They have a gazillion books in print, not to mention the tarot and oracle decks, her art and fashion, his astrological predictions. Their enchanted, and enchanting, life.
Amy Zerner and Monte Farber have spent nigh on four decades supplying the world with spiritual guidance from their home and studio in Springs. Most recently, they have two publications of note, to add to the shelves of stuff already available.
“The Wild Goddess Oracle Deck” re-envisions traditional deities and adds a few, to boot. “Enchanted Worlds” is a deep dive into Zerner’s tapestry collage; an ethereal blend of images from myth, reality, and Farber and Zerner’s own off-beat and humorous take.
We caught up with the couple to discuss their lives and work.
What brought you to this new book, ‘Enchanted Worlds’?
Monte Farber: We wanted to create a book that would transport the reader into Amy’s creative vision, a dynamic combination of exquisite garments and tapestries, showcasing the essence of her collage and clothing masterpieces. The design is a mix of art into fashion and fashion into art.
We have introductory text into each “World” — for instance The World of Dreams, The World of Alchemy, The World of Sacred Spaces — with images of Amy’s tapestries, then a model wearing a gorgeous garment, then Amy working in her studio, then back to tapestry details and additional text.
This book not only explores art and fashion as Amy Zerner’s languages of self-expression and style, but also elucidates the beliefs, ideas, and imagination that stimulate this creative cross-pollination.
The design of the book is comprised of many unique variations of her art and fashion, with impressions and text from me, focusing on the themes, which have so often stimulated her works of art.
You’ve created so many divination tools and decks over the years. What makes Wild Goddess Oracle different? And what spurred you to create it?
Amy Zerner: During the lockdown of 2020, I created 52 new collage paintings that turned into the Wild Goddess Oracle. I did them to keep me centered, courageous, and creative during a scary time and, magically, one of our publishers called as I was working on these concepts and asked if I had an idea for a new oracle. And so it was born and it captures the empowering energy needed at this time. As Monte wrote the book, conversations developed as narratives fell into place, as if the goddesses spoke to us from other realms.
The card images are very layered and diversified and representative of many various cultures, colors, and ages. They are designed to help you connect to the incredible inspiration of Mother Nature’s wisdom, to enhance your own intuition and decision-making abilities. I also wrote Earth Magic spells, rituals, and invocations to accompany each goddess.
This was a very wonderful project for me and Monte to do during the intense time we are living in. Meditating and tuning in with the oracle — with its combination of words, art, and rituals — reconnects us to our true inner powers so that we do not waste time and energy sabotaging ourselves. And when we honor the divine feminine and nurture the Wild Goddess within, we tap into the source of understanding, hope, and healing.
I have to ask — you are almost always together. What do you do in solitude? Do you have separate hobbies or interests?
AZ: Wherever we go, no matter what we are talking about, the first question people ask us is “How do you two work and live together 24 hours a day and still be so in love?”
Well, we do love to be together. We even do yoga together, and shop together . . . we make all of our business decisions together and are always brainstorming ideas and comparing observations about people, art, and life. We laugh a lot, too — the true secret of a happy relationship.
MF: I write in solitude, mostly at night. There are less distractions at night. And Amy makes her art in solitude. We each have our separate “sacred space” studios.
Amy’s hobby is cooking (we even wrote an astrology cookbook!) and my hobby is our garden. I love to design our outdoor sanctuary. Spending time listening to the birds and watching the rabbits and squirrels and our cat Zane in our garden has been life-saving during the pandemic. And we are both interested in true crime, as we are always trying to solve mysteries! And this year we have gotten into crypto and NFTs. So our hobbies blend into our life in a seamless way.
Coming out of the pandemic, any predictions, Monte?
MF: We are having to deal with Mars oppositions now until the first few months of 2022. We are going to need strength of mind, body, spirit, and most of all, strength of character. We cannot just flail around. We have to know who we are and what we believe in and why we believe in it. And the holiday season will be very intense this year so be innovative, creative, and compassionate. Do your best to make your base secure — that’s mind, body, spirit, and character.
What do you have coming up?
AZ: I have an exhibit titled “ALCHEMY: Collages, Tapestries, & Art-to-Wear” at MM Fine Art in Southampton from November 6 to 21. We will be doing book signings at the show as well.
MF: And we are hosting a fun “Ask The Oracles” online Halloween weekend event, Friday, October 29 to Sunday, October 31, with 22 of our favorite metaphysical authors and teachers to share many magical methods, such as working with the tarot, trusting your intuition, astrological predictions, and more.
We are also working on two new books that will come with card decks of Amy’s art that will be published in the Spring — “The Intuition Oracle” and “The Art of Affirmations.”
To learn more about all of the many offerings from The Enchanted World of Amy Zerner and Monte Farber, including crypto currency named after their feline familiar, Zane, visit theenchantedworld.net.
