#clow magic

矢, shǐ. the arrow.

arrow; dart; old variant of 屎.

大, dà. the big. 

big; great; vast; large; high.

泡, pào. the bubbles.

bubbles; suds; blister; soak.

替, tì. the change.

change; replace; substitute for.

雲, yún. the cloud.

cloud.

创, chuàng. the create.

to begin; initiate; inaugurate; start.

闇, àn. the dark.

close; shut; dark; dismal.

驱, qū. the dash.

* 駆 (jp) ku, kakeru 駆ける.

to expel; urge on; drive; run quickly.

夢, mèng.  the dream.

dream; visionary; wishful.

地, dì. the earth.

earth; soil; ground; region.

消, xiāo. the erase. 

vanish; die out; melt away.

闘, dòu.  the fight.

struggle; fight; compete; contend.

火, huǒ. the firey. 

fire; flame; burn; anger; rage.

浮, fú. the float. 

to float; drift, waft; to exceed; superfluous.

花, huā. the flower.

flower; blossom.

翔, xiáng. the fly. 

soar; glide; hover; detailed.

霧, wù. the mist.

fog; mist; vapor; fine spray.

冻, dòng. the freeze.

freeze; to feel very cold; congeal.

灯, dēng. the glow.

lantern; lamp; light.

幻, huàn. the illusion.

illusion; fantasy; mirage.

跳, tiào. the jump.

to jump; to skip over; bounce;  leap.

秤, chēng. the libra.

balance; scale; to weigh.

光, guāng. the light.

light; brilliant; shine.

小, xiǎo. the little.

small; tiny; young; junior.

锁, suǒ.   the lock.

* 錠 (jp) jō じょう.

lock; padlock; shackles; chains.

輪, lún.  the loop.

wheel; to take turns; to rotate; classifier for recurring events.

迷, mí. the maze.

to bewilder; lost; confused.

镜, jìng. the mirror.

mirror; lens; glass; glasses.

移, yí. the move.

change place; shift; move about.

力, lì. the power.

power;  strength; capability; influence.

雨, yǔ. the rain.

rain; rainy.

返, fǎn. the return.

返回, fǎnhuí.

* 戻 (jp) modoru 戻る, もどる.

return; revert to; restore; come (or go) back.

砂, shā. the sand.

sand; pebbles; gravel; gritty.

影, yǐng. the shadow.

shadow; image; reflection; photograph.

盾, dùn. the shield.

shield. 

撃, jī.  the shot.

strike; hit; beat; attack; fight.

静, jìng. the silent.

calm; quiet; still; motionless; gentle.

眠, mián. the sleep.

close eyes; sleep; hibernate.

雪, xuě. the snow.

snow; wipe away shame; avenge.

歌, gē. the song.

song; lyrics; sing; chant; praise.

风暴, fēngbào. the storm.

* 嵐 (jp) arashi あらし.

storm; violent commotion. fig. crisis (e.g. revolution, uprising, financial crisis etc)

甘, gān. the sweet.

sweet; willing.

剑, jiàn. the sword.

* 剣 (jp) ken.

sword; dagger; saber.

抜, bá. the through.

拔出, bá chū.

(jp) nuku 抜く, ぬく.

to surpass; to seize;  to go beyond; to rise; to put forth.

雷, léi. the thunder.

thunder; mine (weapon). (Internet slang) terrifying; terrific.

时, shí. the time.  

 time; season; era, age, period.

双, shuāng. the twin. 

set of two; pair; couple; both.

声, shēng.  the voice. 

sound; voice; tone; noise; reputation; classifier for sounds.

水, shuǐ. the watery. 

water; river; liquid; beverage; additional charges or income (of clothes); classifier for number of washes.

波, bō. the wave.

wave; ripple; storm; surge.

風, fēng. the windy.

wind; air; manners; atmosphere.

樹, shù. the wood. 

tree; plant; set up; establish.

notes:

* these kanji are the logographic used for the title on their respective card. i understand this is logical given CSS is a japanese work. however, the character in the story that created the cards is chinese and the cards themselves are based on daoist concepts. for this reason i did my best to translate them as this is a list of the chinese names that would be (in my opinion) the cards “true” names. the rest of the infographics are mutually understandable between chinese and japanese kanji. 

not listed by hierarchy, just sorted alphabetically for easier navigation.

I haven't posted much lately. There hasn't been much for me to update with on here, as I spent much of last year working on cosplay.

But now, stuff's come up, my depression has been kicking my ass for the last week, and now it's time to just. Do something about it. Something powerful. I'm getting help, but I need something I can work with *now*, not later.

Ergo, this. A breakdown of the card choices below. Of course, each person is unique and would need to decide for them what would work best for their situation and interpretation of the cards.

I’m restarting and recharging my experiences with a new set of The Clow.

I want to really embrace this idea that as a Clow sorcerer, one has to win over the cards by impression, force, or skill before they will work well with you. One method I’ve seen others do with this is pulling cards and waiting for that card to act in their life, providing a challenge or a sign that indicates when they’ve ‘captured’ that card. However, I’d really like something a bit more intense that focuses on them being a specific entity which is encounterable.

My plan is to work with each card for no less than three days.

On the first day, I will cast a sort of sacred space for myself and through that, work into a ‘soft-astral’ space where the spirit of the card could be drawn to appear. While there, I would try to communicate with the spirit and see what happens - is it a discussion that ‘captures’ them? some kind of challenge? a contest between me and them? After learning what will be necessary, I will take my leave.

The second part, which is no less than a day, but could be substantially longer if necessary, will be about preparing for whatever the card will put before me or subject me to to earn its allegiance. Perhaps there will be some part of myself I need to focus on for a bit, or a new skill I need to learn - or even just constructing a basic plan of attack.

The third part, I will again cast the sacred space and travel to where the card is to meet its challenge. Upon completing it, the card will be ‘captured’. I don’t know if I’m right in my guess of what this will mean, but the direction I’m sensing is that the entity will be bound into my card specifically so it can be easily called and utilized for spellwork. However, it’s less of a slave situation and more of a willing servant. Completing/besting the card’s challenge ‘captures its heart’, or otherwise engenders loyalty & respect for the sorcerer. You are worthy of serving and worthy of being followed.

Anyone out there want to talk with me about their experiences working with these entities or about the idea of meeting each spirit in ritual for the ‘capture’ bit?

Furthermore, I want to work with the Guardian spirits of the Clow, if they also ‘exist’ with the deck. I haven’t a clue how to reach out to them, though. With my previous set, when I consider the Guardians I get a feeling rather like two magnets repelling each other, or just nothingness. Any ideas on figuring out if there are Guardians, who they are, and attracting their attention?

Thanks!

Every good witch needs a magic circle, whether it’s just casting it for fun or for some serious casting. So I thought, why not make a giant spread, so everyone can call up their own magic circle, and call forth their own clow spirits.

But just a word of warning, this is going to be a big spread, which means it’s going to require a lot of energy. So make sure you don’t overdo it, stop when you feel you need to.