Tag Archives: Tarot

El Adivinación en el Aurora Dorada

A translation of Divination in the Golden Dawn for Spanish speaking readers. May need proofing.


En el Aurora Dorada uno piense sobre todo de la adivinación como geomanciaastrología y el tarot.

“Adivinación” en sí es un concepto antiguo – y sólo por volver a ver lo que las fuentes antiguas sobre el tema, dijo que uno llega a darse cuenta de lo importante que es en realidad. Una de las autoridades más importantes era un antiguo adepto conocido como Jámblico, que vivía en el cuarto y siglos III dC, y que escribió un influyente trabajo enormemente conocido como “Teúrgia, o en los Misterios de Los Egipcios.” Era un neo- platónico: él también admitió haber sido influenciado por la Hermética, y sus escritos han influido en toda la tradición occidental Misterio, incluyendo la Aurora Dorada.

Esto es lo que Jámblico tenía que decir sobre el tema:

En primer lugar, entonces, te preguntas por que se le explicará a ti con todo detalle qué es lo que tiene lugar en el pronosticar el futuro. No es posible exponer a la vez lo que se te tratando de aprender. Pues de acuerdo con la esencia de la pregunta, te imaginas algo así en el arte de pronosticar: como que se genera, y algo que existe en el reino de la naturaleza. Pero no es una de las cosas que se generan, ni lo que es una mutación natural cumple determinadas, ni algún producto ingenioso que se ha inventado para fines útiles en la vida cotidiana – ni, en definitiva, es un logro humano en absoluto, sino divina , y más allá del reino de la naturaleza, y de haber sido enviado desde el cielo, ingénito y eterno, es natural que ocupa el primer lugar.

“Divino, y más allá del reino de la naturaleza” – que de hecho es por eso que lo llaman “adivinación” – porque lo que realmente estamos tratando de hacer no es sólo descubrir el futuro, sino para descubrir lo que es la Voluntad de lo Divino en cualquier dada la situación.

En otras palabras: cuando se elabore una carta astrológica – su primer pensamiento no debe ser que usted está buscando en una disposición arbitraria de las estrellas y los planetas – usted está en el hecho, la lectura de un mensaje enviado a usted desde el Creador del cosmos. Cuando se roba una carta del tarot, usted no está buscando a un pedazo de cartón con unas fotos bonitas, pero en una comunicación de que el universo mismo. Y lo mas importante – cuando experimenta la chispa de la intuición que abre el significado interno de una tirada de Tarot o carta astral o figura geomántica, no es sólo un proceso psicológico que implica la interacción de su mente consciente e inconsciente, de hecho es lo Divino Voluntad misma hablando con usted.

Es cierto adivinación, por lo tanto, es lo que hace magia en Teurgia. Por ejemplo: supongamos que tiene una idea de lanzar un conjuro o un talismán para consagrar algún propósito. Lo que usted debe hacer es realizar siempre una adivinación de antemano, preguntando: “¿Es esto una buena idea?” Y a menudo es el caso de que una adivinación dirán “No, no es una buena idea”, o “Traerá imprevistas consecuencias sobre “, o incluso:” Va a llevar a consecuencias que probablemente podría haber previsto si fueron brutalmente honesto consigo mismo. “Y así, sobre la base de que usted modificar su intención original a la luz de la adivinación, o incluso lo abandonan por completo. Se puede ir en contra de tu ego, y ser una molestia, pero tiene que hacer. Cuando haga su práctica mágica alinearse con la Voluntad Divina a través de la adivinación, que están entrando en una relación armónica con el universo. Sin embargo, si usted no hace caso y Adivinación sólo seguir adelante sin tener en cuenta, que usted está haciendo nada mejor que la brujería, y, probablemente, atrayendo a un montón de desagradables efectos kármicos a ti mismo.

Así que: siempre lo hacen adivinación con la intención de tratar de descubrir la voluntad de lo divino – la fortuna no sólo diciendo. Trátelo como una ciencia divina – Considerando sus cartas del tarot y las cartas que elaborar como objetos sagrados, si le ayuda a reforzar estos conceptos. Y cuando a discernir un mensaje que llega a usted de sus esfuerzos en la adivinación, lo trata con el respeto que se merece y no lo ignore.

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Divination in the Golden Dawn

In the Golden Dawn one mainly thinks of Divination as Geomancy, Astrology, and the Tarot.

“Divination” itself is an ancient concept – and it is only by going back to see what ancient sources said on the subject that one gets to realise how important it really is. One of the most important authorities was an ancient adept known as Iamblichus, who lived in the third and fourth centuries AD, and who wrote an enormously influential work known as “Theurgy, or on the mysteries of the Egyptians.” He was a neo-Platonist: he also admitted to being influenced by the Hermetica, and his writings have influenced the whole Western Mystery Tradition, including the Golden Dawn.

