#geekomancy

Now, we have concrete confirmation that the Clear cards are the sole product of Sakura’s power and imagination (something which I speculated on nearly a year ago, so I feel rather validated on that front). For anyone who has been dipping into Clow sorcery, this is kind of a big deal on multiple levels. First and foremost being, they are not Clow cards. These new card spirits exist wholly outside of the original framework that governed the Clow. This is evidenced by a few things, starting with the names and appearances of the respective spirits.

A large majority of the Clow cards were anthropomorphic/humanoid in appearance. Only a handful of them did not fit into this category, and even most of those could be identified as an object of some sort. With the exception of the Illusion and the Wave, every Clow spirit had a definitive and recognizable form that personified its inherent power. The Clear cards, on the other hand, are largely abstract. Even those that are described as birds (Gale, Aqua, Blaze) are not any kind of bird that is immediately identifiable as such. To date, the only truly humanoid Clear card spirit is one that is directly inspired by a Clow card, and consequently shares the original spirit’s name (Mirror).

You may be asking why any of this matters. Obviously they needed a new #aesthetic to hook people, so that covers that, right? Well, I think it’s a little more significant than that, especially since Sakura responded so well to the original cards and developed a decided friendly relationship with them. Why, then, would her own cards be so different to the friends she had already made?

I believe it boils down to a key difference between Sakura’s and Clow’s magic which becomes pretty apparent when you examine their respective mahoujin. Looking at Clow Reed’s magic circle, we see a TON of different magical elements. At first glance, we clearly have some astrology, some sacred geometry, the kanji for the four cardinal directions, and a host of symbols, sigils, and script all divided neatly into sections that obviously have some type of mystical correspondences. This mahoujin is absolutely packed with occult knowledge that Clow spent years painstakingly crafting into a coherent system, the final product of which were the original Clow cards.   

Some of this detail and structure is maintained in the magic circle Sakura ends up using in the second half of the series, but some of it is also lost. We retain the astrological symbols and the Sun, Moon, Star motif (slightly rearranged to reflect the source of Sakura’s power). We still have the cardinal directions and the interlocking geometric designs, but the rest of the glyphs and magical script have gone missing. Looking at this mahoujin, there are enough similarities to clearly show these magicians are still working within the same paradigm. One is a little more heavy on the elements you might expect to pick up over a life-long study of the occult, while the other has been parred down to reflect a magician who is still growing into their craft.

Virtually all of this changes with the Clear cards, though. Absolutely everything about the original mahoujin, save for the presence of the Sun and Moon, has been edged out by the dominance of the Star. Even the four kanji representing the cardinal directions have been replaced by the kanji for Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth. Perhaps even more fascinating, the circle no longer even manages to contain the whole of the design. This magic circle is literally bursting with Sakura’s own power, and very little else.

What this says to me is: Sakura is not only stronger than Clow was, but she is also an entirely different type of magician. While Clow relied heavily on various elements of ceremonial magic and established lore to create a new system that married Eastern and Western philosophies, Sakura isn’t so much creating a new system as she is unconsciously harnessing raw elemental power through sheer force of will.

This is also demonstrated in the different incantations for unleashing the Wand. Both the original incantation and the one Sakura uses in the latter half of the series call upon a very specific force - the “power of the Dark” or the “power of the Stars”. In the Clear card arc, however, she calls upon the “Force without Master” to release her staff and secure the new cards. Honestly, I suspect the only reason the new cards are even cards at all is because she is mimicking a familiar template without realizing it.

The point is, this explains a hell of a lot. The reason the Clear cards are more abstract is because they haven’t been refined by any formal rules or tools beyond the power that is required to wield them. It also explains the disparity in the range of their application as compared to the original Clow. Clow spirits all had a very narrow set of skills and parameters specific to their nature. By contrast, the Clear cards have a broader range precisely because they are, in essence, still very raw. Which is understandable, since it takes years of learning and practice to develop the control necessary to work with fine lines as opposed to broad strokes.

But what this proves is that Sakura’s power is far more chaotic than anyone except perhaps Eriol may have realized, simply because she has no boundaries to contain it.

I’m still not entirely sure what all this means for practitioners of Clow Sorcery, but there are a few things I can say with relative certainty. The first is that I absolutely believe one can choose to work with the new cards without having to give up the Clow. The second, is that anyone who does decide to work with the Clear cards should probably keep in mind that they are an entirely different beast born of a much wilder magic than the original Clow, and therefore may not necessarily play by all the same rules.

Step One: Pick a Planet!*

You’ll need to pick a planet* to invoke for this spell.  There are a few ways to do this!  Some are more complicated than others, and it really depends how much of an astrologist you are, but it doesn’t matter how you pick as long as you pick one!

Pick a planet that corresponds to your personal astrology.  For example, my sun sign is Taurus, so I might pick Venus.  You can also pick a planet that corresponds to a specific house in your chart, depending on why you want to wake up on time -  the 6th house if you’re getting up early to go to the gym for example - but I must confess this is a little beyond my astrological skill level.

Pick a planet that rules the hour at which you want to wake up.  This is a more complicated choice, since which planet rules which hour changes by the day of the week, so you’d be doing a different planet every morning.

Pick a planet with qualities you want to bring into your day!  

Pick a planet you like or that matches your favorite Sailor!

*Alternate Step One: Pick Something Else!

You don’t necessarily have to call on the powers of a planet.  You could call on a star, god, spirit, herb, crystal, tarot card, or literally anything.  If you’re calling on something tangible it might be a good idea to actually have some on hand, but this will work with the power of Citrine or Coffee just as well as Jupiter or the Sun. 

Step Two: Charge it UP!

Whatever you picked in step one, as a nightly ritual, charge it with energy.  This might be something like petitioning the planet you chose, brewing coffee or tea, or lighting a candle and directing its energy into a crystal or object. I have my own methods for imbuing something with magical energy; I’m assuming you have yours as well.  If not, look up a way or follow your instincts and just try something!  

Whatever you do, if you can have a specific object to charge up that represents what you picked in step one, charge it and set it by your bed when you go to sleep.  (Make sure you seal the energy in the object so it stays there until you call upon it, or else you might have trouble falling asleep!)

Step Three: Music!

Every good Magical Girl Transformation has kickass music to go along with it!  Download the transformation music straight from the anime, or pick some other song that pumps you up and makes you feel confident.  

If you can, set this music to go off as your alarm. If you can’t, practice humming it under your breath or hearing it in your head.  My husband sleeps next to me, so I can’t do any of the super-loud versions of this spell.  It still works!

Step Four: Transformation: Wake UP!

When you wake up and hear the music playing, take a moment to connect with the energy you’re invoking.  Then move into a stretch and say, “Moon Prism power.... Wake UP!”  Or “Coffee Power”, “Hermes Power”, “Magpie Power”, etc, whatever you chose.

On the word UP, sit up!  as the music continues to play, envision your Sailor Guardian transformation in your mind’s eye.  Get out of bed and do another stretch, ending in a pose that makes you feel both powerful and hella cute!

As you strike your final pose, say, “By the power of the moon, I’m going to kick ass today!” (As with the other phrases, customize this one to your own purposes.)

**Note: If your movements or chanting are a little stilted or you can’t remember what to do right away, that’s OK!  Sailor Moon is the exact same way.  If you want to be smooth and confident in your movements though, it’s a good idea to take some time to practice your stretches and poses before using them to wake up.

Congratulations!  You’re awake and energized!  Those evil monsters had better watch out, because you’re going to kick ass today!