Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 77

Many people think of their tarot decks as a collection of 78 wise friends who they can turn to for advice and guidance, and I agree. But many people also agree that decks as a whole have a distinct personality. In our lives, we have many people who we turn to for advice and guidance. For work issues or prioritizing, we may approach our manager. For concerns about clients or projects, we bounce ideas off colleagues. For advice about our love lives, we may turn to a close friend or sibling. We have friends who know will give a kick in the pants, if we need it, or ones who will just listen and sympathize. We know both the area of expertise and style of these people in our lives and turn to them, consciously or unconsciously, depending on the type of support or help we want. If we want to wallow a while, we will not call our “get it done” friend. If we need an action plan, we don’t make a date with our “let’s drink wine and whine” friend.

And so it is with our decks.

I should make the distinction: I am not discussing types of decks for different readings…love, general advice, career, etc. I am talking about decks you use for your personal work and matching the deck to your needs (not themes or subject areas) or the type of work you want to do.

For example, if I am in a pretty stable place and simply looking for affirmation about something that I feel pretty certain of or clear about, I usually use my current favored reading deck (being a serial monogamist, this deck changes), currently: The Steampunk Tarot. For me, this deck fits like a well-worn pair of comfortable jeans and it something that I can count on. The Anna K Tarot also works this way for me.

If I feel the need to look inward, particularly to examine my emotional state or aspects of myself with which I am less familiar or comfortable, I might turn to the Tarot of the Hidden Realm. The emotions in these cards are raw and powerful and make it harder for me to hide from uncomfortable feelings.

When I want to look at the broad picture of my life through a spiritual lens, I turn to the Gaian Tarot. This is also the deck I use when I feel the need to be gentle with myself or when I need help finding a positive perspective.

Sometimes we relate to decks in ways that are unique to us. I can see how many people could relate to the decks mentioned above in ways similar to mine. For some unaccountable reason, The Legacy of the Divine Tarot is more apt to be my “kick in the pants” deck, although I’m not sure anyone else would feel this way.

When I know I need a completely new perspective, when I’ve been spinning too long in my own mindset, I turn to decks that invite me to look at things differently, ones that bring a sense of humor, wit, and intelligent to the table. For these moments, I like The Fey Tarot or The Manga Tarot (which I are both designed by Riccardo Minetti from Lo Scarabeo…and may explain why we are friends).

When I want to pull myself out of my own problems or need to be distracted, I’ll play with a deck that is completely different from what I’m used to, something that will force me to let go of my preconceived ideas about what a tarot deck should be. I try to not approach critically but instead try to get inside of the deck’s world and reality and find the meaning and truth it has to offer, no matter how different from my own. The Tarot of the Silicon Dawn, the Universal Fantasy Tarot, the Dream Enchantress Tarot, and Sweet Twilight have all played these roles for me.

So tell me, how do you relate to different decks?

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Tess Whitehurst, author of Magical Housekeeping, The Art of Bliss, The Good Energy Book, The Magic of Flowers, and the new Magical Fashionista.

Mundane is an illusion; only magic is real. With that in mind, even the most everyday things can be vehicles of divine inspiration. This includes getting dressed in the morning. You’re going to do it anyway, so why not make it a magical act? Here are three ways that you can do just that.

Clear Closet Clutter.

If you’ve read any of my books or spent much time at either of my blogs, you know that I have to start with this one—I’m obsessed with clutter clearing. Think of it like this: we are attached with a cord of energy to everything we own. So look at every item presently in your wardrobe and decide: is it giving you energy, or is it taking energy from you? If you never wear it, or feel less than fabulous in it, you know it’s the latter. (For more advice on this, check out this post on magicalfashionista.com.)
See Yourself as a Work of Art.

I love this quote by the accomplished fashion consultant Jennifer Butler: “…You always look beautiful. If something doesn’t look right, it’s the outfit that doesn’t live up to your beauty, not the other way around.” Indeed, I have found that when I start with the premise that I look gorgeous, I have a much easier and more pleasant time assembling an ensemble that I feel great in, and that matches my mood for the day. So take some time to get to know the divine work of art that you are. For example, look in the mirror and marvel at your eyes! Oh, how magically they sparkle!
Find Your Fashion Angel.

