Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Every year, I spend the ‘twelve days of Christmas’ pulling various tarot cards for the Omen Days and then ignore them the rest of the year until the next year comes around to see how well they predicted the year. Usually, they’re shit—as most “fortune-telling devices” are. (I have a cynical view of Oracle systems, especially for someone who just wrote and co-published a book on a novel Oracle system after reverse engineering an Oracle deck that wasn’t even designed with an inherent system in mind.)
But I have a fondness for the unique and the grotesquerie in general, and that extends into my collections, which then extends into my fiction, which then spills over into my magick. So my current tarot deck is a magpie deck. I’ve been obsessed with it for some time now. It suits me, suits my personality, and drives me crazy all at the same time. And it’s more than just a deck. It tempts fate in every way from the use of poker chips to arcade tokens to the key of fate itself. It even has the whole alleyway yes/no coin. It all fits inside a short cigar box. You might say, “It’s a vibe.”
I only look like a stuffy theologian on the outside.
While my primary deck is already odd enough—it has eleven different versions of the Death card (each with their own meaning), three Magician, High Priestess, and Lovers cards, and two Chariot and Devil cards, among other oddities—I also have a secondary “Strange” deck that is made up of a single fifteen-card strange suit and a very extended fifty-seven-card arcana. It’s almost a reverse tarot setup, one might say.
I thought, this year, why the hell not? Let’s see what the strange deck might put out. I mean, I’d already done the normal deck. And I’d also pulled my three Thoth Deck cards as usual. But let’s see what this thing would do.
Whaaatt’s the harm, right?
Strange is as Strange does
Jan — The Lone and Level Sands
The Lone and Level Sands speaks of being humble. Being careful not to carve your accomplishments in stone too soon, too permanently, too loudly. Over time, stone wears away by the passage of time and the work of sand.
Feb — The Masquerade
The Masquerade reminds us that all we are is a life of masks, of masquerades, of dances among each other and between the various obligations and desires in life, and, yes, dancing around trying to find our place in the world. How does that song go? “Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.”
Mar — The Night Owl
The Night Owl is always read sideways. It usually means there is a problem in the works that you have the wisdom to solve, but it’s going to take some work. And it’s usually a harsh lesson to learn. However, typically, in a reading, you lay out two cards, one for each talon, to determine those lessons. In this case, I’ll look at the cards before and after (February and April). [Intuition says it’s April, but I’ll leave the why private.]
Apr — Ancestors
Ancestors asks us to look at what came before. What has been gifted to us from those that we hold to be family or our community?
May — Deals in the Dark
Deals in the Dark reminds us that not everything happens under the glaring light of the Sun. Sometimes we have to dig in the shadows. The semester ends in May, and I’ll have the summer mostly off with lots of writing. Who knows what that’ll dig up! LOL!
Jun — The Thing Among the Reflections
The Thing Among the Reflections is imposter syndrome, plain and simple.
Jul — Devil
The Devil (in this particular case) is the fearmonger, the fakery, the witchhunt that is all smoke and mirrors. It’s the symbol of the Devil, not the devil that’s real. It’s the intent to harm rather than the harm itself. But even the intent can be real enough in the wrong hands.
Aug— The Hole
The Hole is about what isn’t, it’s about what is missing. It is about the place where the thing was not the thing itself. The key here is to figure out the thing missing.
Sep — The Tradition
The Tradition is about the old ways. It’s about connection and connecting.
Oct — Father Sleep
Father Sleep is about endings. Natural endings. It’s about putting things to rest, to bed, to sleep. This isn’t a bad thing or necessarily cause for alarm. It’s just the way cycles work sometimes.
Nov — Strength
Strength is strength. This is just like strength in a normal tarot set.
Dec — The Goblet
The Goblet symbolizes a symbiotic relationship between keeper and kept. You could say this is the grail of Jesus, but it’s really more the chalice of the vampire and the victim. Or of Babalon and the Adept. However it’s viewed, it’s about relationship at such an intimate level that surpasses all else.
That’s it!
That’s the strange reading for the year. Guess I’ll see how it pans out. Did you pull any cards for the twelve days?
Love is the law, love under will