Hagalaz is the rune of hail. Hail is a destructive and elemental force, so one can expect this rune to represent the disruption of one’s life. In the harsh northern winter there is a halt to activity, and so delay or hindrance is frequently associated with this rune. The opposite of chaos is yet more chaos, as illustrated by the fact that this rune cannot be reversed.
Tag: Divination
Today’s Tarot Card for July 25 is The Lovers
The Lovers
This Tarot Deck: Etteilla
General Meaning: Although it has taken on a strictly romantic revision of meaning in some modern decks, traditionally the Lovers card of Tarot reflected the challenges of choosing a partner. At a crossroads, one cannot take both paths. The images on this card in different decks have varied more than most, because we have had so many ways of looking at sex and relationships across cultures and centuries.
Classically, the energy of this card reminded us of the real challenges posed by romantic relationships, with the protagonist often shown in the act of making an either-or choice. To partake of a higher ideal often requires sacrificing the lesser option. The path of pleasure eventually leads to distraction from spiritual growth. The gratification of the personality eventually gives way to a call from spirit as the soul matures.
Modern decks tend to portray the feeling of romantic love with this card, showing Adam and Eve at the gates of Eden when everything was still perfect. This interpretation portrays humanity before the Fall, and can be thought to imply a different sort of choice — the choice of evolution over perfection, or the choice of personal growth through relationship — instead of a fantasy where everything falls into place perfectly and is taken care of without effort.
Today’s Tarot for July 24 is The Hierophant
The Hierophant
General Meaning: Traditionally known as the Hierophant, this card refers to a Master and the learning of practical lessons from the study of Natural Law. This energy of this card points to some agent or resource that can reveal the secrets of life, the cycles of the moon and tides, the links between human beings and the heavens.
Because monasteries were the only places a person could learn to read and write in the middle ages, a Hierophant was one to whom a student would petition for entry. He was the one to set the curriculum for the neophyte’s course of study.
Often pictured with the right hand raised in blessing, the Hierophant is linked with the ancient lineage of Melchezidek, initiator of the Hebrew priestly tradition, the one who passes on the teachings. All shamans of any tradition draw upon this archetype.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 23 is The Emperor
The Emperor
This Tarot Deck: Dragon
General Meaning: In the most practical terms, what has traditionally been called the Emperor card represents the highest leadership, a head of state or the most exemplary and powerful person in the realm. This archetypal ruler is responsible for the positive working out of affairs of a society or community, which are directly proportional to his well being and happiness.
The more enlightenment and cosmic perspective this energy brings, the better life is for all. The Emperor archetype masters the world of matter and physical manifestation. When you apply this card to your situation, acknowledge your potentials for mastery. Reinforce a sense of sovereignty within yourself, despite any self-limiting beliefs, habits or appearances to the contrary.
Lampadomancy
Lampadomancy
Lampadomancy, also called Lychnomancy, it is form of divination using a single oil lamp or a torch flame. As with Lychnoscopy, the diviner reads presages from the movements of the flame.
An alternate method is also practiced, consisting of of reading the spots of carbon deposited on paper sheets held over the flame.
On yet another method, the diviner uses the lamp as a means of “attracting spirits to the flames”, in the hope of consulting them regarding future events. In this method, usually a specially designed lamp is employed, on the belief that grotesque forms will attract the spirits.
Lampadomancy was a popular method of divination in ancient Egypt, where diviners would perform it at midday in a darkened room illuminated by a single lamp filled with oasis oil.
The history of oil scrying can be traced back to ancient Babylonian times. Some of their magic books have survived down through the centuries with details of the methods they used.
From the Babylonians oil scrying found its way to the Egyptians and Hebrews. The most detailed examples of oil scrying are written in the Greek Magical Papyri written in Egypt between 200 B.C. and A.D. 500.
One of their techniques was called the “Princess of the Thumb” wherein a scryer annointed the forehead and thumbnail of a subject. The shiny nail acted as a magic mirror in which the scryer saw images, thought of as spirits on the other side linked to the person.
