When the Tarot starts reading you (Tarot Blog Hop)

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Welcome to the August edition of the Tarot Blog Hop.

The theme for this particular Hop is Respecting the Divinationary Arts.

When I was a kid, my Wiccan aunt gave my mother a Magic Eight Ball. Now for most people, a Magic Eight Ball is just a novelty item, a joke if you will. Not to my aunt, she could get accuracy out of a Magic Eight Ball. Her secret? "Respect the Magic Eight Ball." In other words, it was not to be treated as a toy, but as an actual sacred object. This was one of my first lessons in divination (if not the first).

The essence of this lesson has influenced how I deal with other divination systems, including Tarot.

If you look back towards the beginnings of the history of Tarot, you encounter a lot of stuff that makes it look like Tarot was more of a game than a legitimate divination device. And there is nothing wrong with that...says the man who has been known to use dice from a Dungeons and Dragons game in place of the Golden Dawn ring and disc (think: Ouija board with a pendulum).

And yes, I have been known to treat Tarot as a game. But in all fairness, I treat most things like they are a game. It is one of the things I learned to do to survive a childhood full of child abuse. And it probably does not help that I am a writer either. But then again, due to my aunt's rule, I tend to treat games as serious divination systems.

Tarot is a story telling game...which a level of scary quantum entanglement built in.

And there is where my respect for the Tarot comes in. I do not know how or why (beyond some half-digested quantum physics analogies) Tarot works to predict (or in the case of active magic and initiation--bends) the future, but it does. The universe seems to be ran by a storyteller, and we are all characters in his/her/its tale.

And the universal storyteller seems to like the symbolism of the Tarot. Once you start to dive into the symbolism of the Tarot, you start to see the symbolism bleed into your daily life. See three bums drinking out of a brown paper bag--see the Three of Cups. Wrestle with your cat--be the Strength card. Work in a restaurant--live the Eight of Pentacles.

In the urban fantasy novel, Last Call, Tim Powers has one of his characters taught by his dad not to ask questions in front of the cards. In this case, the character was referring to poker cards, descendants (or cousins) to our Tarot cards. I have learned to apply that same rule to my own life--there is nothing like playing Uno and find oneself reading the cards in play to remind yourself that the symbolism of Tarot can bleed over into other card games.

(It should be noted that the first fortune telling I did was in high school using a poker deck and instructions by Witch Queen Sybil Leek.) 

But I can't stop just at not asking questions in front of "cards." I got to be careful about asking questions in general, for the entire universe sometimes acts as a giant Tarot deck for me. And when it does, I cannot help but to read the universe as a deck of cards.

Or maybe it is the universe reading me. One can never be sure about things like this when one is a character in a story.

"I see a Tarot card showing a Magic Eight Ball on a Ouija board. We could be here a while."

 Thanks for reading. See you next Tarot Blog Hop.

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Tarot Blog Hop Master List (Respecting the divinationary arts)

Welcome to the Lughnasad (Lammas) edition of the Tarot Blog Hop. This is the Master List listing all the bloggers taking part in the August 1st 2017 Tarot Blog Hop.

The theme of this hop is: Respecting the Divinationary Arts.

1.Morgan Drake Eckstein: Gleamings from the [Golden] Dawn
 https://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2017/08/when-tarot-starts-reading-you-tarot.html

2.Joy Vernon: Completely Joyous
http://joyvernon.com/Blog/respecting-the-tarot/

3.Karen Sealey: Pure Blessed Tarot/ Pure and Blessed Way
https://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/tarot-dealing-with-right-tools/

4.James Bulls: Left Hand Tarot
http://www.lefthandtarot.com/2017/08/tarot-blog-hop-its-just-old-hat-son.html

5.Aisling the Bard: Tarot Witchery
 https://tarotwitchery.blogspot.com/2017/08/tarot-blog-hop-lughnassadh-2017-how-i.html

6.Sarah K-L: The Divine Path
https://divinepathtarot.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/the-lammas-tarot-blog-hop

