We’re certainly glad that you could make it. Do check out the other group of this name on Facebook, and Tegwedd will likely be starting more Tarot for you groups around the Internet. She can think of three more places where she’ll be starting more clones, Google groups, Paganspace.net, and Abbottsinnian’s. She won’t be starting any more groups on WiccanTogether. They haven’t approved any of the groups she’s tried to start there lately, so she’s decided that the management it snooting on us, so she’ll just leave them to stew in their own juices. Sorry that we’ve been gone so long, but for a few months, we had computer issues, and the library hardly gives you enough time to do anything. Now Tegwedd has a new computer, and Stephen is trying to be patient about waiting for his laptop to be finished being worked on. We also started several new groups, most of them being about vampire TV shows and movies. If you go to Hi5, there’s a whole passle of vampire groups we’ve started. Soon Stephen will have his laptop back, and we’ll be able to finish those 3 sample chapters for the Ultimate Guide to the Tarot. This group has three names: Tarot for You, Tarot for Pagans, and the tertiary one is the same as the book, the Ultimate Guide to the Tarot.
Which is your favorite deck? Stephen has three favorites: The DruidCraft Tarot, The Legend Arthurian Tarot, and the Llewellyn Tarot. Tegwedd’s favorite decks are: The Morgan-Greer Tarot, and the Robin Wood Tarot. For a 3rd favorite, she’s torn between The Fey Tarot and the Mystical Faerie Tarot. Anna Marie Ferguson did the Legend Arthurian Tarot and the Llewellyn Tarot, which has drop-dead gorgeous artwork on it, so it ranks pretty high on her list of favorites too. Stephen has three favorites for obvious reasons. His number is 3 so he does everything by 3s. To Stephen, 3 represents the triple Goddess, Maiden, Mother, Crone, some say Hag. Hag is from the Greek Hagia meaning holy or sacred, as Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom. The 3rd Trump is the Empress, Path 14 on the Tree of Life. Her Hebrew letter is Daleth--doorway-- doorways of opportunity. The Empress has two elements, both of the so-called passive, receptive or feminine elements, water and earth. Tegwedd’s number is 11, which is the Strength card, the Hebrew letter Teth meaning Sword, which Tegwedd begins with. Since her number is 11, she needs to list 7 more favorite decks, which she hasn’t yet come up with, her 5th fave is the Llewellyn Tarot, Her 6th fave is one of her 3 vampire decks, 7th fave is the Wizards Tarot just because of the artwork, the symbolism, and all the spreads in the book. 8th fave is the Fantasy Showcase Tarot, 9th fave is Tarot of the Elves, 10th fave is the Tarot of the Wild Spirit and 11th fave is the Gilded Tarot. There they all are. You may notice that many of them are Llewellyn decks. That’s because Llewellyn is the most readily available Tarot deck publisher. A few mouse clicks an a few bucks out of her account gets the Tarot deck to her door.
On Twitter, we’re working on doing not only a Tarot card for the day, a Rune for the day, but also an Ogham for the day. There are 78 Tarot cards, 24 Runes, and 25 Ogham fews, so do the math. Lots of people do the Tarot card for the day, some do the Rune of the day, a few do the Ogham few of the day, but we believe we’ll be the 1st ones to do all three.
We’ve asked before what it is about these 78 pieces of printed card stock that is so exciting and mystical. Well, nobody answered, so we’ll keep on asking the question until somebody answers. Then we’ll come up with another question. Or you can. C’mon, we know you’re out there, we can hear you breathing in the cheap seats. So answer the damned question already. We’re good at asking questions. Like this one. Which is your favorite Tarot card out of the 78? Stephen has 3, as you might guess. First is the Magician card, ruled by Mercury the great communicator, he wields mastery over all four of the elements represented by the 4 magickal tools on his altar or working table, Wand for Fire, Sword for Air, Cup or Chalice for Water, and Pentacle (some spell it Pantacle) for Earth. As the great communicator, the Magician rules over the four Knights, who are messengers. Stephen aspires to than mastery. His other favorites are the Chariot (again a man striving for mastery or control), and the Knight or King of Cups. The Chariot represents Cancer, Stephen’s Sun sign. The King and Knight of Cups because he is a male Water sign. Tegwedd likes the Star because she is an Aquarius, having 3 planets in Aquarius, Sun, Mercury and Mars. She likes the High Priestess because she is a priestess, and the High Priestess represents the feminine mysteries, which, being a woman, she is privy to. She likes the 9 or Pentacles because she aspires to being the lady in the garden with the bird, and the 10 of Pentacles because she aspires to all those Pentacles. The planet Mercurry rules 2 signs, Gemini and Virgo, from May 21st to June 21st, give or take a few days, and from August 21st to September 20th, give or take a few days. Tegwedd has a strong Mercurial influence since Mercury is in her Sunsign conjunct her Sun, and her rising sign is Vergo, which accounts for her being a phonetic. In the Tarot, Gemini is the Lovers, path 17,Zayn the flaming sword (of the intellect) and Virgo is the Hermit, path 20 Yod the open hand (of friendship) of sharing knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. The Magician has 2 elements assigned to him, Air the intellect, communication, commerce, and travel, and Fire passion, will power,desire, success in career, activities of all kinds. Put all four tools on the Magician’s table and you get the Quintessence, the fifth element, which is Spirit, the top of the pentagram. The 4 Aces rule the 4 seasons, the Ace of Wants rules summer, the Ace of Cups ruls fall/autumn, the Ace of Swords spring, and the Ace of Pentacles rules winter. The 4 kings start at age 40 and go up from there in age, the four knights go from 30 to 39, the Queens are females age 40 and up, the 4 Pages birth to age 29.
