As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m in the process of moving. This has, among other things, meant packing up my whole life and making some critical decisions about my possessions. Some things are getting packed into suitcases and taken with me to my next (semi-temporary) home. Some get going into storage until I […]
Read more "Downsizing My Tarot Deck Collection"I’m in the process of moving. Now that my doctorate is finally complete, there’s a lot less tying me to the physical environs of New Jersey. My lease is up at the end of this month, and while I haven’t yet secured a job and a permanent place to live, it’s time for me to […]
Read more "Baba Yaga Lied to Me (And That’s Okay)"People often describe Paganism as a “nature religion” and talk about venerating the natural world as a fundamental tenet of Pagan practice. But what exactly does that mean? What do we mean when we talk about nature–and what are some of the troublesome assumptions underlying that language? (Hint: It’s just anti-industrialism in sheep’s clothing.)
Read more "Video: Nature Doesn’t Exist"I consider myself a halfway decent astrologer. I’m by no means an expert in astrology, and I’m certainly not a professional, but I know more astrology than most people in a given room, I have a preferred house system (Placidus, and yes, I have heard of whole sign houses, but thank you for asking), and […]
Read more "Applied Astrology: Life After Grad School"In a video last weekend, I talked about the rub that exists between philosophy, which seeks truth through reason, and mysticism, which seeks irrational ecstatic communion with the divine. As it turns out, I have more that I want to say on the matter. Specifically, I want to talk about the survival of the soul […]
Read more "Philosophy and Mysticism: Malkuth, Yesod, and the Underworld"I’ve now worked my way through all of the numbered cards in the Tarot de Marseille, exploring their meanings through the lens of the trump cards that are numerologically associated with them. Having done that, I turn my attention to the court cards. In RWS-style Tarot reading, the personalities of the court cards are affected […]
Read more "A Year of Tarot de Marseille: The Courts, Part I"It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update in my year-long Tarot de Marseille project, but I haven’t forgotten about it! I’ve just been harried with work. Today, we return to the TdM and cap off our exploration of the pip cards with the Tens. These cards take their numerological meaning, I suggest, from […]
Read more "A Year of Tarot de Marseille: The Tens"I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the connection between religion and values. In some respects, this connection is so obvious that it doesn’t bear articulating. Patriarchal societies have patriarchal religions; in agrarian societies we see religions structured around the symbols of sowing and harvest. The gods of the steppes are cavaliers and the gods […]
Read more "What You Worship Is What You Value"It’s been a long time since I’ve written a deck review. The main reason for that is that it’s been a long time since I’ve bought a new deck. I used to really love deck collecting, and I took enormous pride in acquiring decks with different themes, art styles, and expressions of the symbolic language […]
Read more "A Review of the Tarot of the Witch’s Garden"As we delve further into the symbolism of the suit cards in the Tarot de Marseille, we come to the Sixes. According to the system I’m using, these cards take their meanings from two of the Trump cards: The Lover and the House of God. Note that both of these cards have different names in […]
Read more "A Year of Tarot de Marseille: The Sixes"
Jack Chanek 