A really fun magical fashion practice is finding your fashion angel. This can be a fashion icon who no longer dwells in this physical realm (such as Clara Bow), a divinity or ascended master (such as Archangel Jophiel, the angel of beauty), or a deceased relative whose style you always admired. Mine is the last of those options: my Grandma Cecey was a very elegant grandma who always insisted on taking me shopping for new clothes. Whenever I go shopping now, or when I attend clothing swaps, I like to ask for her help in finding good deals on things that look great on me. I also keep her in mind when selecting clothes and like to look for things that she might have chosen for herself. Whomever you choose, let it be someone whose aesthetic (visible, as in the case of Clara Bow, or energetic, as in the case of Archangel Jophiel) you appreciate and who feels like they will bestow their fashion and beauty blessings upon you. You might even make a little altar to your fashion angel next to your closet or in your bathroom! Then you can light a candle and incense to your angel when you get dressed or before you go shopping. (Fun, right?)

Our thanks to Tess for her guest post! For more from Tess Whitehurst, read her article “Dress for the Life You Want with Magical Fashion.”

—Coming This Saturday, October 12—

3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern——12:00 noon–2:00 a.m. Pacific
An Exciting, Worldwide Webinar

Topic: How to Make and Use Talismans and Amulets

There were some severe technical glitches when I gave this webinar a few weeks ago. As a result, many people who wanted to attend could not sign up and were left out. I am glad to say the problems have now been resolved, but this still prevented many people who had wanted to attend the webinar unable to do so. After talking with the great people at Thelesis Aura we decided two things: first, we decided to give this workshop again so everyone who want to can attend. Second, we’re giving it at a different time so those people around the world who had difficulty attending due to time differences would be able to do so.

Remember, this webinar is not a recording. It is a live, online training event. You will hear me live, just as I am talking. You’ll see my presentation slides, live, right on your computer. You’ll be able to download handouts. You’ll be able to ask questions during the webinar. You’ll see everything and hear me giving the webinar live. It’s as if you were in a room with me, only you can participate from your location anywhere in the world.

This webinar covers talismans and amulets. Throughout history, humans have used objects to bring health, safety, good luck, and to fulfill desires. Today, these objects are known as talismans and amulets. In this live, worldwide webinar, you’ll learn how to create them, how to turn them into powerful magickal tools, and how to use them effectively and safely. Topics include the three necessities of magick, differences between talismans and amulets, timing, designing effective magickal goals, types of talismans, how to prepare a talisman, what to do after you create a talisman, and more. When completed, you will have the information you need to create powerful talismans that will help you achieve your goals.

I want to repeat: this webinar is not a recording. It is a live, online training event. You will hear me live, just as I am talking. You’ll see my presentation slides, live, right on your computer. You’ll be able to download handouts. You’ll be able to ask questions during the webinar. You’ll see everything and hear me giving the webinar live. It’s as if you were in a room with me, only you can participate from your location anywhere in the world.

In this online workshop-webinar, I’ll be sharing practical techniques you will be able to use to make positive changes in your life. You’ll be able to create and use talismans for any purpose, including healing and improving your luck. This is invaluable information with techniques that can be used by individuals and groups.

Please note that this is not a recording. It is a live event you can attend. You will be able to interact with me, live, from anywhere in the world. Therefore, please make sure to check the time. It’s 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern U.S.; 12:00 noon–2:00 p.m. Pacific U.S. time.

Registration is now open. Here is the LINK. Due to software limitations, attendance is limited to only 200 people, so I would urge you to register as soon as possible.

The New Moon in Libra occurs this evening, Friday, October 4, at 8:35 pm EDT (12:35 am, Saturday, October 5 GMT), at 11 degrees. New moons signify a new cycle, new beginnings, and rebirth.

This New Moon, along with the Sun (also in Libra) will highlight the airy Libra qualities of balance and likeability, as well as seventh house themes of partnerships and agreements. This New Moon period is the perfect time to examine marriage and your business partnerships. Perhaps you need to better balance your home and work lives, so that you can give more energy to one or the other. Or perhaps you have an opportunity to better network in your career? Now is the time to initiate changes, from making partnerships that can long benefit you, revitalizing your marriage or other romantic relationship, or returning balance to your home and work lives.

