November 12, 2012
I’ve returned from a sojourn in the gorgeous city of Prague. Prague is my kind of city, a place that has no patience for fakery and yet, indulges in heights of fantasy and the fantastic; that exudes the harsh pragmatism that all northern cities seem to have, yet also spits in the face of minimalism. Incidentally, it is also where the legendary magicians, John Dee and Edward Kelly, practiced for some years.
July 10, 2011
On this blog, I’ve classified zen meditation and yoga (which I use here to include its various branches) into one category. But as I study both zen and yoga further, I’m noticing a degree of polarization between practitioners regarding two approaches that I had always considered as complimentary orientations toward mind-body work. From my understanding, these are some of the stereotyped criticisms of a more fluid yogic approach and a more austere zen approach:
| Yoga | Zen |
| Lacking rigour, weak | Cold, severe, overly disciplined |
| Indulgeant, narcisstic, magical thinking | Empty, absurdist |
| Trite, sentimental | Lacking passion, dry |
August 18, 2009
Another old article about the placements of strength and justice in the major arcana sequence.
July 3, 2009
I can’t remember when I posted this online to the articles section of the O.div. I’m guessing it was sometime in 2003 or 2004. If you are unfamiliar with the positions of the Celtic Cross spread, this site gives a breakdown.
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The CC (Celtic Cross) is probably one of the most famous yet reviled spreads in the tarot world. It is the spread most featured in the “little white books” and many a beginner has struggled through a CC only to give up in frustration which is why the CC draws heavy criticism from tarot users. Yet for all the criticisms levied against the CC I believe it is a powerful and useful spread that is worth the time you must put into it.
June 14, 2009
This isn’t an archival post, but I thought I’d share my work-in-progress of one of my favourite tarot cards.
I love the openness, purity, and depth of this card. On the center petal of the lotus (at the base of the cup) is written the word, yes.
I’ve also created a page on this blog for my majors only deck, created in 2003 or 2004, The Feral Tarot. Sample thumbnails:
March 16, 2009
One of my earliest articles that was never on the blog, but published as an article on the O.divinorum site.
In rereading it, I do now think that receiving The Moon card is generally more negative than planets in Pisces in that it strikes me as less productive.
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Once, my mother, glassy-eyed, said to me, “if you are in your bed and hear the dogs howling in the fields, hide yourself under the covers and do not deride what it is they do: for they thirst insatiably for the infinite, like you and me, and the rest of us humans…” (Isadore Ducasse: Les Chants de Maldoror)
One thing that frequently riles students of tarot when they begin to look at astrological associations is the assignation of Pisces to the Moon. After all, if the astrological sun is associated with the tarot Sun, it only seems logical to assign the astrological moon to the tarot Moon. However, the astrological assignations of the Golden Dawn are not without logic, and as one delves deeper into the system of astrology, it becomes clearer why Pisces is a much more fitting symbol for the lunar realm of tarot than the moon.
Oculus divinorum v.4 