Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom

“The application to Tarot is clear.
It offers us a great gift, a way to understand the wonders of life,
a form of guidance when events or our own souls trouble us.
To receive that gift, we must open ourselves -
not just emotionally, but also conceptually.” R Pollack

Rachel Pollack has written over a dozen books on the subject of Tarot, including the classic guidebook Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, so I expected to be impressed with her latest offering. But I didn’t expect to be so surprised, delighted and awed by it!

Since publishing Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Rachel has spent the last three decades exploring the deeper aspects of the cards, and this book overflows with insights and esoteric knowledge.

Actually, the term “book” doesn’t do it justice, this is more like a manual of cartomancy - one that seamlessly blends Kabbalistic and Pythagorean concepts with astrology, fairy tales and grail legends. It was an ambitious undertaking, but one that is unequalled in its scope and brilliance.

Tarot Wisdom will transform the way that you look at each and every card. It’s a fresh approach to a fascinating subject, and no serious student of Tarot should be without it.

Author: Rachel Pollack
Published by: Llewellyn
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1309-0

Meeting Fairies: a true story

Robert Ogilvie Crombie (known as Roc to his friends) strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh in 1966 and made an astonishing discovery. ‘I saw a figure dancing around a tree about twenty yards from me - a beautiful little figure about three feet tall...it was a faun, the Greek mythological being, half human, half animal. He had a pointed chin and ears and two little horns on his forehead. His shaggy legs ended in cloven hooves and his skin was honey-coloured.’

The faun’s name was Kurmos, and according to Roc, he had an ‘infinite, mature wisdom - combined with the naiveté of a child.’ During their conversation, Kurmos stated that many of the nature spirits had lost interest in humans because they had been made to feel they were, ‘neither believed in nor wanted.’ One month later, in a nearby street, Roc felt the presence of Pan, the god of the fields and countryside, who was ‘radiating a tremendous power’ and who smelt of ‘pine woods, damp leaves, of newly turned earth and of woodland flowers.’ Roc’s meetings with Pan became more frequent and each visit led to a deeper understanding of the Horned God’s personality.

During one of Roc’s walks, ‘the woods became alive with myriad beings - elementals, nymphs, dryads, fauns, elves, fairies and so on.’ Most of Roc’s encounters in this book relate to these nature spirits, so the title could just as easily have been called ‘Meeting Elementals and the Pagan Gods’!

Apart from the nature spirits mentioned earlier, Roc also met and interacted with fire and water spirits, sylphs, gnomes, goblins, imps, and even the Elf King! And regarding all of these creatures, Roc wanted it known that they were not the ‘cutesy and delightful fairies’ of children’s stories, but ‘vastly powerful beings’.

Roc is described by one of his friends as ‘a loving man who carried the presence of the invisible worlds with him like a cloak.’ From his writings he seems to be fully aware of the elemental realms, while maintaining an analytical and questioning mind from his scientific career. Although his Christian background influenced his understanding of the Otherworlds, his training in Hermetic Magic helped him to work with the subtle energies in which he found himself immersed.

Mike Scott, lead singer of The Waterboys, wrote the prologue for this book. Mike was born in Edinburgh and is famous for songs with magical themes, including gems such as, Pan Within, A Pagan Place, The Whole of the Moon, and Return of Pan. He now lives in Findhorn, Scotland. Most of the chapters in this book reflect the mystical theme of Roc’s spiritual encounters, for example there are titles like, Magic on Midsummer Eve, The Wild Garden, Pan’s World, and Enchantments of Autumn.

Meeting Fairies was designed to look like a hard cover book of fairy tales from the olden days. It is delightfully illustrated by Elise Hurst, and the text was compiled by Maggie Hamilton, Allen & Unwin’s Inspired Living publisher.

In Roc’s own words, the underlying message of this book is: ‘The nature spirits must be believed in with complete sincerity and faith. They must be appreciated and given thanks and love for the work they do. Let us try in our own ways to make friends with these wonderful beings and ask their help in making earth a beautiful and perfect place.’

Author: R. Ogilvie Crombie
Published by: Allen & Unwin (Inspired Living)
ISBN: 9781741759907
RRP: AUD $29.95 (hardback)

Mystic Medusa's Astroscape 2010

Mystic Medusa is a Sydney-based astrologer who has a witty column in the Weekend Australian newspaper, and the monthly In Style magazine. According to her, 2010 is going to be the year of the Suave Individualist, where you get to explore your leadership potential. It’s a year filled with some stunning and powerful astrological alignments.