Addition tables are easy to understand.

1+1=2

1+2=3

1+3=4

1+4=5

This progression could go on infinitely, and you’d have no trouble figuring out the totals.

Now, here’s a secret some people don’t want you to know: many forms of divination are just as simple.

Let’s look at Tarot. According to some authorities, the Two of Pentacles means teamwork and collaboration. You may have different meanings for the card, but this is a good place to start. Now, look at a simple, three-card spread. Position one reveals the situation, position two reveals advice, and position three reveals the outcome.

The question you have is “What’s going to be happening at work?”

If the Two of Pentacles falls in the first position, it could indicate that they’re trying to enhance teamwork and collaboration at work. Card + Position = Result (1+1=2)

If the Two of Pentacles falls in the second position, it could indicate that in order to get through the events at work, you need to increase collaboration and teamwork. (1+2=3)

And if the card appears in the third position, it implies that the result of the current situation will be more teamwork and collaboration (so you’d better get used to the idea). (1+3=4)

That’s really how easy it is to learn the Tarot. Simply learn the meanings of the cards and combine them with the meanings of the position in the card spread. After you learn this, if you want a more advanced approach, look at the overall vision of the cards in the spread to give what’s called a “synthesized” reading. Basically, that just means you’ve put all of the individual information together into a coherent whole.

        

Above are the covers of four books that can help you get started to learn the Tarot just as quickly and easily as I’ve described. The are:

Tarot for Beginners by Barbara Moore

Easy Tarot by Josephine Ellershaw and Ciro Marchetti

How to Read the Tarot by Sylvia Abraham and

Tarot Plain and Simple by Anthony Louis.

Click on any of the titles for more information about these books. If you’re looking for a complete kit with both a full book explaining how to read Tarot cards and a traditional deck, I recommend the Tarot Kit for Beginners. The book is by accomplished Tarot practitioner Janet Berres and the deck is the beautiful Universal Tarot. Here’s what the box and cards look like:

This simple explanation and understanding of how to perform a divination isn’t limited to using the Tarot. The same concept is true with astrology. For example, the Sun is said to represent the self or the ego, the inner core of a person.

Aries, the first sign, is centered on the idea of starting things. Therefore, a person with their Sun in Aries (1+1) may be focused on starting things associated with their inner self (=2).

Taurus, the second sign, relates to possessions and practicality. Therefore, a person with their Sun in Taurus may do practical things to maintain what they think supports their inner self. (1+2=3)

Gemini, the third sign, relates to intelligence, thinking, and learning from others. Therefore, a person with their Sun in Gemini may quietly listen to what others have to say in order to fully discover who they really are. (1+3=4)

Astrology is really just this easy to learn. Like the Tarot, it simply involves the act of combining different things together. As you become more experienced and advanced, you can synthesize these separate aspects of interpreting a chart into a unified whole. Some good books for learning astrology include:

Astrology for Beginners by Joann Hampar

Astrology by Kevin Burk, and

Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Astrology by Kris Brandt Riske

You can learn more about these books by clicking on their titles. Their covers are below:

      

So the next time someone claims learning a divination system like the Tarot or astrology is difficult, you can tell them the truth—it’s as easy as 1+1=2.

 

 

Did you miss the Lunaea Weatherstone Interview on The Alchemical Artisans Hour? Never fear–the interview is now available on YouTube!

Lunaea is the creator of the Victorian Fairy Tarot. She was interviewed on The Alchemical Artisans Hour last Friday, September 27.

Visit The Alchemical Artisans Hour for more information about the show.

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Jamie Davis, co-author of Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums.

A clear front-runner for the title of “America’s Most Haunted Hotel,” The Crescent had been on my list of places to visit for a good five years before I finally made it out there in June 2013.

The intrigue of the place lies in all of the mysterious tales told about the days when, in 1937, Dr. Norman Baker turned the old 1908 Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women into a cancer hospital. He is made out to be a quack who made about $4 million doing things such as injecting carbolic acid right into tumors and giving his patients spring water to drink. There are tales told of him having secret passages going under the hotel into town, burning bodies in the incinerator, and sending pre-written patient letters out to family members after a patient died (so as to continue receiving money for the deceased patient’s treatment).