7.Ania M: Ania M
http://aniam.co.uk/blog/fast-and-loose

8.M.Juniper: Lost Star Tarot
 https://www.loststartarot.com/single-post/2017/08/01/Tarot-Cleansing-Blessing

9.Meniscus Tarot (by Ania M): Meniscus Tarot
http://meniscustarot.co.uk/blog/tribute

10.Joanne Sprott: Cosmic Whispers Tarot
 http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2017/08/01/respecting-your-tools-lammas-tarot-blog-hop-2017/

11.Jay Cassels: Metaphysical Angels
http://metaphysicalangels.co.uk/tbh11

12.Katalin Patnaik: Katalin Patnaik
https://katalinpatnaik.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/respecting-the-tarot-2017-lammas-tarot-blog-hop

13.Arwen Lynch Poe: Professional Joy Seeker
 http://tarotbyarwen.com/?p=19113

14.Jack of Wands: Jack of Wands
 https://jackofwandstarot.wordpress.com/?p=7229

Are you a Tarot blogger? Want to Hop with us? (Next topic: Respecting the Tarot)

Do you blog about the Tarot? Do you want to help build community among Tarot bloggers? If so, consider joining the Tarot Blog Hop.

Eight times a year (aligned with the eight Wiccan sabbats--but that is only because it was something that many of us Tarot bloggers knew, so it doesn't have to do anything with the sabbat the Hop lands on), a dozen or more Tarot readers, authors, and experts, blog about one of their favorite subjects--the Tarot.

The Tarot Blog Hop is in its fifth year.

What are the rules?


Members of the Tarot Blog Hop commit to doing two blog hops a year (out of the eight). They link to two neighbors, and create a link chain leading from one blog to another in a big circle. And most importantly, our posts are about a theme that a volunteer wrangler and cat herder came up with.


We organize the Tarot Blog Hop though a Facebook group (you must confirm that you blog about the Tarot before we let you join the group---because that's the purpose of the group).


What type of topics could you be blogging about?


Good question. The next Tarot Blog Hop is being wrangled by me (August 1, 2017), and here is the blogging prompt that I provided to the group:


Our theme for this Tarot Blog Hop is pretty broad--Respecting the divinatory arts, with an emphasis on Tarot.


When I was growing up, I spent some time with my Wiccan aunt. Many of the lessons I learned from her about the occult have affected me and the way I approach things. One of the lessons that I learned was to respect divination systems.


My first lesson in this was in relation to a Magic Eight Ball (as silly of a divination device as you can get). “Respect the Eight Ball, and it will give you accurate answers,” my aunt told me. Over the years, I have learned that she was right about this advice.


As a result, one of the things I teach is “Show respect to the divination systems you are using, even if they are silly systems.”


We all have rules, habits, customs that are our ways of showing respect to our divination tools--things that we do that seem to increase our connection (therefore, our accurancy) with our divination tools.


We also know things to avoid doing--things that seem to annoy our divination tools--things that end up with us saying, “Don’t do that--it upsets the cards.” For instance, my tools gets uppity when someone keeps rewording a question in an attempt to get the answer that they want to hear--snarky answers start to happen, and total silence descends if one does not get the hint that the cards have given all they intend to give you.


So your mission this Tarot Blog Hop is to discuss how you show respect to the Tarot (remember it is called the “Tarot Blog Hop”) and things that you have learned not to do. It can range from smudging the deck periodically to elaborate rituals like the Golden Dawn uses, from not using the cards until the dinner table is clean to well, whatever it is that you do. We all have stories about this subject--if you don’t, you would be the first reader I ever encountered that didn’t have stuff to say on this topic.


[Would you like to take part in the Tarot Blog Hop? If so, come join us on the Facebook group.]

Ouija Table (oh, I want to have one of these)

A spirit board (Ouija Board) themed table. 

This is such an awesome table. 

Oh, I just saw this on Facebook, and I so want one. It is by Brad's Page of Awesomeness.