For all you astrologers out there, Stephen was born at Columbus OH, 10:50 pm EST July 6th, 1950 He’s a triple Cancer, Sun, Mercury and Uranus all conjunct. Face value for the Chariot is 7 value for Cheth which means fence enclosure or protection is 8. There is a numerical value for each letter from 1 to 1000, so the Hebrew letters do double duty as letters and numbers. Tegwedd used to know a young man who would get high on crank and figure out the numerical values for all the sacred words he’d use in the rituals he’d compose. Trouble is he’s get so involved in computing the numerical formulas that he’d never get around to actually performing the rituals. Tegwedd decided to 1. not touch crank the only speed she has anything to do with is caffeine in tea and Coca Cola or Jolt, 2. not be that kind of magician. She’ll go ahead and do the ritual, then figure out what the formulas mean when she writes it up in her magickal diary.
Tegwedd was born January 25th 9:16 pm CST 1947 in Fargo, ND. She’s a triple Aquarius, Sun, Mercury, Mars conjunct in Aquarius, with Virgo ascendant and Pisces Moon. For her, that the Moon Trump represents Pisces is extremely appropos.
You’re not going to hear much from Stephen until the laptop returns because the library is closed for 2 months for renovations. As always, go to: http://abbottsinninternational.com/ ,
http://abbottsinn.wordpress.com , and/or http://abbottsinn.com/ and our network at http://abbottsinn.ning.com/ . Also call our toll free number 1-888-611-7982 for all your divination reading, learning classes, and Pagan-magickal research needs.
The Abbott’s Inn International School of Magick provides a gentle nurturing environment that promotes education in both the atmosphere and specific tools of magick.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Our Tarot History
We are Stephen Abbott and Tegwedd ShadowDancer, sometimes known as Madame Tezra. Together we have more than 89 years experience in divination.
Tegwedd started at a much later age than Stephen did. She started with the Ouija board, then branched out to divination with playing cards. When she received her first Tarot deck for Yule 69, she studied the Tarot diligently. As the years went by, she acquired more books on the Tarot, and more decks. As of now, she has accumulated over 300 decks, and is not done collecting. “As of now,” she says. “I’m waiting to get The Vampire’s Tarot of the Eternal Night. I ordered it last week, and it’s taking its own sweet time getting here.”
Tegwedd acquired many of the decks she has in her collection by reviewing books and decks from Llewellyn Publications for her Newsletter: The Greymalkin Gazette from 1989 until 2005. Many of the books were on the Tarot, and she learned much by reading them. Her style of reviewing is rather unusual as reviewing goes. She Starts with a paragraph about the topic of the book, then does what she calls “notes,” which are quotes from the book with her remarks after them. The quotes might be errors, or things that back up some theory or another that she has. Because of this, she has acquired quite a few decks and other divination tools which she uses in her readings. Sometimes the readings turn into counseling sessions, and to this end she has taken a short course on counseling from Cherry Hill Seminary, the online Pagan seminary. Over the years, besides all the books she has read on the Tarot, she has had three teachers; Barbara Fredick, one time best friend and former roommate, Rowan Woods, friend, now deceased, and Stephen Abbott, her housemate and now her partner in this venture.
Stephen started studying the Tarot at age 10 under the capable tutelage of his paternal grandmother Beatrice McCaulley Abbott. His first deck was the same deck that Tegwedd had received back in December 1969, the Rider-Waite-Coleman-Smith Tarot. Maybe the text was by Arthur Edward Waite, but the artwork, the images on the deck were by Pamela Coleman-Smith. Both Stephen and Tegwedd call this deck the “boring Tarot”. His second deck was the Marseilles Tarot. His third deck was Aleister Crowley’s and Lady Frieda Harris’s Book of Thoth. His first paid reading was when he was 20 in 1970. It was at a rather large fair at the Berkeley Marina, where he made several hundred dollars.
Stephen has a certain scheme and motif he looks for in the decks he selects for his collection. “The artwork has to be topnotch,” he says. Tegwedd agrees. “I like drop dead gorgeous artwork too,” she says. “It has to have decent symbolism.” Tegwedd’s copy of the Vampire’s Tarot of the Eternal Night arrived today, and oh, is she pleased with it, especially now that she has a real opportunity to peruse the book, and bookmark the different parts of the book, such as the Trumps, the suits, and the spreads. “The other thing a deck has to have is decent information such as key words on the cards themselves. In some ways, having them in the book is a cop out. They’re trying to cut some corners by not having them on the cards.” “Yeah,” agrees Tegwedd. “When I’m doing a paid reading for someone, I don’t like having to refer to a book. It just doesn’t look professional.”
Abbott uses the Elemental Druidic cross layout, a spread that he developed himself. It uses 5 cards, and can take from as short a time as 15 minutes to a couple of hours to complete. He developed this spread while on psilocybin and mescaline. It partakes of the 5 elements, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and in the Sacred Center, Spirit. Each position has an element in the four directions, you know East Air Swords, West Water Cups, Earth North, Pentacles and Fire South Wands. When he does a reading on the board which was created especially for the spread, he will say, depending upon the card, _______ of Fire or Fire of Spirit, and the card will be weakened or strengthened depending upon the position it’s in. There are 12 positions, and 4 magickal treasures. The position cards represent standing stones or menhirs. The final card, card 11, is the lintel or cross piece.
Okay now let’s do a reading, shall we? The 1st position is the 0 stone ruled by the Fool, the element of Air. The card is 6 of wands so it’s Fire of Spirit. Lord of Victory. So we have scored some sort of victory, and the later cards will tell us what sort of victory we have scored. The book says: A conquest. We have won our victory in spite of many obstacles. The book tells us to be proud of ourselves. Stone #1 is ruled by the Magician: Mercury. The card is the 4 of Cups. Water of Spirit. It is weakened by being Water in the place of Fire and Air/ Lady of Luxury and Blended Pleasure, which is pleasure carried to an extreme. Fulfillment you have obtained the success you deserved and your worth has been recognized. Stone #2 is ruled by the High Priestess. 4 of Pentacles Lady of Earthly Power or Power. Consolidation of Power. Stability. You fear losing what you have accumulated and seek to avoid all risks. Your excessive frugality may transform itself into greed. It is enhanced by being in a feminine position, but weakened by being in the realm of spirit, which is male.