Today, Dr. Baker’s former Cancer Hospital is a proud member of the Historic Hotels of America, and is a fully-renovated destination hotel on top of a hill in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The hotel interior is red and black, and while it seems very macabre, I did not feel that effect at all. I found the place to be very peaceful and welcoming. Despite all of the tragic tales from the hospital days, I did not feel any sadness here. There is even a chimney outside the Sky Bar that is still painted purple from the former time of the eccentric Dr. Baker.

I have never had a place, not to mention a whole town, resonate with me like the Crescent Hotel and Eureka Springs did. While swimming in the pool, I looked up and knew that the building I was looking at used to house the servants (a fact that was confirmed on the ghost tour later that evening). While resting before dinner, I looked at the seafoam-colored walls and blurted out, “This is when I die.” Later, while wandering around the west wing of the hotel, I was drawn to walk down a staircase and was overcome by a smell that can only be described as strange and old. I inhaled as deeply as I could, but could not place the smell. When I returned after the ghost tour, the smell was gone. The ghost tour will tell you all the popular legends and stories, and will even lead you through the current day spa, past the laundry room, and straight into the former morgue.

After dinner, I set off walking the grounds of Crescent Park. I wound up on a heavily wooded and shaded trail into town. The whole entire town is a nationally protected historic district; as I kept walking, the town itself even had an effect on me. I was convinced that I had walked these paths before. Maybe it was all the hidden, swirling, underground healing waters (there are sixty-two within the city district, all formerly considered to have medicinal properties) creating some type of energy vortex.

As I wound my way back up the hill to the hotel, I heard a haunting melody being played by someone. There was a strange little boy sitting out on the front porch of a cottage playing a xylophone; he was all by himself, and not another soul was in sight. As I passed his line of vision, he looked at me with unblinking eyes, like those of an old, world-weary woman. While staring at me, he didn’t miss a beat on the xylophone.

I kept walking, covered in goosebumps despite the 90-degree heat.

Our thanks to Jamie for her guest post! For more from Jamie Davis, read her article “Discovering Medfield Insane Asylum.”

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Jamie Davis, co-author of Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums.

A clear front-runner for the title of “America’s Most Haunted Hotel,” The Crescent had been on my list of places to visit for a good five years before I finally made it out there in June 2013.

The intrigue of the place lies in all of the mysterious tales told about the days when, in 1937, Dr. Norman Baker turned the old 1908 Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women into a cancer hospital. He is made out to be a quack who made about $4 million doing things such as injecting carbolic acid right into tumors and giving his patients spring water to drink. There are tales told of him having secret passages going under the hotel into town, burning bodies in the incinerator, and sending pre-written patient letters out to family members after a patient died (so as to continue receiving money for the deceased patient’s treatment).

Today, Dr. Baker’s former Cancer Hospital is a proud member of the Historic Hotels of America, and is a fully-renovated destination hotel on top of a hill in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The hotel interior is red and black, and while it seems very macabre, I did not feel that effect at all. I found the place to be very peaceful and welcoming. Despite all of the tragic tales from the hospital days, I did not feel any sadness here. There is even a chimney outside the Sky Bar that is still painted purple from the former time of the eccentric Dr. Baker.

I have never had a place, not to mention a whole town, resonate with me like the Crescent Hotel and Eureka Springs did. While swimming in the pool, I looked up and knew that the building I was looking at used to house the servants (a fact that was confirmed on the ghost tour later that evening). While resting before dinner, I looked at the seafoam-colored walls and blurted out, “This is when I die.” Later, while wandering around the west wing of the hotel, I was drawn to walk down a staircase and was overcome by a smell that can only be described as strange and old. I inhaled as deeply as I could, but could not place the smell. When I returned after the ghost tour, the smell was gone. The ghost tour will tell you all the popular legends and stories, and will even lead you through the current day spa, past the laundry room, and straight into the former morgue.

After dinner, I set off walking the grounds of Crescent Park. I wound up on a heavily wooded and shaded trail into town. The whole entire town is a nationally protected historic district; as I kept walking, the town itself even had an effect on me. I was convinced that I had walked these paths before. Maybe it was all the hidden, swirling, underground healing waters (there are sixty-two within the city district, all formerly considered to have medicinal properties) creating some type of energy vortex.

