Tag Archives: metaphysics

Tarot Blog Hop: New Tarot Deck

07 Thursday Jan 2016

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This blog post is a part of a monthly Tarot Professionals Blog Hop. Please click the links above and the links below the post to see how other Tarot Readers interact with a new Tarot deck.

So…you’ve received a new deck in one way or another. Maybe, it was a gift or you acquired it from a proprietor of some sort, it doesn’t matter, you still want to use it. The deck itself may seem like a lifeless paper product with a weird factory smell when you first get it, and that may put you off to using it for readings. This can be disheartening if you are like me and must use everything you own. Otherwise it was a waste of money, and a waste of an artist’s hard work and dedication. With a lot of great decks being a good chunk of change, you may expect your new magickal item to be instantly, well, magickal. The pictures may ‘call’ to you (aka you love the artwork), but when you open the box, you become a nervous wretch and forget everything you know about Tarot.

I have been getting new decks lately, even though I don’t really necessarily want them. Mostly, these have been given to me as gifts or as rewards for my participation in fundraisers. I have most of the ones that I want, and I am very particular about the type of artwork I prefer. However, I feel like I should work with these decks, because it seems that I should be able to read most any deck. Plus, it keeps your skills fresh, and it’s kind of fun to play with a deck that you have no connection to at all. Here are my techniques of transforming a deck of cards into powerful allies in your magickal arsenal.

Get Acquainted

The first thing I do after freeing my new friend from the confining restraints of its

The Court cards for the cups in the Tarot Illuminati (top), Thoth Tarot (middle), and the Michelangelo Tarot (bottom)

The Court cards for the cups in the Tarot Illuminati (top), Thoth Tarot (middle), and the Michelangelo Tarot (bottom)

packaging is take it out and feel it in my hands. I like to get a sense of how the card stock is in my hands when I shuffle or just take a card out of the deck. I take note of how slippery the deck is, because this will produce a ton of ‘jumpers’ while I shuffle.

I like to look at each individual card and familiarize myself with the order of the Majors, as well as the names of these Trump cards. In some decks,the Devil may be named Oppression. In Waite-Smith based decks, Strength is numbered as VIII and Justice is XII. In other decks, the Strength and Justice cards are named something else completely and their order is flipped. Sometimes, the Court cards may be in a different language than one you are familiar with or they aren’t what you are used to. For

example, you might have only used decks whose Court cards are Page/Knight/Queen/King, and now you have a deck that has them as Princess/Prince/Queen/Knight. This is when that little booklet included with all new decks becomes your best asset in becoming acquainted with your new deck.

Shuffle…A LOT!

One of the best things to do is shuffle your new deck. First, these cards are in order, and will clump together if not shuffled enough. It’s kind of like making cookies, but only stirring the ingredients 3 times with a small spoon then trying to bake them. Secondly, this simple action stirs life into your new found friends. You start to incorporate your essence into them, and this starts to charge your cards. I will usually play with a new deck for a good hour before using it for readings that I would put any stock in. While I am stirring the cards, I will think about a million things, and I may even be anxious or excited. I will also periodically lay out the cards as I think of questions. I keep the spreads very simple, and I do not ask super serious life changing questions. I will ask questions that I know, or I will even ask the cards about their personal tastes. Asking playful, yet respectful, questions calms my own anxiety, and allows me to fully connect with my new deck. I will use the booklet if need be.

Everywhere I Go…

One of the most important things I do is take my new deck everywhere with me if it’s portable. It goes to work with me, and it goes to the grocery store. It is not uncommon for me to have at least 4 different divination tools on my person. This may be a little harder for menfolk as they may not have a knapsack that they carry with them. Another way is to sleep with the cards nearby you. This continues to aide you in not only strengthening your intimate connection, and continues to charge your cards. This will also remind you to keep working with the cards. I feel that by doing this, you really establish the cards as a magickal tool that you can trust and work with on a daily basis.

While with ritual tools you want to consecrate these items for specific purposes, because you do not use them on a daily basis. I do not do this with my cards or other divination devices. I establish them as a tool for this purpose by passively attuning them to my energy. They then become a part of me, and my cards are a trusted member of my life.