Stone #3 is in the realm of Earth It is the 3 of Pentacles. Earth of Earth. Lady of Creative Works. Innocence. Fount of creativity. Numerological correlation. Too much trust in those around you makes you vulnerable. Someone may profit from your ingenuousness. Stone #4 is in the realm of Fire It is ruled by the Emperor. The card is #XI Justice, Libra, enhanced because in a compatible element. Libra=Air. Rigor You are aiming at an idea of perfection that is difficult to reach. This makes you uncompromising with self and others. Stone #5 ruled by the Hierophant is in the realm of Water and the card is the Knave of Cups. Here we have an elemental correlation, so the Cups An admirer someone demonstrates affection and devotion to you, but shyness prevents them from openly declaring their feelings. Stephen says it means the beginning of an emotional situation. Helps supports the object of his affections from behind the scenes.
In position #6 ruled by the Lovers Gemini which is Air in the realm of Air we have a 2nd Major Trump 0 The Fool. Here we have an elemental correlation and an astrological. All aspects of the mind the concept of revolution. Chaos. Curiosity about life urges you towards new adventures to seek experiences aimed at self-improvement. Nothing can contain our free spirits. Stone #7 is ruled by the Chariot The 5 of Wands Lord of Strife and Conflict Enhanced yet weakened #8 we return to the realm of Fire. Strength is Fire because of Leo The card is the Emperor Windows of Opportunity Control. Rules the 4s.Solidity. Your strength lies in your capacity to persevere in your intentions without ever giving up.
Stone #9 is ruled by the Hermit 2 of Pentacles. Lady of Harmonious Change. We return to Water. Choice It is necessary to take a position on an issue to be cleared up. It would be better not to hesitate. Stone#10 Ruled by the Wheel of Fortune Jupiter rules and has three elements Air, Fire and Water 8 of Wands has to do with travel. Swiftness Reversed Swiftness in the subconscious Trying in vain to set things in place to achieve a greater goal. Situation unfolding quickly to disastrous effects on plans. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Stone #11 ruled by Justice King of Pentacles. This is actually the lintel. Fire of Earth of Earth A professional The tenacity of this man has determined his destiny demonstrates competence in his job and transmits security to those around him Master of the 5 earthly things health, wealth, romance, physical and spiritual protection. He makes a good friend or ally.
This reading gets off to a promising start, but there is conflict brewing ahead. We end with a person of great resources who will be a great friend or ally. This ally will be instrumental in giving us a better stronger work ethic.
The purpose of this page is to promote our readings, which we do for a very reasonable price. We charge just $32 because that is the number of emanations on the Qaballistic Tree of Life. It is the 10 Sephiroth plus the 22 paths on the Tree of Life. Tegwedd hasn’t hooked up her mic, headphones, and webcam as yet, but soon she will, and the readings will have the same audiovisual features as Stephen’s. You will have your choice of decks. If Tegwedd has it, and Stephen doesn’t, he’ll borrow the deck from her. The readings are available on Yahoo IM, Windows Live Msgr, and Skype. The payments can be sent to PayPal at abbotts_inn@yahoo.com or tezra.reitan@gmail.com. Call 916-455-2267 or 916-457-7476 (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.).
Next we’ll do the Pentacle layout.
Tegwedd started at a much later age than Stephen did. She started with the Ouija board, then branched out to divination with playing cards. When she received her first Tarot deck for Yule 69, she studied the Tarot diligently. As the years went by, she acquired more books on the Tarot, and more decks. As of now, she has accumulated over 300 decks, and is not done collecting. “As of now,” she says. “I’m waiting to get The Vampire’s Tarot of the Eternal Night. I ordered it last week, and it’s taking its own sweet time getting here.”
Tegwedd acquired many of the decks she has in her collection by reviewing books and decks from Llewellyn Publications for her Newsletter: The Greymalkin Gazette from 1989 until 2005. Many of the books were on the Tarot, and she learned much by reading them. Her style of reviewing is rather unusual as reviewing goes. She Starts with a paragraph about the topic of the book, then does what she calls “notes,” which are quotes from the book with her remarks after them. The quotes might be errors, or things that back up some theory or another that she has. Because of this, she has acquired quite a few decks and other divination tools which she uses in her readings. Sometimes the readings turn into counseling sessions, and to this end she has taken a short course on counseling from Cherry Hill Seminary, the online Pagan seminary. Over the years, besides all the books she has read on the Tarot, she has had three teachers; Barbara Fredick, one time best friend and former roommate, Rowan Woods, friend, now deceased, and Stephen Abbott, her housemate and now her partner in this venture.
Stephen started studying the Tarot at age 10 under the capable tutelage of his paternal grandmother Beatrice McCaulley Abbott. His first deck was the same deck that Tegwedd had received back in December 1969, the Rider-Waite-Coleman-Smith Tarot. Maybe the text was by Arthur Edward Waite, but the artwork, the images on the deck were by Pamela Coleman-Smith. Both Stephen and Tegwedd call this deck the “boring Tarot”. His second deck was the Marseilles Tarot. His third deck was Aleister Crowley’s and Lady Frieda Harris’s Book of Thoth. His first paid reading was when he was 20 in 1970. It was at a rather large fair at the Berkeley Marina, where he made several hundred dollars.
Stephen has a certain scheme and motif he looks for in the decks he selects for his collection. “The artwork has to be topnotch,” he says. Tegwedd agrees. “I like drop dead gorgeous artwork too,” she says. “It has to have decent symbolism.” Tegwedd’s copy of the Vampire’s Tarot of the Eternal Night arrived today, and oh, is she pleased with it, especially now that she has a real opportunity to peruse the book, and bookmark the different parts of the book, such as the Trumps, the suits, and the spreads. “The other thing a deck has to have is decent information such as key words on the cards themselves. In some ways, having them in the book is a cop out. They’re trying to cut some corners by not having them on the cards.” “Yeah,” agrees Tegwedd. “When I’m doing a paid reading for someone, I don’t like having to refer to a book. It just doesn’t look professional.”
