buggly wuggly woo!! you're cursed!!

Lady bugs done, now tone to glue!

A case against Magic[k].

The version of the word has been popularized by a terrible racist, and if that is a good enough reason for you not to want to use it then feel free to stop here.  However if you're interested in learning more about the wider context, here is a short history.

Agrippa

Agrippa is cited as being the author of the first occult book where magic is spelled with a k at the end.  There is a 1600s translation where someone used that specific spelling, and there is no denying that it is technically used. However, those that point to this in order to justify its use now seem like they just don't want to change.  When the document had been written, English had not been codified, and many other spellings of magic (magik, magyk, magique) are also floating around during this time. These do not nearly get the same defense.

The word would not return to the occult community for nearly four hundred years between the book's English translation and the popularization of magic[k].

Aleister Crowley  The real meat and potatoes of why we don't use the word magic[k], is that it was popularized by a man by the name of Aleister Crowley. The quotes from Crowley that demonstrate his character are actually so terrible that for common decency, and the safety of my account, I'm not quoting them here.  They are not too terribly hard to find, and you'll hardly find a soul denying they exist. He wanted to differentiate from stage magic (elaborated on more below).  However, even at the time no one was having trouble telling the difference [see generally: historians at the time, anthropologists, and other practitioners], so Crowley justified it in other ways.  In his mind he wanted magic to have six letters.  He liked hexagrams a lot.  The number six was significant for him.  Thus, giving magic six letters was his mark on the word itself.

He left a nearly irreparable scar on modern occultism both being the progenitor to things like Wicca, and the writer of his own system based on the teachings of the Golden Dawn, Thelema.  Not only are a lot of these systems often more than dipping their toes in, but prone to soaking their whole feet in appropriation and bigotry if the practitioner isn't careful, they were often based on the writings of a lot of people who were wholesale racists/ antisemites. The work that goes into removing the bigotry from these systems, and occultism/ modern practice at large, is often substantial, and this is a step we've chosen to continue doing so. Namely, by removing Crowley's personal influence where we can.

Stage Magic argument

There is an argument that magic[k] as a spelling is necessary to differentiate from stage magic. (Or in some cases differentiate between witchcraft and Magic the Gathering.)  I've personally seen this argument a lot, but have not personally encountered a situation where it was necessary.  There are far too many, in my mind anyway, easy swaps (witchcraft, energy work, etc.).  There has also been no evidence I've found of this ever being the true intentions of the word's use.  Especially since if that were the case, they probably should've also changed the objectively more confusing turn of calling themselves "magicians", or of the word "magical".

Circling Back

Don’t weed out milkweed, and don’t use pesticides on it. It’s the only plant that Monarch eggs are laid on, and keeping it alive as best you can helps more butterflies be born!

Research and plant nectar plants! This may not be possible based on your location and area, but if you don’t have a yard for it, local parks will respond if you contact them about volunteering to help plant! Nectar plants help feed butterflies on their long migrations from Canada and the USA to Mexico!

Donate to charities that help do things like plant milkweed and conserve butterfly forest habitat! Save our monarchs and Xerces Monarch Butterfly Conservation are a great start, but I encourage you to research on your own for charities that work for you!

Avoid pesticides! Pesticides can kill milkweed, and even kill the butterflies themselves! Monarch population is already down 90%, and even small steps like using crushed eggshell barriers and spraying pests away with water can be a great alternative!

Not even a little.

Write your reading down in a tarot journal along with your initial thoughts and impressions.  Come back to it in a few days and see if you have different insights.  A “tarot time out” often provides clarity.

Get a second opinion.  Share your interpretations (or confusion) with a fellow tarot reader – a fresh set of eyes might give you a new perspective and help jog your sixth sense.

Do the reading as if you were interpreting for a complete stranger.  In other words, detach from your brain (and any wonky emotions) and go through the interpretations as you would for another person.  Consider what advice would you might give them.  Say the reading out loud – or record it to listen back later. This usually does the trick for me (plus it’s more efficient than writing it down or bugging someone else!)

Having trouble detaching?  Before you begin doing a reading, take a few minutes to meditate.  A short period of quiet can calm the mind and emotions, which always lends to a better result.