Mother, may I? (31-HP Day 28)

You come asking
Questioning and begging
Seeking an answer
Crossing my palm
With silver coins

Shuffle and flip
Pasteboard images
Messages and truth
Spirit communication
Divine wisdom

Your eyes blind
Your ears deaf
Ignoring reality
Your mind set
Could be home

Bits and pieces
Wrenched out
Of proper context
Only heard
Is what you want

Seeking agreement
Looking for a goat
Your course is set
Advice you need not
Permission sought

I see no good
Coming from this
Outside my fee
You are doomed
Spirits annoyed

Go forth
Do your worst
Blame the cards
Blame the reader
Anyone, but yourself

Ten years of weather in three minutes

If you are interested in working weather magic, it helps if you have a sense of the natural weather patterns (because it is much easier to work inside the pattern than outside of it). It is also a nice to have this sense if you are Wiccan or occasionally attempt to divine the weather (because we all know that the weather on the news is wrong occasionally *wink*).

Hence my love for this video that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has made to celebrate the ten years of service (3788 days to be exact) of the GOES-12 satellite. The video is composed from 3641 full disk images of North and South America. It runs from the start of 2003 to August 2013 (GOES-12 was decommissioned on August 16th 2013).

For those who are curious, Katrina is at the :45 mark, and Sandy is at 2:50.

Lost a black walnut tree to thousand cankers disease

I am kitty and my butt approves of this tree stump.

So yesterday, I woke up to the sounds of a chainsaw...in my own front yard. Mile High Tree Care had came out to cut down one of the black walnut trees that are in my yard.

The reason that it had to be cut down was that the tree had caught the thousand cankers disease (fungus) that is expected to kill off all the black walnut trees here in Colorado within five years.

Those brown leaves showing up is a sign that your tree is diseased.

The city of Denver is asking...and then issuing fines...to get people to remove their infected black walnut trees in a timely manner.

I am not happy about this disease. This tree was a nice tree, and fairly old (I am guessing that it was planted at the time this area was developed, so it was 60 to 70 years old I think).

The team work was amazing.

I will admit that I was impressed by the amount of time they needed to take down the entire tree. It was only a half hour to forty-five minutes before they were completely done.

The sad part is that I still have another black walnut tree...and I like it. As I said, I am not happy about the disease.

My other black walnut tree.

After Mile High Tree Care finished with my tree, they pulled across the street and cut down one in my neighbor's yard. I imagine that my neighbor is not any more happy than I am about the situation.

So now, I have a rahter large tree stump in the front of my yard. My wife thinks that she is going to use it to sit on while gardening, but I think that one of the cats has already claimed it.

It was a fairly large tree as you can see from this photo.

Who will be revealed as the Puppet Master (I Ching edition)

My cats have assured me that the wheels have indeed came off the tricycle.

And yes, I believe my cats when they tell me that the wheels have came off of someone's tricycle---after all, I read the same blog posts they do.

But the question remains who will be unveiled as the evil puppet master giving orders to the much hated and counter initatory force filled Golden Dawn community...perhaps the I Ching will give us a clue.

(If nothing else, it is an excuse to do an I Ching reading.)

So casting the coins I get 7, 7, 8, 9, 8, and 7.

(For those playing at home, I am using the Wilhelm/Baynes translation, which is the version that my teacher in this particular divination art uses.)

This gives us the hexagram number 38, Opposition.

This hexagram is composed of the trigram Li (flame) on the top, and Tui (lake) below. It reminds me of the fire and water triangles of the Banner of the East, but we should really go with the Eastern Chinese symbolism which views this as two forces moving apart in direct contrast.

"Futhermore, Li is the second daughter and Tui the youngest daughter, and although they live in the same house they belong to different men; hence their wills are not the same but are divergently directed."

Hmm, I think that we can view this as the two Golden Dawn camps moving apart from one another. But I am also quite sure that someone will see this as supporting their viewpoint that there is indeed a conspiracy against them and their Order.