Abbott uses the Elemental Druidic cross layout, a spread that he developed himself. It uses 5 cards, and can take from as short a time as 15 minutes to a couple of hours to complete. He developed this spread while on psilocybin and mescaline. It partakes of the 5 elements, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and in the Sacred Center, Spirit. Each position has an element in the four directions, you know East Air Swords, West Water Cups, Earth North, Pentacles and Fire South Wands. When he does a reading on the board which was created especially for the spread, he will say, depending upon the card, _______ of Fire or Fire of Spirit, and the card will be weakened or strengthened depending upon the position it’s in. There are 12 positions, and 4 magickal treasures. The position cards represent standing stones or menhirs. The final card, card 11, is the lintel or cross piece.
Okay now let’s do a reading, shall we? The 1st position is the 0 stone ruled by the Fool, the element of Air. The card is 6 of wands so it’s Fire of Spirit. Lord of Victory. So we have scored some sort of victory, and the later cards will tell us what sort of victory we have scored. The book says: A conquest. We have won our victory in spite of many obstacles. The book tells us to be proud of ourselves. Stone #1 is ruled by the Magician: Mercury. The card is the 4 of Cups. Water of Spirit. It is weakened by being Water in the place of Fire and Air/ Lady of Luxury and Blended Pleasure, which is pleasure carried to an extreme. Fulfillment you have obtained the success you deserved and your worth has been recognized. Stone #2 is ruled by the High Priestess. 4 of Pentacles Lady of Earthly Power or Power. Consolidation of Power. Stability. You fear losing what you have accumulated and seek to avoid all risks. Your excessive frugality may transform itself into greed. It is enhanced by being in a feminine position, but weakened by being in the realm of spirit, which is male.
Stone #3 is in the realm of Earth It is the 3 of Pentacles. Earth of Earth. Lady of Creative Works. Innocence. Fount of creativity. Numerological correlation. Too much trust in those around you makes you vulnerable. Someone may profit from your ingenuousness. Stone #4 is in the realm of Fire It is ruled by the Emperor. The card is #XI Justice, Libra, enhanced because in a compatible element. Libra=Air. Rigor You are aiming at an idea of perfection that is difficult to reach. This makes you uncompromising with self and others. Stone #5 ruled by the Hierophant is in the realm of Water and the card is the Knave of Cups. Here we have an elemental correlation, so the Cups An admirer someone demonstrates affection and devotion to you, but shyness prevents them from openly declaring their feelings. Stephen says it means the beginning of an emotional situation. Helps supports the object of his affections from behind the scenes.
In position #6 ruled by the Lovers Gemini which is Air in the realm of Air we have a 2nd Major Trump 0 The Fool. Here we have an elemental correlation and an astrological. All aspects of the mind the concept of revolution. Chaos. Curiosity about life urges you towards new adventures to seek experiences aimed at self-improvement. Nothing can contain our free spirits. Stone #7 is ruled by the Chariot The 5 of Wands Lord of Strife and Conflict Enhanced yet weakened #8 we return to the realm of Fire. Strength is Fire because of Leo The card is the Emperor Windows of Opportunity Control. Rules the 4s.Solidity. Your strength lies in your capacity to persevere in your intentions without ever giving up.
Stone #9 is ruled by the Hermit 2 of Pentacles. Lady of Harmonious Change. We return to Water. Choice It is necessary to take a position on an issue to be cleared up. It would be better not to hesitate. Stone#10 Ruled by the Wheel of Fortune Jupiter rules and has three elements Air, Fire and Water 8 of Wands has to do with travel. Swiftness Reversed Swiftness in the subconscious Trying in vain to set things in place to achieve a greater goal. Situation unfolding quickly to disastrous effects on plans. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Stone #11 ruled by Justice King of Pentacles. This is actually the lintel. Fire of Earth of Earth A professional The tenacity of this man has determined his destiny demonstrates competence in his job and transmits security to those around him Master of the 5 earthly things health, wealth, romance, physical and spiritual protection. He makes a good friend or ally.
This reading gets off to a promising start, but there is conflict brewing ahead. We end with a person of great resources who will be a great friend or ally. This ally will be instrumental in giving us a better stronger work ethic.
The purpose of this page is to promote our readings, which we do for a very reasonable price. We charge just $32 because that is the number of emanations on the Qaballistic Tree of Life. It is the 10 Sephiroth plus the 22 paths on the Tree of Life. Tegwedd hasn’t hooked up her mic, headphones, and webcam as yet, but soon she will, and the readings will have the same audiovisual features as Stephen’s. You will have your choice of decks. If Tegwedd has it, and Stephen doesn’t, he’ll borrow the deck from her. The readings are available on Yahoo IM, Windows Live Msgr, and Skype. The payments can be sent to PayPal at abbotts_inn@yahoo.com or tezra.reitan@gmail.com. Call 916-455-2267 or 916-457-7476 (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.).
Next we’ll do the Pentacle layout.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Rainbow Magick & Me
Rainbows. The symbol of hope for humankind for millennia. I can see how early humans must’ve felt after a bad thunderstorm when they first beheld that arch of colors in the sky. Humans didn’t know many facts back then, so they made up stories to fill the gaps. Some (the Greeks) made up a Goddess, the Goddess Iris, who gave Her name to my favorite flower. For the Jews, it was Yahweh’s promise that he would not flood the world again.
For me, it represents the full spectrum of possibilities that are open to me. I named my daughter Nadia, which means hope in old Slovenian. I named her after the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comenice (spelling?). Apparently other parents felt the same way I did, because there were other Nadias in her school. I told her that the rainbow was her symbol because it meant hope and possibilities. It was not until later that I learned that the gay community had taken the rainbow as their symbol. I still feel (sorry, Dylan!) that the rainbow should be primarily for children, since their lives are full of possibilities. No one (including them) knows who or what they’re going to be when they grow up.
