My candle order arrived today! Among other colors, I ordered a purple one for my Angrboda altar, and a black pillar for Hela’s altar. And look what arrived!

Pink is the New Black

Fortunately, She sees the humor in the situation.

This is review of another book I did on my prior blog that I like so much, I’m reposting it here!

In 2009, the fabulous Rachel Pollack released (via Magic Realist Press) The Tarot of Perfection: A Book of Tarot Tales.  I bought it when it first came out, and finally made time to read it over the Labor day weekend that year. I stayed up until 3:00 am to read it three times through, dreamt about it all night, and read it again in the morning.

The words that come to mind are: compelling, imaginative, and gothic (only in the case of two of the stories, “The Souls in the Trees” and “Simon Wisdom”). And, like all good literature, educational and enlightening while entertaining.

Rachel is known for the high quality of her writing, which is of course superb in this collection of short stories. Rachel is also known for her ability to take the known, the familiar, and tweak them ever so slightly to create something entirely original and surprising.

The theme throughout most of the stories is a deck known as the Tarot of Perfection (which, if Rachel creates, I will publish in a heartbeat).  The title story gives the history of the fictional deck’s creation by the character Joachim.  The deck’s next appearance in a story is in “The Souls in the Trees” – in a reading done by our very own Dr.  Apollo!

“Simon Wisdom” is the longest story in the collection, and the spookiest. It features the Tarot of Perfection, magical squirrels who are enchanted siblings, popcorn, bullies, and one of the scariest villains in fiction.  He never commits an evil act directly on the page – rather, he emanates evil, and what we learn about him as we read is really more horrifying than reading a detailed description of an evil deed as it is committed. I’m not much for horror – I have nightmares all too easily – but this story was so well done that it spooked me thoroughly, but didn’t disturb my dreams.

A few stories don’t directly feature Tarot, but have magical elements which enliven the plot.  The tale of a pickpocket (“The Pickpocket’s Destiny”) had me laughing out loud. In a fantastic twist on the usual young-man-seeks-life-wisdom-from-elder, the hero of the story is advised by his guide to become a thief, then a burglar, then a bandit – not your typical career or spiritual development advice!   “The Girl Who Went to the Rich Neighborhood” is a magical tale of a poor young woman on a quest to seek aid for her family.  She receives it, but not from whom – or in the manner in which – she expected when she set out.  Remember: be kind to everyone you meet.

My favorite non-Tarot story, “Carolina in the Morning”, features Caroline, a brave young woman who takes on the Devil.  However, unlike a typical Dark Lord, this Devil buys souls on eBay and keeps them in a computer file – fiendishly clever!

The last story, “Master Matyas”, brings the book full circle, back to the Tarot of Perfection.  As Rachel recounts in her blog, she took the name from an inscription on one of the fountain pens she uses to write.  Matyas is a young country boy who escapes his dull life to become a wizard, and learns that there’s more to life than knowing everything.

I love this book of tales, and I wish I’d made the time to read it sooner!  If you haven’t read it, or if you haven’t read it in a while – pick it up and start reading!

This appeared on my prior blog in 2011. I find the book deeply interesting and am reposting the review here for my new readers.

I bought this when it came out in 2000, read the first part of it, and then it got put aside as I was in the middle of dealing with moving from San Francisco to London.  (Nothing like moving halfway around the world to throw your daily schedule right out the window!)  So, here I am, 11 years on, finally getting back to it!  (I really hate leaving things unfinished. There are only two books in my life I have not finished; neither of them Tarot books.)

Tarot and the Journey of the Hero by Hajo Banzhaf is still available through the publisher, Weiser Books, and also by special order from your favorite independent booksellers, such as Fields Book Store in San Francisco.

Banzhaf”s theories and interpretations go well with the established wisdom on the Hero’s Journey, found in works by authors such as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell.  What makes the book interesting is Banzhaf’s incorporation of references to works by authors which may not be familiar to the average English speaker. Many of the authors whose work he cites are, like Banzhaf, based in Europe and writing in languages other than English, so this book is valuable for the bibliography as well as the content. Some of the works listed are available in English, but many are not, so here is your chance to learn another language or two!

The other outstanding feature of this book is the number and quality of illustrations.  Banzhaf includes images from classic art that are not the usual ones used in many mainstream Tarot books.  Banzhaf has done his research (or someone on staff did!), and the images include works by Edvard Ille, Alexandre Seon, and Salvadore Dali, as well as a number of pieces from antiquity and museum pieces not commonly seen – for example, a floor mosaic of Hermes Trismegistus from the Cathedral of Sienna.