"When people live in opposition and estrangement they cannot carry out a great undertaking in common: their points of view diverge too widely. In such circumstances one should above all not proceed brusquely, for that would only increase the existing opposition; instead, one should limit oneself to producing gradual effects in small matters."

Hmm, still no sign of the identity of the puppet master. If I am reading this correctly, it seems that trying to make sweeping changes will just cause more problems.

"In general, opposition appears as an obstruction, but when it represents polarity within a comprehensive whole, it has also its useful functions....In the world of visible things, the principle of opposites makes possible the differentiation by categories through which order is brought into the world."

Hmm, one Order is Classical Coke, and everyone else is Pepsi?

"Above fire; below the lake: the image of opposition. Thus amid all fellowship, the superior man retains his individuality."

Hmm, I am sorry, but this tells me that there is no vast conspiracy. And if there is, it is among inferior men and women who forgot that they are allowed to have their own opinions.

We do have a changing line in the fourth place, therefore we must read that information.

"Nine in the fourth place means---isolated through opposition, one meets a like-minded man with whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame."

"If a man finds himself in a company of people from whom he is separated by an inner opposition, he becomes isolated. But if in such a situation, a man meets someone who fundamentally, by the very law of his being, is kin to him, and whom he can trust completely, he overcomes all dangers of isolation. His will achieves its aim, and he becomes free of faults."

Hmm, again, I am having difficulties in seeing the conspiracy. It seems more that those who are opposed to the people around them are being isolated from those who are different from them. Birds of a feather flock to the same Orders and do not talk to those in other Orders; no real conspiracy there unless one believes that they should be loved by everyone in the world.

Ok, I really do not see any evidence of a conspiracy or puppet master here in this I Ching reading.

Looking at hexagram 41 (Decrease), I see further indication that those who believe one thing will part from those who believe another thing---"One may use two small bowls for the sacrifice."

Anyway, if there is a hidden puppet master, then they also control the I Ching. And if not, the unveiling is just going to continue to divide the community further. Probably because most of us will not believe that others are taking orders from some imagined evil.

As always, if you disagree with me, feel free to point out where my misreading is in the comment section. Remember that I do not allow anoynmous comments, and I will not approve the worst comments...unless the troll is really entertaining.

Being a Better Candle (Tarot)

This post is part of the Tarot Blog Hop/Blog Round Robin for Candlemas 2012.

Therefore, some of you just got done reading Michael Banuelos' Modern Day Oracle blog.

The rest of you are wondering what a Tarot Blog Hop/Blog Round Robin is. Basically, it is a group of bloggers who agreed to blog loosely about the same topic today and link their posts in a circle. Today's topic is Being a Better Candle (Tarot).

Tommorrow is Imbolc. Or Inbolg. Or Oilmec. Or Brighid's Day. Or Candlemas. Or St. Bridget's Day (Jesus' nurse and foster mom). Or Groundhog's Day.

Or as I like to call it---Why do I have candle wax on my Tarot cards Day. And don't laugh---I actually do have candle wax on several of my Tarot decks. The reason for this is that I sometimes do Tarot readings in the full Golden Dawn ritual envirnoment. For those who are in the Blog Tour, the Golden Dawn was a teaching organization in its Outer Order (first five stages/Grades) and a working magical system in its Inner Order (RR et AC). The techniques of the Golden Dawn were borrowed from the French and English occultists of its day (1880s and 1890s), were further developed by its membership, and then passed down the line (Aleister Crowley, A. E. Waite, Pamela "Pixie" Colman Smith, Paul Foster Case). If you read the Tarot, odds are that you have been influenced by the Golden Dawn...often without knowing it.

Now, I personally believe that the Golden Dawn lore and RR et AC methods have made me a better Tarot reader. I don't use the methods all the time---in fact, it is impossible to use the methods all the time, especially if you ever do public readings---but the lore is always in the back of my mind.

