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Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, Occultism and Esoterism, Spirituality and Psychology

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Introduction Pt. 3

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Fludd discusses the mystical implications of using divination.

5. The Act of a True Geomancer Is Like a Movement of the Mind in Ecstasy, or Rather a Sort of Rapture, in Which There Is Prophecy

Rapture in general is called the abstraction, alienation, and illumination of the human mind, proceeding directly from God, through which prophecy is obtained.1

Thus also a certain kind of rapture and ecstasy is required for divination by Geomancy, which is not called the illumination of the mind directly emanating from God, but rather the act of gathering of the mind’s rays into a narrower place, that is to say, into the seat of the human body and its own home, so that through them the divining soul discerns the simple truth more clearly.2

As such, ecstasy is first of all required in this knowledge, that is, the abstraction of the rays of the mind from all external things or affairs, so that they are contracted within themselves: for in a great rapture of the mind and soul the rays are lifted up to the divine essence of God, or into the region of the mental world.3

Thus, even in this minor rapture of the human soul, the rays sent out from without, and scattered here and there, are recalled to their center, and are reflected in the mind, and thus man, who was formerly dark because of the diffusion of his own light, is now enlightened and glorious by the aggregation of the expanded rays.

In a similar manner, as we gather from the opinion of the learned men, on the third day of creation the rays created by the light scattered evenly throughout the sky, and all appeared in a dark manner, as if darkness were mixed equally with light, or night with day.4

But when, on the fourth day, all that light scattered everywhere was collected in the center of the solar body by a certain magnetic property, there was produced that glorious and worthy example of light, in which God himself is said to have had his tabernacle.5

We also see, for instance, that in a fortress equipped with a thousand soldiers, if the greater part of these soldiers, either for the purpose of preparing for defeat or for some other attempt, goes out and runs to and fro, then that fortification is rendered weak, and those who are left experience great fear.

But if those who had gone forth should return safe and sound, those who had been left in the stronghold recover their former confidence and their former hope, and putting aside all fear, they are in no way afraid of the invasions of the enemy, since that place is already well-furnished with warriors.

Here, therefore, things are in the same way with the bright rays of the human soul. For the human body is a stronghold or fortress, where the rays of the mind and the middle soul are likened to soldiers, of whom we may compare those who are sent out of the body to attend to foreign affairs, to soldiers running hither and thither outside the fortress, the absence of which renders the body less confident, and more insecure and timid, and weak in facilitating some noble and bright aim, such as divination, which is the best and highest thing.

We say, therefore, that the recollection of rays of this kind is the reduction of man’s internal nature from multitude to simplicity.6 As a result the soul, recalled from external meditations, and reflected and recollected within itself, renders a man, as it were, raptured and ecstatic, because he thinks of himself and within himself, he is only present to himself, oblivious of strangers, so that it appears to the ignorant that he is not aware of himself. when, in truth, he is now more than ever before.7

For he who neglects worldly things is sure to care for himself more, and he who withdraws himself from the multitude into himself seems to be most present to himself, since there will not be a great interval of distance between him and God.8

To such an attitude or disposition must he reduce himself, who endeavors to procure for himself the gift of future divination. For those thinking of externals divert the powers of the soul from the judgment of truth, so that the uncertainty of the geomancer is great in his judgment, or to be more precise, the truth in him will be as great as the variation of the soul from its unity.9 Indeed, in the multitude of things, tricks, vanities, and lies are concealed; in true unity and simplicity perfection, identity and unity [are found].

Let the soul therefore snatch from the Macrocosm that which is its own, given to it by the Creator in its creation, and internalize it into its own Microcosm, and let no one else enjoy what is its own.

By virtue, I say, of his own excellency, he is snatched from the world, and restored to himself and recollected, and clings to ecstasy, so that in his most refined mirror or spirit he may reflect not only worldly things, but also divine ones. For the more clarity he achieves, the more effective will be his visions and motions for prophesying the truth

6. About the Hidden Properties of Geomancy, and How the Soul or Mind Passes in Its Operation Through the Whole Nature of the Macrocosm

Nor is it right that those who are ignorant of geomancy should regard a series of points as mere lines, formed from the act of divination, since under these characters, the objects of the eye and the senses, many things, both spiritual and material, are concealed. Indeed, these series of lines comprise no less the idea of ​​the universe than the human body itself.10

In fact, although in man his body can only be seen from the outside, yet with spiritual eyes we contemplate his spirit and soul and mind inwardly. Of course, in the body we see the elements invisibly mixed in composition;11 in the spirit and soul we observe the ethereal nature, in the intellect and mind we observe the empyrean nature.

the same can be observed also in Geomancy, since readings consist of four lines of points, and we perceive that the four elements are concealed in it, that is to say, the element of fire under the first line, of air under the second, of water under the third, and of earth under the fourth. 12

Furthermore, in the figures produced by those series of points, the seven planets and the twelve heavenly signs are included, which can only be perceived by the eyes of the spirit.

Thus the figure of Carcer is attributed to Saturn direct and Tristitia retrograde: the figure Laetitia signifies Jupiter direct, Acquisitio retrograde; Rubeus denotes Mars direct, and Puella retrograde; Major indicates the Sun in a certain direction, and the Minor in retrogradation; although the astrologers deny the retrogradation of the Sun, because of its epicycle; Puer is given to Venus direct, Amissio retrograde;13 Albus is attributed to Mercury direct, Conjunctio when retrograde; the direct Moon is symbolized by Populus, the retrograde by Via;14 Caput Draconis is represented by a figure bearing the same name, and Cauda Draconis is represented by a figure bearing the same name as well.

So also those figures contain in themselves the natures of the twelve signs. For Acquisitio is of Aries in an abstract manner; Laetitia and the Minor of Taurus, Rubeus and the Puer of Gemini; Albus and Populus of Cancer; Via of Leo; Caput and Conjunctio of Virgo; Puella of Libra; Tristitia and Amissio of Scorpio; Caput of Sagittarius; Cauda of Capricorn; Major of Aquarius; Carcer of Pisces.

