Lyra’s Golden Compass (His Dark Materials – Pullman)
The Winter of 2020 was a particularly harsh one. The use of divination by cards was not needed as the focus was more on dream symbology.
Yes, there are similar rites and similarities but the use of a deck to “see” seemed to be a bit of a chore as there was so much glorious darkness to travel in and on.
Spring is arriving slowly and with night chills in the Northeast. More light is available, longer days and oddly enough longer dreams, so into the labyrinth the Soul travels. The Bright Mirror scrys just as well as the Dark and the ways of seeing in day and night are many.
The Spirits are saying there is “plenty of hell” for everyone in the coming year. So don’t think 2021 is bringing anything other than Judgment on the World or the physical plane.
What does it mean to take refuge? To take refuge is to find a safe space. Refuge comes from the Old French meaning “to flee.” Refuge in most religions referred to physically entering the protective enclosures of temples or monasteries, off- limits by cultural agreement to war & strife
welcoming to those forced out of their homes.
Some of the great buildings extant from times unknown called by various names today such as Gothic, Moorish or Tartarian architecture were such stone citadels. Refuge has an occult meaning and as such refuge is said to be “under the wings ” or the protection of a powerful Entity.
In T: The New Tarotfor the Aquarian Age drawn by John Starr Cooke, the numbers are not present on the Major Trumps and all the names have been changed. The old Blasted Tower or 16th Trump became Citadel, the conceptual equivalent of refuge or sanctuary in the modified deck.
As to the date 2021, in Cooke’s deck card 20 is Judgement renamed the Knower of which we just had a double dose in 2020! Card 21, the World is dubbed The Virgin. This combination of 2021, i.e. Knower with Virgin suggests that there will changes or structural shifts in the third dimension.
Many practitioners of initiatory ATR’s such as Ocha, Haiti’s Rada Rite, and Candomble are often reminded that these are religions anchored in community settings. In other words they are not solitary practices. ATR’s are based on the family structure just as Christianity is.
Today, the religions which came to America with various tribes are TIED to Christian theology by traditions. Originally, it is said this was done as a cover, but now it is an embedded tradition which is clung to. Religion doesn’t have updates.
The High Priest of a religious community is a shepherd of that flock. He may be a diviner, teacher or a counselor but he is also a representative of a priestly lineage and or a higher power.
The Pope or Hierophant card is shown with the symbols of the higher power (his scepter). He is an intermediary between heaven (his 3 tiered crown) and the lower realms. The Pope is positioned between the visible and invisible worlds (the pillars). He passes on his knowledge and raises up those who will follow him. This is why he is shown with disciples or acolytes.
The Performer
The Tarot card which represents the solitary practitioner is the Magician. This is obvious in the card. Here is an ordinary man. He has assumed a firm stance on the earth. His tools are simple. The table before him has on it common items. His hat shows he works with the seasons or cycles of Nature. There is no pomp or ceremonial bling in his working. He holds a simple wooden wand and he looks away from it – off to the opposite direction of the Pope.
The Magician may also disguise what he does but this is done to make sure his message reaches the people. Entertainment is often a Magician’s ruse. They are tellers of tales, showmen, tricksters or even at times charismatic runners of a confidence game. The Magician doesn’t give his work fancy titles. As the Kikongo saying goes: “Ndoki can’t say what they are,” more than likely he or she will assume many different aliases on their journey.
Though the Magician seems to work solo he/she is not bereft of community. While the community of the Magician is not obvious, they are ever present. His or her relationship is with Spirits or Daemons. It is familial as well, it is just beyond 3D and corporal forms.
In terms of inquiries about the ATR’s the Magician card would appear with individuals whose practices are not as closely linked to Christian principles such as Palo Mayombe, the Congo & Petro Rites of Haiti or Brazilian Quimbanda. So when looking for the cause and effect of certain phenomena or what a person really is “into” or using, keep the graphics of these two Major Arcana cards in mind.
An Earthkeeper is one who has formed a link to the Earth’s sentient energy. Speaking to the Earth in a sacred way allows the Earth to speak through you. The Earth is ancient. Modern ideas of linear time cannot hold Her stories. Allegiances to the traditions of the current world system have to be widened to contain the Earth Mysteries.
The Earth-plane today is not in the pattern of Old Earth. The First 2 legged Tribe scattered when Stars and Asteroids collided, when Seas seethed and the Land divided. The boundaries named and identities claimed by Ancient Men are dry bones buried under layers of the Collective Unconscious by the shovel of Time.
Original Earth Mysteries have no part in what is recognized or can be “verified” by historians or science. The Earth Mysteries are mythic, fantastic, dark whispers, the stuff of dreams and visions. What is meant by the saying ” modern men live in the mental architecture of their Ancestors,” i.e. the relics & landmarks of a position in space time where & when a specific cultural lineage starts or begins is simply that they live on a historic timeline which is a limited perspective.