This is what Iamblichus had to say about the subject:

First, then, thou askest that it shall be explained to thee in detail what it is that takes place in the prognosticating of the future. It is impossible to set forth at once what thou art trying to learn. For according to the gist of the question, thou imaginest something like this of the art of prognosticating: as that it is generated, and something existing in the realm of nature. But it is not one of the things that are generated, nor what a certain natural mutation accomplishes, nor some ingenious product which has been invented for useful purposes in everyday life − nor, in short, is it a human accomplishment at all, but divine, and beyond the realm of nature; and having been sent down from the heaven above, unbegotten and eternal, it naturally takes the first place.

“Divine, and beyond the realm of nature” – that is in fact why we call it “Divination” – because what we are really trying to do is not just discover the future, but to discover what is the Will of the Divine in any given situation.

In other words: when you draw up an astrological chart – your first thought should be not that you are looking at an arbitrary arrangement of stars and planets – you are in fact reading off a message sent to you from the Creator of the cosmos. When you draw a tarot card, you are not looking at a piece of cardboard with some pretty pictures, but at a communication from the universe to yourself. And most importantly – when you experience the spark of intuition which unlocks the inner meaning of a tarot spread or astrological chart or geomantic figure, it is not just some psychological process involving the interaction of your conscious and unconscious minds, it is in fact the Divine Will itself speaking to you.

True Divination, therefore, is what turns magic into Theurgy. For example: say you have an idea to cast a spell, or consecrate a talisman for some purpose. What you should do is always perform a Divination beforehand, asking “Is this a good idea?” And often it is the case that a Divination will actually say “No, it’s not a good idea,” or “It will bring about unforeseen consequences,” or even: “It will bring about consequences which you probably could have foreseen if you were brutally honest with yourself.” And so based on that you modify your original intention in light of the Divination, or even abandon it altogether. It can go against your ego, and be a bother, but it has to be done. When you make your magical practice align with the Divine Will through divination, you are entering into a harmonious relationship with the universe. If however you ignore Divination and just go ahead regardless, you are doing nothing better than sorcery, and probably attracting a whole load of unpleasant karmic effects upon yourself.

So: always do Divination with the intention of trying to discover the will of the Divine – not mere fortune telling. Treat it like a divine science – regard your tarot cards and the charts you draw up as sacred objects, if it helps you reinforce these concepts. And when you discern a message coming to you from your efforts at divination, treat it with the respect it deserves and do not ignore it.

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Alex ama gli Italiani!

Excellent news from the Mediterranean – apparently Italians spend £5 billion a year on fortune tellers and astrology. And this apparently includes people seeking financial advice because they don’t trust bankers. Mind you, considering what people have put up with the world over, I’m surprised that more people in other countries have not done the same thing (perhaps they have but the papers have not reported it).

The long and the short of it is that I am adding Italy to my list of favourite countries, the first entry having been Norway. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that not only am I a tarot reader and astrologer amongst my many talents, but I also happen to like Italian cuisine. 🙂

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What am I doing?

Over the past few years I have not been updating my original website so often – this has been for a number of reasons. Firstly, work has been keeping me busy. This is not so bad: one of my money spells must have worked for a change!

Secondly, the Great Work has been keeping me busy. In the past few years I have been heavily involved with various magical projects, which have meant I have had little time to write new material for my website. When I realised that this was the situation I was in, I sort of retired from being an online-presence.

Irony of ironies, however! I have been meeting a number of different people through my magical projects, and when they heard that I was the great author Alex Sumner, they basically press-ganged me into writing papers for their own study groups, etc.

La plus ça change, la plus c’est la même chose, as some Martinist no doubt said in the past.

Essentially, my esoteric work is organised on the following lines:

  • I am heavily involved in Golden Dawn magick – as indeed I always have been. Certain aspects of the GD have taken on a greater degree of importance in my life, such as Tarot and Astrology. I am still involved with Enochian Magick: I am currently in the process of translating a book of John Dee’s conjurations from the original Latin into English.
  • Lucid Dreaming and astral projection. My lucid dreaming practice has evolved somewhat, as I am now on a quest to discover that which is more advanced than Lucidity per se.
  • Freemasonry – especially the esoteric aspects thereof; and
  • Rosicrucianism.

I am also exploring Fiction writing. Having experienced the occult in real-life, I am conscious that if I tried to write a fictional occult story that was completely authentic, it would actually be quite boring. As a fiction writer one should not write about ordinary characters – one should write about extraordinary ones – people who are the best at what they do, who take unusual risks, get into unusual scrapes, who have extraordinary adventures, etc etc. Thus, if I want to write about a villain in an occult novel, I cannot just describe someone who practices black magick – I would have to invent someone who practices magick which is sicker, blacker, more extreme and more evil than anything which would occur in real life.

My only problem so far has been that whenever I think “what is the most vile and disgusting practice someone could possibly do?” I am astounded to find that some pervert somewhere has already claimed to have done it. If I had not shaved my head already I would be tearing my hair out in frustration! 🙂

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