Furthermore, Rubeus, Minor, Amissio and Cauda denote the element of Fire and the Southern part of the world; Laetitia, Acquisitio, Puella and Conjunctio denote Air and the Eastern part of the world; Populus, Via, Puer and Albus denote Water and the Northern corner of the world; Major, Caput, Carcer and Tristitia denote Earth and the Western part of the world.

Even deeper towards the center of the sky lies the empyrean spirit,15 which is the revealer of the future and the present, that is to say, the rational or intellectual collection of these figures and the worldly things contained in them.

From all this it is evident how purely and sincerely the intellectual spirit must be preserved from the inconveniences and harms of the flesh and filth, when from it the movement to produce the Geomantic points first arises, taking with it in a secret manner the natures of the heavenly signs, the planets, and the elements, and finally hiding all these under the number and in proportion to the points, like a certain treasure in a chest.16

If, therefore, we wish to open that chest, first to the elements, then to the planets and celestial signs, and finally to the boundary from which these movements originally flowed, we shall penetrate in the sanctuary of the mind, its will, in the mythotheque of the intellect, of the will, of the signs and planets; in the closet of the ether we shall find the act or execution of the mind; and in the storehouse of the elements, we shall find the effect of the mind’s will, reason, and act (all of which are contained and hidden under figures, as if in a chest).

From the aforesaid, therefore, it is evidently clear that, just as the prophecy of the inspired is the union of the divine mind with the human mind (whence it is the most complete and greatest, this species of prophecy), so also the prophecy of the uninspired sometimes happens, when the soul is united, with its rays drawn back to itself from the multitude toward its summit, that is, with the human mind, which, without doubt, if united with the soul and collected, can perform enormous things by itself, and can lead to the summit and a happy outcome.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. The words ‘abstraction’ and ‘alienation’ must not be understood in their usually negative sense. In Neoplatonism (and mostly in Plato himself as well), the dialectical method allows the spiritual seeker to climb up the ladder of being through a process that leads from the particulars of the material world upward and inward to unity with the divine. Ecstasy, which is the goal of Neoplatonic spirituality, literally means “going out of oneself”. This is the process of abstraction and alienation. ↩︎
  2. That is, prophecy stems from direct union with the divine and is harder to control, while divination (such as Geomancy) happens by focusing inward. ↩︎
  3. See Note 1. Fludd describes the Neoplatonic method of retreating inward and upward. ↩︎
  4. If the light is evenly distributed, no difference appears and everything is as equally dark as it is equally radiant. ↩︎
  5. In the Hermetic interpretation of Astrology, the Sun is a symbol of divinity. ↩︎
  6. Broadly speaking, the path of magic in all its branches (and divination is one of these branches) require an endless attempt at simplifying one’s life and one’s external nature. ↩︎
  7. This is a common theme in mystical and occult literature, and one of the great truths of our art. As we reach what some have called ‘superconsciousness’ we appear to be less aware, while in fact we exceed regular awareness. ↩︎
  8. The phrasing here is clearly very careful to avoid scandal. As for the words “caring for himself”, this is not to be understood as being egoistic. ↩︎
  9. that is, we are capable of seing the truth in the measure that our soul is unified. This is probably part of the reason why divining for oneself is especially difficult, since divination implies doubt about an external topic. ↩︎
  10. Here lies a great and central secret about all functional systems of divination: that their symbolic vocabulary is complete in itself, so as to be able to reflect within its permutations the truth of things to come. Here, Fludd compares the language of Geomancy to the human body, which is a symbol of the completeness of the universe. ↩︎
  11. He means the four elements, which were thought to be mixed to form the material bodies. ↩︎
  12. This is a reference to the fact that in Geomancy each figure is made up of four series of points, and each series is assigned to one of the elements. ↩︎
  13. compared to the usual attributions, Fludd switches Puer and Puella ↩︎
  14. The Moon cannot go into retrogradation. Usually, Populus is assigned to the waxing Moon and Via to the waning Moon. ↩︎
  15. with reference to the Aristotelean and Ptolemaic view of the cosmos. ↩︎
  16. This comparison is very much a consequence of Fludd’s Renaissance worldview, according to which Nature is replete with symbols. ↩︎
Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Occultism and Esoterism, Tarot

Simplifications of the Opening of the Key Spread

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In a previous article I discussed how the original Golden Dawn spread known as Opening of the Key fits perfectly into the mold of traditional divination by cards, although it adds certain occult layers to it. This is largely due to the absence of one-card-per-position layouts, the presence of peculiar techniques and the tendency to read cards in rows.

To sum up how the spread worked:

  • You selected a significator for the querent (usually among the court cards)
  • You shuffled the deck and let the querent cut it into four stacks (corresponding to the four letters of the Tetragrammaton)
  • You found the stack with the significator and had to divine, based on its position, the nature of the querent’s problem. If wrong, the divination wasn’t radical.
  • You had to spread out the cards into a row or arrange them into a ring and count starting from the querent’s card. Then, you had to pair the cards on either side of the querent to fill out the details.
  • Then you shuffled the deck again and dealt it out into the twelve houses. You had to find the querent’s significator and count and pair as before based on the house.
  • You shuffled the deck again and dealt it into the twelve signs. You found the stack, counted and paired.
  • You shuffled the deck, then looked for the significator and dealt out the 36 cards following it into a ring symbolizing the decans of the zodiac. You counted and paired.
  • Finally, you shuffled and dealt the deck into the ten Sephiroth of the Tree of Life, found the stack, counted and paired.

As you may have guessed, the Opening of the Key was a cumbersome spread, and while it was used for the solution of practical matters (Crowley famously remarked on this fact), it clearly was meant to be used primarily within a ritual setting, at least in its entirety.

What is also clear, though, is that the Opening of the Key is less a spread in itself than a blueprint for a complete tarot reading made up of five individual spreads, each of which analyzes the issue from a different standpoint, or rather by tapping into a different layer of it. The experienced card reader could simply choose one of the five spreads and use it without resorting to the others, as need dictates.

