The Western Mystery Tradition, Western esotericism, occultism — what are all of these things, and why are so many people talking about them? It can be tough to wrap your head around how much of our culture is steeped in ideas we call occult. Everything from religion to pop culture to (gasp!) science are heavily… Read more »
There are so many Tarot decks out there. There must be thousands, right? Tens of thousands? It’s not uncommon for collectors to have 80 or more decks. Once John Michael Greer showed me a huge crate full of dozens and dozens of decks that he and his wife had collected, and you’ll frequently find collectors… Read more »
The Lovers is the 7th card in the Major Arcana, so it’s number VI, because we start counting at zero with The Fool. As I frequently point out during tarot readings, every six is about love in the Tarot. Sometimes it’s not so obvious, such as with the Six of Swords, and sometimes it’s too… Read more »
I am now booking live online Tarot readings! You can click here to book a reading. These readings will be done via Skype using my spiffy new video camera, and I’ll be using a variety of decks. They will typically be five or seven cards, depending on the topic and how deep we need to… Read more »
Today a Tarot deck is a fairly specific deck of cards. It has around 22 Greater Arcana, from The Fool through to the World, and then 56 Minor Arcana including the pips and 16 Court Cards. However, Tarot cards aren’t the only cards out there being used for divination, insight, or other non-game purposes. Let’s… Read more »
Ritual meals are an ancient human tradition, dating back at least 12,000 years. When it comes to Hermetic tradition, such as it is, the Asclepius or Perfect Discourse has vague instructions and a prayer for a ritual meal in its final chapter.
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In this episode of My Alchemical Bromance, Erik explores various interpretations and explanations of the soul in the wake of the death of his 19 year-old cat, Kublai Khan. This episode is personal, but hopefully it provides food for thought. Links The Immortal Body in Hermeticism Timaeus by Plato The Nine Parts of the Human… Read more »
I haven’t written about a Tarot card in quite a while, but in honor of Nathan Lee‘s new podcast, Six Of Swords, let’s look at that card!
It’s the beginning of December, and in the Pacific Northwest, that means it gets dark really early and the Sun rises late. We have a lot of darkness this time of the year, and in Portland we make up for that darkness by celebrating a lot. My family isn’t religious, but we still celebrate Christmas… Read more »
There are a few books coming out that I’m really excited about. If you read this blog regularly, you should be excited about them, too. First, Dan Attrell’s translation of the Picatrix is finally available for pre-order. I interviewed him back on episode 29 of My Alchemical Bromance and have been eagerly awaiting his book…. Read more »