Tag Archives: quora.com

January 21, 2021 · 3:04 pm

Why are people so ready and willing to accept magical thinking? – Quora

“Magical thinking” may be out of place in the hard sciences, but Scientists tend to forget – not everything in this world is Scientific. The most obvious example of which is Art – by which I include literature, music, film & theatre, and just about everything we do for cultural and aesthetic reasons.

In order to appreciate a work of Science Fiction, one has to has to have a Magical Thinking mindset, not a Scientific one, because the plot necessarily requires a suspension of disbelief. The same could also be said for horror fiction, fantasy fiction, etc


It is also necessary to accept Magical Thinking in order to appreciate history itself, since as late as the middle of the twentieth century, the Arts were given greater emphasis in education than the Sciences. There was indeed a time when it was thought that you could get farther in life with a knowledge of the works of (e.g.) Shakespeare than of Isaac Newton. This is not necessarily the view of modern education, but if you didn’t actually realise this then you would fail to understand the decision making processes of the world’s most influential people of the comparatively recent past.

Finally of course, Magical Thinking is a requisite for understanding actual magic. 😉

Source: Alex Sumner’s answer to Why are people so ready and willing to accept magical thinking? – Quora

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November 14, 2020 · 1:52 pm

How can you return black magic back upon the sender’s own head?

banishing earth pentagram

Banishing pentagram. Start from the lower left point and continue around, finishing where you started.

Those swines at Quora.com deleted one of my answers there on the grounds that it violated one of their policies. They didn’t say which policy, and on the basis that my answer did not – for once – contain any smut or bad language, I must assume it was because I included a link to Aaron Leitch’s website in it. (NB: I’m sure they had nothing personal against Aaron Leitch, it was just the fact that it was an external website).

Anywho, I was just answering a simple little question, to wit: “How can you return black magic back upon the sender’s own head?” My reply:

Witches Janet & Stewart Farrar wrote that all that is needed to send such magic back to its caster is a sufficiently powerful magical defence. With this in mind you cannot do better than the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, which is the classic basic protection ritual.

It occurred to me that I wrote this a few years ago, so would I have anything to add to that? If I had not been in a hurry I might have added that there are other ways apart from the LBRP, of course. For example: just by living a virtuous life. Porphyry told a story that a philosopher called Olympius once tried to curse the great Neo-Platonist Plotinus – only for the curse to bounce right off and affect the embittered upstart instead. Plotinus was by all accounts a highly spiritually advanced person, but he did not practice ritual magic as far as anyone knew, so his powers of magical protection must have arisen as a side-effect of his other spiritual practices.

There are probably many other miscellaneous techniques but the only other one of which I have direct experience is that if one actually knew what skulduggery any given sorcerer were up to, it would be possible to craft a magical defence specific to that situation. This is a rare occurrence, as usually if a sorcerer is powerful enough to cast effective magic, they will not be stupid enough to broadcast the fact they are doing so (fourth power of the Sphinx and all that), but it has happened.

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October 3, 2020 · 4:44 pm

Alex Sumner’s answer to As a beginner in tarot reading, is it normal to be confused at the results and even feel like the answers don’t make sense? – Quora

The Universe

(a2a) Yes: you are not alone, I myself and I guess every tarot reader has been where you are when they began. There is no shame in feeling that way. As to what to do about it, I would give the following advice based on my own experience.

  • Treat Tarot Reading like an Art. A concert pianist does not worry about how much money he will make playing the piano, he concentrates on playing the best he possibly can – i.e. perfecting his Art. Conversely, if he did think about where his money his coming from, that would distract him from the pure art of playing. Similarly, if you really want to get good at Tarot reading, be like the Artist aiming to be the best Tarot reader you can possibly be – don’t go into tarot reading thinking about trying to please others or making money from fortune-telling.
  • Learn to get rid of the Little White Book as soon as possible. The LWB does not and cannot provide for every eventuality, so you should aim to get to a point where you don’t have to rely on it at all. This is another way of saying – learn to memorise the meanings of the individual cards – however! This does not have to be more difficult than need be. For example, picking one or two keywords for each card. I also found it helped to imagine that the Minors in the form of a grid of 4 columns (suits) and 14 rows (Ace to 10 and the Court Cards), realising that all columns have a similar meaning; all rows have a similar meaning; therefore a rough & ready way to remember a Minor is to mentally cross reference the two.

    I also found it helpful to compare each tarot card with its astrological associations, and to analyse and look for patterns.

  • Read widely. Especially the thoughts of other practicing tarot readers. Not just books, but blogs as well. There is always the possibility that someone with more experience has come up with an insight which helps you.
  • Practice, practice, practice. The Three Ps. You can and should practice on yourself to begin with, but eventually you can take the plunge and try to give readings for other people – I found doing so myself boosted my confidence.

