Tarot and Entheogens

[Jakobien]

Funny this topic, it brings inspiration 8)... About every 2 or so years I 'stumble' into 'the tarot'...appearently it was time again

I have a tattoo on my underarm that combines the symbols displayed on High priestess, The star and Justice. A lot later I "accidentally" met a few people that gave lectures and laid cards, and they told me about the history of the tarot.
And now I realize how strange it is that I never connected the tarot with entheogens too... But OK, i've been occupied with so many things lately, you cannot make yourself realize everything...

What I like is the ambiguity of the cards, they allow interpretation. On the on hand it's a system, a path and on the other hand it's open, receptive....

 

[magickstar]

What I like is the ambiguity of the cards, they allow interpretation. On the on hand it's a system, a path and on the other hand it's open, receptive....

I agree, it works both on the left brain analytical and right brain intuitive modes. You can study it, the numerology, history, astrology, kabbalah etc or you can have done none of that at all and just pick them up and look and the pictures and tell a story.

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

Tarot, entheogens and a whole lot more...
Promethea!

 

[MelloTrip]

Insane letter swaping ! :shock:

 

[magickstar]

I want that deck ! :wink:

 

[Brugmansia]

I have no experience with tarots, neither believe in directly predicting or knowing the future. But I do believe that synonyms/symbolics of situations, whether it is secretly displayed in visual work or metaphors, may activite profound chains of thoughts with a future seen scenario which represents the developments of every actual future situation of the same kind in reality.

By thinking them through you may notice in all rest and time what's exactly going on in such happenings, what to do and why. Going through many of different scenario's with extended thoughts throughout your life, rewards you with a consciousness in where you recognise the-coming-back-happenings-in-another-bag of life in a very early state. Knowing that, you may choose position or choose the path which suits your safety and general wellness. As well as the protection of others.

The smallest details of visual painting/pictures sometimes hold deep messages that are only picked up by the opened and detail orientated minds for who it is intended. The message can't and won't be picked up by minds of those where it is not suppossed to be.

Life and it's happenings is a returning calender, the critical and susceptible mind can develop a stronger self navigation out of imaginable practice stimulated by the past work of other 'good souls', and decrease his/her dependency on wanting to control external influences.

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

As I mentioned before, to me sidereal astrology is the most reliable method of divination. It's also the only one, as far as I'm aware of, that can be scientifically tested (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled tests). Everyone can become an astrologer, just like everyone can become a mathemetician or learn Spanish. It doesn't require intuition or special skills. All it requires is good software (or the patience and time to calculate many, many charts for one person) and the memorization of standard interpretations (for example, Mars rules conflict, Mercury communication etc., it takes a couple of months to learn them all).

Astrology is also the only method of divination that has a serious impact on our view of the world. For if life on Earth and the stars surrounding us are related, this has far reaching implications for both science and religion. Science will have to take into account that each of us is literally one with the universe. Religion will have to take into account that everything is predetermined to evolve as it does, and so there is no point in "choosing" to serve God, for all future choices ("free will") are the result of the universe as a whole, not any individual. At this point in time (less so in the past) both religions and schools of science despise astrology. There are some fields of interest which are currently looked down upon by both "science" and "religion": philosophy, psychology, psychedelics, astrology. And it is these four that could unite and rectify the misconceptions of both science and religion. In the distant past there was no difference between science and religion, and philosophy, psychology, psychedelics and astrology were what united them.

Now, before I get too philosophical again, I just wanted to mention that this morning I received a response from someone whose chart I had studied in 2006. At that time I was new on a certain forum, and decided to challenge the skeptics. I asked anyone to send me 6 sets of birth data (different hours, days, months and years), only one of which would be the actual birth chart of the person challenging me.

Previously I had done something similar with 10 charts, eight of which I connected to the proper persons (I mixed two up, but as it turned out they were both writers interested in the occult, just that one of them wrote philosophy, and the other science fiction).

I knew very little about the person who decided to challenge me (a woman from the UK), but by asking two questions about her life I picked the right birth chart. Though she had always been writing cynical one-liners on the forum, I wrote that she could become a writer if she wanted to. She responded that she had already written more than 3/4 of a children's book. No one knew about that except two or three of her best friends.

This morning I got a message from this woman. Seems I had made some predictions about her love life back then (June 2006), and it turns out I was on the spot:

Hi Ivar!

How are you?
I read your post on the MM thread - prefer to respond here if that's ok?

Well, remember when we had to supply you with five fake birth dates and our real one and you had to guess which one was us? Well, you suggested that by August I would be in love with the 'right' person. I doubted it a little, as an honest sceptic, but you were correct. The love of my life finally BECAME the love of my life and has been since July. We are really happy, although there's a fair distance geographically at the moment and we have to see each other every other weekend. I plan to move at Easter to live with him so I'll be doing some supply teaching which I'm VERY nervous about. It's a massive upheaval. I'm giving up my job, my flat and everything I'm comfortable with to give this relationship a chance.... who knows? I think it'll be fine.