A few years ago I was a reader at the Lynbrook High School all night graduation party. A group of parents had gotten together and decided to avert almost certain tragedy by hosting an all night graduation night party at the school. I worked very hard to make my interpretations as positive as possible, because these young adults had their entire lives ahead of them, and I wanted to do my part to make that as positive an experience as possible. I felt inspired being around all those young lives. The rainbow is good for them too, regardless of their sexual preference. A very wise teacher once quoted what I believe to be an ancient Jewish proverb (maybe even an Essene proverb): “Except as ye become as little children, ye shalt not enter the kingdom of heaven.” I think I know what he meant by that. The heart must be open, the eyes inquisitive, the mind open to the discovery of things unknown, to possibilities. The place, dimension, or state of mind represented by the image of the kingdom of heaven is a country undiscovered, as Shakespeare would later express it. But the so-called “ordinary world” of the living also has possibilities, and everyone must discover it for hirself.
But the subject of this blog is Rainbow magick. When someone finds out that I practice magick, they often ask: “Do you practice white magick or black magick?” I say “Neither. I don’t live in a monochromatic world. I live in a full-color world, a rainbow world.” That is why the long intro. I wanted to express what the rainbow means to me. My magick is the same way. I try to practice ethical magick. Magicians should go by the old 12 step word HALT: Do not do magick if you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, because the results will be colored by your mood. Study color magick. Raymond Buckland has an excellent book on the subject: Color Magic [sic] (doesn’t Uncle Raymond have an excellent book on every aspect of the occult?), in which he describes the different kinds of magick by color. My favorites are green, gold, and purple or indigo. Green or gold for prosperity magick, and purple or indigo for all kinds of divination. But I shouldn’t leave out orange or yellow. Yellow would be for mental or intellectual pursuits such as studying, research, or writing. Orange would be for all pursuits related to Mercury and the Sephiah Hod: travel, business, and communications, which includes my favorite pursuit, writing.
Where I used to live, I would light an orange candle on Wednesday, the day of Mercury, and burn benzoin incense to remove psychic blocks to my writing. I got the spell out of my favorite book of spells: The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells. If the spell isn’t in there, you’ll probably have to make it up yourself, because just about every spell you could ever want is in there. You can probably score a copy of it on Amazon. Many of them are just in the book for completion’s sake, historicity and all that. It’s not at all intended that anyone would attempt these spells, as they are possibly unethical. You’ll know them when you see them. Judika Illes did a great job of collecting of these spells. It should be between $25 and $30. I paid $25+tax when I got mine at the brick and mortar version of Barnes & Noble. So far I’m on The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by the Matthewses. I have three more to read after that. They’re too big to take anywhere, and reading them before I go to sleep gives me really interesting dreams. So does tacking the Enochian Tablet of Union to the wall with pushpins just above my headboard.
Enochian magick is essentially angel magick. Angels are essentially spirits of extremely high vibration and intelligence. Angels are extremely old. They were originally servants and messengers of the Sumerian deities. From there the Assyrians and Babylonians acquired them for their deities. Then the Jews co-opted them, and had them be the servants of their one god. The Christians co-opted them from there. In the late 1500s, Dr, Johannes Dee, court astrologer to Elizabeth I, and Edward Talbot Kelley, a seer and somewhat of a con man, discovered the methods of Enochian magick. It has its own language. I don’t know about any of the rest of you, but I rather like the sound of Enochian. It sounds like what I think a magickal language should sound. It kind of sounds to me like a cross between Hebrew and French, if you can imagine that.
Chaos magick is a different kettle of fish entirely. It is an entirely modern system of magick started by Austin Osman Spare, Pete Carroll, and another guy whose name I can’t remember. Spare was an artist whose work was part of the surrealism movement of the previous century. Any time you create a sigil for the purpose of working magick, you are paying homage to Mr. Spare. A friend of mine, Layla, who is now dead taught me another more artistic method of creating a sigil than even Mr. Spare had devised.
The normal way to create a sigil is to write out your statement of intent in as few words as possible, then eliminate every duplicated letter in the statement. You may rearrange them until you come up with a Word of Power, or rearrange the letters until they form a symbol. Layla’s method goes further than this. When you’ve taken out all the dupes, transliterate the letters into Hebrew characters. Then translate the Hebrew characters into what they symbolized. Aleph is oxhead, Beth is house, Gimel is camel, and so forth. There are two eses in the Hebrew alphabet, so you’ll have to decide whether you want Samekh or Shin. Also there are two Ts: Teth or Tau, so you’ll have to decide which T you want. I usually pick Teth because it’s closer to the way I spell my name. Now you want to arrange the images into a pretty and effective picture. You can do the same thing with Runes. I led a workshop a few years ago on how to use this same method in Runes at Ravenwood a few years back, which was very well received. Having arranged the symbols to your liking, color with vibrant colors of the medium of your choice. Then charge the sigil with magickal energy. Do your ritual, then destroy it. Burning is good if you possibly can because then you will then be sending the message to the gods and goddesses.
We are trying to raise money for Abbott’s Inn International School of Magick. Call either 916-455-2267 (Stephen’s number) or 916-457-7476 (mine) for a reading or a class. For just $32, you can have either a reading with your choice of decks/methods/tools, or a class on any topic in the vast realm of magick, and for just $60, you may have both. I have not as yet hooked up my webcam or headset/mic, so if you want vision and voice (wasn’t that a book by Uncle Al?) call Stephen. I will let you know when mine is hooked up. The money can be sent to either of our Paypal accounts: tezra.reitan@gmail.com or abbottsinn@gmail.com.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and may your magick always be colorful.
For me, it represents the full spectrum of possibilities that are open to me. I named my daughter Nadia, which means hope in old Slovenian. I named her after the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comenice (spelling?). Apparently other parents felt the same way I did, because there were other Nadias in her school. I told her that the rainbow was her symbol because it meant hope and possibilities. It was not until later that I learned that the gay community had taken the rainbow as their symbol. I still feel (sorry, Dylan!) that the rainbow should be primarily for children, since their lives are full of possibilities. No one (including them) knows who or what they’re going to be when they grow up.