As I wound my way back up the hill to the hotel, I heard a haunting melody being played by someone. There was a strange little boy sitting out on the front porch of a cottage playing a xylophone; he was all by himself, and not another soul was in sight. As I passed his line of vision, he looked at me with unblinking eyes, like those of an old, world-weary woman. While staring at me, he didn’t miss a beat on the xylophone.

I kept walking, covered in goosebumps despite the 90-degree heat.

Our thanks to Jamie for her guest post! For more from Jamie Daivs, read her article “Discovering Medfield Insane Asylum.”

 

Here is a photo of my magick ring: 

 

This ring has been part of my life for many years. Part of the concept for it (pentagrams on the front and sides with two circles around them) were suggested by my friend, Raven Grimassi. At the time, I was living north of San Diego in a small city called Encinitas. Raven was living east of there in the city of Escondido. I was studying Wicca with him.

I had met a wonderful lady who lived further north in the city of Oceanside. She was working making jewelry and had offered to make something for me. By luck, while at the San Diego County Fair, I found the perfect sized gem to fit in the ring I had in mind. Actually, it wasn’t a “gem.” It was cubic zirconia that I was told had been dipped in a substance called “aurora borealis,” the same dip that was supposedly used to give cheap carnival glass (so called because it was the type of glass given out at carnival games) its iridescent shimmer. I’m not sure that’s accurate, but I never had a reason to investigate the subject more fully. I just liked the way it looked.

The central gem is a normal gem, but it’s mounted backwards. That is, the flat side you’d normally see at the top of a ring is facing the inside of the ring. The side that is normally facing the inside of the ring, the side that comes to a point, is facing out.

When I wear it, I usually have it on my ring finger. When I’m using it for magick, I will often shift it to my middle finger. Making a fist results in the point of the gem being a perfect device for directing magickal energy out and away.

This ring literally changed my life and way of thinking. Up to that time, I had wanted things to be “perfect.” In my mind I saw this ring as having perfect circles around pentagrams drawn with razor-straight lines leading to perfectly angled, sharp corners.

Obviously that didn’t happen.

When my friend gave me the finished ring, I initially looked at it in utter disappointment. As I looked at it she told me that all of the silver in it was recovered from melted rings that featured Masonic and other spiritual symbolism. She had made it spending many hours of work, and only worked on it during appropriate magickal hours. As I continued to look at the ring, I felt disheartened. It wasn’t what I would call “perfect.” The circles weren’t perfectly round. The lines weren’t perfectly straight.

And then, I had a revelation; an epiphany. No other ring in the history of the Earth had ever been made like this one. No other ring in the history of the Earth had ever had all of the loving energy put into it in a magickal way as this artist had done. No other ring in the history of the Earth had ever been composed of the silver from those particular sources. No other ring in the history of the Earth had this particular design. Even if someone took the design and copied it, even if they made molds from this very ring, no other ring will ever be exactly like it.

My epiphany was that this ring, with all of what I had previously seen as imperfections, was uniquely and absolutely perfect. This also changed my concept that items which were manufactured, stamped out, and one of 1,000 or more identical copies were “perfect.” I no longer consider them so. Even if they’re expensive I don’t care. I’ve come to value uniqueness and individuality over the conformity of of what others might call perfection.

But that’s not what I want to talk about.

The Purpose of Writing

I love writing. Very often I either don’t get paid for what I write or I don’t get paid very well. There are only a few occult writers who make enough off of their writings on which to survive, let along make big profits. The market just isn’t that big. Many years ago, the head of Llewellyn, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, said that he had to tell authors of books for Llewellyn that the odds are very slight for them to get on the Johnny Carson show. Today the same is true, and few if any will get on the Leno, Letterman, or any shows with Oprah. So why do I write? Simply put, because I have to.

It’s just in me to share. It’s in me to help people become self-empowered. And this goes back to my ring.

Specifically, the point of the gem is outward, not inward as found on most rings. Similarly, spirituality and self-empowerment are great things when their focus is not entirely inward. I believe it needs to be outward, too. I agree with Thornton Wilder who wrote in The Matchmaker (which became the musical “Hello, Dolly!”): “Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.” However, I would change that to say:

Spirituality is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.