The method that has helped me the most is hand-coloring my own Tarot deck. The lodge that I first joined required its members to create a few cards; for me, this exercise helped me create a better connection to the cards (I was a pretty lousy Tarot reader before that point). BOTA, Case's esoteric school, issues a outline version of the Tarot cards for its members to handcolor. Briefly, there was a Golden Dawn deck that one could do the same with (alas, I believe that it is out of print now). The current lodge I belong to requires the initiate to hand-color a deck in the Grade of Adept Minor (using either a bootleg of the GD deck, a BOTA deck, or another outline deck).

There are other methods in the Golden Dawn system that positively affect one's ability to read the Tarot cards; which method helps the most will vary from person to person. The Z operation (basically, you do a full ritual with the divination in the center of the process), godform assumption, pathworkings...I am probably forgetting something...the Grade initiations themselves, all of these things can help make a better Tarot reader. Of course, there is also the fact that one often (not always) ends up working with other people in the Order exchanging readings and information about the Tarot.

Originally, all these methods were kept under the lock and key of Hermetic secrecy. Today, most of the methods are general knowledge among advanced Tarot readers. (Ok, there are a few things still secret...but let's be honest, the information that has slipped into the public has spread far and wide.) Whether this is a good thing or not depends upon how much you desire to keep people ignorant. Personally, as someone who is worried about the state of the world, I think that we need all the information that we can get to safely navigate through the torrents of modern times. And if that information comes from people using the Tarot---so be it.

In my case, I try to be a better candle by doing the occasional Tarot reading and teaching the Golden Dawn and Inner Order methods to a small circle of people. Whether this actually makes me a better person, a harbringer of the Light, is anyone's guess. But one does what one can, and crosses their fingers, hoping for the best.

So what working method have you found most useful working with the Tarot? And do you believe that information about various methods should be shared? Or should they be kept secret?

(All comments are read, but I reserve the right to not publish the worst comments.)

Blessed be on this Why do I have candle wax on my Tarot cards Day.

For those who are reading the Tarot Blog Hop/Blog Round Robin, the next stop on the Tarot blog tour is October's blog, Readings by October, and she is hella funny.

Ask me a question---is asking an Ouija board about my future wrong?

Question: Is asking an Ouija Board about my future wrong?

Answer: Having done a clean-up operation after someone who used an Ouija board improperly, I would advise you to consider other options to learn about your future. The problem with an Ouija board in the hands of a non-initiate is that it basically opens up a channel with any spirit that is passing though while you are using it. Because of this, you have no idea what type of entity you are dealing with. And the more debased spirits will tell you exactly what they think you want to hear, and there will be no truth at all in their answers. My advice is just leave the Ouija board alone.

Divination: Why I hate being right

Earlier today, I had a friend call me. "You were right," she said. After I figured out what she was talking about (my brain was still editing a webpage detailing the official lodge position on Thelema), I made that noise I occasionally make (the one that makes it sound like I am chewing on a cog---sort of a grinding teeth noise combined with a sigh).

I did not want to be right. I hoped that I was wrong. I hoped that I was wrong so much that I did not pull out my Tarot cards or any other ritual props.

It is one thing to be right about the future when you don't care about the outcome. It is another thing to be right about a situation when you actually care about one or more of the people that the outcome affects.

Occasionally being right about a situation hurts because of the pain that others are feeling.

Myth-reading Bibliomancy

One of the things that disturbs some people is my tendency not to take things seriously. For some reason, I consider having fun a necessary part of my life. I also consider it a part of my magical practice. I figure if you are going to be bored to tears with your magical practice, then you are not going to do it for long; but that may just be a bad personal opinion---we will have to check the comments later to be sure about that one.

My mom had a Magic 8-Ball hidden in one of her dresser drawers. I think she kept it because her sister gave it to her. I used to secretly mess around with it. One thing I discovered was to have respect for even the silliest divination methods. It is possible to have respect for a divination system, even when you are being amused by it.

Recently, I have been working with bibliomancy again. Today, it is often felt that the only proper book to use for bibliomancy is the Bible. This is not necessarily true. And if it was, I would be in big trouble because I find readings done with the Bible lack a certain connection for me. I was reminded of this the other day while reading Adam Bede. When Dinah, one of the characters of the novel, opened up the Bible, she may have been sure what God wanted her to do...but I am not sure exactly how she came to that conclusion using the particular passage quoted.