If you’re still having trouble, re-shuffle, and do a three-card reading for a fictional character.  Look at the cards, and see what story they tell about that character. 

Some general patterns to keep in mind:

Look for Major Arcana cards.  The Majors make up fewer than one-third of the deck. If there are more than that in a reading, it tells me that there is something bigger going on than perhaps you think. There are life lessons and probably many forces beyond your (or the querent’s) control.

Look for the Court cards.  Fewer than one-quarter of the cards are court cards. If more than that shows up in a reading, I keep in mind that there may be many other people involved or influencing the situation. Or perhaps the querent is feeling torn about how to behave.

 Analyze the suits present.  Are all four suits equally represented? If not, what is predominant and how might that influence the energy of the situation? What is missing? Is that suit one that should be brought into the situation by the querent?

I don’t always expect the suits to be equally represented. For example, if I would expect more cups in a relationship reading. What is striking to me is when there are no cups present in a love relationship reading. When reading about a job or career, it is interesting to determine the querent’s priorities by the suits present. Pentacles is financial, of course. Wands shows that ambition and excitement are valued. Swords indicates a love of problem-solving and analysis. Cups suggests that emotional fulfillment and good relations with co-workers and clients matter a lot to this querent.

Look at the visual pattern made by the cards.  Tarot is a visual medium. Art and artistic elements matter to most readers. Before looking at the art of each card, look at the cards on the table altogether as if they were one picture. Look at the colors and shapes. Is there a flow…or lack of flow…that you can see? 

Finished these up today and they’re up and available for purchase on my website.

This spread uses all the Major Arcana to give you an overview of your whole year ahead. It is best performed on your birthday or on New Year’s Eve.

STEP 1: Lay out the Major Arcana in order.

Line 1: The Fool to The Lovers Line 2: The Chariot to The Hanged Man Line 3: Death to The Star Line 4: The Moon to The World

STEP 2: Shuffle the Minor Arcana.

As you do this, ask your higher power to show you a glimpse of your destiny for the upcoming year.

STEP 3: Draw a Minor for each Major.

One by one, take 21 cards from the top of the deck and place them over the Major Arcana, starting with The Fool. Then take the card at the bottom of the deck, and place it over The World.

STEP 4: Read the Minor against the Major.

The Major Arcana represent the important aspects of your life. The Minor Arcana reveal what will take place within these aspects.

The Fool – What will begin in your life?

The Magician – What dream will manifest?

The High Priestess – What secret will be uncovered?

The Empress – What will you harvest?

The Emperor – What will you have control over?

The Hierophant – What will remain unchanged?

The Lovers – How will your love life be?

The Chariot – What will make you victorious?

Strength – Where will you find strength?

The Hermit – What will you need to reflect on?

Wheel of Fortune – Where will you find luck?

Justice – Who will avenge you?

The Hanged Man – What will you have to sacrifice?

Death – What will be reborn?

Temperance – What will bring balance into your life?

The Devil – What will you be most passionate about?

The Tower – What will trigger a profound change?

The Star – Where will you find hope?

The Moon – What will stay clouded?

The Sun – What will bring you joy?

Judgement – Which of your oppressors will be punished?

The World – What will give you a sense of accomplishment?

Sample Interpretation:

The Four of Pentacles on The Lovers – “Your romantic partner will be very protective of you, maybe even to the point of being possessive.”

The Ace of Wands on The Hanged Man – “You will need to sacrifice a part of your career or pause a project you are passionate about.”

The Ten of Cups on The Devil – “You will be focusing all your attention and energy on starting or expanding your family.”

If we tie it all together, we arrive at: “You will get pregnant this year, prompting you to leave your stressful though fulfilling job, so you could focus instead on ensuring you have optimal health to carry the baby to term. During your pregnancy, your spouse will be taking care of you even more than before.”

STEP 5: Identify the court cards.

The Kings, Queens and Knights are the people who will play a vital role in your life, positively or otherwise.