A few years ago I was a reader at the Lynbrook High School all night graduation party. A group of parents had gotten together and decided to avert almost certain tragedy by hosting an all night graduation night party at the school. I worked very hard to make my interpretations as positive as possible, because these young adults had their entire lives ahead of them, and I wanted to do my part to make that as positive an experience as possible. I felt inspired being around all those young lives. The rainbow is good for them too, regardless of their sexual preference. A very wise teacher once quoted what I believe to be an ancient Jewish proverb (maybe even an Essene proverb): “Except as ye become as little children, ye shalt not enter the kingdom of heaven.” I think I know what he meant by that. The heart must be open, the eyes inquisitive, the mind open to the discovery of things unknown, to possibilities. The place, dimension, or state of mind represented by the image of the kingdom of heaven is a country undiscovered, as Shakespeare would later express it. But the so-called “ordinary world” of the living also has possibilities, and everyone must discover it for hirself.
But the subject of this blog is Rainbow magick. When someone finds out that I practice magick, they often ask: “Do you practice white magick or black magick?” I say “Neither. I don’t live in a monochromatic world. I live in a full-color world, a rainbow world.” That is why the long intro. I wanted to express what the rainbow means to me. My magick is the same way. I try to practice ethical magick. Magicians should go by the old 12 step word HALT: Do not do magick if you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, because the results will be colored by your mood. Study color magick. Raymond Buckland has an excellent book on the subject: Color Magic [sic] (doesn’t Uncle Raymond have an excellent book on every aspect of the occult?), in which he describes the different kinds of magick by color. My favorites are green, gold, and purple or indigo. Green or gold for prosperity magick, and purple or indigo for all kinds of divination. But I shouldn’t leave out orange or yellow. Yellow would be for mental or intellectual pursuits such as studying, research, or writing. Orange would be for all pursuits related to Mercury and the Sephiah Hod: travel, business, and communications, which includes my favorite pursuit, writing.
Where I used to live, I would light an orange candle on Wednesday, the day of Mercury, and burn benzoin incense to remove psychic blocks to my writing. I got the spell out of my favorite book of spells: The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells. If the spell isn’t in there, you’ll probably have to make it up yourself, because just about every spell you could ever want is in there. You can probably score a copy of it on Amazon. Many of them are just in the book for completion’s sake, historicity and all that. It’s not at all intended that anyone would attempt these spells, as they are possibly unethical. You’ll know them when you see them. Judika Illes did a great job of collecting of these spells. It should be between $25 and $30. I paid $25+tax when I got mine at the brick and mortar version of Barnes & Noble. So far I’m on The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by the Matthewses. I have three more to read after that. They’re too big to take anywhere, and reading them before I go to sleep gives me really interesting dreams. So does tacking the Enochian Tablet of Union to the wall with pushpins just above my headboard.
Enochian magick is essentially angel magick. Angels are essentially spirits of extremely high vibration and intelligence. Angels are extremely old. They were originally servants and messengers of the Sumerian deities. From there the Assyrians and Babylonians acquired them for their deities. Then the Jews co-opted them, and had them be the servants of their one god. The Christians co-opted them from there. In the late 1500s, Dr, Johannes Dee, court astrologer to Elizabeth I, and Edward Talbot Kelley, a seer and somewhat of a con man, discovered the methods of Enochian magick. It has its own language. I don’t know about any of the rest of you, but I rather like the sound of Enochian. It sounds like what I think a magickal language should sound. It kind of sounds to me like a cross between Hebrew and French, if you can imagine that.
Chaos magick is a different kettle of fish entirely. It is an entirely modern system of magick started by Austin Osman Spare, Pete Carroll, and another guy whose name I can’t remember. Spare was an artist whose work was part of the surrealism movement of the previous century. Any time you create a sigil for the purpose of working magick, you are paying homage to Mr. Spare. A friend of mine, Layla, who is now dead taught me another more artistic method of creating a sigil than even Mr. Spare had devised.
The normal way to create a sigil is to write out your statement of intent in as few words as possible, then eliminate every duplicated letter in the statement. You may rearrange them until you come up with a Word of Power, or rearrange the letters until they form a symbol. Layla’s method goes further than this. When you’ve taken out all the dupes, transliterate the letters into Hebrew characters. Then translate the Hebrew characters into what they symbolized. Aleph is oxhead, Beth is house, Gimel is camel, and so forth. There are two eses in the Hebrew alphabet, so you’ll have to decide whether you want Samekh or Shin. Also there are two Ts: Teth or Tau, so you’ll have to decide which T you want. I usually pick Teth because it’s closer to the way I spell my name. Now you want to arrange the images into a pretty and effective picture. You can do the same thing with Runes. I led a workshop a few years ago on how to use this same method in Runes at Ravenwood a few years back, which was very well received. Having arranged the symbols to your liking, color with vibrant colors of the medium of your choice. Then charge the sigil with magickal energy. Do your ritual, then destroy it. Burning is good if you possibly can because then you will then be sending the message to the gods and goddesses.
