter where we come from or where we’re heading, it’s what we do with the time we were given what grants life meaning.
How did you become interested in astrology?
I’ve always been interested in astrology, ever since I was young though I didn’t practice it professionally and truly invested myself in it until 5 years ago. A friend at the time wanted to get herself a tarot deck and so I went with her as I was intrigued by it, and in that shop, and as I was checking some books about astrology, the old man owner of the shop told me that those books will ‘help me remember the things I have forgotten’. Ever since then I started my journey as an astrologer. As of today, I lost contact with this friend since our relationship didn’t work out, though sometimes our connections with others are like that – they lead us to where we are supposed to meet ourselves at the time. And I’m very thankful for where that led me.
Tell us about your astrological practice and beliefs.
Over the years, as I’ve delved into the depths of astrology, my practice has changed quite a lot. Like many people, I started my journey in astrology as a modern astrologer, focusing on the psychological aspect of it. As I evolved in my journey, I now consider myself a traditional astrologer with a modern twist. I discovered the work of Chris Brennan and Christopher Warnock (two very well-known astrologers in the community) and I knew right there and then that was the type of astrology I wanted to practice, as traditional astrology is strongly connected to planetary magic.
Unlike modern astrology, traditional astrology focuses on working with the energy and cycles of the 7 traditional planets (the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) removing the transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) of the equation. In my practice, I use a whole house system (as opposed to Placidus which is the most commonly used nowadays) and over the past years, I’ve included techniques such as zodiacal releasing and anual profection, as well as horary charts (which basically uses the chart of the consultation as a unique separate element to answer the client’s questions in combination with their natal chart). These elements are predominantly seen in traditional astrology only.
I still keep modern elements in my readings such as the transpersonal planets (when it comes to analysing transits) the asteroids or black moon Lilith for instance, though it depends on the purpose of the reading.
What suggestions do you have for someone who’s looking to learn more about astrology?
Read all the books. Get consultations from astrologers you admire. For me, it was very insightful reading different theories about the subject and also knowing how a reading is performed by another astrologer, and I still get consultations done by astrologers I love once a year since different people have different approaches so it’s always fun seeing how someone would interpret the different transits you’ll be going through, even if you have an idea of what they would mean to you or how they are likely to manifest.
How do you define magic?
Magic to me is our innate ability to turn the ideas that live inside of us into a reality, as for me what we seek already resides within us. Our reality is constantly reflecting aspects of our soul. The work of a magician consists of mastering all the elements so our desires leave the astral/subconscious plane and become a tangible part of our physicality.
If you practice magic, what’s your first memory of working with magic?
I do, although this has been something I incorporated into my practice 3 years ago. I practice planetary magic which is directly connected to alchemical astrology. For me, each season and planetary transit has something we can use and work with in our everyday life. The first time I practiced planetary magic (without knowing exactly what I was doing at the time) was 3 years ago when I decided I wanted to create my first deck Astrosoul. On the new moon in Aries of 2019, I did a magic ritual using a visualisation technique and wrote down all of the intentions I had for this project. Later in October that year, I launched my Kickstarter campaign. My practice has changed and refined a lot ever since. What I did doesn’t fit into the type of magic I practice now, which is more linked to planetary charity (using the energy of the different planets into our everyday life).
Who are you most inspired by? Why?
I’m lucky enough to say everyone who surrounds my life inspires me. I don’t take inspiration from art only but from what my friends and family offer me. I’ve always been very selective about the people I let enter my environment as I want to be surrounded by people who inspire me to be the best version of myself. I’d also like to say I consider myself also the main source of inspiration in my life, and I don’t want to sound egotistical by saying that though I think it’s something we should all do more often. I love looking back and seeing how much I’ve changed and evolved over the years. Personally, I believe this practice can help us to remove our need for comparison, as it makes us focus on how we can continue to expand as humans regardless of what other people are doing.
What inspires you in your day-to-day life?
Nature, physics, psychology. I love understanding how nature works and how different cycles and processes unfold. I think if we seek to fully understand life, we must connect with the core of our human existence. What makes us human, how do we relate to our environment, what processes do we go through as we evolve in our journey.
What makes you weird?
I guess everything about me is in a way, ‘weird’ (LOL). I’ve always been very unconventional, and have also seen life in a different way of what most people do ever since I was a child. Sometimes I feel I was born as an old soul (hello North Node in Aquarius). I remember how I only liked veggies growing up (my favourite food was spinach) or how my favourite thing to watch were space/quantum physics documentaries. I now also have a very unconventional job where I create divination tools for a living, which is something many people have a hard time understanding (can’t blame them though!).
What impact do you want to have on this world?
I want to create modern divination tools and systems to help others transform their reality and turn their purpose into gold, so they can connect with different layers of their existence and their individuality.
What makes you feel the most aligned?
Having a solid routine. I thrive by consistency and planning, I love waking up early in the morning and knowing that I have a day planned ahead of me, it really offers me grounding (my Mercury is in Virgo, as you can tell). I, of course, always allow some room for flexibility as life is unpredictable, though having a well defined schedule helps me visualise my purpose for the day.
What’s a daily ritual that you practice?
Journaling. It has had such a huge positive impact on my life and has completely transformed my everyday life. Every morning I wake up early (6-6:30AM) I make myself a coffee and journal my thoughts, sometimes these are focused on gratitude, other times I use journaling as a way to channel difficult/challenging emotions. Sometimes I may pull a few cards if I feel the need to.
How did you come to be a deck creator?
When I became interested in tarot, I spent a long time looking for an astrology deck that I loved and could work with. I then realised that there wasn’t anything in the market to fit my needs, as I wanted to be able to work with all the elements astrology could offer me in a personal consultation with a client. I also wanted something neutral, that wasn’t particularly attached to a specific artistic idea (such as using animals to represent the zodiacal signs or real people to represent the planets) so that was where Astrosoul was born. I wanted to make the language of the stars available to others, regardless of their level. Whether they’re just starting to learn astrology or are already familiar with the system.
Ever since I launched my first deck Astrosoul I’ve never stopped creating, exploring different ways I can serve our community by combining my abilities as a designer with my knowledge about spirituality and the occult creating different products that allow us to honour and celebrate our connection with ourselves and the Universe.
Is what you’re doing now, what you always wanted to do?
Yes and no. For many years prior to this I was mostly focusing on UX design and user experience. Never in my life I thought I would become a deck creator, yet here I am. The Universe has rather interesting and unique ways to lead us where we are supposed to be. My first deck was born from the necessity to expand the possibilities of what was available in the market (which could also be seen as solving a problem of a lack of availability, a very UX design thing).
What’s one tip that you’d give to someone looking to launch their own deck?
To spend as much time as they need to visualise their idea. The creative process takes a long time, it changes us in a way, since as we explore different concepts we go through various phases during the creation journey and so, our ideas may change from what they were originally. I think it’s important to spend time creating something you know will continue to represent you, your vision and your essence for many years to come, regardless of how much you change after you’ve created your deck, as this work will continue to represent you in a way.
Are there any new, exciting projects or content that you’d like to share?
Oh yes! I’m constantly thinking of new projects and ideas to develop. My newest project is my first tarot deck known as the Fortuna Tarot Deck, which is a 79 card deck that combines ancient alchemical principles, tarot, astrology, and numerology guiding you on a new journey within toward clarity and enlightenment, opening the gates of the occult and spirituality.
I’ve also been working on some journals that will combine my passion for journaling, magic, and astrology which will hopefully be released later this year, so stay tuned!
