"I'm a monkey, m-m-monkeyI'm a monkey, m-m-monkeyI'm a monkey, m-m-monkeyMonkey, monkey man"- from Monkey Man by the Rolling Stones AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm indebted to James Ricklef and Lon Milo DuQuette, in Tarot Reading Explained and Tarot Architect respectively, for bringing these concepts to my attention. (Oh, and to Mick Jagger for obvious reasons.) By way … Continue reading The Monkey Mind and the Meat Brain: Putting the Brakes on Mystical Excess in Divination
Practical Mysticism
The “Thematic Threads” of the Major Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: More insights from Tarot Reading Explained by James Ricklef. This essay is a rehash of several previous posts on the subject, but I think the common tendency of tarot readers to exaggerate the impact of trump cards in a reading bears further scrutiny, and I received reinforcement for this assumption from my re-reading … Continue reading The “Thematic Threads” of the Major Arcana
The Left-Hand Path: A Dream Analysis
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As we all know, dreams can be extremely symbolic, especially at their most impressionistic. I had such an episode last night. I set out to attend a mystical retreat on a mountain-top. But there were no roads leading there so I had to bushwhack through thick forest, occasionally scrambling hand-over-hand up the slope. … Continue reading The Left-Hand Path: A Dream Analysis
A Planetary Astro-Tarot Heptad
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This mandala-style layout is another of my attempts to organize the tarot cards around the principles of astrology. I have no particular purpose in mind for its use, although it could be applied as a template on which to deal random cards and then look for convergence between their symbolism and the planetary … Continue reading A Planetary Astro-Tarot Heptad
Anecdotal vs. Empirical: The Rational Diviner’s Dilemma
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently engaged in an online conversation with an avowed skeptic who wants to delve into the occult but can't overcome the perception that there is no objective evidence of its legitimacy, while also acknowledging that he hasn't actually made an attempt to prove otherwise to his own satisfaction. This was my … Continue reading Anecdotal vs. Empirical: The Rational Diviner’s Dilemma
It’s Scrying Time Again
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the past, all of my self-initiated involvement with the Astral Plane (formally called "scrying" as distinct from involuntary "dreaming" and out-of-body "astral travel") was done using a tarot trump card as a prompt to incite creative visualization when entering the "spirit vision," a technique known as "path-working" on the Qabalistic Tree of … Continue reading It’s Scrying Time Again
The Mystical Tide: Rising or Falling?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Between the ages of 18 and 30, I lived through the 12-year period that saw the hippie zeitgeist reach its brief zenith and then fade. It was a heady time of boundless "New Age" enthusiasm for all things exotic in the realm of metaphysics, as well as the burgeoning of unique psychological and … Continue reading The Mystical Tide: Rising or Falling?
A Foot Soldier in the “Light” Brigade
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not long ago I started following an online conversation about Israel Regardie's development of the material for his first volume of Golden Dawn knowledge (dubbed "the brick," I assume for its impressive girth and density). I had just begun re-reading Regardie's Eye in the Triangle when this exchange grabbed my attention. During his … Continue reading A Foot Soldier in the “Light” Brigade
Sitting with Ourself: A Thoth Perspective
"If I had the chance, I'd ask the world to danceAnd I'd be dancing with myself"- from Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I began reading Joe Monteleone's Tarot Mysticism: The Psycho-Spiritual Technology of the Thoth Tarot, I came upon his premise that one of the three primary uses for the tarot … Continue reading Sitting with Ourself: A Thoth Perspective
Embracing the Cards as a Matter of Choice
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If we are savvy in the self-empowering ways of practical magic, our encounter with a given tarot card in a reading won't invariably deliver a foregone conclusion. We can choose how much of its influence to let into our life and how to engage it. The fundamental energy won't change, just our handling … Continue reading Embracing the Cards as a Matter of Choice
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 