So I’m just trying to spread spiritual concepts so people can use them in their lives to grow. I can’t think of anything more fulfilling. Spirituality comes from and is developed from within, but I believe it must be spread out. When giving workshops on magick, one of the things I say about choosing goals for your magick is that they should be ecological. By that I mean:

Good for you.

Good for those around you.

Good for your community.

Good for the Earth.

Follow Up to My Previous Post

In my previous post I called on public leaders of various Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn traditions to announce their position on the Greek Political party also called the Golden Dawn. There have been all sorts of responses, some of which make me wonder if the people actually read what I wrote or if they were responding to what they thought I wrote. One response seemed to say that Golden Dawn groups should stay out of politics.

I both agree and disagree with that. Certainly the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, including Mathers, Yeats, Farr, and others were very involved with politics. I do think that individuals within the Orders should be able to express their political beliefs outside of the Order. However, as much as groups would like to claim they are apolitical, by not at least saying whether the beliefs of the specific Order are in harmony or opposition to the Greek Golden Dawn political party they are accepting the status quo. This leaves members and outsiders wondering what their particular Order believes. Spreading spirituality is more than keeping it within. It needs to go out to the public.

By the way, the following was reported on the day after I made my previous post:

“In dawn raids, Greek anti-terror police arrested Nikos Michaloliakos, who founded the [Golden Dawn] party in 1980, along with party spokesman and MP Ilias Kassidiairis and three other lawmakers, police said.

“The charges against them included belonging to a “criminal organisation”, and for some of the suspects also assault and murder, according to a source in the justice ministry.”

The complete story can be found here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/?p=564003.

Let me make clear that I’m not suggesting what position the leaders or representatives of any Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn should take concerning the Greek Golden Dawn. I’m just suggesting that they make public the position they do have on the Greek group.

And Speaking of Writing…

I’d like to let my readers know that the latest issue of Hermetic Virtues is now available. You can find out what’s in the issue and order it directly through this LINK. I share a “rant and review” of the book, Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls by The Golden Dawn Community. Aaron Leitch (He is the author of the best introduction to the Enochian system, The Essential Enochian Grimoire—I’ve seen an advanced copy, but it won’t be available until February. You can pre-order it.) has an article on “The Spirit-Magic of Abramelin.” Other topics include a Golden Dawn Summer Solstice Ceremony, The Mysteries of the Pillars, Meditation in the Western Tradition, and several more. It’s 125 downloadable pages, beautifully illustrated, and well worth the six bucks!

This Sunday in Long Beach, California

None of the writers for Hermetic Virtues is paid. I’m also donating my time as a service to the community again this Sunday, October 6, 2013. It’s for the Los Angeles ( and Orange Country) Pagan Pride Day celebration. This family friendly event will be held from 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. at Rainbow Lagoon Park, East Shoreline Drive (near Pine Ave.), Long Beach, CA 90802, Click on this LINK for information.

This celebration will include many vendors, rituals, entertainers and workshops. It’s free, but they are having a food drive benefitting Food Finders, a multi-regional food bank based in Signal Hill, CA, that provides hot meals and food for home use to over 270 agencies in Los Angeles and Orange counties. I would encourage you to bring a donation of non-perishable food to help this organization.

There are going to be seven rituals presented and over a dozen workshops, including Tess Whitehurst speaking on Flower Magic, Tony Mierzwicki talking about  Empowerment – Ideas from the Ancient Egyptians, and several others. There will also be a raffle, musical performances, dance performances, and more. Come early and spend the day.

I’ll be doing a couple of things. First, I’ll be looking for potential authors for Llewellyn. If you have a completed manuscript or just some ideas, please come and see me (or email me: [email protected]). At 3:00 I’ll be giving a workshop on Real Tantra.

What is this about? Many people describe Tantra as “the yoga of sex,” but nothing could be further from the truth. Tantra is an entire way of life with holidays, deities, celebrations, and the belief that the world is a wonderful place and full of joy. Tantra reveals why our world does not always seem joyous and what we can do to make the blissful world obvious. It is more accurate to equate Tantra in the East with Wicca in the West. Both are Pagan systems which see the world as a great place to be. I’ve been initiated into four Tantric traditions and holds parampara, the right to initiate, in one of them. In my workshop you’ll learn many concepts of Real Tantra including Tantric magick.