But really the most important piece of advice I would have to offer is

  • EMBRACE THE CONFUSION. It’s actually the challenge of trying to figure out the meaning of a difficult or seemingly out-of-place card which makes you a better tarot reader. It’s that flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants feeling which makes you realise the real secret of Tarot reading, which is that it’s not really about the cards, but about your own intuition. Ideally therefore, you shouldn’t be afraid of Confusion – you shouldn’t even resign yourself to accept it grudgingly – you should embrace it as an opportunity to grow and develop.

Source: Alex Sumner’s answer to As a beginner in tarot reading, is it normal to be confused at the results and even feel like the answers don’t make sense? – Quora

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September 10, 2020 · 6:25 am

Alex Sumner’s answer to Hi! When I was about 16 yrs old, I was napping and was slightly woken up by this bright figure. Could this have been an angel or something? Also, I don’t see spirits anymore like I used but oftentimes I see glimmering orbs. What would this mean? – Quora

Angel

Hi! When I was about 16 yrs old, I was napping and was slightly woken up by this bright figure. Could this have been an angel or something?

I once had a vision in which I saw an Angel. At the same time as I saw it, I felt a tremendous ecstatic feeling which I can only describe as like the way in which books on yoga philosophy describe spiritual enlightenment (samadhi). From that point on, I became convinced that they way to tell whether a being is an authentic angel or not is whether its presence causes samadhi. With maturing years, I have come to believe that in a certain sense, the samadhi is the Angel.

So to answer your question directly – was what you saw an Angel? Well, think carefully about how you felt at the exact time it happened. Did you feel excited, exhilarated, surprised, astounded, or anything else that could be described as noumenal? Or did it just pass you by like something fairly unremarkable? Ultimately you will know yourself whether your experience was genuine.

Also, I don’t see spirits anymore like I used but oftentimes I see glimmering orbs. What would this mean?

If you can see them floating in the actual air in front of you, they might be manifestations of some kind of spirit. There are different kinds of spirit that could appear in such a way, for example it could be an elemental or nature spirit. I tend not to believe that the spirits of dead people appear in this way, as if they made a successful transition to the other side, they would not be hanging around the physical plane in this manner. The exception to this was if there were something wrong, in which case it could indicate that the spirit needed help in making a successful transition.

If, however, the orb just appears as a spot on a photograph, I would strongly advise against reading too much into it – apart from a peculiarity in the way that the camera has captured light reflecting off a dust particle.

Source: Alex Sumner’s answer to Hi! When I was about 16 yrs old, I was napping and was slightly woken up by this bright figure. Could this have been an angel or something? Also, I don’t see spirits anymore like I used but oftentimes I see glimmering orbs. What would this mean? – Quora

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August 2, 2020 · 4:00 pm

Alex Sumner’s answer to Is tarot reading magic? – Quora

The Hermit

(a2a) It can be magical, and in the tradition which I practice, it is magical. By “magic” I am here referring to what is sometimes referred to as “magick” or the art and science of causing in change in conformity with Will, or in other words, the occult.

Tarot is magical at many different levels. For example: the actual act of interpreting the symbols of the cards stimulates the intuition of the reader, in which case Tarot becomes a key to unlocking the reader’s psychic powers. More generally there is at least one tradition of ceremonial magic which integrates tarot reading into the actual magical ceremony, so that one realises that the same techniques of clairvoyance and magical invocation for use in an occult ritual generally can unlock the full potential of tarot as a divinatory tool specifically.

Ultimately, because having a Tarot reading can be viewed as a quest to go out of the Darkness of ignorance into the Light of knowledge, one can draw parallels between it and the quest for spiritual illumination which is at the heart of true occultism.

Source: Alex Sumner’s answer to Is tarot reading magic? – Quora

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June 26, 2020 · 9:11 am

Alex Sumner’s answer to What tarot card is number 11? – Quora

(A2A) The answer to this has changed over the course of history.

In every Tarot deck inspired by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn – including, most importantly, the Rider Waite Deck – Tarot Key 11 is “Justice.” However in every other deck, including every deck devised before the Golden Dawn, Tarot Key 11 is “Strength.”

Confusingly, the Crowley Thoth deck, which undoubtedly is GD-inspired in part, has its equivalent of “Strength,” i.e. “Lust” as number 11, and the counterpart of “Justice,” i.e. “Adjustment” as Key 8. This is not, as some believe, because Crowley was using his ipsissimus super-powers to change the order of these two trumps, he was simply keeping the numbering found in ancient tarot decks.

VIII Adjustment, in the Crowley Thoth Deck. Numbered 8, but nevertheless attributed to Lamed and Libra all the same.

The reason there is any confusion at all is that the GD came up with the idea that if Keys 8 and 11 were Strength and Justice respectively, they would correspond to Leo and Libra, and if you put the Fool at the head of the Tarot Trumps, the whole sequence would qabalistically map onto the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Hence the innovation was made by the GD in making Justice number 11: Crowley just changed the numbering back – although he did retain the astrological signification.