What separates Banzhaf’s approach from most Tarot writers is that he does not believe one has to spread the cards and read them in order to find meaning. He divides the Major Arcana into stages of the Hero’s Journey, assigning each a meaning and life situation.  His approach is to identify the life situation in which we find ourselves, and work with the card that represents that situation.  We can look to the immediately preceding card to see where we’ve come from, and to the following card to see where we are going.  Working with the archetypes of the Major Arcana figures, and the symbols and meanings contained in the cards, we can then have a deeper understanding of the task at hand and how to best address it to move forward.

To assist in this way of working with the cards, Banzhaf provides the Archetype, Task, Risk, Goal, and Feeling associated with each of the major cards. While not all of the items listed in the Feeling category are actual emotions – many of them are possible experiences or actions, rather than feelings – it’s an interesting way to assign values to the cards.

For example, the Feeling in Life listing for Justice includes “Harvesting what one has sown, treating others and being treated fairly, making intelligent decisions.”  All of these are actions, rather than feelings, but this may be due to the fact that German has many compound words that don’t translate exactly into English, and this was as close as the translator, Christine M. Grimm, felt she could get to the original meaning of the German word.

That small linguistic consideration aside, I found this book to be an interesting read, presenting many valuable ideas about interpreting the Major Arcana, and I would recommend it for any reader of moderate or advanced experience who is looking for a new perspective on the cards.

If you are new to working with bindrunes, I suggest you read the introductory bindrune post here, then return to this post to read about this specific bindrune.

Change can be a slow, organic process, giving us time to experience the shift internally as well as externally in real time.

And sometimes, things are painfully stuck, and you need to shake things up and create radical change. This rune can help you do that, but you must be prepared to engage and effectively manage the intense energies. This combination burns with light, heat, and fire energy, and you need to be careful when playing with fire. This is not a good bindrune for beginners.

Bindrune to Create Dramatic Change: Sowelu, Cweorth, Dagaz

The rune tiles show the individual runes which create the bindrune. From left to right: Sowelu, Cweorth, and Dagaz.

Sowelu brings the light and heat of the sun, as well as the lightning strike of destruction which leads to regeneration. Sowelu contains healing energy, which you can channel into creating the new situation as an improvement over current circumstances. This rune carries some of the energies of the Tower card from the Tarot, so understand what you are dealing with when you use it. This rune is often associated with Loki (a fire giant) and His father Farbauti (also fire giant, and wielder of lightning). Remember that Loki is a Trickster, and Farbauti is also known as the Cruel Striker. Set very clear intentions for the highest good of all when you add this rune.

Cweorth is the rune of the funeral pyre. Throw everything onto the bier, light it, and walk away. The wildness of this rune is not something to invoke until you are adept at managing intense energies. I know I keep saying that in regards to this bindrune, but really–Cweorth calls forth incredible amounts of intense energy, and you need to be prepared for that, or it will knock you off your feet and burn everything, not just what you offer to it. As the rune of cremation, it is linked to Hela, so be sure you are prepared to deal with what She will ask of you in return for this rune.

Dagaz is the rune of transformation, the moment of change. Dagaz offers protection and focus. Think of it as a funnel that channels the energies of the bindrune to your desired result, as well as creating a barrier to keep out unwanted influences. Loki is also associated with this rune, and the Trickster will take you at your word–so again, state your intentions quite clearly, and for the highest good of all.

This rune was done in colored pencil. I tried using my calligraphy markers, but the color combinations went muddy due to mixing, so I stuck with the colored pencils for this one.

You could also put a drop of cinnamon or clove oil to add some fiery energy to further move things along, or a drop of your favorite oil  on it to reinforce the energy with your personal scent. You can also use a magical oil, such as a hoodoo oil like Algiers Oil, or other type of specially prepared oil.

This rune can be quite effective, but be warned that the changes may manifest in ways you don’t expect or necessarily desire. When you create this rune, it is critical that you focus on the desired outcome in specific detail. An undefined or poorly defined outcome may simply bring you new problems to replace the old problems, and that’s not what you want to create for yourself.

Today’s poem is a lovely piece from Vidya (also known as Vijjaka), the seventh century female Sanskrit poet.

I praise that silent
listener
her whole body bristling—
only a poet
linking words with ineluctable cadence
can touch
her insides with fire.

Image by Intezaar from Harmeen.com