I hope this was helpful! See the other blogs to get different ideas, and try them out to see what works best for you!

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Numerological Energies for the New Year

09 Tuesday Dec 2014

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Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to be forewarned as to what you may be dealing with on a yearly, monthly, or daily basis? While there are a ton of divinatory tools at your disposal, simple math can help you deal with everyday, physical energies. You can then add on to all of this using Runes, Tarot, Lenormand, or whatever else you are wonderfully attracted to.

So, let’s get started!

Calculating your Yearly number:

First, add up the month of your birth, day of your birth, and year you are looking into.

Month of Birth                   4
Day of Birth                 +  28
Year of Inquiry              +2015
Total Number for the year     2047

Next, we are going to break this down into a single number, unless it’s 11 or 22, by adding the individual numbers together.

2+0+4+7 = 13
Still not done! Now time to simplify the number even more.
1+3 = 4
So, 4 is the final answer!

So, the number 4 would be the energies that were playing into your life on a physical level.

Now, you try it! The meanings of numbers are HERE

Calculating your Monthly number:

Take the Year’s number that you had calculated. So, mine is 4. Now, you are going to add the yearly number to the month in question.

January:          4+1 = 5
February:         4+2 = 6
March:            4+3 = 7
April:            4+4 = 8
May:              4+5 = 9
June:             4+6 = 10; 1+0 = 1
July:             4+7 = 11
August:           4+8 = 12; 1+2 = 3
September:        4+9 = 13; 1+3 = 4
October:          4+10 = 14; 1+4 = 5
November:         4+11 = 15; 1+5 = 6
December:         4+12 = 16; 1+6 = 7

The meanings of numbers are HERE

I did the whole year so you can see how you would break down the numbers to their simplest form. You do not do this with the number 11 or 22. These are considered Master Numbers, and they do not need to be simplified into a single digit.

Calculating your Daily Number:

Now, you can go even further down the number rabbit hole, and calculate the number for each day of the month. You do this as follows:

For October, the number that was calculated was 5. I would then take the number 5 and add it to the day that I want to know about. So, let’s take the 6th of October.

Month Number (October)      5
Day of the Month (October) +6
                           11
11 – This is the energy you are working with on the 6th of October.

Let’s try another. Let’s take the month number for April, and the 11th of April.

Month Number (April)           8

Day in the Month (April)     +11
                              19
1+9 = 10; 1+0 = 1
This is the energy you are working with on the 11th of April.

The meanings of numbers are HERE

I hope this has been informative. Enjoy 2015!

A History…of sorts

25 Sunday May 2014

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I have been a pagan for 20 years now. Not that I have been one religiously by any means. Things come up in our lives and it is good to take a break and reflect upon the work we have done. Even Crowley took a break for years before returning to his occult studies. There is nothing wrong with that. I find that I tend to take breaks after studying extensively on one area of expertise. I look into what I am researching as far as I can, and practice daily. It is hard to find information as deep as I would like to go. Usually, though, it was just nonsense that was distracting to me. Combine that with a dead end in information, and Viola, a break is to be had whether I want it or not.

The moon herself takes a break 12 times a month. No one should ever feel guilty taking a break from long hours of reading, everyday rituals, and hoping no one comes in accidentally. I do seem to get The worst of all was the significant other who was abusive and thoroughly embarrassed by what he saw as an annoying hobby that everyone around would hate HIM for. People did stay away from him, but not because of my supposed “weirdo crap.”

I even completely lost all confidence in my path, because he decided that it would be cool to join a group. I decided to try it out, and I disliked it immensely. The experience seemed dogmatic and fanatical, and that was the reason that I despised another dogmatic religion. It made me want to literally vomit, and I stopped associating with the members of this supposed group.

I never thought I would do well in a group, and I never joined one until then. So, maybe that in itself wasn’t the shiniest example of working with others in a coven like setting. These people weren’t really pagan, witches, or anything that made natural sense to me. I am not quite sure what they would call themselves, but the group they represented wasn’t for me.

