The Servants of the Light are or were supposed to be one of the leading schools of the occult and magical science. (Isn’t that an oxymoron? Isn’t magic antithetical to science? Or perhaps it’s science that is antithetical to magic? Or perhaps they are the same in which case, wouldn’t the term be redundant?) Anyway, the Servants created their own tarot deck, which is interesting to me because not only are they teaching occult and magical science, they also seem to be making it up as they go along, creating their own suits and names of the court cards.
For example, my two-card tarot spread for today was comprised of the Maker of Crescents and the User of Crescents, traditionally known as the King of Cups and the Knight of Cups. Why the change in nomenclature? I have no idea. They say it’s to create a mini mythology where the Maker (the former king) makes the symbol or artifact of the suit, in this case a crescent, the Giver (the former queen) takes the artifact and gives it to the User (the former knight), who uses the artifact to protect the Keeper (the former page or princess), who keeps the artifact in trust for the future.
It seems a lot of rigamarole that adds nothing to the mystique of the tarot, though perhaps the problem is with me. After all this time, I still have no real conception of what the tarot is all about, but I do know I won’t be using this deck in the future — it seems to confuse the whole issue since although the pictures on the cards seem to reflect the mini mythology, none of the purported meanings of the court cards seem to have anything to do with that mythology.
For example, the first of today’s cards, the Maker of Crescents, stands for a man who is highly regarded in the business world. He is also an entrepreneur who makes the most of every chance.
The second card, the User of Crescents stands for a person who is ready to make sacrifices for what he believes in. Once committed, he will follow through.
So what do these two cards together mean for me? Perhaps that I am ready to make the most of every chance, and once committed I will follow through. Or something like that.
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What if God decided S/He didn’t like how the world turned out, and turned it over to a development company from the planet Xerxes for re-creation? Would you survive? Could you survive?
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November 16, 2021 at 2:40 pm
George Washington said something about advanced sciences being indistinguishable from magic, I think, and Thor in the Marvel movies said the magic of Asgard was the same as Earth science, only much more advanced. Though I think in this case, it sounds like the Servants of the Light are just coming up with something to make themselves seem more distinct.
By the way, I was in New Orleans a couple weeks ago and got a Tarot reading at a voodoo shop on Bourbon Street. It was really cool. The reader, Ashu, said that I had a power to myself, a magic, and that it was manifesting. At the end I was like, “Well, my writing career is reaching new heights lately, so you might not be far off.”
November 16, 2021 at 4:59 pm
What a wonderful reading! It’s nice to think that your power is manifesting itself.
November 16, 2021 at 5:09 pm
Well, 2021 has been a good year on the writing front for me. A fountain of ideas, a huge output, and some publications too! Something’s manifesting, and God willing, it’ll allow me continued success.
February 22, 2022 at 6:07 am
Umm. I think there is a lot missing from the approach you take to this deck. Frankly, I found your appraisal of the deck unduly pessimistic. I have studied the tarot for over 15 years now and I can tell you I have been searching for a deck like this for years!
The tarot in a general sense has much deeper meanings than that which you find in many popular books, the same is true of the SOL tarot deck but without the proper perspective the finer insights of this deck for the time being it seems, will remain closed to you. That said, if you would like to part with the deck I would be happy to purchase it from you. I have left an email address in the form fields of your comments section. Please consider selling it to me.
February 22, 2022 at 9:52 am
You’re right that I’m missing a lot. I am a neophyte when it comes to the tarot. Not only do I have the deck in good condition, but I also have the book that goes with it written by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. You can email me at pat@bertramsblog.com with an offer if you wish.