For the most part, it seems that many Golden Dawn members simply stuck to the first operation, which is consequently the most famous and iconic, where one cuts the pack into four smaller stacks and reads the one with the significator. The possible reason why the other operations were generally discounted is probably that almost all of them required the deck to be dealt out into small stacks, only one of which is read, so that it takes more time to deal the cards than to read them.

Other members, though, were more inventive. In his Oracle of the Tarot booklet, Paul Foster Case offers a simpler alternative to the five-operation extravaganza of the full method (which he nonetheless describes and recommends for more serious or complex questions)1

The divination starts as usual: by finding the stack containing the significator and telling the querent what he or she has come for without them telling us, based on the stack. In the original instructions, if the diviner is wrong in assessing the nature of the question, the divination should be abandoned. In reality, aside from the initial period of training, it seems that the location of the significator was simply used to color the interpretation of the cards.

At this point, Case’s simplified method diverges from the original. Instead of spreading out the stack into a single row or ring of cards and starting the counting technique from the significator, Case says the diviner must shuffle the stack and then deal it out into three smaller stacks, corresponding to the past, present, and future. Each stack is then read sequentially (as you would in playing card, Sibilla or Lenormand divination).

The simplification of the method is due to the fact that, instead of starting the exploration of the issue from the past/present with the first operation and then moving on to the further future with the other operations, one has immediately past, present and future condensed into a single method.

There are other ways of simplifying the Opening of the Key. Paul Hughes Barlow rose to some prominence a couple of years ago for his idiosyncratic way of reading the first of operation without relying on a significator, instead reading all four stacks, something for which he was reproved by some.

Personally, I have found Paul Case’s simplification very effective in my experiments, and I’ll probably post an example reading in the future.

MQS

  1. He also introduces certain specifications that are also found in the advanced BOTA course on divination elaborated by Ann Davies based on his notes. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, Occultism and Esoterism, Spirituality and Psychology

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Introduction Pt. 2

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Fludd describes the importance of purification, meditation and other practices in preparation to geomancy.

3. How a Geomancer Should Prepare Himself, So That the Intentions of His Mind May Be Clearly Emitted, and May Be United With the Senses by Means of Reason

It is thanks to our senses that we can see the geomantic points. Then, we compare these same points to the celestial [bodies] and the elements with our imagination.1 Finally, the hidden virtue, both of these points and of the figures arising from them proceeds from the correctness of the intellect, both active and passive,2 and consequently from the mind.

From all this follows that the human body must be regulated and governed in such a way that its more intellectual part may not be drowned by too much intercourse with the flesh, or become dulled, and that the imaginative or fantastic spirit may not be rendered dull and impure.3

Therefore, before this work is approached, let our fantastic spirit be clean, pure, unmoved and untroubled by cares, so that it may be made worthy of being trusted by the mind and intellect. Thus, such a spirit, most suitable for divination, will receive the light of the rays of the mind without any hindrance, and will depict the objects of truth in a mystical manner, as if in a mirror, and will cause the sensation and movement of the body to proceed exactly and to the degree to which the effect of the mind itself tends.4

When, therefore, we are safe and healthy in body, and not disturbed in mind, not weighed down by food or drink, not suffering from want or poverty, and not ruled by any vices of lust or anger, let us enter into this area of ​​prophecy. Let him also who wishes to use this art keep his spirit pure, both by quiet and religious meditation, and by moderate and temperate diet according to nature.5

This preparation is necessary for him who desires to foretell the truth of future things, either by the geomantic art, or by any other method, since without it no one can access true divination, for he who is languishing in a fantastical spirit6 will not attain the desired end, but will judge confusedly and indiscernibly.

Similarly, when we are filled with wine, our imaginative spirit, as if submerged in noxious vapors, hides and distorts the glory and truth of the rays of the mind, no differently than a thick cloud, or the earth raised in the middle of the air region, shields the glory of the sun from the eyes of the beholder, and produces a refraction of its rays. In this manner falsities will appear instead of truths, and in the very portion of the cloud the objects of the sun will be seen changed into an iridescent or multi-colored substance, and many phantasms will appear in the air, which are not such as they appear.7

Hence they say that the vassals of Amphariaus,8 as Philostratus testifies, ordered one who wished to divine future things, and to receive the oracles of God or of the mind, to abstain from food and wine for a whole day, or even for three days, if this could be conveniently done.

Thus we read that Ezra and Daniel, and even Moses himself, before they came to God, abstained from their wives for three days and washed their clothes: and so they did all this, at the command of God himself, of which we read Exod. 19 and Ezech. 44.9

And so also must he who desires to devote himself faithfully to this form of divination, be delighted not with carnal intercourse, but with spiritual union, not with wine, but with the light of the mind’s milk, not to be lavished with worldly riches, but with the infinite affluence of the divine intellect, not with junk, but to be filled with spiritual food.10

In an old French manuscript on occult Geomancy I found a confirmation of the above in these following words: “Before you get to the projection of the Geomantic points, I would like you to understand that they are not counted. Indeed, if you do this, nothing good or profitable will result from it, since this is knowledge based on the soul, and therefore the number of points is to be found in the will of the soul, and in no way be established according to the appetite of your senses.

It behooves him, therefore, who undertakes this work, to begin nothing, unless his heart is at peace, and his conscience is whole and healthy, and his spirit and soul are not troubled by any disturbances, so much so that he would not even wish worse for another than for himself.11

Finally, having been prepared in this way, let him trust in God, the teacher of knowledge, and beseech him with prayers, that by the power of that knowledge he may reveal to him the truth; having therefore carefully completed these things, it will be necessary to proceed immediately to the projection and arrangement of the points, etc.”

This author in no way disagrees with our opinion, but rather, on the contrary, seems to agree exactly with it.

4. It Is Not Sufficient for Divination That the Body and Flesh Should be Well Ordered. It is Also Necessary That the Rays of the Internal Soul Be Gathered Together

As concentrating a force generally increases its strength, so also it begets great weakness when it is dispersed.12 Thus we see that the rays of a candle in a confined room illuminate a place in a wonderful manner, since the narrowness of the place compresses and contracts the rays emitted by the flame to each other, so that they have a greater power in illumination. However, if that candle is placed in a larger room, its light is greatly weakened and darkened, because of the dispersion of its rays in a wide area.

