Blessing Your Devices? Yes!

The computer is a magical tool. The smartphone is the magical tool of the moment. Don’t believe me? Chances are you got riled up today seeing something on that screen today. I know I did. That’s magic. Try doing that to millions of people with a wand and a cup and a pentagram. It may seem like chaotic and malicious magic, and it certainly is, but someone is benefiting from every click. So why don’t many of us bless our computers and smartphones?*

Let’s build an easy blessing..

I generally work in a Catholic grandma meets Western Occult wizard framework, with enough Chaos punk ethos to strip things down to the base necessities. So I am going to start with the basic necessities here. Computers, smartphones, and the internet are all under the umbrella of communication and thought, so Mercurial spirits seem like a good choice. I do the occasional hymn to Hermes, so I will open with that, but feel free to open with anything that seems right. I am going to use the day and hour of Mercury, because I like the shorthand of planetary day and hour. I will close with a Raphael prayer, both for his Mercurial and healing aspects. One could certainly make a case for the other Archangels too, so if that’s your bag go right ahead, but really any prayer of thanks should work.

A basic procedural framework might look like this. Light incense appropriate for Mercurial spirts, or frankincense, candle, glass of water, or other offerings of your preference. Start with an opening prayer or evocation, wave the devices over the smoke saying something along the lines of (using unnamed spirits to keep it universal*);

“Spirits of protection, Spirits of Healing, make this device, this tool, this portal, safe for me, and for my Peace of Mind. Help me to keep my Equilibrium in the sea of things meant to distract me from my Work. Spirits of Communication, help me to express my Thoughts in a way that will be understood and not judged unfairly, and help me do the same for the thoughts of Others. Spirits of Commerce, help my financial ventures thrive in the online marketplace, and make my purchases true. Spirits of Mischief, turn your eyes elsewhere, and do not deceive me through this device. Spirits of Wisdom, guide me always.”

Say it three times over each device. Close the ritual with a prayer, thanking the spirits for their help in the matter. If you work with saints, you could try St. Isadore of Seville, St. Anthony of Padua, or you can be hip and petition Carlos Acutis, who is reportedly on the fast track to becoming the official patron saint of the internet. I don’t know about you, but I want that kid in my corner. Happy travels online, since that’s the best we can do right now anyway

*I got the inspiration to do this from listening to a recent episode of the “Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole” podcast, so only fair to give a little credit

*Thanks to Six Ways by Aiden Wachter to open my eyes to using abstract spirits rather than named spirits for things like this

July 29, 2020 0

Using Playing Cards for Readings

Yes, it’s pretty hip right now to be into using playing cards for divination. I feel especially drawn to them lately, as tarot is so in the zeitgeist right now, and I immediately cringe when something dear to me gets big with the masses. Don’t mind me, I am still just an aging punk rocker at heart I guess, getting mad when my favorite band gets big. This too shall pass..

How to read playing cards has always sort of vexed me, having first tried it drunkenly in the North End of Boston at a friend’s apartment after the bars closed around us, about ten years ago. The problem was, I was trying to read it like tarot. I finally realized, through a little research and a paid course (that because of life stuff I never got into past the first video) by Camelia Elias, that I was making it way too hard on myself. I won’t get into her system here, obviously (I wouldn’t be able to anyway), but I do appreciate that she pointed us to Dawn Jackson’s The Wise and Subtle Arte of Reading Cards.

Not sure what the copyright status of this is, so I won’t repost it here (but it’s on the “internet way-back machine” apparently if you’re curious). I can say that I took some excellent basics out of it though. The first rule is that red is good and black is bad. It gets a little deeper with suits, where hearts are love, diamonds are fortune, clubs are work, and spades are troubles- to sum it up roughly. The queens are women, the kings are men, and the jacks are children or messages- easy peasy.

It gets a little more complicated than that, of course; you can use her system of number meanings, or the Kabbalah, or your favorite tarot correspondences, or whatever you please.

If you saw my post on using the “Crossed Cartomancy” , I am having fun with the systems from The Book of St Cyprian at the moment. As always, pick the system for the type of reading you want. I wouldn’t use playing cards for Jungian inner journey symbolism readings, but I might use it in place of my RWS deck if I needed to help someone on the fly with a clear answer. It’s great for quick readings in a bar, obviously.. no need to consecrate it. Maybe just find a smoker outside and pass it over the second-hand tobacco (I kid, I kid).

As with most readings, I like a three card layout that shows progression or two sides affecting the middle, depending on the question. For progression readings, Jackson recommends going left to right. A Red Black Red would show “a bump in the road”, and Black Red Red “troubles getting going but smooth sailing after”, for example.

In the case of the three cards I shoddily threw as an example, initial health problems will cause a slow start, but then there will be a path to increased fortune and perhaps one’s true calling. Wait a minute.. that sounds like it’s talking to me. Again. lol. Oh, divination..

I will let you take it from here, but this at least should be enough to dip your toes..

July 25, 2020 0

Trying to make Frankincense of it all

Just thinking of how cavalier I was when this whole thing hit, making off-hand remarks about the ‘low-lethality’ of this virus, as now we are a bunch of house pets; eating food from a can, playing with our toys, and going out for the occasional walk.

“Wake me up when it gets to 30%” et cetera

Don’t worry, I am in good spirits, and still making the most of this down time. I am not going dark here. But it’s like if someone warned me an invisible murderer was coming to my neighborhood, “but don’t worry.. he only kills about one in a hundred”, would I have laughed it off? I can see the reality of our collective situation dawning, breaking on on most Marbleheads. Some, of course, are still very la-de-da about the whole thing, still trusting in their inner belief in invincibility.

I joke that ‘social-distancing’ is my preferred state. There is truth to that, I enjoy being alone more than most anyone I know. That’s probably because anyone who likes forced small-talk less than me is probably on some Arctic weather station, watching polar bears. Typical bartender sentiment I suppose but not ubiquitous.

via GIPHY

People need each other, though, even introverts. That doesn’t mean I want to go back to having to socialize all the time. I do need people to make toilet paper (hurry!), and keep the utilities going, and produce content to keep me sane. Oh, and eventually to come to the bar and keep me off the streets- I save myself conversationally for them (usually). I suppose you can ask any professional if they want to do what they do for a living for free on their days off, if they do I envy them but guessing that’s pretty rare.

Putting away the tarot and magical stuff for awhile, no sense greasing the wheels of reality right now. Meditation and prayer is the name of the game, with an occasional fast and some incense of course! Finally got a jar of all-natural, sustainably harvested, organic, yadda yadda frankincense. It’s fresh enough to eat, not that I recommend it, but if it comes to that.. (insert just kidding/not kidding emoji here). I really recommend the good stuff, I’ll never go back. Great solar incense for clearing energy and as an offering works for pretty much any benevolent spirit. You don’t always have to sage you know!

Useful tip of the week, save all your veggie bits that you’re not going to eat.. carrot peels, celery leaves, onion skins, herbs. Throw them in a freezer bag. When you fill a couple of good-sized bags, sweat all of the heartier stuff in a stock pot (you see where I am going), with a little oil and some dried spices. Bring it to a boil, turn down to a low simmer. I like to add a little soy sauce or Worcestershire. Strain it after a couple of hours and you have a rich veggie stock to make rice, soup, or even boost those ramen packs. There might even be actual nutrients in it!

We, as a household of sorts, are trying to go as close to zero food waste as possible. I even turned some stale hot dog buns into amazing croutons today. If you want more stuff like this, especially with pickling or fermenting, leave a comment!

April 3, 2020 0