With the “Princess of the Hand” technique, oil was mixed with black soot to make a black paste that was then smeared upon the hand. The scryer then used the hand as a mirror in an attempt to scry future events.
A third type of oil scrying was called the “Princess of the Cup”. Sesame seed oil was used to coat the inside of a cup that was rested on its side. The cup was used as a concave ‘magic mirror’ to capture and magnify the light of a candle that was fixed on its inner rim.
Sometimes oil and water mix. In oil scrying we find:
- To call upon the services of the heavenly Gods mix oil with rain water
- To invoke terrestrial Gods use sea water
- To invoke Osiris use river water
- To call upon the souls of the dead use spring water
Egyptian Dream Scrying
Egyptian Dream Scrying
Ancient Egyptians believed in the power of dreams to bring messages from their many gods. Their methods of dream scrying go back over 5000 years and were recorded in their ancient texts and on hieroglyphic writings. Some of their techniques were later used by other ancient civilizations, as in ancient Greece thousands of years ago.
Ritual Dream Scrying Techniques
On the day you scry – find a place of solitude and remain alone.
Do not consume alcohol, eat for 4 hours before your begin, or engage in sexual activities.
Take a warm relaxing bath then anoint your temples with olive oil. You will need an oil lamp as used with lamp scrying.
On a short narrow strip of white linen write the name of the Egyptian God and the purpose for the dream scrying. Twist the linen strip into a wick and insert into the oil of the lamp. Place the lamp on a table beside your bed. Using the ink draw the image of the dream God upon your left palm.
Light your lamp. Kneel before the lamp. Invocation:
Concentrating on the image on your left hand recite the following invocation : Thoth, (use name of desired god) I invoke, blessed power of dreams divine, Angel of future fates, swift wings are thine, Great source of oracles to human kind, When stealing soft, and whispering to the mind, Through sleep’s sweet silence and the gloom of night, Thy power awake the sight, To silent souls the will of heaven relates, And silently reveals their future fates.
Concentrate on your question. Around your left hand wrap a piece of black linen about four inches wide and about thirty inches long. The black cloth is called the black eye of Isis. – the Magic of Isis – or Black Isis.
Blow out the lamp’s flame. Clear your mind and go to sleep.
Have a tape recorder or pen and paper beside your bed so that when you awaken you may record your dreams while still fresh in your mind.
You will find that the dream will come to you in a voice that is clear and powerful rather than in dream images. Sometimes the messages are in symbols – cryptic forms. Take your time in deciphering the messages you have received. You may want to use a dream dictionary to interpret messages given, if possible. They are often archetypes from your subconscious mind, perhaps from an Egyptian lifetime.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 20 is The Magician
The Magician
This Tarot Deck: Cat People
General Meaning: Traditionally, the Magus is one who can demonstrate hands-on magic — as in healing, transformative rituals, alchemical transmutations, charging of talismans and the like. A modern Magus is any person who completes the circuit between heaven and Earth, one who seeks to bring forth the divine ‘gold’ within her or himself.
At the birth of Tarot, even a gifted healer who was not an ordained clergyman was considered to be in league with the Devil! For obvious reasons, the line between fooling the eye with sleight of hand, and charging the world with magical will was not clearly differentiated in the early Tarot cards.
Waite’s image of the Magus as the solitary ritualist communing with the spirits of the elements — with its formal arrangement of symbols and postures — is a token of the freedom we have in modern times to declare our spiritual politics without fear of reprisal. The older cards were never so explicit about what the Magus was doing. It’s best to keep your imagination open with this card. Visualize yourself manifesting something unique, guided by evolutionary forces that emerge spontaneously from within your soul.
Taking Care Of Your Divinatory Tools
Taking Care Of Your Divinatory Tools
Because oracles are often handled by many people, you should be sure to cleanse and consecrate them when necessary. This means when you first get them, and when you have had a particularly negative client or one with a great deal of misfortune. You should also cleanse the tool after a day of heavy reading, or at least once a week, if you don’t do that many.
To cleanse a divinatory tool is simple. Let it sit for a few hours in sunlight or moonlight and finish off with a few drops of holy oil or water.