We are trying to raise money for Abbott’s Inn International School of Magick. Call either 916-455-2267 (Stephen’s number) or 916-457-7476 (mine) for a reading or a class. For just $32, you can have either a reading with your choice of decks/methods/tools, or a class on any topic in the vast realm of magick, and for just $60, you may have both. I have not as yet hooked up my webcam or headset/mic, so if you want vision and voice (wasn’t that a book by Uncle Al?) call Stephen. I will let you know when mine is hooked up. The money can be sent to either of our Paypal accounts: tezra.reitan@gmail.com or abbottsinn@gmail.com.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and may your magick always be colorful.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Madame Tezra's Minimalist Tarot Reading Method
This can be taught to anyone ages 7 and up. In fact the first person I taught it to was a 7 year old. She was a very bright 7 year old, but still a 7 year old, with all of that age’s associated lack of maturity and life experience. I told her that the Trumps, or as we grown-ups like to call them the Major Arcana, represented higher ups. For a 7 year old, that represents parents, teachers, and other authority figures. For an adult, it means archetypes and gods and goddesses. One vital note: it is very important that your Tarot deck be one of the many based upon the Rider-Waite-Colman-Smith deck where there are full scenes for the pip cards 2-10. Tarot Classic, Tarot of Marseilles, and other decks like that will not de because all you have for the pip cards are arrangements of the symbols of the suits arranged in patterns, and that is where all that memorization and reading of books that you find intimidating come in. Two excellent decks that do have the scenes are the Morgan-Greer Tarot and the Robin Wood Tarot. Both decks have large easy to read images, and the cards are of a size that is easy for most medium-sized hands to manipulate. My own hands are rather good sized for a woman. I am 5’6” tall, and my hands are good proportion to that height and build. I find the cards of these two decks very easy to manipulate. When I use the term manipulate, I am talking aboiut your standard shuffling, cutting, and dealing moves, nothing deceptive. Although I know the deceptive moves, I would never use them. In fart, nearly 40 years ago I taught them to a member of the LAPD Bunko squad so that he could recognize them, and thus catch an unethical reader in the act. I feel that unethical readers are a blot on ethical readers’ reputations everywhere. Nowadays I feel that most readers are ethical, but you know what they say about rotten apples. Back to good Tarot decks: my daughter used my copy of the Cat People Tarot, which, while not ideal, is one of those decks that is based, however loosely, upon the Rider-Waite-Colman-Smith Tarot. The Morgan-Greer and Robin Wood Tarots are better for learning on, however. Robin Wood is published by Llewellyn Pub., while Morgan-Greer is published by U.S. Games, Inc. Say what you will about Stuart Kaplan the CEO of U. S. Games, but he has done a lot for the Tarot.
This method is good because it is non-intimidating. One friend told me that she was intimidated to learn the Tarot because to her it meant reading scads of books and memorizing lots of stuff that she doesn’t find relevant to her life. She isn’t good at either reading or memorization. In fact, she is dyslexic. She is very much a hands-on type of gal, and I don’t think that she is alone. I think she has lots of company. I think that some of you, while probably not dyslexic, are intimidated by feeling that you’d have to read a lot of books, and do a lot of memorization. But this method of mine has none of that.
The Major Trumps represent, as I’ve said before, Higher Ups: Archetypes and gods and goddesses. The pip cards (lower arcane 2-10) represent life situations. One example is the 5 of Pentacles. The 5 of Pentacles, Disks, or Coins represents those times when you have too much month left at the end of your paycheck. In most decks based upon the Rider-Waite-Colman-Smith Tarot, It is a couple, usually either a pair of children or a widow and an orphan, limping along beside a church which is closed to them. The 6 of Pentacles is happier. There you have a prosperous merchant doling out gold to either beggars or his creditors. Here you can interpret it to mean either that you are the merchant paying his bills, or you are receiving largesse from this individual, the government, or some corporation or foundation giving out grants. It doesn’t mean that all the time, of course. What it means depends upon the nature of your Querent’s question, or the issue at hand. Stephen doesn’t believe that we can read the Tarot effectively for ourselves. While his philosophy may seem on the surface to be self-serving, I think he has good reason for feeling the way he does. We can’t read for ourselves because we are too close to the situation. I myself have found this to be very true. I wondered why I couldn’t read for myself until Stephen told me his reasoning, and I tend to go along with it, because it jibes with my experience.
Pentacles represent the material physical realm: wealth, health, physical and spiritual protection, work, and romance. But Wands represent passion, activities and enterprise. It also represents our spirituality, because of the fervor that it engenders. Cups are emotions, love, and intuition. Swords represent the intellect, ideas, the law, or other government action. The government has its fingers in most of our activities these days. There is a law, ordinance, or regulation for almost any activity or situation that an American citizen or resident can get hirself into. If you are an international client reading this, I’m sure that you have found this to be true of your government also.
One tool that I have found indispensible for reading cards is a magnifying glass. You can pick on up for a few bucks at your neighborhood drugstore or pharmacy, or order them from several outfits either online or by mail order. I now think that it was Stephen’s failing eyesight that induced him to use a magnifying glass, but even with my somewhat better vision, I have picked up details with a glass that I might otherwise have missed that have brought depth and color to my readings. For example, on the Page of Cups in the Morgan-Greer deck, there is an artist’s palette on his belt that led me to suggest that my Querent had something to do with art. You can pick up many things in this manner.
There are many layouts you can learn, or you can make up your own. I like either the Celtic Cross or the Tree of life layouts. When I get bored with the Celtic Cross, I use the Tree of Life. I went for several years once using the Tree of Life because I was bored with the Celtic Cross. Stephen6580 has an elemental spread that he likes to use. Call him and ask him about it. He will tell you all about it. It will cost you something, because the lesson will go far beyond the free 5 minutes, but it will be worth it, because it will be a tool you can use for the rest of your life.
This is the last blog I shall write here until December, because Starting tomorrow, November 1st, I shall be working on NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. It really is a misnomer because there are writers in several foreign countries feverishly turning out their 1666 words per day over 30 days. I think it should be renamed to GloNoWriMo or Global Novel Writing Month. I made it easy for myself because I take 5 days off and do 2000 words per day for 25 days, thus eliminating the need for higher math, and coddling my terminal math anxiety. My topic this year is actually to finish a novel I started this past spring, when I was rudely awakened at 3:30 a.m. by an insistent woman’s voice with a heavy French accent telling me to tell her story “the way it should be told, as only you can tell it.” I shall tell it as an historical fantasy picaresque novel, which is my favorite form of novel. The picaresque (picaro is Spanish for rascal) has been my favorite form of novel ever since I was studying my upper division Spanish classes in college, and had to read several picaresque novels in the original Spanish. You might find it rather geeky or nerdy, but that’s all right. I am a nerd. The boys I was attracted to in high school and college were nerds because they were the only ones intelligent enough to understand what I talked about, and also I had no competition. The other girls were all sighing after the jocks. I later married a nerd, and had my daughter Janvier, my pride and joy, who is also a nerd, by him. So you see, nerds can live fulfilling lives too.