It may be that using the Bible for bibliomancy does not work for me simply because I do not have a really deep connection with the Bible. My connection has deepen over the years, thanks to my involvement in Golden Dawn. But let's be honest, I only know enough to pass my exams (same holds true for the Bible as Literature class I took last semester; I passed the exams, that is all that counts).

I am more prone to going to Robert Asprin's Myth Adventure series for advice and guidance than I am to the Bible. I have read the first book of the series, Another Fine Myth, at least a dozen times.

And recently I have been using a two volume collection of the early novels that was published by Meisha Merlin Publishing (before Meisha Merlin went out of business) for doing bibliomancy readings.

I find some of my results interesting, though I am sure that many will claim that I am myth-using the system. For one thing, I consider the entire paragraph my finger lands on (not just the sentence) to be part of the reading.

Here are three examples of some of the results that I have gotten. I will not tell you how I chose to read these results, for that would just open me up to accusations that I am myth-reading them.

Question: What is an Adept?

Answer (from Sweet Myth-ery of Life):

At this point, I had to admit that I was more confused than ever. It seemed that everyone I talked to had a different view of marriage, which wasn't making my decision any easier. One thing everyone seemed to agree on, though: A bad marriage could be a living Hell.

Question: Did S.D.A. (Fraulein Sprengel) actually exist?

Answer (from Myth-ing Persons):

Of course not. You can always get more gold. What can't be replaced is time. We all know Skeeve here has a long way to go in the magic department. What the rest of you keep forgetting is how short a life span he has to play with...maybe a hundred years if he's lucky. All I'm trying to do is get him the maximum learning time possible...and that means keeping him from using up most of his time on nickel-and-dime adventures. Let the small-time operators do those. My partner shouldn't have to budge away from his studies unless the assignment is something really spectacular. Something that will advance his reputation and his career.

Question: Do angels only tell the truth?

Answer (from Myth-Directions):

"No," the troll declared. "The only acceptable solution is to trounce those blighters soundly at their own game. I trust you'll allow me to fill a position in your team?"

So there you go, probably three of the most strangest bibliomancy answers that anyone will ever admit to recieving. And if they are not, point out my myth-statement in the comment section.

Fortune cookie strangeness

The other day, I stopped at my favorite Chinese restaurant on my way home from college. The owners tossed a couple of fortune cookies in my take-out bag.

Today, I decided to eat them. Both fortunes read:

(Smiling face) You will soon be crossing the great waters. (Smiling face)

Now, it is probably nothing. The smiling faces, I presume are to reassure me that I am not going to kick the bucket. But honestly, I think I would rather die than have to cross the great waters (whatever they are; I am guessing an ocean).

For those of you who do not know, I pop a lot of ibuprofen at the best of times. I am prone to migraines. And one of my triggers is moving vehicles. Furthermore, none of the medicines I have tried put a dent in them; in fact, outside of ibuprofen, medicine makes them worse.

That was one of the reasons that I found my sister's angry email to me a couple of months ago so annoying. She accused me of going to ren-fairs and Golden Dawn gatherings. Hades, I can not get to the local Witches Ball without major sufferance.

(For the record, I was supposed to speak at a Golden Dawn gathering, but due to money issues, I did not go. The next year, the gathering was cancelled. Probably a good thing, considering I travel much like fine shrimp.)

No one ever realizes how bad it has gotten until they seen me white as a sheet. I had complete strangers come up to me, after I gotten out of a car and am standing by the side of a building trying to not have my head explode (or worse), and ask me if they should call an ambulance for me. I have suffered once for three long weeks after one particular bad ride.

The possibility that the great waters are death is more comforting to me than the possibility that I might have to travel overseas.

Fortunately, I do not think that either one is a strong possibility. But if it is not those two options, what the heck is great waters and how do you cross them?