Eventually, I want to start a study group of sorts. I will just start there. I can be difficult to work with myself, because I am stubborn. I am fine until someone interrupts me or tells me flat out that my way of thinking is wrong. Regardless, I am finally coming to terms with the fact that I enjoy having others around to discuss spiritual practices with. I do go through a lot of intellectual changes when I am going through a stale period. For example, I did not see the point of spells until recently.

Although, these periods come and go, my time is spent reflecting what I had learned when I was studying so hard when they are here, and reading and doing new things when that period ends.

The Law of Attraction Part 1 – My take on the Secret

11 Sunday May 2014

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Everyone wants to be successful in their life, but many people are unsure how they can achieve their dreams. We live in such a hectic world that we as individuals lose the insight that we need to achieve those goals we have set for ourselves. We lose direction because of many factors; many of them have to do with our self esteem levels. It seems as though those who have good self esteem in themselves attain greatness in their lifetime more so than those who live on the low end of the esteem scale. Every single one of us has the ability to kick the low self esteem habit, because that is all it is in my belief. Most people believe the best and easiest to use tools to kick the pattern of self hatred is the Secret or the law of attraction.

The Secret is the easiest way to build up an individual with very low self esteem, and you need to believe with every atom of your body in order for it to work. It teaches the love of self, money, and your health as a way of making the secret of the universe work for you. Love of self is the biggest of the lesson, I feel, because then you know that you are worthy to receive the things that you want. If you don’t love yourself, you will be given the gift of stress and more of the things you don’t want. The same principle applies to money. If you hate money, you will never receive money. In a way, you are dispelling the money that you desperately want, because you hate the money you don’t have. You are focusing on the negative in the situation, and that is exactly what you are getting. It furthers the belief that the money is unattainable, and that belief becomes more ingrained in your psyche and very being. In a way everyone uses the Secret, but may not know it. The Secret all boils down to the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction simply states that whatever we give attention to is created in our environment. This means that if an individual believes that they will fall off of a ladder if they even attempt to climb a ladder, they will do just that. This is a very elementary way of putting it, but in essence, that is how it works. Even though the person who fell off the ladder probably performed a mind freak on themselves, the basics of attracting money and worthwhile relationships is the same. If you believe with every part of your being, whether conscious or not, that you deserve a man in your life who is demeaning and abusive, then men like that will be the only ones that are attracted to you. They will come to you, and encircle you like a vulture does to road kill. Once you decide that you deserve better than to be treated as a four day old flattened possum then you will find that those abusive men are replaced by men who are loving and treat you well. You will see that the men you meet who are mean and condescending will dissipate like a pond in a drought. It looks simple on paper, but the law of attraction is harder to put into action for some people.

Another very important part of the Secret is being appreciative of the things you have and want. Everyone has supportive people in their life, and some people will turn their backs on those people. These people are addicted to the negative, and will have a hard time achieving any success. It is not impossible, but the further these negative Nancies go down the spiral, the harder they will have to get back onto their chosen path to success(aka childhood dreams, etc.) It will always be important to appreciate things and people in your life, but most importantly, YOU must appreciate YOU. You cannot depend on another to lift you up, that is not their responsibility. It is yours!

In conclusion, you are the one responsible for your future. It takes you to become the person who loves you most to make you successful, without being a narcissist of course. You grant yourself the wishes that you desire, whether in relationships, abundance, health, etc, by feeling worthy enough to receive the gifts that the universe has to offer. All you have to do is to love yourself, and believe that you can achieve or get the things you wish to obtain.

The Life Marathon

27 Sunday Apr 2014

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I hear some people use that line made famous by that movie. You know… the one about a box of chocolates and not knowing what you’ll get. Sure, that would work if your life was fairly simple and Hollywood easy. In fact, you can plan your box of chocolates. They have a list on the bottom of the box of exactly what is contained within that box. It is predestined and easy to figure out. For the rest of us, it is more like a Marathon in the Dark.

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Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“Life is like a marathon in the dark, you never know when that tree is going to smack you in the face.”

