Lately I’ve been reading biographies of Aleister Crowley in an attempt to better understand the man who had a great influence on both the modern Western Mystery Tradition and on Tarot. Of the three books I read, the last, Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley by Lawrence Sutin, was really the only one that dug into his magic(k)al work. In that book, I came across a really interesting quote from Crowley about Tarot. (I believe it actually originates from The Book of Thoth, but I have yet to work my way through that tome.) He says: The…
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Construction on the new Lotus Pond is coming along well. The pages that are now available on the new site can be found in the Contents section in the left-hand sidebar. As in the previous post, everything is still available through the old links too. As I’m moving the articles over to the new site, I am also revamping them. I’ve fixed some spelling mistakes, clarified a few things, and deleted a couple of things too. Overall, my message hasn’t really changed. I’m just trying to make everything more concise and true to what I believe. Also note that the…
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Okay, seriously, this is it this time. Really… assuming everything works out okay. The Lotus Pond will be switching over to Word Press as time allows. All old pages are still available through direct links. Here’s where you can access articles for the time being: Wicca Tarot Cross Stitch I will be doing my best to get The Lotus Pond looking good and working well as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I appreciate your patience. Comments? You can reach me here. Note that this is a temporary email address, and a feedback form will be set up shortly.
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Along the same lines of yesterday’s post is this video featuring James Randi, magician and skeptic extraordinaire. He as made it his life’s work to expose fraudulent “magical” practises. In the video below, he looks at how Uri Geller’s (psychic and Michael Jackson confidante) demonstrations can easily be duplicated by trickery. He also shows how Peter Popoff was able to know so much about the parishioners in his mega-church. I suppose some of you might be wondering how I can still believe in the occult when there is evidence around, like I’ve shown the past couple of days, that points…
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While I do consider myself a student of the occult (a very lacks, and possibly failing student…), I am not a fan of TV psychics. I suspect that most of them are just really good at asking leading questions and reading body language. It turns out that Barbara Walters may be a bit of a sceptic too. Apparently, after his appearance on The View, medium James Van Praagh took Ms. Walters aside and said that he felt she had a problem with her blood and lower back. Ms. Walters proceeded to have herself checked out by doctors, and was given…
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**I’ve edited this entry to remove potentially controversial content, because if my husband didn’t understand what I was trying to say, then I suspect no one will. It is better to take out anything that tempts people to read into it something I don’t mean.** I recently received an email from a teen who occasionally writes me asking questions about Wicca. This time she asked me about the Lord and Lady, because she said that they weren’t explained well enough in the two books she is reading. (Yes, Silver Ravenwolf books.) Below is essentially the answer I wrote her. The…
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The Touchstone Tarot is now available for pre-order through The Tarot Connection Store. (I believe Tarot Garden will be taking pre-orders.) It is a limited edition of 500 decks, which include a signed title card and a lovely handmade bag. The cars will be 3″ x 4″, a great size, I think. While the price is a little steep in my opinion, there is also supposed to be a mass market edition released sometime in 2009 by Kinati. So, there is another option. And, if you love the Touchstone Tarot, there is also a Facebook group you can join. It…
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My interest in Tarot is probably well known to all readers of my blog. For those who don’t know, I’ve been reading Tarot off and on for over 15 years. I’m going through one of my more off than on periods right now, mostly because taking care of little Baby C (now just over 5 months old) doesn’t leave much mental capacity for Tarot. Regardless of my current level of activity with Tarot, I’m still very interested in it, and am actively following the creation process of several upcoming decks. Perhaps my favourite of the lot is the Gaian Tarot…
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Some fun and interesting Pagan news – a woman with a blue crescent moon tattooed on her forehead finds it difficult to get a job. (The full story can be read inthe Elmira Star-Gazette.) Personally, I’m not surprised! Now, putting aside the fact that facial tattoos just aren’t a great idea (case in point a father and son in central Florida), I think it is an even worse idea to get a tattoo on your forehead, to represent your faith, that is inspired by a book that has no basis in reality. For those who are unaware, in The Mists…
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I live in Toronto, Canada’s largest and most culturally diverse city. One would guess, since the population is so varied, that this would be a very tolerant city. I would say it is. However, in turns out that it isn’t as tolerant as I thought. Ms. Stephanie Conover, winner of the Miss Canada Plus Pageant, had been asked to be one of the judges for the Miss Toronto Tourism Pageant (not affiliated with Toronto’s tourism branch). When she submitted her bio, she mentioned her hobbies: knitting, dancing, reiki and Tarot reading. Well, hold the phone! Miss Toronto Tourism doesn’t want…