Full Moon Brain
Resetting Confirmation Bias
Full Moon over Sheep’s Meadow, Central Park, NYC, June 29, 2026, photo by Robert Petkoff
During last night’s full moon, I mulled over “confirmation bias,” the tendency to control and process memory, interpretation and information to what we’ve already “confirmed” in our heads. This “confirmation” search finds mostly prompts that agree with what we’ve already determined. This year has been a year of resetting confirmations.
Full moons are the times when I do a check-in on myself. This Strawberry Full Moon in Capricorn brings lunation highlights our ability to get things done, according to Nicholas Chani, on her Chani instagram account.
Nicholas reminds us that we can’t do it all, especially since the Moon needs some extra TLC in goal-oriented Capricorn, the sign of its detriment. And with this Full Moon sitting in a square to Saturn (planet of boundaries), it’s an opportunity to get clear on our capacity so we don’t burn ourselves out.
In shaking up my short and long term goals, I’m grateful be at a place where rebuilding is still a work in progress and that process is still refreshing while challenging. I’m grateful to have a stable and wonderful partnership, family and friends as I restructure.
This restructure process resounded when I went with my friend Susan Ceccarelli to listen to author Maggie O’Farrell this past week in NYC. Maggie is the author of Hamnet, and the co-screen writer for the film as well. Her latest book, Land, is centered on the people of Ireland and how they and their language has evolved and been stolen.
Maggie O’Farrell at the Iris & Gerald Center Theatre, NYC, for her Land book launch
Maggie O'Farrell is not autistic or diagnosed with a classic neuro-developmental condition, but she is neuro-atypical as she was ill in bed for two years as a child. She has a different way. She has balance and stimulus issues and sees words and writing as an escape or as she says, “Sitting at my desk I can live an alternative life.”
I’m reading the book now and the first chapter opens the book with a bang. More on that at another time when I finish it.
One of the aspects of confirmation bias that I’m resetting is how I write and research historical novels. After a decade of writing on tarot history and culling the data on the exact whereabouts and doings of Pamela Colman Smith, it’s been eye-opening to consider something different. There have been new sources of inspiration, although this new writing project takes place during somewhat the same time period and place. I’ll be excited to share this writing project and my partner in crime in this at a later time.
Pamela Colman Smith and her Moon Tarot Card, printed in 1909 after eight years with the Golden Dawn
I am putting the final touches on my presentation for Pamela Colman Smith for the October UK Tarot Conference. I’ll be presenting a slide show on The Life of Pamela with about one hundred images, and this is after cutting at least double that amount. There is so much to say about her life and so many bizarre and uncanny aspects to her life to cover. In some ways, her brain seems to also be atypical, especially for the Victorian/Edwardian time that she lived in. It will be fun to present this life scope of Pamela’s life and the new information I’ve discovered about her. Here’s a link to the conference, on the 9th of October I’ll be giving my slide show on Pamela’s life.
This has been a fabulous year of travel for me, so far I’ve been able to travel and visit Paris, Toronto, Los Angeles, London, Miami, and Mexico. My husband, Robert Petkoff, has been able to have me fly to his various performances while he continues to perform as ‘Zidler’ in Moulin Rouge for three years. This tour ends in August and then we will reset our lives back to NYC. Robert’s latest stop was in D.C., performing at the Kennedy Center.
Robert Petkoff at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with Moulin Rouge
There was and continues to be a lot of drama in D.C. but it was refreshing to know that the touring company of Moulin Rouge endured. Even though there was still a tarp covering some desecration on the outside of the building, it continued to be the people’s performing arts center. I was especially proud to learn that on the last performance, at the curtain call Robert thanked the city of DC and gave a special call out to being in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to great response.
Another highlight reset for me was during a sunset sailboat cruise this past month. A clutch of friends who celebrated the life of creator Kristin Westbrook gathered to sail out of New York City Harbor and dally for a brief while in front of the Statue of Liberty.
Onboard the Schooner Adirondack during a sunset cruise of NYC Harbor honoring Kristin Westbrook
Kristin was a rare bird, with a big laugh, large passions and devoted energy to the care of her dreams and the dreams of friends and loved ones. She was an artist, author, creator and bon vivant. When I think of her, I think of her dancing on table tops to the Rolling Stones, toppling over with laughter when something was hilarious and greeting people with hugs and drinks. A lesson on how to live large and I carry her life lessons in my heart and in my life practice.
Because if I have confirmation basis, I want my life practice to learn from old tricks while learning the new.
In publishing the three books on Pamela Colman Smith during this decade, I’ve learned so much. Not only about Pamela and her life, and tarot and publishing, but also who I am and where else I might want to go during this time during this mortal coil.
Which reminds me, if you haven’t gotten around to the third book in my Arcana Oracle Series, Emperor and Hierophant’s ebook is on sale for 99¢ until July 10th.
I favor Bookshop.org because they support indie bookstores and here’s the link to the book here:
99¢ ebook Emperor & Hierophant
Thank you for supporting my work and I look forward to continuing this journey on this next project! Cheers!