A philosophy professor of mine who was also a Protestant minister (and, for what it's worth, a heart transplant survivor – the very definition of “ on a wing and a prayer”), once told our class that, according to Pascal's Wager, “It's safer to believe in a God even if there isn't one, than to … Continue reading Cheap Shots #25: “If Wishes Were Horses . . .”
New Age
The Solitary Path
Back when I was an active member of American Mensa, I was what was known as an "Isolated M," which meant that I lived so far out in "God's Country" (aka "the Middle of Nowhere") that I derived zero benefit from my paid membership (to add insult to injury, they refused to send me a … Continue reading The Solitary Path
A Crowded House, or Where Do I Put All Those Planets
For those old-timers like me who may wander in here, the title of this post should bring back fond memories of William Conrad's narrated taglines to the animated Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes, which invariably went "Be here next time, when . . . " followed by a tongue-in-cheek pair of amusing but not always obviously … Continue reading A Crowded House, or Where Do I Put All Those Planets
Rock Solid
Mary Reddy wrote a fascinating article on the consciousness of rocks from a shamanic perspective ("Rock Talk") that really struck a chord with me. https://lorian.org/blog/ I came to a spiritual appreciation for the mineral kingdom through my practice of geomancy using Israel Regardie's "bowl-of-stones" method. I spent a couple of years gathering just the right … Continue reading Rock Solid
Cheap Shots #17: Tone vs. Substance
One complaint of the tarot novice that comes up quite often on the forums is "Nothing happened the way the cards said it would." This is sometimes accompanied by a profound loss of faith that drives the discouraged neophyte away from the practice of divination entirely. Even the trite remark that "the cards weren't wrong, … Continue reading Cheap Shots #17: Tone vs. Substance
Nifty Tarot Music
Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett playing "Ace of Wands" from his tarot-themed album Voyage of the Acolyte. https://youtu.be/J_8LfkkXHCs
The In-between
In a recent essay on David Spangler's (he of the pioneering New Age pedigree) Lorian Association website (see "Strange Attractors" at http://www.lorianassociation.com), Susan Beal described how she eventually resolved the apparent conflicts between her inner and outer worlds - those of private spiritual practice on one hand and routine daily existence on the other - … Continue reading The In-between
“Cheap Shots” #15: Moon Madness
No subject is prone to more mass confusion across various systems of divination than that of the Moon. In astrology it's the archetypal Mother, nurturing and emotionally effusive, connected with memory and the subconscious mind as well as psychic awareness. As one of the three main building-blocks of the personality, it has much to do … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #15: Moon Madness
Swaggin’ It
At one time, tarot was used primarily as a tool for divination; its forte was getting under the skin of outward appearances in order to examine the roots of causality found within a querent's subconscious grasp of his or her personal reality. This was usually expressed in terms of the chance for occurrence of some … Continue reading Swaggin’ It
“Cheap Shots” #14 – Tough Love
I generally prefer decks that hand out unvarnished truth rather than affirmative pleasantries (which excludes many oracle decks, and especially "angel cards"). The Thoth is the granddaddy of them all in that regard, and each of its various clones is no slouch either. For example, unlike the ambivalent 8 of Cups in the Waite-Smith deck, … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #14 – Tough Love
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 