Quan Tracy Cherry

I was a self-soothing adult acting child who acted out every time I saw the Jehovah’s Witnesses appear on our walkway. Then, my mother would make me go to my bedroom. Sigh, what a relief. Years later she’d opine that she wished she had listened to me and never joined the cult adjacent religion. Even when I was forced to go out into ‘field service’ you worldly folx would call this ‘knocking on doors’. I rebelled until I was 18 years old. I knocked on doors lightly primarily because I didn’t want to share any ‘good news’. To this day, Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) revolutionized how religion became more active, not wanting for the flock to come to you, you went to them. Sure, it was embarrassing when I went to a classmate’s house, but we were trained every Wednesday on what to say to each householder, no matter how old or ‘worldly’.

My view was divided into those who didn’t believe in ‘The Truth’ (like many religions JWs were segregating pieces of collective ego shaped into one mess of us versus them). Everyone, no matter how Christian, were ‘worldly’. There was no joy because there were no holidays except the celebration of Jesus Christ’s death. Each holiday had pagan roots. This was a reforming Christian religion founded in 1871 by Charles Taze Russell. Fuck, even now I cant believe I remember his name---know this with ORM & Wholeness---all be available. All other religions were false. 'It's against my religion’ was a standard catch phrase for any holiday program at my worldly school. I did not have to participate. Superior, I felt (plz forgive my Yoda speak, not.)

Other than not wanting to be taught the Bible, the binary of God and Satan affected me in another way. As soon as I can remember whenever I would see a person in a wheelchair or who presented with obvious mental illness, an energy would leak from me. Of course, I couldn't tell anyone in my family. They already thought my unfiltered brand of telling (and suspecting) truth at best, unsettling and at worst, disrespectful, even mean. Have any idea what it felt like to have ‘psychic’ or ‘empathetic’ feelings and have no allowance for it, except it had to come from Satan the Devil? Hell, had been born centuries earlier and female, I’d been burned. at the stake---or throat slit Scheeh, one psychic told me decades ago that she was surprised how outspoken I was on various subjects given the number of times I had had my head chopped off. I returned an uneasy laugh. Truth hurts, sometimes literally, you know?

At ten, I had a dream where an old wise man visited me and said something I cannot remember. Dreams and soul flashes be funny in that way. Many times a residue is left. This visitation left me with the feeling that living is a joke. Take it less seriously. At school away from my JW family I was a fan of snark and ‘dead baby’ jokes. Bermuda Triangle, subliminal messages in advertising and Hitler were some of my hidden interests---as well as knowing I was a Scorpio---I secretly read my horoscope. I knew my best matches were Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.

I wanted two things: (1) to not cut my hair and (2) become a meteorologist like Jerry Hodak on CBS News. I feel as if I’ve accomplished both---have had two sets of locks and being an astrologer is like being a cosmic weatherman. The soul knows what’s best, even when our egos keep feeding us non-nutritious fast spiritual food---(hello, you JW's). By the time I started being fed substantive soul/spirit food I became fascinated with Numerology (thanks Egyirba High---a neighbor from my anarchist resistant days of not wanting to study with the JWs---she gave me the book ‘It’s All In Your Numbers). Diana Ross’s ‘Remember Me’ is playing as I write this---that’s our rooted souls at work---through apparent ‘coincidences’. Both of these women are born under first sign of Aries---inpsirational, mentoring and passionate.s

Imagine a young milk chocolate brown boy with an aptitude in Math. I loved the qualities of numbers, the soul of numbers, not the quantity of them. My undergraduate degree (which had begun as a French major) was co-opted to Cost and Financial Accounting. When I learned that vowels represent the soul, I knew that I would spell Quan with a ‘u’ and ‘a’ because my first name was Paul. My soul stayed the same. I keep my rat tail to remind me of my marrying myself on July 26, 2001. That month almost exactly 20 years ago as I write this on July 24, 2021, I had returned from the only time I took a sabbatical from my spiritual work to go to San Franscisco to help plan a stage for gay pride with an exclusively African American company. I committed to my business again. I locked in my commitment to soul growth. There were mostly egos luxuriating in pettiness while in San Francisco. Other than law school, undergraduate major, early childhood indoctrination in JWs, I had not been so ego driven and off from my soul’s path. Talk about desert days cut off from the source.