King of Wands – Leo (Fixed Fire)

Queen of Wands – Aries (Cardinal Fire)

Knight of Wands – Sagittarius (Mutable Fire)

King of Cups – Scorpio (Fixed Water)

Queen of Cups – Cancer (Cardinal Water)

Knight of Cups – Pisces (Mutable Water)

King of Swords – Aquarius (Fixed Air)

Queen of Swords – Libra (Cardinal Air)

Knight of Swords – Gemini (Mutable Air)

King of Pentacles – Taurus (Fixed Earth)

Queen of Pentacles – Capricorn (Cardinal Earth)

Knight of Pentacles – Virgo (Mutable Earth)

Sample Interpretation:

There are two couples here — the King and Queen of Wands and the King and Queen of Pentacles: “You and your other half will be highly supportive of each other. You could be a Taurus and they could be an Aries, or vice versa. Either way, you will strongly feel the love and passion in your relationship.”

STEP 6: Notice the dominant suit.

Wands – Passion will overflow.

Cups – Emotions run the show.

Swords – The battle is in your mind.

Pentacles – Finances will be bright.

Sample Interpretation:

There are nine Wands and nine Pentacles each: “Your year will definitely not be lacking in passion and stability — materially and emotionally.”

STEP 7: Note the numbers that appear at least thrice.

Aces – A year of beginnings

Twos – A year of dilemmas

Threes – A year of affairs

Fours – A year of stability

Fives – A year of changes

Sixes – A year of harmony

Sevens – A year of challenges

Eights – A year of labor

Nines – A year of completion

Tens – A year of harvest

Sample Interpretation:

No number appeared more than twice. There is no discernible theme, numerology-wise.

STEP 8: Observe the ruling colors.

Black – Loneliness, regret, obstacles, purging

Red, Yellow, Orange – Passion, love, happiness, power

Blue, White, Green – Spirituality, logic, innocence, intuition

Sample Interpretation:

Red, yellow and orange are the ruling colors: “Your year will be filled with a passionate love that will bring you joy and a strong sense of control over your life.”

STEP 9: Record your grand tableau.

Take a photograph of your spread, and write down your interpretations of it.

STEP 10: Review your grand tableau.

Whenever you enter a graveyard, it is most common and most respectful to greet the guardian and leave one or more offerings. traditionally accepted by guardians are dark bread, lavender, oats, vervain, cornflower, mint, bells, music, skulls, coins, alcohol, or any general tidying up, however im sure that with more research on the specific guardian, you can give more specific offerings.

Now you may ask, what is a guardian? a guardian is typically a statue of an animal near the front gate of the graveyard that is there to keep what is in, in and keep what is out, out. if you are unable to identify the graveyards guardian, generally leaving an offering at the front gate is acceptable. My local graveyard is quite modern and doesn’t have an obvious guardian, so I leave coins at whichever entrance I go through.

if you must take from the graveyard, show utmost respect and ask. you’ll know if its okay, only take if you feel the answer is a yes after you’ve asked. only take what you need, dont over-do it. Especially if you’re collected something like graveyard dirt for baneful workings and places like witchtok have popularized that even more, make sure you understand why you’re using graveyard dirt in a spell, the implications of it, or if you’re just doing it because that’s what the internet said you do.

spirits you come across in a graveyard tend to be very old, so you must be mindful of your manners! Some “old fashioned manners” include, silence your phone, dont wear new shoes, dont yawn or whistle as they are seen as superstitions and do not photograph graves of the dead (this does not apply to family graves, however i’d still ask, even if it is family).

if you step on a grave, just apologize. walk gently around, I know personally some graveyards you have to walk over where people are buried to be able to read the headstones, as long as you’re being as gentle and respectful as possible, that’s the best you can do! try your best to straighten out disheveled graves if you can peacefully and easily. leave the way you came and always give thanks after leaving. you are a guest, you dont own the place.

Everyone’s beliefs will differ based on personal experience, cultural differences, spiritual beliefs, etc. In general, if you’re doing everything you can to be respectful, then you’ll be okay. Don’t let this intimidate you from spending time at graveyards, spirits can get lonely and company is nice, go sit on a graveyard bench with your friend, chat, have an ice cream, let there be some joy brought there and some fun chatter for the spirits to listen to. Read names on headstones, say them out loud, let them be heard.