Ted Striker (Robert Hayes): "Surely you can't be serious."Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen): "I am serious . . . and don't call me Shirley."- from the movie Airplane! AUTHOR'S NOTE: After many years away from it, I'm now re-reading The Kybalion, a learned text on esoteric philosophy. In one of the early lessons the author insists … Continue reading The Diviner as Middleman – Sharing the Burden of Proof
Practical Mysticism
“Do You Believe in <Pick One>?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not entirely sure what motivates them beyond an opportunity for mindless chatting (which is never in short supply online), but I often see people asking in the global occult community "Do you believe in <tarot, astrology, magic, astral travel, mediumship, etc>?" Giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they experienced an … Continue reading “Do You Believe in <Pick One>?”
The Principle of Mentalism: It’s Not That Easy
"The All is Mind; the Universe is Mental"- The First Hermetic Principle (from The Kybalion) AUTHOR'S NOTE: The premise that we can obtain anything we want by "thinking it into existence" is an alluring notion that has been co-opted by the Law of Attraction crowd in what looks suspiciously like auto-hypnosis with its roots in … Continue reading The Principle of Mentalism: It’s Not That Easy
Data-Driven Reality and the “SWAG” Default
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a teenager in the '60s I read a 1963 science-fiction book by Daniel Galouye titled Simulacron-3 that described a computer-generated city in which the inhabitants "thought" they were conscious beings but were in fact only figments of the programmer's imagination, fictional participants in a market-research simulation (an early take on the ideas … Continue reading Data-Driven Reality and the “SWAG” Default
The Thing About Fences (or “If You Can’t Trust Your Mother, Who Can You Trust?”)
"Before I built a wall I’d ask to knowWhat I was walling in or walling out"- from Mending Wall by Robert Frost AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about Frost's poem in relation to tarot reading in the past, focusing on the idea that "good fences make good neighbors" even though Frost didn't believe it himself. At … Continue reading The Thing About Fences (or “If You Can’t Trust Your Mother, Who Can You Trust?”)
Programmed to Receive: Psychism and “Blind Faith”
"Relax," said the night man. "We are programmed to receive."- from Hotel California by The Eagles AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Real Magic, his fascinating and - for this metaphysical maverick - highly influential 2018 book, parapsychologist Dean Radin mentions that in common discourse the tenets of psionics (including psychism) are subsumed under the neologism psi (pronounced … Continue reading Programmed to Receive: Psychism and “Blind Faith”
Divination As Ritual Practice
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A recent r/occult sub-reddit thread explored whether divination is only superficial fortune-telling or whether it can take on a deeper, sturdier and more intense ritual form. Tarot and the I Ching were the main focal points. When I began pursuing Golden-Dawn-based study and practice in the late '70s after having worked with predictive … Continue reading Divination As Ritual Practice
Boundaries and Barriers in Psychic Self-Defense
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When it comes to psychic self-defense, the "buzzword-du-jour" is boundaries. The mystical ways to do this are mostly statements of intent: affirmations, invocations, prayers, etc. We are encouraged to set wards against the subliminal intrusion of those who have the ability to harm us, whether intentionally or accidentally, if we allow them unimpeded … Continue reading Boundaries and Barriers in Psychic Self-Defense
The Monkey Mind and the Meat Brain: Putting the Brakes on Mystical Excess in Divination
"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
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 