In the same way, then, the soul (whose candlestick is the human body) spreads its rays in this or that business, nay, in infinite external things, for example, in lawsuits and legal affairs, in the art of medicine, in the care of family matters, in pain and sadness over a lost cause or the death of a friend, in anger or some unexpected adversity, in some art or knowledge and others of the like, or if he is also affected by the intercourse of concupiscence, the vice of drunkenness, the indulgence of gluttony, or other temptations of the flesh, he will be very weak and have little power to illuminate the body.

But truly, if all these soul-rays are reduced from external affairs to the internal economy of the Microcosm, and are drawn back to their center from the multitude, the force of the soul will be united, and that body, which was formerly dark and gloomy because of the rays, will be illuminated in a wonderful way, and thus the prophetic power in man will be far more effective than it was before.13

However, this reduction of the expanded rays of the soul into one cannot take place without the purification of the body, which is done in the manner mentioned above. As a result it is necessary above all things for him who wishes to claim the name of truth in Geomancy, that his soul should once again turn and reflect its scattered rays upon itself; since the chief virtue of this science consists in the illumination of the soul, in so far as true things are seen in its divine light, as in a mirror of truth, and are explained by the external observation of points in a mystical way through the guidance of the soul that turns its attention to this.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. By using the correspondences of the figures. ↩︎
  2. The concept of the ‘intellectus agens’ or Active Intellect is key to Neoplatonist spirituality both in Europe and in the Arab world, and has many similarities with some kabbalistic concepts. Generally, the Active Intellect was a universal form of intelligence that is not confined to one’s individual nature. Whether Fludd is referring to this or simply to the more active faculties of the human soul is unclear to me. The gist of his argument, however, is that the occult sciences, including Geomancy, rest on the highest principles, which makes them hard to access when one is not pure. ↩︎
  3. Imagination is depicted here as a valid aid to understanding, as long as it is in its pure form and not just mere fancy. ↩︎
  4. To put it simply, the body and the lower faculties of our nature must be ruled in such a way that they move in unison with the higher. Once this is accomplished, divination may take place successfully. ↩︎
  5. Old medicine was of the idea that an appropriate diet could only be prescribed based on one’s nature. There was no one-size-fit-all. As for meditation, Fludd is unlikely to refer to those forms of meditation that entered into the Western consciousness thanks to theosophy’s Eastern dabblings, and that have become commonplace today. The West used to have its forms of meditation. ↩︎
  6. possibly meaning someone who gives in to their fantasy without ruling it appropriately ↩︎
  7. It is impossible to read this passage without being reminded of Plato’s myths, especially that of the cave. ↩︎
  8. Possibly Amphiaraus, the mythological seer. ↩︎
  9. Here Fludd interprets passages from the Bible as episodes describing some higher form of divination. In a way, this is very true. ↩︎
  10. Here Fludd proposes a series of alternatives to ‘lower’ forms of pleasure that may seem rethorical at first, but on closer inspection aren’t. Such ‘substitutions’ are typical of many occult training curricula. ↩︎
  11. Ill-wishing is part of the things that weigh the soul down. ↩︎
  12. The same pressure applied on a wider surface disperses it. ↩︎
  13. This process of ‘unification’ is the same that has been typical of Neoplatonism since (at least) Plotinus, and which has been described, within a Christian context, by the German mystics (Meister Eckhart and his disciples) who described the Seelengrund (ground of the soul) as the point of contact of the individual soul with the universal presence of the divine. Fludd, living at the end of the Renaissance and its exaltation of humanity, gives us a slightly less mystical version of this idea, one geared toward increasing one’s knowledge through occult practices. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book IV Pt. 4

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Abano discusses the various meanings of Tristitia, Laetitia, Puer and Puella as they derive from other figures.

Laetitia

When from Populus and Laetitia, it means luck, gain, especially in large [or great] things.
When from Acquisitio and Puer it means gain, merriment, especially in changeable things.
When from Amissio and Albus it means luck, but with mediocre gain.
When from Major and Puella it means fixity, gain and good luck.

When from Minor and Rubeus it means mediocre gain or honor or good luck.
When from Via and Caput it means gain, honor, positive change.
When from Cauda and Conjunctio it means misfortune, evil, but incapable of doing all it wants.1
When from Tristitia and Carcer it means mifortune, difficulties and problems.

Tristitia

When from Populus and Tristitia it means misfortune, danger, evil.
When from Acquisitio and Rubeus it means fixity and misfortune, except in in things lascivous or feminine.
When from Major and Albus it means luck, gain and honor with firmness.2
When from Minor and Puer it means better3 luck in every question.

When from Caput and Conjunctio it means great fortune, gain and stability.
When from Via and Cauda it means mediocre luck, difficulties, problems.
When from Laetitia and Carcer it means a good deal of luck, but with more problems than positive things.4

Puella

When from Populus and Puella it means infirmity, lascivousness, luck, gain.
When from Acquisitio and Cauda it means mobility, mediocre luck.
When from Amissio and Tristitia it means good luck after much toiling and difficulties, gain in venereal5 things.

When from Via and Rubeus it means misfortune and anger, rumors, change, damage.
When from Albus and Carcer it means gain, good luck, firmness.
When from Conjunctio and Puer it means fortune in everything, luck.

Puer

When from Populus and Puer it means gain, good luck, change.
When from Acquisitio and Laetitia it means gain, honor, mirth, goodness in everything.
When from Amissio and Caput it means good luck, bood in easy things and in seeking pleasure.

When from Major and Cauda it means unfortunate change, damage.
When from Via and Albus it means useful variety,6 fortune, good change.
When from Carcer and Rubeus it means major misfortune in everything, loss.
When from Minor and Tristitia it means fortune, some kind of gain, strife.

