The Book of Storms

What’s one truth you’ve had to fight for?

That’s the question I’m asking 100 queer, trans, and non-binary people.

Their answers—along with my own—are shaping the The Book of Storms, a 500-page memoir-grimoire I'm building to chronicle queer liberation.

Each week, I’ll unveil a Storm Folio—a single page from the book—and share my response, whether it’s a blessing, ritual, or writing.

Today’s video features the very first folio and a glimpse of the altar I created during a ritual at Kaʻena Point in response.

Below the video, you’ll find the full text of Folio 1, the blessing I spoke at the ocean, and a special bonus—a mixed media artwork inspired by this truth.

Want to speak your truth into The Book of Storms? Send me a direct message.

Magickally yours,
~Storm Arcana
Seer & Storyteller

The Book of Storms

Folio One 

By Anonymous

I think it's weird. 

I am the truth I've had to fight for my whole life. 

I've always lived in the in-betweens, never neatly filling into any government form checkbox. 

An immigrant. 

A mix of cultural and racial identities that laid bare the man-made facade of race. 

How obvious it becomes that we have constructed this when I can't select multiple boxes, when I can't fully explain on paperwork exactly what I am, as if my existence isn't supposed to be accounted for. 

The way our identities have to be static binaries, as if love and the self are so simple to pin down. 

As if my choices to express myself in each and every moment have to be consistent with the last, or even that I have to know what I am. 

Maybe there isn't a name for what I want to be.

A Blessing for the Liminal Souls

For all those who live in the margins
in liminal spaces
still learning how to dance between worlds—

May you have strength.
May your healed ancestors walk beside you.
May the ocean help you navigate any turbulence in your life.

May the wind, the sand, and the sea
imbue your life with their blessings

May you remember that you are the universe!
Your soul is another world unto itself.

May your truth be witnessed!
May your storm be honored!

~SA

Storm Arcana
Select All That Apply, 2025
Mixed Media
11 in × 14 in

Artist’s Note:

This artwork was my second attempt at illustrating Folio 1. My first version ended up being far too colorful and relied too heavily on text from the original share, which didn’t feel quite right to me.

For this piece, I wanted to find a different visual entry point, and limiting the color palette felt like a compelling choice. I downloaded a variety of forms, collaged them onto watercolor board, then painted over them using black, brown, and grey watercolors.

The moment the artwork truly came to life was when I had the idea to cut paper dolls out of graph paper and add them to the assemblage. At first, I planned to glue the pieces down, but I discovered I had no glue. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I decided to attach them with sewing pins instead. To me, the pins speak to the soul-damaging themes of the piece in a way glue never could.

The final touch was sewing a few X’s onto the piece with thick thread. It was a happy accident to notice that the gender identity form I included ended up positioned right above my signature.

I’m grateful I took this photograph when I did, because soon after, I kept painting on the piece—overworking it with color and ultimately destroying it. This image is all that remains.

~SA