AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just listening to In the Light, Led Zeppelin's mystical minor masterpiece (despite the alliteration, it didn't quite make me go "mmm" with aural pleasure), and I came across the opening quote that appears in the title. I was reading Ethan Indigo Smith's The Tao of Thoth at the same time (multitasking … Continue reading “Everybody Needs the Light” (or “Poking Holes in the Veil”)
Practical Mysticism
Circular Numerology and the Revolving Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A large percentage of everything that goes on in our environment is cyclical rather than linear in nature (although some cycles like the 25,800 year "wobble" of the Earth's axis are so long that it's difficult to observe their periodicity). The alternation of day and night and the turning of the seasons are … Continue reading Circular Numerology and the Revolving Tarot
The Cosmos According to Aleister Crowley: Love is Not Unconditional
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Recently I was asked to specifically name what I've often alluded to as the "half-dozen nuggets of pure metaphysical brilliance" in Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law (the founding text for the religion of Thelema and a fundamental source for the Book of Thoth and the Thoth tarot), as opposed to the rest … Continue reading The Cosmos According to Aleister Crowley: Love is Not Unconditional
A 78-Card Geometric Mandala
"Devil inside, the devil insideEvery single one of us, the devil inside"(From Devil Inside by Inxs) AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the end of this essay is a numbering table I created several years ago for the sequence of 78 tarot cards that begins with the Fool as "1" and ends with the King of Pentacles as … Continue reading A 78-Card Geometric Mandala
Ancestors on Call: A Spiritual Contact Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been reading about ancestor worship in Asia (which is not precisely "deification" but instead a ceremonial show of respect usually accompanied by ritual offerings and a sincere plea for assistance with one's mundane affairs). I've created a couple of spreads in the past with the goal of ancestor contact, but this knowledge … Continue reading Ancestors on Call: A Spiritual Contact Spread
Secular or Mystical: Alternate Paths in Divination
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I roam the internet seeking inspiration for my writing, I've become aware that the practice of divination has split into two camps, mainly along conceptual lines: one operates in the boundless realm of spontaneous conjecture while the other is more delimited in a focused and scrupulous way. There is a stark contrast … Continue reading Secular or Mystical: Alternate Paths in Divination
The Awakening: A Spiritual Transformation Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a tarot spread that uses the concepts of entrenched inertia (pip cards), personal make-over (court cards) and mystical transformation in the form of both transcendent opportunities and spiritual pitfalls (trump cards). It is one of my "mixed-media" spreads that employs both tarot cards and dice in its execution. Begin by separating … Continue reading The Awakening: A Spiritual Transformation Spread
“No Blame” – A Useful First Principle in Divination
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a handful of what might be called "first principles" or "prime directives" in reading the tarot cards, broad concepts to which I mostly adhere. One premise, for which I am indebted to Dr. James Wanless, is that "There are no 'bad' cards, only opportunities" (in a forthcoming essay I make the … Continue reading “No Blame” – A Useful First Principle in Divination
Sympathetic Magic: The Secular Side of Spellworking
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's fascinating how dreams can unearth old memories that are still germane to present conditions, figuratively "turning over rocks to see what crawls out from underneath." Last night in one such nocturnal interlude I was discussing with an unknown savant the assumption that object-oriented magic is best performed with "power items" that hold … Continue reading Sympathetic Magic: The Secular Side of Spellworking
The Diviner’s Medium: Intuitive Insight or Pure Projection?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've always been skeptical of the widely-held opinion that the subliminal insights we tap into while reading the cards are a form of spiritual illumination coming from a mystical source of higher wisdom. Those who aspire to the practice of "secular tarot" (now there's an oxymoron for you) believe that it isn't received … Continue reading The Diviner’s Medium: Intuitive Insight or Pure Projection?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 