Immediately afterward, Tess Whitehurst and I will be doing a book signing. So bring your copies of our books for us to sign (or you can get them from us).

See you Sunday!

 

In Modern Magick I described why I thought the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was important. Imagine a simple hourglass:

The sand in the top half represents the  forms of occultism known in the West during the middle to late 19th century, ranging from ceremonial magick to Paganism. They were filled with differences and yet some occultists conceived that there was a hidden, underlying, unitary basis. At the central point, all of those systems merged into a complex but coherent system. That system spread out, as represented by the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass, influencing directly and indirectly virtually all forms of occultism and spirituality in the West as they exist today. That central point, that uniting and combining factor, was the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Whether or not you are a dues-paying member, whether or not you are involved with silly name calling concerning other groups, there is still one thing all people, members or not, should be aware of: the concepts believed in and practiced by the Golden Dawn mean something and stand for something. The question is, what? To often, even members don’t seem to ask themselves this question: What do you stand for? But first…

Don the Magic Man

Lots of young boys (curiously, though, few girls) become interested in sleight-of-hand magic. I was not immune to the magic bug myself and still consider myself a performer of magic as well as a performer of magick (that “k” comes in handy). For many years I was a professional member of Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle.

One of the things that intrigues young boys interested in magic are the stories about Harry Houdini. Over time, these stories have been mythologized and fantasies have replaced fact. In the movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, newspaper reporters are given the advice, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” This is because nobody will believe the actual fact. Still, I’m going to give some legend vs. fact information about Harry.

The legend is that after his mother died he tried to contact her through seances and spiritualist mediums. Unfortunately, due to his knowledge of magic, he quickly saw through their fraud. Although he was eagerly looking for a real way to contact his late mother, he went around exposing fraudulent mediums.

The facts, however, are a bit different. There’s no evidence that Houdini scoured the country looking to contact his mother. Houdini had been the highest paid performer in Vaudeville, the major entertainment form of the early 20th century. He had written books, starred in movies (including a movie serial), and was the first person to fly an airplane in Australia. The truth is that while Houdini was a good performer, there were many magicians who were better than Harry. However none were better at publicizing themselves. Houdini was a true master of advertising and publicity.

But he was beginning to suffer the same fate of many entertainers: he was aging, and people even then liked their heroes to be eternally young. Houdini’s career was declining, and he needed something to spice it up and bring him to the forefront of the public’s imagination. This was the purpose and cause of his debunking of spiritualists. In 1950, Joseph Rinn—a magician, friend of Houdini, and active debunker of mediums—published a book entitled Sixty Years of Psychic Research: Houdini and I among the Spiritualists where he plainly reveals this. He also points out that Houdini left really challenging cases of debunking to others such as himself (Rinn), and that Houdini’s most famous exposé, that of Margery the Medium, was, uh, enhanced by planting false evidence in the seance room (she was later exposed in another way).

However, young boys then (and now) who were interested in magic idolized Houdini and would often study anything they could find about him. Expanding upon this would be the study of anything debunking fake mediums.

One really fake medium was a woman born in 1849. In the 1870s she claimed to be Editha Gilbert Montez, the daughter of famed adventuress Lola Montez. Using this front, she defrauded people of money and spent six months in jail. In 1898 she married Frank Dutton Jackson and they went into the fake medium business. Within a year they were both in jail and there were rumors of some sort of sex cult. With problems like this, and looking to make money without putting their efforts into legal work, they traveled to Europe.

I’ve Heard of Them!

By the time I was in high school and college, I was drinking in as much occult information as possible. And one of the stories about the Golden Dawn concerned Theodore and Laura Horos. Something in my brain kept saying, “I’ve heard of them!” I realized that was the name used by the Jacksons.

Somehow, Theo and Laura were able to show Macgregor Mathers, one of the leaders of the Golden Dawn, that they were U.S. members. At the Golden Dawn temple in Paris, he introduced “Madame Horos” as Anna Sprengle. This indicates that Mathers believed she was the woman who had given three Britons, including Mathers, the right to found the modern Golden Dawn. Mathers gave them copies of the Order’s rituals. Back in London, the deceitful duo set up a school of supposed spiritual studies. They also had an inner secret occult group that used Golden Dawn rituals. Their purpose, however was a fraudulent way of getting money. Allegedly young women were raped by Theo during the rituals. The result spilled into a court case that filled the newspapers of the time like the trials of O.J. Simpson did in the 1990s. Convicted, Theo was sentenced to fifteen years in prison; Laura was sentenced to seven years.