THE END

MQS

Footnotes
  1. It is not clear wheter Abano means that the person won’t be able to do all he or she wants, or whether the evil signified by this combination is not all-pervasive. ↩︎
  2. In this case, it seems that Tristitia’s role is to solidify the good fortune signified by the two figures it comes from. ↩︎
  3. ‘migliore’ means ‘better’, but it’s unclear better than what. ↩︎
  4. These two meanings might be hard to harmonize, though maybe not impossible. ↩︎
  5. That is, in things ruled by Venus. ↩︎
  6. It is not always clear what Abano means when he talks about variety, firmness, changeable things, etc. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 8

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Abano talks about some of the meanings of Carcer and Conjunctio in the various houses.

Carcer

Carcer in the first means difficulties, preoccupations, melancholy, prison, deep thoughts, secret thoughts.
In the second it means delay in gain and increase, success through toil, but with difficulty.
In the third it means evil siblings, dishonest pleasures, dishonest and disgraceful neighbors, licentiousness with siblings.

In the fourth it means fortresses, cities, stable buildings, inheritance, abudance, hidden treasures, hidden things.
In the fifth it means miscarriage, dead children,1 danger through childbirth, evil children, lame children, or deranged or possessed, womanly pains.
In the sixth it means good, trustworthy servants, gain from animals, long sickness, danger and pain, crying.

In the seventh it means chaste women, stable marriage, good company,2 faithful people, stable peace, people who can keep secrets.
In the eighth it means death, interment, hiding treasures and goods from the dead, funeral or congregation of people caused by a death.
In the ninth it means religion, serving God, hidden things coming to light, long travel or pilgrimage, good monks, just people, faithful Christians.

In the tenth it means a stable kingdom, lordship, palaces, just judges and orators.
In the eleventh it means succession in a kingdom, oppressing enemies, gain with difficulty, hidden machinations, frauds, rumors.
In the twelfth it means dangerous hidden enemies, long imprisonment, death of the inmate.

In the thirteenth it means danger from childbirth, miscarriage, dangers for the mother, long illness, bad in everything.
In the fourteenth it means freedom from dangers and other issues, but after much trouble, leaving all problems behind.
In the fifteenth it means inner strength, delay in getting one’s wish.

Conjunctio

Conjunctio in the first house means an evil disposition, machinations, fraud, cheating, unstable life, a variety of colors.3
In the second it means merchandise, gain through one’s ingenuity, being active, promptness.
In the third it means ingenious brothers and sisters, good short journey and a speedy return, a messenger, false letters, having fun in company.

In the fourth it means good for the father, good inheritance, a beautiful building, ingenious actions, divisions among citizens, killings, rumors, betrayals among them [the citizens]4
In the fifth it means mirth through one’s children, giving birth, false women, a fun evening.5
In the sixth it means good but petty servants, fugitives, various illnesses but not grave, thieves in one’s family.

in the seventh it means iniquitous women, petty women, harlots, false company, thieves, scuffles and brawls, war, a sad marriage, various colors.
In the eighth it means a prisoner being hanged, for the ill man it means death, and likewise for the absent party, desperation, danger of death for women [or through women].
In the ninth it means intelligence, various interests, various journeys, various fatherlands, traveling to acquire knowledge or virtue.

In the tenth it means official documents, judges, litigations, kings, lords, various offices, dignity.
In the eleventh it means promises or oaths, dispatching soldiers or courtesans, instability, wrongful succession, wrong faith.
In the twelfth it means hidden enemies, betrayal, damage through evil animals, infamy, detractions, dishonor, but it is good to buy animals.

In the thirteenth it means good luck in the quesited thing, in marriage and in doing good.
In the fourteenth it means well for litigations and scriptures or writings, for promises and for lordships and congregations.
In the fifteenth it means happy ending and good luck depending on the question.6

MQS

Footnotes
  1. Elsewhere Carcer is given as positive for pregnancies. ↩︎
  2. Usually Carcer signifies solitude. Perhaps, though, if the question is about someone else’s goodness it may indicate a serious character. Needless to say, much depends on the configuration as a whole. ↩︎
  3. Conjunctio’s description is perhaps where Abano is at his most contradictory, possibly highlighting the inherently contradictory nature of this mercurial figure. Keep in mind that Mercury was seen not just as messenger but as patron of thieves. ↩︎
  4. Possibly here Mercury suggests the idea of partisanship. ↩︎
  5. The latin word ‘conjunctio’ can literally means the act of being joined to another in intercourse. ↩︎
  6. Often Conjunctio is taken to means a middling result. ↩︎
Occultism and Esoterism, Spirituality and Psychology

Be Careful What You Worship

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One of my favorite books of all times is Ursula Le Guin’s second Earthsea novel, The Tombs of Atuan. Actually, I adore the whole first trilogy. It is one of the few fantasy cycles that can actually inform one’s magical practice quite a lot, if one is observant enough. But The Tombs of Atuan is my absolute favorite, and I find myself rereading it every now and then as a sort of comfort book.

In The Tombs of Atuan, the protagonist Tenar, a young priestess in a remote and almost forgotten place of worship, is tasked with guarding the dark subterranean labyrinth of the Tombs and with worshipping the Old Powers of the Earth that seem to reside there (the Old Powers are never clearly defined in the other Earthsea novels and material, as far as I know, but they seem to be a sort of mix between natural powers, pre-divine titans and incomprehensible amoral entities).

Over the course of the book Tenar comes into contact with Ged, the protagonist of the first Earthsea novel and gradually realizes, thanks to him, not only that there is no point in worshipping the Old Powers, but that her worship of them has actually made her worse. There is a lot more to the novel, but this one key point is worth thinking about.

It is one of the tenets of my devotional, philosophical and magical practice that no power comes from me as an individual. It can, at most, come through me. The way we as individuals become channels for powers greater than us is through our worship of them (whether it be devotional, theurgic or of a different kind.)

We all worship something, whether it be mystical, philosophical or mundane. And the more we worship it, the more we make space for it in our life and in the world. This has nothing to do with the manifestation or attraction nonsense that is practiced by people online and is to magic what McDonalds is to food. It is, actually, a simple, almost physical fact.