This seems to be more or less the way it is for some of us. We may keep charging ahead blindly, but we are cautious most of the time. However, when that overconfident mood strikes, Wham! A brick wall. Sometimes, that wall may be just a small one and other times it’s one that takes a few years of feeling around in the dark trying to find a way around it. No clues are given on this marathon, especially if they are helpful. You know, like a light bright with an arrow on it to point out our paths for us. The path must be paved on it’s own with all the scrapes, bruises, and possible broken limbs.

Eventually, a torch is found, and it illuminates the surroundings a bit. It helps for the short term, but until the flood light is found it is better than nothing. When that is found, then the possibilities open up for us, and it becomes easier to surround ourselves with all the box of chocolates we could ever hope for.

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Image: Filomena Scalise / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dark Night of the Soul

11 Friday Apr 2014

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As morose as it might sound, the aptly named dark night of the soul is necessary to our spiritual evolution. It is the universe’s way of initiating us into a new level of consciousness. it is there to test our previously held belief systems. We will either use this time to strengthen those beliefs or we will throw them out to make room for something new. A break from all our paradigms that will either make or break us.

The dark night is when we loose all faith in ourselves and our abilities not only as spiritual beings but as physical ones. On a spiritual level, a person who is going through this period of initiation will feel disconnected from their intuition, their beliefs, and from their chosen gods. On a physical level, this time will make us feel as if we don’t know who we really are anymore. Things around them will fall apart, and they may feel extremely depressed. They may feel as if we have spiritual ADD in a way, meaning they will go every which way with their energies to find a solution to their earthly dilemma. Nothing seems to satisfy those who are going through this bit of spiritual boredom. Searching for answers because more of an addiction than an actual searching for answers. It’s like they are searching for a certain sort of something, but don’t know what that something is.

The problem is that one doesn’t know what to do about the fact that they are going through such a dark time. One almost has to approach it with a “go with the flow” type attitude.

Some people state that when you going through this time you should meditate to calm yourself. That is always easier said then done. Of course that is simple when you are content and don’t feel the need to be all over the place with your energy and spread yourself thin. A spiritually unsound soul is not at rest, and eventually will keep that not so rested feeling as the norm. It can cause a multitude of mental maladies, and a lack of confidence.

Some people in this time, will not being searching for spiritual answers at all. Their whole life may have fallen apart, and it is hard to be spiritual on any level when your physical self is threatened as well. A person’s physical well being must be cared for first before you can or should do any hardcore searching into the spiritual. Spiritual work is tiring, and so is not being able to take care of yourself or your family.

It is important to remember that all of this will pass. Life has it’s cycles of knowledge, and even what we think we know will ebb and flow like the ocean. Existence can be chaotic at times much like the ocean in the storm. I am a firm believer that even seemingly tough times can end up being our greatest teacher. Challenges can show us how strong we really are in the face of adversity if we are willing to learn from it.

The Curse

23 Sunday Mar 2014

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There are those of us who love to spread or participate in blabbermouthery. Gossip is different than simply talking about your problems to another human being. It is the defamation of someone who may or may not have wronged you in some minuscule way. Maybe, the person merely took what you thought was YOUR parking spot, so now you have to spread maliciousness about them. However, this type of chitter chatter itself is a braggarts way of putting a type of curse upon the person they are spreading lies about.

Now, imagine you have several people talking about you at the same time while you are trying to better your life. In your mind’s eye, you see these people talking about you around ye ole water cooler. See their words coming out of their mouth and floating around them. These words float into the ears and minds of the people listening. These people start to feel emotions that are tied to these words. They speak, adding more fuel to the fire that is the energy of the ritual these people are performing. Their emotions get involved intertwining into more and more energy. It is released into the universe, and then the universe acts upon the request. There is no filter in the universe that determine whether something is “bad” or “good.” It merely acts.

Gossip can cause change through non true will. On a mundane level, it can totally destroy a person’s life. Take the Salem witch trials as an example. Giles Corey was accused of being a witch, but he wasn’t. In fact, I highly doubt there were a lot of witches at that point. He refused to confess, because he was a pious man not guilty of what he was accused of. He was pressed to death with heavy stones. Each time they would add weight and each time he would say, “More weight.” He ended up cursing the town of Salem himself. All this man tried to do was question the innocence of the people who were jailed or hung for being a witch. Mainly, the innocence of his wife who had done the same, and was also accused of witchcraft. On a metaphysical level, the energy that people expend in this sort of activity can actually change the persons “luck” until their life turns to shit.

