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The Wicci Notebook
I write a lot. I've written a bit on this site about a variety of subjects. This section is just a collection of the original writing (essays, etc.) on this site.
The Tarot
Introduction
My introduction to Tarot happened one sunny afternoon in 2015, while standing in line at Barnes & Noble. My then-fiancé (now husband) encouraged me to buy the cards, after he saw me playing with the Running Press Tarot Kitplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigRunning Press Tarot Kit
Deck Notes
This is the first tarot deck I ever bought - it was an impulse purchase at my local Barnes & Noble. While we were waiting in the checkout line, I noticed this kit in one of the racks nearby, and my husband suggested I get it, since I mentioned I'd always been curious about tarot, given my upbringing. at the register. I played around with the kit a few times, but didn't really find it very interesting beyond the initial novelty of something I was taught as a child was necessarily satanic and evil.
I discovered Robert M. Place's Alchemical Tarot (5th Edition)plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigAlchemical Tarot (5th Edition)
Deck Notes
This was my first serious Tarot deck. I found it by accident and was very strongly drawn to the artwork and heavily symbolic imagery. The Alchemical Tarot isn't a particularly intuitive deck. I didn't find many of the images to be very intuitive without the context provided by the artist's book. That said, Robert Place does an excellent job of maintaining consistency throughout his artwork's images and symbolism. Similar symbols and images are used thr… in 2017 by what I can only see as kismet. I came across images of this deck while searching for something online, and I was immediately drawn to the esoteric woodcut style of Robert's artwork. I bought the deck, which comes with a little white book, but I didn't use it seriously until the next year, when I finally bought a copy of his in-depth Tarot book, The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism.
Robert's detailed breakdown of the evolution of sorcery, magic, and occultism in the west created a foundation for me to start investigating more deeply the various folk beliefs and spiritism of my American and European ancestors, and it's through this research that I've developed my own view of the Tarot and its usefulness in modern life. I definitely recommend Robert's book if you're interested in learning more about Tarot and the history of magic, with less of the ahistorical, metaphysical narrative that's common with many New Age authors and the original author of modern Tarot theory, Arthur E. Waite.
Notes & Thoughts
Introduction
My introduction to Tarot happened one sunny afternoon in 2015, while standing in line at Barnes & Noble. My then-fiancé (now husband) encouraged me to buy the cards, after he saw me playing with the Running Press Tarot Kitplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigRunning Press Tarot Kit
Deck Notes
This is the first tarot deck I ever bought - it was an impulse purchase at my local Barnes & Noble. While we were waiting in the checkout line, I noticed this kit in one of the racks nearby, and my husband suggested I get it, since I mentioned I'd always been curious about tarot, given my upbringing. at the register. I played around with the kit a few times, but didn't really find it very interesting beyond the initial novelty of something I was taught as a child was necessarily satanic and evil.
I discovered Robert M. Place's Alchemical Tarot (5th Edition)plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigAlchemical Tarot (5th Edition)
Deck Notes
This was my first serious Tarot deck. I found it by accident and was very strongly drawn to the artwork and heavily symbolic imagery. The Alchemical Tarot isn't a particularly intuitive deck. I didn't find many of the images to be very intuitive without the context provided by the artist's book. That said, Robert Place does an excellent job of maintaining consistency throughout his artwork's images and symbolism. Similar symbols and images are used thr… in 2017 by what I can only see as kismet. I came across images of this deck while searching for something online, and I was immediately drawn to the esoteric woodcut style of Robert's artwork. I bought the deck, which comes with a little white book, but I didn't use it seriously until the next year, when I finally bought a copy of his in-depth Tarot book, The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism.
Robert's detailed breakdown of the evolution of sorcery, magic, and occultism in the west created a foundation for me to start investigating more deeply the various folk beliefs and spiritism of my American and European ancestors, and it's through this research that I've developed my own view of the Tarot and its usefulness in modern life. I definitely recommend Robert's book if you're interested in learning more about Tarot and the history of magic, with less of the ahistorical, metaphysical narrative that's common with many New Age authors and the original author of modern Tarot theory, Arthur E. Waite.
Philosophy
Introduction
I really enjoy discussing deep philosophical subjects. I write a lot when we go wilderness camping, and I've started digitizing my writings. I don't claim to be the source of truth on anything. My philosophy is based on what I observe in the world around me, what I learn about past civilizations, and what is synthesized from my observations. I might be wrong about everything…but so far, I have a pretty good track record.
If you're looking for Molyneaux-style pop-philosophy, where you're told reality is a mirage and thus everything is meaningless in the end, you're barking up the wrong tree. Nihilismplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigNihilism
Introduction
What is nihilism?
Many roads lead to nihilism, and those that do cannot avoid it as an inevitable logical conclusion of flawed ideologies.
Fundamentally, nihilism is the belief that everything is meaningless - that there is no creator, no purpose to our existence, and no rhyme or reason to the universe. Thus, nothing matters, is a dead end.
This is an always-evolving work in progress, because no, there is not a single truth that transcends all peoples throughout all time. If there was, Christianity wouldn't have had to use violence for centuries to establish itself as the prevailing moral and religious authority.
Subjects
Philosophy
- Absolutismplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigAbsolutism
“What can possibly be coming on this page?”
Don't worry, I'm not a postmodern nut who thinks everything is so relative there are no established standards and norms that matter. I believe that morals are relative in the way that the production of oil is non-static. It takes a very long time to convert carbon into hydrocarbon, and it takes a very long time for the basic morals of a civilization to shift. Forcing that shift is wrong, because it is inherently tyrannical. Forcing people … - Nihilismplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigNihilism
Introduction
What is nihilism?
Many roads lead to nihilism, and those that do cannot avoid it as an inevitable logical conclusion of flawed ideologies.
Fundamentally, nihilism is the belief that everything is meaningless - that there is no creator, no purpose to our existence, and no rhyme or reason to the universe. Thus, nothing matters,