My writing has taken a back seat for a while. I seem to have lost my flow. The first chapter of my book was published in an anthology but since then, creatively I don't feel very productive, but I think when I make some of these big changes, it might fuel the writing again.

All the best

How on Earth could I have predicted this about a complete stranger, two years in advance? I'm not a psychic. I just did some calculations based on this physical dimension, interpreted them according to standard methods, and voila.

There is no soul. There is no God. If there was a soul, it would be forever "dominated" by the planets, which by derivation would be controlled by God.

Instead I suggest there is only this universe. Souls are not injected into that universe. Consciousness as we know it is a physical phenonenon, the ever changing awareness of the electric/chemical state of being of our nervous system, in complete harmony with the chemicals outside ourselves, including big rocks and gas planets. When the body dies, the nervous system shuts down and awareness ceases to be for that organism. All that happens between birth and death is a certain vibration of the universe. Hence the events between birth and death of a particular "self" harmonically correlate to the movements of the universe.

Even enlightenment doesn't serve the individual after death, because there truly is no soul that leaves the body, goes to heaven or reincarnates. Enlightenment can be useful for those who continue to live in the now however, as being enlightened is the most enjoyable state of being, and beneficial for mankind and the environment it is embedded in.

That is why (truly!) enlightened thought must be shared with other human beings, not to preach or convert, but because true enlightenment diminishes suffering and brings peace and happiness. Unless ones insights serve human society, and the planet, it is quite meaningless, just like the honey a bee has collected is pretty much useless unless it take that honey to the hive. The hive is more important than any particular bee. The bees instinctively know this. Mankind probably knew it once, but rugged individualism has made him forget.

A couple of days ago (for my world views are still changing every day) I stopped thinking in terms of "I am" (as in "aham brahmasmi" and "

 

[Brugmansia]

just like the honey a bee has collected is pretty much useless unless it take that honey to the hive. The hive is more important than any particular bee. The bees instinctively know this. Mankind probably knew it once, but rugged individualism has made him forget.

So what would we humans naturally do, or what would occur, if we'd be all enlightened within that metaphor, Caduceus?

Do you believe that development of intelligence goes hand in hand with the gain of an ego?

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

So what would we humans naturally do, or what would occur, if we'd be all enlightened within that metaphor, Caduceus?

It's difficult to answer that one, because we're not bees. They've got ONE queen, that really differs physically from the rest of the bees. We can give one particular human being a lot of wealth and status, or attribute all kinds of supernatural qualities to an invisible being, but it will never encourage us the way bees are encouraged by their genetic programming. So I don't think the metaphor can be applied to a human social structure.

Do you believe that development of intelligence goes hand in hand with the gain of an ego?

What is ego? If it means a sense of identity, I think there's nothing wrong with that. As long as one understands that it's much more useful to contribute to future generations, than it is to gratify one's senses or even to become a very knowledgeable person. If everyone would care more about contributing to the collective pool of good ideas and applications, the world would become a better place. Humanity will never turn into a bee hive, but some enlightened individuals may come to a point where they realize there's nothing to be gained for one's "eternal self", for there is not necessarily an eternal self, other than the Here & Now "re-incarnating" throughout innumberable forms throughout existence, through a funny little program called DNA.

There is no eternal individual self. Only a seemingly eternal flow of births and deaths. The Self is forever divided in those numerous lives. If we want to serve the Self, all we can do is serve nature, including mankind. One must feel deep compassion for mankind, especially for the most deluded and selfish, not hatred.

 

[Brugmansia]

Nice and clear input. Regarding the process of the Self divided into numerous lives.

Somehow Darwin's theory about the pressure we feel to put our genes through, clearly makes sense to me. You can literally "feel" what evolution is asking. It instinctively is a game of hostility, running to the small neck of a bottle to safe our own identity and lugage and there's only a limited amount of room so some should be dropped out and not make it through. Those some, being everyone from where the believer in only-an-individual-self thinks they're not part of his chain or identity. It goes on and on that way...

Even though we haven't a slightest clue what the entire goal is, we naturally tend to submit to that evolutionary duty with no conscience. And do whatever it takes to form, shape our kids (follow ups in the chain) so that they're strong enough to make it yet again through with their seed. No matter how much suffering other beings have to go through if they ain't seen as our native family chain and identity.

Spreading civilisation and enlightment. The witnessed observation in where all of us are connected with no individual self, will make this difficult evolutionary process more peaceful, less suffering and it'll strip off the violet conduct. Knowledge, common sense and compassion establishes in each's temporarly individual self an awareness which suits humanity in a much more healthy way than playing the game with our instincts. The game seems to have no goal or purpose, but life and the possibilities of beauty, love and responsible pleasure for everyone has.

Intelligence and might is used by many of us to create a better plateau to play the ego game more effectively. But entheogenic muse breaks might shift us all up to a higher level of being and living, only if we're truly willing to introduce this within our self through mental suffering and spread the word on a large scale after.

Although the message has been terribly demonised throughout human history, and still today. You can try it and hopefully convince a few other individuals during the lifetime you have, but it is damn hard to do so. I can't even start to make a verbal beginning decently in my environment. Let alone introduce 'drugs'.