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The point is, when we gossip we place the stones onto the person who is being gossiped about. The more this person is gabbed about, the more stones are placed upon this person. Eventually, this person will break. When the gossip is extremely vicious the faster the destruction of a person who more than likely was innocent in the first place.

When you hear gossip about another don’t participate. First of all, the people who are doing the talking about another may not know everything that is going on in the life of another. They may have misunderstood something that the person had said or did one day. They didn’t bother to clarify whether it was true or not. They only wanted to feel important with the ability to talk about something other than the weather to others. It makes a busybody feel empowered and strong. People who gossip are really just doing it because they feel weak, and have no real control of their own life. People who continue the gossip without question are equally as guilty. People who just listen but don’t spread the lies are really trying to see what kind of person you are by participating in such an act.

So think for yourself and question gossip or “news.”

The Do’s and Don’ts of using a Ouija Board

09 Sunday Mar 2014

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I am not going to go into the history of the Ouija board in this post, but I am going to tell you my personal set of rules when you play with a board. There are many sites out there that explain what the board’s history is, and rules on how to use it. I would look into many sources to see what you believe about the board.

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The board can be a useful tool, if used by a responsible and knowledgeable person or group of people. If you are super religious in a monotheistic way, it is best to stay completely away from it. The reason for this, is that you would invite negative spirits in just by the guilt you will feel from playing with it. Belief is very powerful, and you will probably not get the results you are looking for. Basically, if you feel fear at all, don’t do it. I cannot stress this enough.

People who don’t know what they are doing, tend to forget that they shouldn’t be playing with demons and such on there. They seems to be looking for a little danger, and forget they are messing with forces that they don’t completely understand. The spirit or entity could stay behind if you don’t properly close the ritual of sorts that you have created. It’s sad, because the Ouija can actually be useful. Everything you do when it comes to spirit should be done with intention, not with seeing if it works or whatever.

So here is my list of Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to the responsible use of the Ouija.

Do’s:

  • A cleansing ritual before using the board. Cleanse everyone who is going to use the board, the room where the board is going to be used, and even the board itself. This can be done by burning sage, and using the smoke to clear any negative energy that would be present.
  • Have a specific person or entity you wish to contact. Ask for your guardian angel, a family member, or whomever you wish to contact. Preferably the spirit or entity would be something or someone that feels positive.
  • Ask for specific proof that isn’t going to scare the crap out of you. You could have them knock, flicker a candle, or if using the board for divination, ask for a specific sign that what they are saying is true.
  • Be comfortable. The more comfortable you are, the less likely you are to feel weak while using the board. The stronger you are the less likely that negative things will be able to attach themselves to you.
  • Be cordial. Ask the spirit or entity questions in a manner that doesn’t make them angry.
  • Say goodbye when you are done. If you feel unsettled by the experience, cleanse the room, board, and others again.

Don’ts:

  • Use drugs or drink before using the board. This makes sure that you are not in control, and you need to be the one in control the whole time while using the board.
  • Use if you are really religious. This just invites in the negative entities, because you already feel like the board does this.
  • Let the board act in a frantic manner. Don’t let the planchette go from letter to letter really fast with no rhyme or reason. Tell it to STOP. You are in control. If you don’t feel as if you are, say goodbye, and cleanse.
  • Use while hungry. This weakens the aura. You may feel sick. Plus, using any sort of device for divination or anything like that tends to make you tired, and feel drained.
  • Be Rude. You wouldn’t like it if someone was demanding things of you. However, being assertive when necessary is different. Don’t be a pansy, but don’t be a jerk either.
  • Use if you have no prior knowledge of the occult, new age, or any other type of spirituality. You wouldn’t know what to expect, or even how to do a cleansing ritual, so it is not advised. Doing research before any sort of ritual or spiritual experience is always necessary.

I personally, have never had a problem with my boards. They do work, and sometimes they even draw pictures of things. So, enjoy and be careful.

For more on the board visit this site:
http://ghostsagogo.com/ouija.html