Astrology and tarot came very quickly after Egyirba’s kind (and a bit off handed) gift of the Numerology book. My soul knew. By day’s end, I was giving everyone a Numerology reading. It was if I was a spiritual Oprah’---instead of giving them a car, everyone got a reading. Soon, it was tarot and astrological charts. I had business cards printed up when I returned to law school for my second year. The business was called ‘Chocolate Blessings’. My law school professors and some of my classmates surely had thought I had lost my mind. In my defense, I had just spent three months in Detroit---so I was re-energized around all things Black. My father's political connections secured me the only law job I’ve ever had. He was an appointee of Mayor Coleman Young. Each day the lawyer that I was assigned to would say ‘Cherry, I know you want my job’. When I told him I wanted to be a professional astrologer, he didn’t believe me. After I saw the other clerks going to court and writing motions, I was given files to organize. Instead of getting angry (soul at work) I went around and gave my version of ‘you get a car’ to all. I had the employees get their birth time (if I felt like being an astrologer), full name (if I wanted to speak numbers) or cards. I was turning into my own triple threat (singer, dancer & actor)---except my stage was spiritual. Now I call this triple combined energy---'Numbers, Stars & Cards.'

By second year of law school, it was starkly evident that this was a colossal mistake.  What is considered a loss to our ego is a gain to our soul---it's evolution and involution. Yes, the law is SO ego driven. Hell, even the law jokes state that---’what do you call a lawyer at the bottom of the sea? A good start.’ I’d like to pay homage to July 24 because the only lawyer I dated was born on this day. (Our souls speak through synchronicities, I'm wiritng my bio on her birthday.)  The other woman I dated strongly was an American Studies graduate student. When it was evident we had chemistry, she was taking a class in law school, even though she was an American Studies graduate student. I said quite chaverlierly, that if you’re over here to get a lawyer for a husband---I don’t believe in commitment (cause it’s the same world that we use to put folx away) and I am going to be a professional astrologer. It took eight years, a son, a law license, three moves from Iowa City to Seattle to Iowa City (again) to Kansas City, a column in the PitchWeekly---an unwavering resolve that my soul filled spirituality is my north star, has been, is and will be.

2001 was also pivotal. For 12 months I completed casting the I Ching everyday. Understand that I legally changed my name from Paul to Quan on August 23, 1990. It was the same month that our son Jelani was conceived. I was working temporarily for a major Seattle newspaper in their accounting department. In the seventh grade I was the only boy in a typing class. I worked as a temp in offices because I could type almost 80 words/minute. My practical Taurus (is that redundant?) great-grandfather bought me an electric typewriter as a freshman in college. Sears is also where I purchased my gold wedding ring for my self-unification ceremony in July, 2001. This astrological path, like law, is a jealous mistress. I married myself mostly because my partner at the time had moved to Chicago. He mistakenly thought I would uproot my astrological practice and move there. My first love has been and continues to be my work. Our souls have an artistic quality. Has it been a labyrinth? Yes, it has. However, the choice to be a father to my son for the first seven years of his life or stay in Washington State where I had more opportunities to practice law? It. Continues. To. Be. A. No. Brainer.

One reason I like my weirdness, my queerness is that it opens up soulful opportunities. Few people would have judged me had I stayed in Seattle to create more financial wealth. When Jelani’s mother received an amazing opportunity to return to Iowa City to write her dissertation, it was her dream come true. When everyone’s ego said to me that ‘jobs are hard to find in Iowa City’, not only did I get a job, but the woman who hired me had the same birthday as Jelani! Your soul knows. You just have to learn how to listen.

ORM has softened my rough edges. I have learned how to listen to my inner voice continually and consistenly. It’s like that old JCPenney slogan ‘It’s all inside!’ or the ‘softer side of Sears’. Dating myself? Probably? But this ancient and modern system of thought has resurrected me. I feel the same way I felt when I had no proof, only an emerging desire for who would become Jelani’s mother when I quipped, ‘I am going to be a professional astrologer’. I am going to continue to breathe, drink water and align with Our Raw Material until and after the 100 hundred human/monkey washes our shared soul bananas! We are all one. ORM is one way (pun intended) for us to recognize and live a collective rooted experience.