On These Days of Herstory

On These Days of Herstory, let’s discuss two icons born: one real and one fictional, but both left a mark, though you might not know either of their true faces.

As an Aquarian, I tend to look for an extra layer of meaning when something happens under the water bearer constellation. The Water Bearer’s story revolves around anticipating others’ needs and providing for them in ways that feel both familiar, but fresh. That’s an Aquarian’s forte. We [Aquarians] perpetually find ourselves feeling out of place, while simultaneously astute observers of our surroundings and cohorts.

We often see what needs to be done and how to do it, and it will always be unorthodox if we can help it. We like breaking molds and in most cases, if our weirdness nurtured, it’s for the better. We “fix” by innovating. This makes us poised to be the creative caregivers of the human universe.

So anyway, let’s dive in and discuss these legendary ladies of Herstory!

1878: Pamela Colman Smith Is Born

Pamela Colman Smith was the creative hand behind all the artwork of the original Rider-Waite tarot deck. I’m sad that most of my life I was taught to fear tarot and would be admonished for my admiration of them. To look at individual cards is to look at astounding visual of concepts of the human psyche. Bear in mind that when the original Rider-Waite deck was published, around the same time huge strides were being made in understanding the human psyche in the fields of professional psychology.We have a need to express our minds through visual art and creative storytelling, and I think it’s a beautiful thing about being a person.

Not much is known about Smith, who went by the nickname Pixie. Below is a small write-up I did last year when I published my own oracle deck; as there’s probably no timeline where Plant Magic! exists without me having seen her art first.

There is only one definitive biographical record of her life, which was written by the founder of US Games Systems, arguably the largest publisher of card decks and tarot specifically. I do plan to read the biography this year, it may be my next read!

Smith’s art introduced a new era of modern card art and tarot has remained popular because of her beautiful work. Here’s a few photos of the original art [reproduced] on a generic reprint the original deck art, along with some samples of how the art has been innovated and re-interpreted by other artists.

And here’s some of Pixie’s original illustrations by my own oracle deck! So, happy birthday, Pixie! Thank you for inspiring us!

ALSO On This Day in Herstory…

1943: Westinghouse Corporation Hangs This Poster Up

…for only two weeks!

The prevailing myth around this poster is that it was everywhere and instrumental in encouraging women in the workplace. It’s isn’t true! This poster was just one design of 40, and was only hung for two weeks! It was created by J. Howard Miller for Westinghouse Electric. It was made as a work incentive poster encouraging women to take on manufacturing jobs during WW2.

It wasn’t until 1982 when the poster found it’s way back into the heart of the moment and channeled the zeitgeist that made it the icon it is today. It was featured in a Washington Post article about the national archives, and, the rest is Herstory.

6 million women entered the workforce during WW2 and a lot was done to promote and encourage women in the workforce in the 1940’s. Obviously nothing was discussed of the impossibility of being Rosie the Riveter and Rosie the Mother, no support for how hard it would have been to go from “you’re just a dumb broad” to “get to work!”, but damn it, women did it, like we always do.

WW2, like all major events, changed everything; we know that. It reopened humanity’s eyes for half a second to the tenacity of women and the folly of man.

Anyway, while we call the above Rosie the Riveter, she would have been largely unknown comparatively to Norman Rockwell’s Riveter, which was published to a much larger audience a few months later the same year. This emphasizes the new woman that emerged in the 1940s, colloquially called “Rosies”. Isn’t it interesting? When we think in retrospect of feminist iconography from WW2 era, most of us think of the We Can Do It! Rosie, even though she’s only been famous 40 years post war. This is the Rosie of the 40s:

Rockwell’s May 29, 1943 cover “Rosie the Riveter” [the best part is the copy of Mein Kampf under her shoe]

A few years ago, I created myself as the Rosie character, this time in my hand is a bouquet of flowers

So thank you, too, Rosie! For being the reminder that when it needs to be finished, it needs a woman!

Xoxo Ash

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Colman_Smith

https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/pamela-colman-smith-rider-waite-tarot-2163627

https://www.history.com/news/rosie-the-riveter-inspiration

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Can_Do_It!

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_538122