I feel I must clarify something that Stephen6580 has said. I am not a true clairvoyant. As I progress and refine my talent I may resolve into a true clairvoyant, but as of now I am a pseudo-clairvoyant. I can remote-view. I get pictures of things, but as the author Philip K. Dick said, they are as “through a glass darkly”. I do not get specific names of people or places. You need some clairvoyance to scry in a crystal ball, magick mirror, or bowl of water, but it can be pseudo-clairvoyance like mine. I can describe what I see in my mind’s eye, but no specific names or names of locations will be present unless I myself have been to that location physically, and can recognize it. It’s rather like seeing a place in San Francisco California, or Minneapolis, Minnesota in a TV program, and being able to recognize that location. Astro Wing, however is a true clairvoyant. She can remote view and pick up names of people and locations with ease. So if you need a pure psychic reading from a clairvoyant call on her. .
This method is good because it is non-intimidating. One friend told me that she was intimidated to learn the Tarot because to her it meant reading scads of books and memorizing lots of stuff that she doesn’t find relevant to her life. She isn’t good at either reading or memorization. In fact, she is dyslexic. She is very much a hands-on type of gal, and I don’t think that she is alone. I think she has lots of company. I think that some of you, while probably not dyslexic, are intimidated by feeling that you’d have to read a lot of books, and do a lot of memorization. But this method of mine has none of that.
The Major Trumps represent, as I’ve said before, Higher Ups: Archetypes and gods and goddesses. The pip cards (lower arcane 2-10) represent life situations. One example is the 5 of Pentacles. The 5 of Pentacles, Disks, or Coins represents those times when you have too much month left at the end of your paycheck. In most decks based upon the Rider-Waite-Colman-Smith Tarot, It is a couple, usually either a pair of children or a widow and an orphan, limping along beside a church which is closed to them. The 6 of Pentacles is happier. There you have a prosperous merchant doling out gold to either beggars or his creditors. Here you can interpret it to mean either that you are the merchant paying his bills, or you are receiving largesse from this individual, the government, or some corporation or foundation giving out grants. It doesn’t mean that all the time, of course. What it means depends upon the nature of your Querent’s question, or the issue at hand. Stephen doesn’t believe that we can read the Tarot effectively for ourselves. While his philosophy may seem on the surface to be self-serving, I think he has good reason for feeling the way he does. We can’t read for ourselves because we are too close to the situation. I myself have found this to be very true. I wondered why I couldn’t read for myself until Stephen told me his reasoning, and I tend to go along with it, because it jibes with my experience.
Pentacles represent the material physical realm: wealth, health, physical and spiritual protection, work, and romance. But Wands represent passion, activities and enterprise. It also represents our spirituality, because of the fervor that it engenders. Cups are emotions, love, and intuition. Swords represent the intellect, ideas, the law, or other government action. The government has its fingers in most of our activities these days. There is a law, ordinance, or regulation for almost any activity or situation that an American citizen or resident can get hirself into. If you are an international client reading this, I’m sure that you have found this to be true of your government also.
One tool that I have found indispensible for reading cards is a magnifying glass. You can pick on up for a few bucks at your neighborhood drugstore or pharmacy, or order them from several outfits either online or by mail order. I now think that it was Stephen’s failing eyesight that induced him to use a magnifying glass, but even with my somewhat better vision, I have picked up details with a glass that I might otherwise have missed that have brought depth and color to my readings. For example, on the Page of Cups in the Morgan-Greer deck, there is an artist’s palette on his belt that led me to suggest that my Querent had something to do with art. You can pick up many things in this manner.
There are many layouts you can learn, or you can make up your own. I like either the Celtic Cross or the Tree of life layouts. When I get bored with the Celtic Cross, I use the Tree of Life. I went for several years once using the Tree of Life because I was bored with the Celtic Cross. Stephen6580 has an elemental spread that he likes to use. Call him and ask him about it. He will tell you all about it. It will cost you something, because the lesson will go far beyond the free 5 minutes, but it will be worth it, because it will be a tool you can use for the rest of your life.
This is the last blog I shall write here until December, because Starting tomorrow, November 1st, I shall be working on NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. It really is a misnomer because there are writers in several foreign countries feverishly turning out their 1666 words per day over 30 days. I think it should be renamed to GloNoWriMo or Global Novel Writing Month. I made it easy for myself because I take 5 days off and do 2000 words per day for 25 days, thus eliminating the need for higher math, and coddling my terminal math anxiety. My topic this year is actually to finish a novel I started this past spring, when I was rudely awakened at 3:30 a.m. by an insistent woman’s voice with a heavy French accent telling me to tell her story “the way it should be told, as only you can tell it.” I shall tell it as an historical fantasy picaresque novel, which is my favorite form of novel. The picaresque (picaro is Spanish for rascal) has been my favorite form of novel ever since I was studying my upper division Spanish classes in college, and had to read several picaresque novels in the original Spanish. You might find it rather geeky or nerdy, but that’s all right. I am a nerd. The boys I was attracted to in high school and college were nerds because they were the only ones intelligent enough to understand what I talked about, and also I had no competition. The other girls were all sighing after the jocks. I later married a nerd, and had my daughter Janvier, my pride and joy, who is also a nerd, by him. So you see, nerds can live fulfilling lives too.
I feel I must clarify something that Stephen6580 has said. I am not a true clairvoyant. As I progress and refine my talent I may resolve into a true clairvoyant, but as of now I am a pseudo-clairvoyant. I can remote-view. I get pictures of things, but as the author Philip K. Dick said, they are as “through a glass darkly”. I do not get specific names of people or places. You need some clairvoyance to scry in a crystal ball, magick mirror, or bowl of water, but it can be pseudo-clairvoyance like mine. I can describe what I see in my mind’s eye, but no specific names or names of locations will be present unless I myself have been to that location physically, and can recognize it. It’s rather like seeing a place in San Francisco California, or Minneapolis, Minnesota in a TV program, and being able to recognize that location. Astro Wing, however is a true clairvoyant. She can remote view and pick up names of people and locations with ease. So if you need a pure psychic reading from a clairvoyant call on her. .
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