Source: Alex Sumner’s answer to What tarot card is number 11? – Quora

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March 10, 2020 · 9:53 am

I like astrology, but I don’t think tarot cards are necessary. Why do people use tarot cards for astrology?

From Quora.com

I like astrology, but I don’t think tarot cards are necessary. Why do people use tarot cards for astrology?

Alex Sumner’s answer:

(A2A) Astrologers do not necessarily use Tarot cards: Tarot readers might however use Astrology. For example, relating a Tarot card to an associated Astrological meaning might help a Tarot reader interpret a given tarot spread.

In the late 19th century, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn taught that because there are 22 major arcana in the Tarot, they can be allotted to the 12 signs of the Zodiac, 7 planets, and 3 of the Elements (Air, Water and Fire). The symbolism does actually make sense, e.g. “Justice” = Libra; “The Sun” = the Sun; “Death” = Scorpio (because Scorpio is equivalent to the 8th House, which is the House of Death); etc.

Furthermore, the Golden Dawn taught that the suits of the Minor Arcana correspond to the four astrological Triplicities; whilst there is a method of assigning the individual cards to the Zodiac which aids in clarifying their meaning.

The Six of Wands: Victory!
This card, for example, is associated with the second decan of Leo and the planet Jupiter, in the Golden Dawn system.

I say Astrologers do not necessarily use Tarot cards, but of course they may choose to do so nevertheless. One of the things I like to do is to do a Horary Astrological figure at the same time as doing a Tarot reading, on the basis that a Horary chart drawn up for the Time, Date and Place of a reading ought to corroborate the Tarot cards, or perhaps the cards might supply the details of how to interpret specific features of the chart.

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March 6, 2020 · 2:13 pm

Is the fact that astral projection is possible and has been done show that there is more to life than the material universe and a mind can exist without a body (like in an afterlife)?

Astral Projection

From Quora.com

Is the fact that astral projection is possible and has been done show that there is more to life than the material universe and a mind can exist without a body (like in an afterlife)?

Alex Sumner’s answer:

The simple answer is “yes,” however, if I were to be pernickety, I would prefer to phrase it in this way: “there is more to the material universe than is commonly supposed.”

In other words, IMO, astral projection invites us not to reject the material universe but to look at it anew with even greater wonder and curiosity, because we are able to sense its hidden properties and qualities which are real to the psychically aware, but are damned or excluded by the sceptical merely because they don’t know how to measure it (or don’t want to even try).

As to whether a mind can exist without a body “like in an afterlife” I would say yes, although I came to this conclusion not through studying astral projection but through ceremonial magick, i.e. that if one treats praeternatual spirits as real, then the universe behaves as if they are real. As far as I’m aware, however, all the theories of astral projection with which I’m aware still claim that you need a body, but just not an ordinary-flesh-and-blood body (e.g. an astral body or even a physical body transmuted into something extraordinary).

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December 27, 2019 · 11:18 pm

Quora: How can a horoscope determine ones future?

I do not like the word “determine,” as it sounds too much like “deterministic,” which in my mind Astrology is not. Instead, I like to think of Astrology in the following manner:

A Horoscope is a snapshot of a moment: hence it represents the Energies manifested at that moment, I.e. the powers of the planets relative to the astronomic features (the Signs) and their reflection on Earth (the Houses).

Hence, a Horoscope does not predict the future so much as describe the Energies at work at the moment the Horoscope was drawn up.

However… the seeds of the Future are sown in the Present, hence it ought to be possible for an Astrologer to make a prediction along the lines of “this is what’s likely to happen as a result of these forces if nothing happens to change them.”

As far as I know, Astrology does not claim that the future cannot be changed. Indeed, the highest goal of certain ancient mystery teachings was to deliberately transcend the forces described in a Horoscope – I.e. to achieve true Free Will in spite of one’s planetary influences.

Answer to How can a horoscope determine ones future? by Alex Sumner

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October 23, 2019 · 9:00 am

How can I take my tarot card reading skills to the next level? – Quora

Tarot

(A2A) This is almost too painful for me to answer, but I will attempt to do so anyway. Here goes…

Ask your own cards how you can take your tarot reading skills to the next level!

Real tarot readers do not rely on Quora to answer questions for them: they rely on their own Tarot cards because they already know they have the best question-answering system in their own possession. So, yes, if you really want to up your skills, you have to get into the mind-set that your Tarot cards are reliable and trustworthy, and you really do have the power to interpret them in an appropriate manner.

If you act as if you distrust your cards, your cards will distrust you. If, however, you learn to really love them, they will repay that love accordingly.

NB:

I have taken the liberty of down-voting every answer which began by saying they didn’t know at what level the OP was already. Duh! Are you tarot readers, or are you schmucks? (That’s a rhetorical question, by the way, I have already divined the answer to it).

Source: Alex Sumner’s answer to How can I take my tarot card reading skills to the next level? – Quora

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