As a result of the increasing rancor between Mathers in Paris and the Order in England, as well as the embarrassing impact of the the Horos trial, the Order split and changed its name. It was called the Hermetic Society of the Morgen Rothe in England and the Alpha et Omega in France.

Why didn’t they keep their original name? ONe of the main reasons was because of the furor over the Horus trial. They didn’t want any further association with the trial or with two people who were sex abusers and frauds.

And that brings us up to today.

The Embarrassment that is the Golden Dawn

No, not any of the versions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rather, in Greece, there is a political party called the Golden Dawn. Unfortunately, calling them a political party is like calling Hitler’s Nazi Party a political party. Yes, I’m aware of Godwin’s Law, but the Nazi party began as a political party. The same is true of Greece’s Golden Dawn. I invite you to read up on them through this LINK to Wikipedia’s entry about them. They appear to be using the same tactics as the Nazis and have many of the same beliefs. They even have a small amount of political representation in the Greek government. I would say they are accurately called neo-Nazis, although they claim this is not true.

As I say in my workshops: Don’t take my word for it. Check them out yourself. This is not merely a case of liberals and conservatives. This appears to be an extremist organization. It’s founder has been arrested several times for politically motivated offences, including beatings and illegal possession of explosives.

Greece’s Golden Dawn does not represent the ideals of any group claiming to be associated with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. And that’s why I’m making this call to the leaders of the various Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn groups who have gone public:

Stand up and let people know whether you support the goals and ideals of Greece’s Golden Dawn.

If you do, members and outsiders deserve to know this.

If you do not support the goals and ideals of Greece’s Golden Dawn, stand up and let people know this.

Members and outsiders deserve to know.

If you are unwilling to stand up either way, at least have the decency to change your name as was done by the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn so you will not be confused with the Greek political group.

Even if you disagree with other Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn groups, I would propose that you consider standing in solidarity with them on this one, single issue.

Members and admirers of the Order deserve the defense of their name.

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THIS Sunday, September 29, 2013

Worldwide Webinar

12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Eastern——9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Pacific

Topic: How to Make and Use Talismans and Amulets

Summer is rapidly drawing to an end. Just as many people have started or are beginning to go to school, it’s time for you to add to what you know. That’s why I’m so happy to have a relationship with Thelesis Aura and their Online Academy. They’ve already held some live webinars for me (and for others teachers) and the attendance has been wonderful, including people from North and South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

My next webinar will cover talismans and amulets. Throughout history, humans have used objects to bring health, safety, good luck, and to fulfill desires. Today, these objects are known as talismans and amulets. In this live, worldwide webinar, you’ll learn how to create them, how to turn them into powerful magickal tools, and how to use them effectively and safely. Topics include the three necessities of magick, differences between talismans and amulets, timing, designing effective magickal goals, types of talismans, how to prepare a talisman, what to do after you create a talisman, and more. When completed, you will have the information you need to create powerful talismans that will help you achieve your goals.

This webinar is not some recording. It is a live, online training event. You will hear me live, just as I am talking. You’ll see my presentation slides, live, right on your computer. You’ll be able to download handouts. You’ll be able to ask questions during the webinar. You’ll see everything and hear me giving the webinar live. It’s as if you were in a room with me, only you can participate from your location anywhere in the world.

In this online workshop-webinar, I’ll be sharing practical techniques you will be able to use to make positive changes in your life. You’ll be able to create and use talismans for any purpose, including healing and improving your luck. This is invaluable information with techniques that can be used by individuals and groups.

Please note that this is not a recording. It is a live event you can attend. You will be able to interact with me, live, from anywhere in the world. Therefore, please make sure to check the time. It’s 12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Eastern U.S.; 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Pacific U.S. time.

Registration is now open. Here is the LINK. Due to software limitations, attendance is limited to only 200 people, so I would urge you to register as soon as possible.