Keep your tools in some type of covering. Black keeps out the negativity. If you use stones, cards, or coins you may want a throwing or divining cloth to set on the surface of the table or floor. You can make your own out of beautiful material, add fringes, embroider designs, etc.
The size of the reading cloth depends primarily on the scope of your readings. If you do large card spreads or use two divinatory vehicles, you may want a cloth that covers most of the table top
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To Ride A Silver Broomstick
New Generation Witchcraft
by Silver Ravenwolf
ISBN 0-87542-791-X
Transferred over from old WOTC group
Today’s Runes for July 19th is Raido
Raido means to ride. In this rune, the image is not so much the riding of a horse as in riding in a cart or as cargo. As such Raido may suggest a journey, but is much more indicative of communication. Alternate interpretations based on the use of Raido as a cognate in other words give it the meaning of council, judgment, and moral correctness. Therefore, this rune is the rune of wise advice and good leadership.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 19th is The Fool
The Fool
This Tarot Deck: Aquarian
General Meaning: Pamela Coleman-Smith’s artful rendition of an “innocent Fool” archetype (Rider-Waite deck) is often used to represent Tarot in general. Early classical versions of the Fool card, however, portray quite a different character — a person driven by base needs and urges, who has fallen into a state of poverty and deprivation.
In some instances, he is made out to be a carnival entertainer or a huckster. In others, he is portrayed as decrepit and vulnerable — as the cumulative result of his delusions and failures. Not until the 20th century do you see the popular Rider-Waite image of the Fool arise — that of an innocent Soul before its Fall into Matter, as yet untainted by contact with society and all its ills.
Modern decks usually borrow from the Rider-Waite imagery. Most Fool cards copy the bucolic mountainside scene, the butterfly, the potential misplaced step that will send the Fool tumbling into the unknown. Don’t forget, however, that the earlier versions of this card represented already-fallen humanity, over-identified with the material plane of existence, and beginning a pilgrimage towards self-knowledge, and eventually, wisdom. The Fool reminds us to recognize the path of personal development within ourselves — and the stage upon that path where we find ourselves — in order to energize our movement toward deeper self-realization.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 17 is Judgment
Judgment
This Tarot Deck: Medieval Cat
General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Judgment card, sometimes entitled Resurrection, represents the great reunion that the ancients believed would happen once in every age. This was the time when souls are harvested and taken Home to their place of origin, outside the solar system. Then the World is seeded with a batch of new souls and the process starts over.
From a modern point of view, this great reunion — which includes every personality that you have ever been and every soul that you have done deep work with — reunites to consciously complete the process. In a way, we symbolically celebrate this returning to center every year on our birthday.
In personal terms, the Judgment cards points to freedom from inner conflicts, and so clear a channel, that the buried talents and gifts of past incarnations can come through an individual in this lifetime. This card counsels you to trust the process of opening yourself, because what emerges is of consistently high quality. You can effortlessly manifest as a multi-dimensional being, and assist in evoking that response from others.
Your Daily Number for July 16: 6
Today is a lucky day for you, in which you’re likely to experience progress in your career and/or finances. You feel a sense of closeness with relatives and friends, and an overall healing of the heart. Few things could be better.
Fast Facts
About the Number 6
Theme: Family and Social Responsibility, Service, Healing
Astro Association: Gemini
Tarot Association: LoversLighten Up – Top Ten Ways To Piss Off A Pagan
Top Ten Ways To Piss Off A Pagan
1. Ask them if they are Satan worshippers.
2. Be considerate, rearrange their altar so it will look neat.
3. Blow out their altar candle if it is still daylight. (No need to waste a good candle!)
4. Pick up their gems for a closer look.
5. Sharpen their dull, black-handled knife.
6. Witness to them about the ‘One True Religion’.
7. Untie the knots in their cord.
8. Take hold of their jewelry for a closer look.
9. Play card games with their Tarot deck.
10. Ask them if they are Satan worshippers.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 15th is The Sun
The Sun
This Tarot Deck: Gummy Bear Tarot
General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Sun card is about the self — who you are and how you cultivate your personality and character. The earth revolves around the sun to make up one year of a person’s life, a fact we celebrate on our birthday.
