We’ve reached that point of the year when the world balances between 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. This year it took place on Sunday, September 22. From hereon in, until the Winter Solstice, the nights will get longer, which creates a magical feel to our days. In my Chaos Roads novels, the 4 turns of the Wheel are almost the only days when the Fae can cross over into human lands, after Balthazar the Magus did something to prevent their more frequent incursions to mess with humanity.
For me, fall begins at the start of September, a feeling I’ve carried since I began going to school, but from the Equinox onward, we draw closer and closer to Samhain, aka Halloween, when the barriers between all worlds are said to be the thinnest, and all kinds of creatures can cross over to create mischief.
The thoughts of those of us who write eerie stories naturally turn to magic and the supernatural, so that we can entertain fellow devotees of the season’s atmosphere (although, really, we’re entertaining ourselves first and foremost 😉). I have great fun with my autumn blogs, exploring all things esoteric to encourage you to think about possibilities.
This week we’re taking a look at Divination, a way to gain insight into a question, or the future, using rituals defined as “occult”. Those rituals fall outside (and sometimes far outside) science and certain religious practices, including Christianity. The Bible, in Deuteronomy, expressly forbids such rituals:
Deuteronomy 18:10–12
No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord; it is because of such abhorrent practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
However, there are numerous times in the Bible where people “cast lots” to determine outcomes. Lots could be anything from dice to stones to slips of paper, and the practice had a divinatory name, cleromancy. It seems there was a fine line between inappropriate augury and the acceptable kind, which was said to reveal the Divine Will.
When I was a kid, Halloween parties routinely featured the thrill of holding a séance in a darkened room, and Ouija boards were widespread toys. It was all considered harmless fun (until The Exorcist came out).
So I may be in some trouble. I’ve always been fascinated by Tarot cards.
Tarot cards, the colourful, mysterious fortune-predicting cards regularly invading horror stories and carnival booths.
I bought my very first deck on a class trip to Ottawa, during the late sixties when mysticism was really popular. Every shop burned incense, had dark velvet curtains, and posters about Ages of Enlightenment, Egyptian mysticism and expanding our mind’s inner eye.
I spent the entire train trip back home reading the cards for my classmates, even though I had to refer to the instruction booklet every time. It was the most popularity I’d ever experienced. The net result was that a lot of my classmates thought I was a witch throughout high school.
There have never been any signs that I’m a medium – none – which is fine by me, but I did become very good at reading people’s cards, to the point of uncanniness. Perhaps a lot of intuition, although a psychic doing a reading for a family member, that I just happened to sit in on, told me that I have a blue and purple aura. That meant that I’m psychic in some form, but definitely no clairvoyance or precognition. Nevertheless, way back then, when someone asked me what I’d do if I saw something really bad during a reading, I realized I didn’t want to ever run into that situation, and I packed my Tarot deck away.
The use of divination goes back to ancient times. Kings, emperors, generals and common folk often consulted famous Oracles, such as those at Delphi in Greece and Siwa in Egypt. The oracles were mystical seers who would interpret the wisdom of the gods. But augury could also be performed by priests/shamans who could read signs and portents. Animal sacrifice was often involved.
Astrology, the reading of meaning to the movements of celestial bodies, dates back more than two millennia. Most ancient cultures studied the night skies extensively, trying to make sense of earthly events. The practice was a precursor to astronomy, just as medieval alchemy eventually led to modern chemistry, and many people still consult astrologers to this day. (When hubby and I subscribed to a printed newspaper, I liked to read my horoscope the following day, to see if the predictions were true 😉 – generally not, but I did realize that wasn’t the best medium for a proper reading.)
Babylonian astrology was the earliest recorded organized system of astrology. The Babylonians believed that the gods revealed themselves through the planets and stars that they were associated with. Marduk, the civilization’s patron god, was tied to the planet Jupiter, for example. Evil omens ascribed to that planet were interpreted as Marduk’s displeasure, and the people needed to find ways to appease him to prevent further disaster.
John Dee was famously the court astrologer for Queen Elizabeth I. He was an astronomer, mathematician and teacher, as well as an alchemist and occultist. Prior to his work for Elizabeth, he’d cast horoscopes for both Queen Mary, who was later accused of treason, and Elizabeth while she was still a princess. When Elizabeth succeeded to the throne, Dee became her advisor, even choosing her coronation date.
Most people are familiar with Chinese astrology, in which certain birth years are associated with a particular animal – dog, dragon, goat, horse, monkey, ox, rabbit, rat, rooster, snake or tiger. They have representative elements: Yin or Yang aspects of Earth, Fire, Metal, Water and Wood. My element is Yin Fire, which does describe my personality fairly well (but not completely) – fact-oriented, love of learning, a desire to nurture and illuminate others, explorer. Of course, the system is much more complex than that, but the imagery and the celebration of Lunar New Year have become enormously popular in Western culture.
Cartomancy, the use of decks of cards to foretell the future, appeared some time in the 14th century. It was often done with standard playing cards, but special decks, “tarocco” or “tarocchi”, were created in Italy for playing card games, and they began to be used by European occultists. The elaborate artwork on Tarot cards has always imbued them with a special aura that hasn’t been lost on fantasy and horror writers.
In Tarot decks, there are four ‘suits’, analogous to the four suits of standard decks, but called and decorated as Swords, Cups, Batons and Coins – 56 cards total.