Chapters in this helpful book include: Moon Mastery, How Not to Let Mercury Retrograde Send You Mental, and of course, there’s a detailed section showing you when to expect romance, more money and that new job opportunity you have been waiting for.

When I turned to the calendar for my sign (Cancer) I found that an amazing year is lined up for me! Apart from the travel (the week of departure was predicted correctly) a new philosophy will realign my life and revolutionise my everyday reality. Great! But then I looked at the other zodiac signs and realised that everyone is in for a fantastic year. Maybe us Cancerians are not so special after all.

Aries will be the beneficiaries of spiritual breakthroughs. Taurus will have an expansive social life and is ultra-lucky this year. Gemini will be sparkling and unsinkable. Leo scores undreamt-of sex, power & money rewards with decadent, mystical love as well! Virgo may have been struggling a bit for the past twelve years, but now she enters a lucky phase for true love. Libra has a sensationally thrilling time ahead. Scorpio becomes mentally, physically and financially fertile. Sagittarius will have good fortune in real estate and domestic areas. Capricorn begins a 14 year cycle that revamps life in unprecedented ways. Aquarius can expect a status upgrade due to a financial boon. And Pisces has ‘a cosmic dollop of fab luck & opportunities’ with the ‘luckiest year in yonks’!

Maybe Mystic Medusa just wants us all to be fired up and enthusiastic about the changes ahead. Or maybe the planetary conjunctions are just especially favourable this year. I choose to believe the latter possibility.

On the plus side, the book is enjoyable to read, and gives useful tips for dealing with that nuisance called Mercury Retrograde. We get four lots of Mercury Retrograde this year, but it’s not all bad news. Apart from possibly having problems with computers, gadgets, and anything related to communication, we’re told it can be a good time for a wilderness retreat, for reading trashy novels, or for doing ancestor worship! Mystic Medusa also has some great ideas for worthwhile activities for when the moon is in certain signs. For example, when the moon is in Cancer, take naps, bake scones, get a boob check, drink gin and tonic while listening to country music, and reread a favourite book from your childhood.

On the negative side, the overuse of the quirky vocab gets tiresome. It doesn’t take long to become bored with terms like, administrivia, peeps, crappo, shitzone, and festering merde - especially when you consider that most of the above words turned up in one page! And my other complaint is that the pages of my copy have started falling out already. Hopefully that was just a production error that occurred during the printing of my book.

This pocket-sized volume of astro-lore and prediction is an entertaining way to find out about the year ahead, and while you are giggling at Mystic Medusa’s humorous way of expressing herself, you’ll find yourself being educated about astrological terms and trends at the same time. Obviously, seeing a real astrologer and getting a chart specifically designed for you would be the best way to get accurate advice, but the pages of Mystic Medusa’s book will give you an inkling of what’s likely to happen in the coming year.

Author: Mystic Medusa
Published by: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781741759068
RRP: AUD $22.99

The Wisdom of Water

Don’t bother asking if you can borrow this book from me. I’m selfishly keeping it nearby so that I can savour the knowledge that has come from the author’s years of research and contemplation on the subject of our most precious resource - water.

Since 1990, Australian author (John Archer) has been obsessed with water in all its forms and manifestations. He obviously has a deep respect for this life-giving element that so many people take for granted. In this book he explores the environmental implications, health aspects, and spiritual dimensions of water. John’s journey has led him on pilgrimages to holy wells, to remote temples where water is worshipped as a living deity, to hot volcanic springs and icy waterfalls. In The Wisdom of Water (his 21st book) he has detailed the stories and myths connected to this precious element.

It’s a collection of legends, scientific data, poems, Zen parables, rituals and personal observations, in which he has, “listened to the rhythms of the waves on the shore, to the sound patterns of lakes, small streams and majestic rivers. Watching the fluid reflections of the sun, moon and stars in the eternal moving mirror of the waters I have merged my consciousness with that of the infinite.”

Although this is an extremely well-researched, scholarly work, it doesn’t try to be too academic; it’s quite readable and easily digested. John Archer has (literally) immersed himself in this subject with great passion. And the author suggests that this is not a book to be hurried through, he asks that the reader takes time to think about the messages contained herein, so that you can “look up at the clouds with new eyes and hear the voice of waterfalls and ocean waves...”

This book is simply brilliant. It covers every facet of water that you can imagine: dew, rain, hail, rainbows, ice, snow, rivers, lakes, springs, waterfalls, and the ocean too. Within each of these areas you will find references to nymphs, gods and goddesses, trivia, and folklore.