Most, if not all, magical traditions recognize this. For instance, the reciting of the rosary in certain strands of Italian witchcraft, in addition to accomplishing certain magical goals, is also meant to empty the devotee of themselves to make space for the divine. In many so-called High Magic traditions, the aim of initiation is to balance the components of the personal vessel so as to make it a better tool for something much greater than it: “Now be assured that no one can be enlightened unless he be first cleansed or purified and
stripped. So also, no one can be united with God unless he be first enlightened.” (Theologia Germanica, Ch. XIV)

(similarly, in many strands of Chinese magic, Qi Gong and other practices are used to the same effect).

A lot of people, including a lot of magicians, worship God, but this is not enough. What does God mean? How do you define the God that you worship? I feel this sort of clarification is extremely important, not because your definition changes the substance of God in a postmodern fashion, but because there are plenty of powers, objective and real, in the world that are capable of fitting the mold of your definition and seeping through the cracks of your practice, just like the Old Powers in Le Guin’s novel. Clarity, therefore, is extremely important.

Way too often do we see people who think of themselves (and are thought of) as spiritually “evolved”, whatever that means, or magically powerful who, at a second glance, have merely turned themselves into a walking collection of metaphysical parasites.

This process of clarification starts with a rational and philosophical assessment, and rationality is incredibly important (I’ve written a whole article about the importance of reason in occultism). However, keeping the lights on in your head is just the first step. What is needed is a broader cultivation of our vessel.

Can this all be taught? It is a tricky question. It is my belief that few things in life can truly be taught, or rather, most things can be taught, but the ability to be taught is harder to teach than all the rest. When I say that most branches of the occult path are for the few I do not mean to sound elitist. I mean it in the same way that I mean that math is really for few people. Not everything is for everyone.

Yet I believe that at least this one process of clarifying what we worship is important to everyone, whether they be on an occult magical path or not, simply because, as said, everyone worships something.

MQS

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 6

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Here Abano examines some of the meanings of Puer and Puella in the various houses.

Puella

Puella in the first house means happy things, fleeing from adversity, singing, dancing, usefulness, younger siblings or dead siblings.1
In the second it means usefulness for women and for merchandise, good luck, clothes.
In the third house it means love between siblings and relatives, good friends, usefulness through them.

In the fourth it means fighting over inheritance, difficulty in whatever you wish to gain from your father or mother,2 hiding secrets, good profession.
In the fifth house it means good messenger and letters, gaiety with children, obtaining your wish.
In the sixth house it means lovesickness,3 good servants, harlots, fornication, lasciviousness.

In the seventh it means a marriage of love,4 lucky marriage, lascivious women, lack of stability.
In the eighth it means death of small children, arms and swords.5
In the ninth it means usefulness through travel, good change of place, gain through merchanidse, knowledge, good news.

In the tenth it means honor from lords, good servants, good things for powerful people, happiness, goodness in everything.
In the eleventh it means happiness from friends, good luck for sick people, gain, usefulness through injustice, good in everything.
In the twelfth it means being firm, scams, gain through animals, problems through servants and evil people and phony people.

In the thirteenth it means usefulness through travel and lords, happiness, good news, good messenger.
In the fourteenth it means freedom from danger, usefulness, happiness, gain through toil.
In the fifteenth it depends on the other figuers, depending on where they fall.6

Puer

Puer in the first house means happiness, hope of gain, having kids, obtaining your wish, money.7
In the second it means gain through merchandise, selling, abundance, obtaining the wish.
In the third it means discord among siblings and relatives, gain with difficulty and with company, difficulties, useless dream.

In the fourth it means controversy, fighting, discord, rumors about the father or mother due to inheritance, it brings to light the hidden, useful strategies.
In the fifth it means happiness, false messenger, fights, wealth from minors.
In the sixth it means fled servants, dishonest women, danger from giving birth, male child.

In the seventh it means illegal marriage, harlots, dirty words, useful company.
In the eighth it means death of an enemy or of a minor, inheritance, fraud, if with Rubeus8 it means wounds and loss of blood.
In the ninth it means long travel, reunion, false science and false people, false news.

In the tenth fight, bad judge, dishonor, one’s lord is too credulous, loss of dignity and wealth.
In the eleventh it means false soldiers, false friends, false churchmen, unfaithfulness, treason, contrarieties.
In the twelfth it means enemies, invasion, bad for journeying, subjects, the sick person is evil and a traitor.

In the thirteenth it means travel, impediments, murder, evil people, violence, eviction, loss of inheritance.
In the fourteenth it means evil company, false marriage, harlots, instability.
In the fifteenth it is always evil except in war.9

MQS

Footnotes
  1. This last correspondence escapes me. ↩︎
  2. Puella is usually presented as a positive, if weak, figure. Why it should cause strife over inheritance is not clear. In some Medieval books on Geomancy it seems as though Puer and Puella are often mixed together. ↩︎
  3. The connection of love, one of the meanings of Venus/Puella, with the sickness typical of the Sixth House, is rather smart here, and should be taken as example of how to derive meanings from the Figure-in-House combination. ↩︎
  4. That is, as opposed to a marriage of convenience or marriage for money, which were common back in the day. ↩︎
  5. This latter correspondence seems more plausible for Puer. ↩︎
  6. Puella cannot be the Judge. ↩︎
  7. Once again, this feels like a mix between Puer and Puella. ↩︎
  8. It is not clear where Rubeus should appear in order for Puer to be ‘with’ it. Perhaps in company. At any rate, it is an interesting comment as it reinforces the idea that the figures combine their meanings to give us a clearer picture of the situation. ↩︎
  9. Puer cannot be the Judge. ↩︎
astrology, Occultism and Esoterism, Spirituality and Psychology

The Objectivity of Magic

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Since it’s Leo season I’m rather busy creating Sun talismans and “recharging” old ones (I am not fond of the idea of talismans as something to be charged, but I digress).

This reminded me of one time, a couple of years back, when hubby was in somewhat of an existential crisis as far as his job was concerned. I was working on a Sun talisman, but didn’t tell him (he knows of my esoteric interests but doesn’t interfere, and I don’t keep him abreast of all my workings).