Instead of court cards (Jack, Queen. King), there are 22 special cards, without suits, referred to as the Major Arcana (i.e. ‘greater secrets), whose very names and depictions lend a deep mystical ambience to a reading:
- Death – in the guise of Grim Reaper, signifying major change in one’s life
- Judgement – sometimes with the angel Metatron at the Last Judgement – could mean judgement, absolution, rebirth, even karma
- Justice – as in ‘scales of’; usually represents equity, triumph of right over wrong
- Strength – for some reason, usually a woman leaning over a lion; generally courage, power, action, success
- Temperance – one of the three Virtues, usually shown by a figure pouring liquid between two cups; as you might expect, it represents moderation, frugality
- The Chariot – exactly what it sounds like, and symbolizing trouble, war, vengeance, and perhaps triumph
- The Devil – arguably the most frightening card, it represents use of force, violence, possible fatality, but not always evil
- The Emperor – guy on a throne, exuding authority, structure, establishments
- The Empress – female counterpart with crown and sceptre, with contradictory meanings depending on adjacent cards, from fruitfulness and initiative to doubt, ignorance, clandestine activities
- The Fool – usually a beggar or a vagabond as opposed to a jester; he represents everything that goes with his name: folly, extravagance, intoxication
- The Hanged Man – a man hanging upside down by one ankle from a branch or gallows; indicates wisdom, intuition, prophecy, possibly trials and sacrifice
- The Hermit – an old man, cloaked, carrying a lantern which could be the Lamp of Truth; he represents prudence, but also the opposites of corruption, lies, even treason
- The Hierophant – originally the Pope, a pontiff who’s the Teacher of Wisdom; he is the interpreter of sacred mysteries, and symbolizes goodness and mercy, but also alliance, captivity and servitude
- The High Priestess – a robed woman who might have variously depicted the legendary Pope Joan, the goddess Hathor, Isis, the Virgin Mary…representing mystery and secrets, wisdom, the future unrevealed
- The Lovers – Adam and Eve-like figures in front of the Tree of Knowledge; they represent attraction and love, and maybe trials overcome
- The Magician – aka the Magus (an ancient term for a person of occult knowledge), often holding a baton or wand; associated with the planet Mercury, he is the conduit between the physical and spiritual, fulfilling potential, but also influenced by willpower, passion, rage
- The Moon – in a night sky, with a wolf and a dog howling; it indicates danger, deception, hidden enemies, occult forces, terror
- The Star – a large star in the sky, beneath which a naked woman kneels by a pool of water, pouring more in from a jug; a very positive card (unless reversed) that symbolizes hope, enlightenment, bright prospects ahead
- The Sun – a blazing sun shining down on an infant riding a white horse; this is considered the best card in the Tarot, showing happiness, vitality, self-confidence and success
- The Tower – an unnerving card showing a tower destroyed by lightning; as you might guess, it’s associated with crisis, danger, destruction, ruin, unforeseen catastrophe
- The World – depictions of the cycle of life, sometimes an ouroboros (snake biting its own tail), or a woman dancing above the Earth; another card of change, it could mean a voyage, a relocation, emigration, or flight, with possible success
- Wheel of Fortune – the classic wheel in the sky, six or eight spokes, and sometimes with riders; it represents destiny, luck or fortune, success
Now the tricky part is if any of these cards are reversed (upside down) through shuffling, which then imparts their opposite symbolism.
According to Tarot readers, the cards are a tool for personal discovery and self-care, not for fortune-telling as they’ve been commonly depicted. The readings allow the seeker to discover forces and influences around them, and to make decisions based on that information.
The 56 Minor Arcana cards represent our thoughts, feelings, experiences, and beliefs. They relate to the more specific daily challenges of everyday life and our current situation.
The Minor Arcana cards are made up of four tarot suits that focus on different parts of our lives:
- Wands: the Fire Element. The Wands represent energy, creativity, passion and sexuality.
- Cups: the Water Element. Emotions, feelings and intuition are all covered by this suit.
- Swords: the Air Element. The Swords represent our thoughts, words and actions.
- Pentacles: the Earth Element. Dealing with the material world, Pentacles offer guidance on our career paths, finances and even material possessions.
It’s a lot to remember, and I never passed beyond having to consult a book to decipher a seeker’s layout.
My original deck is a Rider Waite Smith Tarot. It was first published by the Rider Company in 1909, based on the instructions of a mystic named A. E. Waite, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (a secret society working with occult practices and metaphysics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries). The cards were illustrated by another member, Pamela Colman Smith. The deck has been published in numerous editions; something like 100 million copies have been sold world-wide.
My cards have a variation on the classic Rider illustrations, but the names are in French, probably because of Ottawa’s proximity to Quebec. I knew what they meant, as schools had introduced French study into elementary schools by that time.
Along with Tarot cards, I was fascinated by all forms of mysticism and the supernatural, which meant that I naturally fell under the spell of speculative fiction, like that of H.P. Lovecraft, and the first supernatural television soap opera, Dark Shadows. They were all big influences on my own writing over the decades, and why I veered toward Urban Fantasy rather than the High Fantasy of Lord of the Rings (although I loved that trilogy and made a point of visiting movie-set Hobbiton in New Zealand when we were there).
Whatever you may believe about Tarot, or astrology, or the occult, I think the world is a more interesting place if there’s the possibility of a little magic in it. Just skip the Ouija board.