This has been one of the most poignant, informative and insightful books that I have ever read. If you want a deeper understanding of this element, you simply must buy this book. But don’t lend it to anyone, because you won’t get it back!


Published by: Allen & Unwin
Author: John Archer
ISBN: 978-1-74175-239-7

Craft of the Wild Witch – Green Spirituality and Natural Enchantment

Poppy Palin is a talented writer whose words take you on an evocative, lyrical journey into the ways of the wild witch. Every paragraph is rich with expression. ‘Craft of the Wild Witch’ is a book about the basics of Natural Witchcraft, but Poppy’s way of weaving eloquence amongst her lessons is an enchantment in itself. This makes it a learning experience that is a joy to read as well!

What is wild witchcraft? According to Poppy Palin it is, ‘witchcraft for those of us who yearn to express our own inherent spirituality in a joyous, meaningful manner, not within temples or churches, but out in the landscape and within the deepest fathomless places in our own souls... places that echo the furthest reaches of the starry-veiled cosmos.’ And... ‘The essential message of wild witchcraft is found under cinnamon leaves, where the bright scales of hidden creatures shine, found in the fronds of glistening weeds swaying in brackish depths, in the swell and surge of massing thunderheads, and in the dazzling sparkles of sunlight dancing on a summer sea, there is beauty, magic, and meaning in the world if we only try to find it.’ To put it simply, if you want to be a wild witch, then be prepared to live that lifestyle every hour of every day - it’s not something that you do (or become) on full moons and Sabbats only!

It is a book that focuses on the positive side of being a Solitary Practitioner. Being a wild witch is a path for individuals who feel the ebb and flow of the seasons, and who connect with the unseen realms around them and within them. This is a well rounded book that delves into the realms of the fey spirits, and is balanced by chapters that reinforce the notion of being responsible and practical in your magickal workings.

Rather than directing us to only look at the world around us, many parts of this book steer us toward an understanding of our own nature first and foremost. And as she says in her preface, ‘The understanding of our true soul nature will come as unexpectedly as the warmth to be found in midwinter sunlight, as tenacious as the twisted tree that blooms and grows despite its exposed position, as moving and awe-inspiring as the sound of a single swan’s wing-beats that are heard as it makes its way home alone across the moors.’ Many pages are devoted to gaining an understanding of our own soul nature, and our inner qualities, though self analysis.

Trance journeys to otherworldly places are also undertaken in this book. The purpose of these meditations is to converse with spirit companions, and to find inspiration and information relating to the craft of the wild witch. Familiars, rogue spirits, thoughtforms (intentional and unintentional), and animal spirit helpers are other forms of entities that may be met during trance journeys, and the nature of all of these beings are fully explained. Personal safety through effective preparation, and the use of psychic protection during these trance sessions, are other areas that are comprehensively covered over a number of chapters.

This is a large book in many ways, it is over 300 pages in length, and it covers many aspects of the earthy, practical paganism that most books on Wicca tend to ignore. We are shown the value of deep meditations, which can be used to connect to the knowledge stored within various realms (spirit and plant alike), and we are encouraged to seek the fullness that seemingly mundane situations can offer. As Poppy says, ‘each apparently average moment has magical potential within it.’

I liked the fact that many pages were devoted to the essence of witchcraft, where the author impressed upon the reader the value and necessity of core factors such as observation (of the natural world, omens, and the effect that the different seasons have upon us); visualisation techniques; commitment; etc. These fundamental principles are the basis of effective magical workings, but they are also the most likely things to be glossed over in other books of this sort.

The chapters in this book are full of wild wisdom for beginners on the path, and for experienced pagans who want to look at their spirituality from a different point of view. Poppy’s reverence for nature and the cycles of the natural world are obvious. Her world seems to be one of complete trust in the natural order of things, viewed with a keen eye for detail and the beauty therein. And fortunately for us, she is able to communicate the essence of this optimism to us in a poetic and inspirational way. I loved this book, and if seeing the world from a fresh, new perspective appeals to you, and if you like the idea of literary lushness seeping deep into your soul as you read, then you will love this magical book too.

Author: Poppy Palin
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications 2004

Tarot of Perfection

Ah, Tarot - an adventure that offers so many paths to explore, and so many ways to enjoy its layers of meaning. Rachel Pollack has taken this to a new level though. She is well known for her guidebooks to these cards, but in The Tarot of Perfection, she takes us on an extraordinary journey through fictional worlds that relate (in some way or another) to Tarot.