The night after the consecration, hubby woke up at dawn, something that rarely happens, and was drawn by the rising Sun. Inexplicably he was compelled to open a job-searching app he hadn’t opened in a while. Right in front of him was the perfect job opportunity. He applied and got the job.

This little episode, I think, is a good example of how objective magic’s power is. Of course, if by objective we mean “amenable to consistent, quasi-scientific manipulation” then magic is not objective. The presupposition nestled in the heart of science is the possibility of endlessly manipulating reality, while magic has its unbreakable patterns.

Furthermore, white magic tends to have less dramatic (sometimes hardly noticeable) effects than dark magic, because it largely harmonizes the person with the patterns available in their life rather than running against them (if someone is saying that they’ll bring back the love of your life with white magic, they are lying).

Finally, magic doesn’t work as reliably as the technology stemming from science, and never will. If the remote doesn’t work you know you must either change the batteries or see if some wires have come loose inside. But pinpointing what’s gone wrong in a magical operation is much harder, and sometimes things simply don’t work because screw you any old mortal.

But magic is objective in the sense that its influence on reality becomes undeniable to those who have had to do with it. Just like with divination, it is really hard to find excuses and rationalizations.

Also, magic is objective in the sense that it forces us out of our ego and in contact with objective forces outside of us. Some may argue these forces also exist inside of us, and that’s true. In the esoteric constitution of humanity the seven planets are all present, but in so far as their activity is bound by our limitation it is relatively useless, which is why it becomes imperative to overcome those limitations by coming into contact with those same forces outside of us.

Way too much emphasis today is placed on the psychological side of magic and spirituality. This is in part a survival mechanism adopted by our forebears to allow magic to survive the scientific revolution (you can’t disprove me if I’m just an inner feeling).

Working on ourselves is certainly a great idea, though rarely in the sense that this is done nowadays, which usually plunges people even more deeply in their narcissism. However, I believe much of the value of the esoteric arts is that they force us to come out of our selves and in contact with something objective and far greater.

The famous esoteric/philosophical motto “Know thyself” has been reinterpreted in the most abstrusely psychological ways recently, but it is very unlikely that this is what those who wrote it meant by “knowing ourselves”: in the old view of the cosmos, it was impossible to know oneself without knowing one’s place in the scheme of things and therefore not eluding reality, including higher forms of reality, and experiencing the point of juncture between the individual and the universal.

MQS

astrology, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, I Ching / Yi Jing, Occultism and Esoterism, Philosophy, Playing Cards, Spirituality and Psychology, Tarot, Vera Sibilla

Do You Need To Believe In It For It To Work?

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One of the questions that occupy way too many people in the esoteric community is whether divination or even magic require the person to believe in it in order for it to work. If you’ve ever watched the movie The Skeleton Key, you’ll know that this concept has seeped into the collective consciousness enough for it to find its way into mainstream products (I will not spoil the movie here, since it is actually a fun watch, but it depends heavily on its twist).

If you open most premodern books on magic, you’ll be stunned to discover that their content bears very little resemblance to the post-Golden Dawn landscape. This, by the way, is neither good nor bad. Things change. But we need to be aware of the change to avoid being unconsciously ruled by it. One clear difference is that the magician’s will1 or his imagining/manifesting faculties are barely taken into consideration in older sources, at least outwardly.

This is not to say that there aren’t sources that encourage the practitioner to be of firm mind and clear intent (after all, you’d want your doctor to focus, too, even though their focus is not what make their science work), but even those old sources do not consider, generally speaking, the magician’s mind to be the cause of the change. Broadly speaking, when dealing with sources that date back to before the invention of modern psychoanalysis and psychology, we must be extremely careful when interpreting their concept of mind, soul, psyche, etc.

An example will suffice. In his De Vita, Neoplatonic Renaissance philosopher and magus Marsilio Ficino encourages us, among other things, to “think solar thoughts”, or jovial, or venusian, depending on the aim. Similar remarks are found, in various form, in many old sources. A contemporary practitioner might be tempted to interpret Ficino’s invitation as saying that we must envision solar things in order for them to manifest. But neither the language nor the substance of this interpretation belong to his worldview.

Ficino’s view of the cosmos is essentially the same as Agrippa’s and that of many other premodern magi: we are surrounded by chains of sympathy and antipathy between universal powers (typified by the planets). When we think “solar thoughts” we are doing essentially nothing except stepping inside a current of power that has its own metaphysical reality regardless of our attitude toward it. This is because in Renaissance naturalism, the mind is essentially like the body, i.e., a part of the cosmos, and a movement of the mind is like a movement of the body, and just like the body can create a talisman or a concoction, so can the mind shape images that allow it to shower in certain currents of universal power.

Thus, the invitation to think certain thoughts found in Ficino (and others) is not a precursor to manifestation, attraction and other modern concepts, but a natural consequence of the old view of the mind and the world.

On the other hand, from a postmodern standpoint, reality is for us to create at will. Yes, I am exaggerating, but not too much. Therefore, there is the widespread idea, or at least the widespread implication, that what happens happens because we believe in it.

Let us leave magic alone for now and concentrate on divination. Does divination work because we believe in it? Well, no. Certainly divination doesn’t require the querent to believe in it in order for it to work. In fact, it is my belief that, considering how many frauds there are in this field, a querent should be borderline psychotic to blindly believe in divination without a healthy dose of scepticism.

What about diviners? Do they need to believe in divination in order for it to work? That’s complicated, in my view. On the surface of it I would argue that, again, no, we don’t need to believe in divination for it to work. Divination systems work because they have their own internal consistency. The most obvious is Natal Astrology, which presents us with an objective set of symbols that have nothing to do with the manipulation of counters on the part of the diviner.

On the other hand, we need to allow for the fact that divination is not a mechanic set of behaviors, especially with the overwhelming majority of divination systems that do require manipulation (cartomancy, geomancy, dice, etc.) As I often repeat on this blog, divination is and remains something extraordinary. The honest desire for an answer, or at least for a picture of the future, tends to guarantee a crisp and clear answer. This is because the honest desire for an answer allows us to honestly connect with the symbols in a way that makes them fall in the appropriate order.