How to cope without your favorite Tarot deck

Late last night (or was it really early this morning), I was reading posts on a Golden Dawn Forum. Other people count sheep when they can not sleep; I browse for occult ideas.

One of the posts mentioned the (Lady) Frieda Harris/Aleister Crowley Thoth deck (English editions) was apparently out of print, and commanding high prices on the internet. This was news to me. Going over to Amazon and Google, I quickly learned that the poster was right. (English language) Thoth decks are going for a hundred dollars a pop at the moment.

For myself, this is not a big concern. I lean towards cards that do not overwhelm a client; I prefer using short explainations about the symbolism of Tarot, and the Thoth deck is a deep one. I own one for study purposes, but it is not used as heavily as other decks in my collection.

(All the professional and most of the semi-professional Tarot readers I know have several decks that they read with. Someday, I will blog about the reasons for this behavior.)

So in my case, I imagine that the deck will be back in print before I need to replace mine. But for some students and readers, they would like to be able to replace their decks right now without having to spend a hundred dollars or more.

(One of the basic economic rules of occultism is that out of print books and Tarot decks fetch outrageous prices. Even the most useless occult book or Tarot deck will cost you a hundred dollars or more. A high price on an out of print occult book or Tarot deck is no indication of the item's actual merit.)

Or at least, I presume that it will be back in print within the next couple of years.

(There are both economic and copyright issues that could complicate the situation, delaying a reissue of the deck for longer than I am estimating.)

So how does one cope with the unavailability of one's favorite Tarot deck?

One can simply do without it. This is what the poster has been doing. This may or may not be acceptable depending upon one's personal preferences. Especially if one does not have a strong link with a different variation of the Tarot.

Most modern occult students today (or at least the younger ones) do not realize how spoiled we are today; we have an overwhelming wealth of books and Tarot decks. We have choices in what to buy when we need (or simply want) a new Tarot deck or book.

This has not always been true. Even thirty years ago when I was a teenager edging into the occult and wicca, my choices were much more limited. And when my aunt entered the field a couple of decades earlier, the choices were just a couple of Tarot decks (and they had to be imported).

As for the Thoth deck itself, it was twenty-five years after it was designed by Harris and Crowley before it was actually issued. That is 1969 for those who are reading this instead of counting sheep.

Going back in time, the members of the original Order of the Golden Dawn had two choices when it came to the Tarot deck that they used. They could either paint their own, or they could buy a Tarot deck imported from Italy or France.

Substition or doing without is a long tradition among occult students, especially the initiated.

In the case of the Thoth deck, one might be able to obtain one printed in a different language. Maybe.

If your beloved Tarot deck is not too tattered, one can attempt to repair it. Or at least, attempt to prevent further damage. I remember one of the members of Hathoor Temple had a deck of cards that were laminated. It is hardly ideal, but one can understand the thought behind it.

Making your own Tarot deck is still an option today. In some cases, you might not even need art skills, just access to a good printer, a boatload of ink, some glue and cardstock. For those who are attempted to experiment doing it with the Thoth deck, one should note that I have encountered an entire set of jpegs of the Thoth deck on the internet.

The set of jpegs is also useful for the ultimate initiated answer of dealing with the unavailability of a Tarot deck.

I mentioned earlier that I lean towards using a simple (non-initiate) Tarot deck when I am doing readings for others. (Except of course, for members of our tradition, who get the full song and dance.) What I did not mention was the fact that the cards I lay on the table are not neccessarily the cards I see when I am doing the reading.

One of the things that we do as initiates in the esoteric Orders is to build up our visualization skills; we also make the symbolism of the Tarot (and other symbol systems) a part of our "mental furniture". Professional Tarot readers also do this.

There are many reasons why we do this. One of the side benefits of developing this skill set is that you can be doing a reading in a coffee house using a light Tarot deck as your physical prop; and in your mind, visualizing and reading from the initiated Golden Dawn Tarot or the Thoth deck.

The moral of all this is that with a little imagination, we can cope with our favorite Tarot deck falling out of print.