The Sun card could also be titled “Back to Eden.” The Sun’s radiance is where one’s original nature or unconditioned Being can be encountered in health and safety. The limitations of time and space are stripped away; the soul is refreshed and temporarily protected from the chaos outside the garden walls.
Under the light of the Sun, Life reclaims its primordial goodness, truth and beauty. If one person is shown on this card, it is usually signifying a human incarnation of the Divine. When two humans are shown, the image is portraying a resolution of the tension between opposites at all levels. It’s as if this card is saying “You can do no wrong — it’s all to the good!”
Today’s Runes for July 14 is Nyd
Nyd represents many things, most of them unpleasant – heed it well. Constraint, delay, loss, need, and sorrow are all frequently seen in this rune. Nyd speaks most strongly of pause, the hallmark of the both the timid and the patient, and is often interpreted as foretelling a delay in the effect of other runes that it accompanies. Fortunately, even where there is misery and danger there are valuable lessons to be learned – the trick is to learn them before you are overtaken by despair.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 14 is The Star
The Star
This Tarot Deck: Celestial
General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Star card is about reconnecting one’s Soul with the Divine — the transcending of personality, family, community and reputation. It has to do ultimately with the freedom to be one’s Self. The Soul is responding to celestial influences — forces that can provide the personality with a stronger sense of purpose. The Star card helps us to remember our exalted origins and our attraction to a Higher Union.
This card could also be called the “Celestial Mandate” — that which refers us back to our reason for being, our mission in this lifetime. The Star reminds us that, in a sense, we are agents of Divine Will in our day-to-day lives. If we let go of the idea that we are supposed to be in control, we can more easily notice and appreciate the synchronicities that are nudging us along. In this way, we become more conscious of the invisible Helping Hand, and we better understand our place within — and value to — the larger Cosmos
Today’s Runes for July 12 is Dagez
Dagez means daylight, and represents divine light. This rune generally refers to dawn (the initial sparking of energy) or to midday (the climax of energy). Both dawn and midday are symbolic of change, but unlike the changes in the perpetual circle of the year which are slow and subtle, the changes over a day are much faster and more dramatic. The breaking of a new day is symbolic of the rapid illumination of dismal circumstances, and is suggestive of Satori. Be careful – although this rune generally suggests a positive change, the symbology of a peaking point suggests that there must be a change downward as well. Fortunately for some, this rune is cyclic and irreversible, and so permanence is not promised – the only thing you can be sure of is an exciting ride.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 12 is Temperance
Temperance
This Tarot Deck: Golden Tarot
General Meaning: What is traditionally known as the Temperance card is a reference to the Soul. Classically female, she is mixing up a blend of subtle energies for the evolution of the personality. One key to interpreting this card can be found in its title, a play on the process of tempering metals in a forge.
Metals must undergo extremes of temperature, folding and pounding, but the end product is infinitely superior to impure ore mined from the earth. In this image, the soul volunteers the ego for a cleansing and healing experience which may turn the personality inside-out, but which brings out the gold hidden within the heart. (This card is entitled “Art” in the Crowley deck.)
Today’s Runes for July 11th is Raido
Raido means to ride. In this rune, the image is not so much the riding of a horse as in riding in a cart or as cargo. As such Raido may suggest a journey, but is much more indicative of communication. Alternate interpretations based on the use of Raido as a cognate in other words give it the meaning of council, judgment, and moral correctness. Therefore, this rune is the rune of wise advice and good leadership.
Today’s Tarot Card for July 11 is The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man
This Tarot Deck: Lord of the Rings
General Meaning: Traditionally, the card known as the Hanged Man usually indicates a lack of ability to help oneself through independent action. This energy is arrested and awaiting judgment. With this card, there is no avenue for the will to regain control until the situation has passed.
This represents a good time to be philosophical, to study and meditate upon the position you find yourself in, and form resolutions for the moment you become free again. Only those who possess wisdom, patience and optimism will be able to see through limitations, including possible humiliation, to grasp the inspiring lesson one can gain from such an experience.
Witches Of The Craft® 
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