A Quest For Power
Many of us would like to leave some sort of lasting mark on this world. This can, of course, take many forms. But what strikes me in the occult niche is that everyone is trying to ‘reinvent’ something which always turns out to be there already. Somehow we still believe that we can bring something ‘unique’, and ‘authentic’, against all odds and common sense. And not only that: we want to both bring it and dominate the damn room with it.
I still very well remember one of the first lessons I learned in writing ethnography: whenever you think you are writing something new, just remember that someone else has already done it. But in this society, we still place high importance on being ‘fresh’ and ‘original’, therefore we are constantly faced with authors still trying to invent new grand narratives, create a ‘new stream’, or a ‘new movement’. And occult authors tend to do this accompanied by the grand promises of power that are attached to their ‘new’ ideas and practices. They come up with some ‘genuine, old, yet efficiently reconstructed’ approaches to magic or divination, words of power, and potent rituals, while all the time banking on the gullibility of their readership who are supposed to eat it all up. And sadly, they often do, because there is no sweeter drug than a grandiose empty promise.
A friend of mine has been following a certain occult author for some time and seems to follow all his ideas and practices to the letter. Most of them are accompanied by a promise of powerful results if the ‘unique’ instructions are followed to the letter. But if you have at least a shred of critical thinking left, you would question such promises of power. Luckily, my friend did and asked me to do a reading on it. “Do any of these rituals and ‘magic words’ hold any power?” he wanted to know.
Oswald Wirth Tarot, reconstructed by Agnes Kappler of Kartograme.
“Like hell they do” was my straight-up answer. The author in question convinced himself to be a great wizard who can overpower an unruly spirit, but he just ends up hanging. As far as I remember, a Hanged Man barely has any agency. And certainly not any power worth mentioning, what with both hands tied behind his back and coins falling out of his overturned pockets. The practices in question just end up being grand empty promises.
If all of this wasn’t enough, the Fool card decided to greet us from the bottom of the cut deck. Fool just goes where the road takes him, believing in the kindness of strangers. But usually, he is never better off than what he started with. All in all, a bitter lesson for my friend.
For questions that require quick and sharp clarity, feel free to explore the updated offer on the Readings page. The Small Reading now includes both standard 3 to 5-card readings, as well as a 6-card ‘Choice’ reading, when important decisions need extra attention.