The querent doesn’t need to be honest in his or her desire, unless they are also the diviner. But if the diviner does not have at least a degree of confidence in what he or she is doing, then the question they put to the system is not the surface question (e.g., “Does X love Y?”) but “Do you really work?” which is an impossible question for the system to answer (if the answer is no, then the system does work).

Even then, I would be cautious in overexaggerating the importance of the diviner’s attitude. As I believe I have mentioned, one of the ways my teacher trained me was by asking me to discover secrets about her past. Clearly, the exercise was not meant to discover something new that might benefit my querent or me, but rather to build my confidence and skill. Yet it worked, and it worked well. Maybe the diviner doesn’t need to believe in divination (I know I am always skeptical until proven right), but they do need to at least be open to the idea that this is a legitimate way of receiving information, just enough to enter into the system rather than operating it from the outside as a scientist would manipulate a bunch of molecules.

My general belief at this point is that the esoteric arts do not require our consent in order to work, but they are also not the product of the mechanistic application of abstract principles. It is indeed a fine balance.

MQS

  1. Let’s leave aside the fact that the concept of Will found in modern magic is actually more complex than what it appears to be on the surface ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 2

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Abano starts a discussion on the meaning of the various figures in each of the houses, beginning with Acquisitio and Amissio.

I have already discussed how every figure has two properties, one by virtue of its essence, and one by virtue of its accidental placement in the chart. What follows is the meaning of each figure in each of the fifteen houses.1

Acquisitio

Acquisitio in the first house means gain through partnerships,2 obtaining what one wishes, acquisition, gain, honor, good life, health, property.
In the second house it means gain, merchandise, money, good outcome, usefulness.
In the third house it means good luck for one’s siblings and relatives or neighbors, and in science, and the dream is true,3 good outcome through journey.

In the fourth house it means inheritance, goods from the deceased, increase of wealth and of stable things, abundance.
In the fifth house it means good luck with children, or through them, recognition, happiness, what one wishes to gain, following one’s lords.
In the sixth house it means sickness, falling ill, relapsing,4 gain through animals and servants and subjects.

In the seventh it means good change of place, good friendship, good partnership, usefulness, properties.
In the eighth it means gaining back the money you loaned, gain through dead people, mediocre outcome in all things, except for sickness, where it lengthens the process.
In the ninth it means gain through travel, honorable travel, especially if of elevated people and people who have fear of God.

In the tenth it means exaltation, lordship, lords, honor, dignity, gaining through one’s masters, kings, emperors.
In the eleventh it means good luck in every question, gain, good friends, happiness and friendship and offspring.
In the twelfth it means prison, loss, toil, problems, fear, gain through serfs, subjects, animals.

In the thirteenth it means honorable journey or journeying with great people or in their stead, or with one’s mother. Gain.5
In the fourteenth it means obtaining what one wishes but with trouble, problems, difficulties.6
In the fifteenth it means good outcome in everything, good brother, good things from brothers and relatives.7

Amissio

Amissio means damage, loss, especially in movable things, coins, in wealth, theft, gossip, evil in everything, except for sickness or prison or travel.8
In the second it means loss of wealth, damage through merchandise, and in everything where gain is hoped for.
In the third it means enmity with siblings and relatives or through them, wrath, discord, malice, good outcome for journeys.

In the fourth it means damage, loss, misfortune in secret things, loss of inheritance, destruction of the city, of the home, of the land, of the fortress.
In the fifth it means problems and misfortune with children, loss of wealth, famine.9
In the sixth it means healing of sickness, liberation of the fled servant, loss due to animals, and when one is sick, depending on the other houses, there might still be doubts [about his health].10

In the seventh it means fraud, treachery from women and enemies, loss through marriage and partnership and friendship.
In the eighth it means loss of inheritance, loss of money and wealth, death of the sick person.
In the ninth it means long but good journey. Late journey in a distant land, problems on the road, with changes, harlots.11

In the tenth it means loss and problems in all you wish to gain, and if Rubeus is born from it it means being harmed, if Tristitia it means prison.12
In the eleventh it means misfortune in everything you wish to get, discord, enmity with friends, bad for prisoners.
In the twelfth it means bad journey, loss through animals and loss of wealth, toil, loss of merchanidse, and you’ll collect a debt at a loss, freedom from prison and sickness.

In the thirteenth it means loss of wealth, damage through one’s lords, change of country, misfortune.
In the fourteenth it means loss of friends, toil, great problems.
In the fifteenth it means bad outcome, flight, not retreiveing what you wish to retrieve, misfortune in all.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. This way of proceeding is rather typical of medieval handbooks of geomancy and even of astrology. It generally aims at allowing the reader to form an idea of the abstract properties of each figure by showing its concrete manifestation. ↩︎
  2. It is unclear why Acquisitio in the First House should indicate gain through partnerships. In most medieval handbooks of astrology, for instance, a planet showing gain in the First House usually indicates the querent’s industriousness. ↩︎
  3. Dreams and science are usually Ninth House matters, although the distinction is not as rigid as some modern traditional astrologers make it out to be. ↩︎
  4. This is a typical example of a broadly positive figure having a negative meaning: people usually don’t want to ‘gain’ an illness. ↩︎
  5. Why Abano characterizes the Thirteenth Figure, i.e., the Right Witness, as meaning all these things is obscure, until we remember that, for Abano, the Right Witness is in connection with the Ninth and Tenth houses, from which it is formed. ↩︎
  6. Probably from the mixing of Eleventh and Twelfth House meanings. ↩︎
  7. The connection to relatives and brothers escapes me. ↩︎
  8. Abano does not say “Amissio in the first house means…” but “Amissio means…” I suspect though that it is just a mistake. ↩︎
  9. Because it shows loss of the products (second from) of the earth (Fourth House) ↩︎
  10. Amissio is generally favorable in case of illness, but what Abano is saying is that we should always look at the picture as a whole, without focusing on a single testimony. ↩︎
  11. This escapes me. ↩︎
  12. That is, if Rubeus or Tristitia are the Right Witness, which is the one born from the Tenth House. ↩︎