Like the Tarot itself, these tales weave in and out of each other, linking threads of images and characters, yet retaining their own energies. The stories are based on characters or scenes from the Tarot, or they involve Tarot readers, or some form of divination, or the gods themselves. They are a blend of allegory, fantasy, and deep imagery that affects the mind and soul. Some of the clever titles include: The Pickpocket’s Destiny, The Souls in the Trees, and Simon Wisdom.

It’s hard to describe these stories, as they sometimes seem like “normal” fiction, but then they divert into realms of fantasy and magic. In essence, I guess they are fairy tales, and like fables of old, this book contains exquisite black and white line drawings to illustrate the text.

Placing the cards into the context of these stories gives them so much more meaning than their traditional interpretations. An example of this is can be found in the first story, where the Ten of Wands is described in the following way: “Look there, he thought, the man with ten sticks on his back, each one with leaves of fire, though none of them burned. No doubt the woman would have seen in this a prediction of “burdens,” or “hard work ahead,” and completely miss the truth, that the sticks extended from the Great Tree, that itself grew out of the Radiant Jewels of Creation. And what was the man but a sacred messenger, assigned to extend the jewels into the abandoned dross of the physical world? What holiness!” I’m sure that when certain cards turn up in my next reading, I’ll be relating them back to these imaginative tales that are full of sorcerers and initiates, ghosts and squirrels!

Even the Outback of Australia gets a mention amongst these stories: “He finally came to a place he thought of as the end of the world, a giant rock on a flat red desert. There were paintings on the rock, circles and lines and spirals and dots, so old even Matyas couldn’t decipher them. He closed his eyes to try to speak to the elementals in the rock. All he could hear was a rumble that might have been thunder. When he looked again he discovered himself surrounded by men and women. They were naked, but covered in paintings and scars. Daubs of color, jagged lines, angular boxes and concentric circles formed some kind of code... He stared at them, not at their faces but at the paint. Suddenly he understood. The lines and blotches were the history of the earth, their chant the song the world sang to itself when it first awoke.”

As Mary K. Greer acknowledges on the back cover, “These mystical, magical travel tales show us that it’s the journey itself that really counts. They will change forever how you see destiny, indeed, all the mysteries.” This one’s for lovers of Tarot and all things magickal.

ISBN: 1-90557209-3
Published by: Magic Realist Press
See: www.magic-realist.com (if only to check out the graphic novel called Shadow of the Vampuss - a tale of “the supernatural, vampirism, Transylvania, and kitty cats.”)

Whispers from the Woods – the Lore and Magic of Trees

Sandra Kynes tells us, “Trees provide a gateway into a wider world of spirit and magic.” In this book we learn about a variety of trees and the many ways in which we can use their magical properties. But this is much more than an arboreal spell book! In Whispers from the Woods we are shown how the energy of trees can take us on an exploration of timeless mysteries, spirituality, and life itself.

Apart from chapters on Shamanic Journeys, rituals, and meditation with the trees, we also learn about Tree Calendars and the Celtic Ogham. Then we look at the links between sacred trees, holy springs and Celtic legends. And of course, no pagan tree book would be complete without a section on the Green Man!

Folklore and descriptions of fifty trees are given. It is suggested that by connecting with them, we can find ourselves living more closely to the rhythms and spirit of the land. And from this we can access different levels of awareness, bringing deeper spiritual satisfaction into our lives. Even the humble Bamboo gets a mention... I didn’t realise Bamboo was regarded as a tree, but evidently it can reach heights of over 30 metres, and is revered in many Asian cultures.

Sandra Kynes tells us, “The forest was a place of beautiful mystery and deep transformation. People could sense the subtle energy that moved through the trees, because it also moved through them. The connection between humans and the green world was real and central to everyday life, but somewhere along the way we lost this sense of connection.” Reading this book will inspire you to make the effort to take that walk in the woods that you have been promising yourself. It will rekindle your desire to spend more time in nature, and you’ll look at trees in a new light.

The author is a member of the England-based Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Her previous book, A Year of Ritual, was also published by Llewellyn. With Whispers from the Woods she helps pagans to rediscover the majesty of trees, and to become reacquainted with the natural world. And that’s a good thing! Goodbye, I’m off to hug a tree...

Author: Sandra Kynes
Published by: Llewellyn Publications, 2006
ISBN: 0-7387-0781-3