New Tarot Deck and Contest

In case you didn't figure out from the name of my blog, I am into Tarot. My second blog entry gives an explanation of why I went with this name.

My new blog buddy Arwen over at Musings on the Tarot happens to be a professional tarot reader and today she has a special guest blogger. Kay Stopforth has done something really interesting in the realm of tarot. She has melded tarot with Quantum Physics. Together with Chris Butler, Kay has developed a new, absolutely beautiful tarot deck along with interpretations and a reading to go with it.

This combination of tarot and physics may seem like an odd combination to some but to me it seems perfectly natural, in fact, ideal. As I commented to Kay I am an almost stereotypical Pisces (sun and moon), i.e. creative, sensitive, emotional, artistic (in my own way), spiritual, a dreamer, one who goes with feelings before thoughts, etc. I am also a Capricorn rising which means all that touchy-feely Pisces stuff is wrapped up in a somewhat serious, responsible shell. Also I'm very spiritual but I happen to work in a very scientific/technical field.

You would think all this would cause some conflict and it does in some areas of my life, but in area of science and spirituality, in my mind at least, there is harmony. I think those two often opposing subjects fit together very well. Those things that fall under the heading of faith (such as life after death, "God", reincarnation, divination such as tarot, Reiki, even "The Secret" and Carl Jung's idea of synchronicity) all make a certain "sense" to me in a scientific way. And the deeper we delve into Quantum Physics the more sense it seems to make.

I believe that the key to having balance and harmony between science and spirituality is in having a completely open mind. If you notice I've been saying "spirituality" not "religion". That's where the conflict comes in. When you try to force fit what's happening into a preconceived, man made religious doctrine it will never work. You may be able to squeeze a size 11 foot into a size 10 shoe but you won't keep it on for long and you'll probably end up with blisters. And putting any sized foot into a shoe that already has another foot in it is just impossible. When one enters the discussion absolutely sure that their position is right without question then that mind is closed to every other possibility. And what are we without possibilities?

Go check out Arwen's blog and Kay's new tarot deck. Even if that's not your thing it's worth a look just for the artwork. Beautiful. While you're there leave a comment and you'll be entered in a contest to win a free Quantum Tarot reading from Kay.

Arrogance Slapped

Arrogance
Ar"ro*gance\, n. [F., fr. L. arrogantia, fr. arrogans. See Arrogant.] The act or habit of arrogating, or making undue claims in an overbearing manner; that species of pride which consists in exorbitant claims of rank, dignity, estimation, or power, or which exalts the worth or importance of the person to an undue degree; proud contempt of others; lordliness; haughtiness; self-assumption; presumption. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

There are many negative traits that humans are prone to display. One (of many) that annoys me considerably is arrogance. There are far too many people walking thinking and acting like they are better than someone else. Far too many groups thinking and acting like they are better than others. Religions feed on this and exacerbate it by telling people they're special, they're chosen and therefore better than those who are not part of their group. Individuals display arrogance about their job, their intellect, their appearance, their sexual prowess, their whatever and they even gather together in cliques and groups with other like-minded holier-than-thou people. Academic institutions and exclusive clubs with their noses in the air. Sports teams doing childish happy dances in the end zone and hoisting that trophy for all to see. Countries do it too. The US certainly has caused itself some trouble by resolutely believing that we are the best and insisting that the rest of the world needs to follow.

Humility is sorely lacking. It's unfortunately about as common these days as sense and courtesy. There's nothing wrong with being capable and confident but confidence that isn't tempered with humility crosses the line into arrogance. If you want a fine example of the kind of quiet capable humility that I'm talking about go talk to a World War II veteran, or for that matter almost anyone that lived through that era and participated in the achievements of that generation. I doubt you'll hear much bragging.

One of the biggest, grandest examples of human arrogance comes from those who look into the night sky while contemplating our existence, the meaning of life and our place in the Universe and come to the conclusion that we are the only life to be found. Those that firmly believe that Earth was blessed by God and that life sprang up here and nowhere else. Ludicrous. Utterly ludicrous. A friend sent me this video yesterday. It helps to put things into perspective. It makes you realize just how small we really are and that maybe we should be displaying something other than arrogance. Humility maybe?

Pure Genius

Forgetting for a moment about that whole E=MC2* thing, I would just like to casually mention that I keep noticing commonalities between myself and a certain famous genius.

I've know for a long time that we are both Pisces and that we are both Left-Handed. Two things that, when taken together clearly create a predisposition for genius. Then, yesterday while pondering the Universe and thinking lofty thoughts that you couldn't possibly understand (or care about) I happened upon this article about an original letter written by Einstein in which he discusses his view of the Bible and religion. Einstein says, "the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."

You really can't argue with GENIUS.

The letter is being auctioned in London this week and is expected to bring in $12,000 to $16,000. I'd love to own it. Anybody have $16,000 you can loan me?

In a (somewhat) related article we learn that our favorite major world religion with funny hats has approved the lining of said hats with tin foil. That's right, the Vatican has announced that it is okay to believe in aliens. In an interview with an Italian newspaper titled "The Extraterrestrial is My Brother," (is it me or does that sound like a headline on the Weekly World News in the Supermarket Check-out lane?) the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory (who knew?) discussed many issues related to the Church and Science and said among other things that The Bible "is not a science book," (REALLY?! Tell that to some folks in Alabama, Oklahoma and some other places I can think of) and that "the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones." Kinda like those intelligent life forms that the Spanish encountered in the Americas. And like them I'm sure that these intelligent alien life forms are godless heathens and it's the Church's duty to bring to them the word of Jesus Christ. Or slaughter them out of existence. But hey, maybe we'll get a Vatican sponsored space program out of it.

Closer to home I suppose that acknowledging the existence of aliens opens up the possibility of Priests and Bishops being abducted. And PROBED. You gotta love the Universe.

*I was attempting to type E=MC squared but this genius couldn't figure out how to make it work with Blogger. I not only have a lot in common with Einstein, Genius but I also have a lot in common with another famous mind.

Wiley Coyote, SUPER Genius.

If Only It Weren't True

Just a quick funny. Or maybe not.


A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, 'I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him.' I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk.'

'Naturally I assumed you had stolen the car.'

Wanted: Living Goddess...

...all males and any female over the age of 12 need not apply.

Hmmm. That sounds like a sex AND an age discrimination lawsuit to me. Fortunately the position is not in the United States so litigation will not be an issue. No, no this job opening is in Nepal. It seems that although one can no longer reincarnate without the proper permit in Nepal you can indeed hire and worship a living goddess.

It seems that as part of a centuries-old tradition, "three medieval towns in the Kathmandu valley worship pre-pubescent girls as the living embodiment of the goddess Taleju." The present living goddess (called a Kumari), eleven-year-old Sajani Shakya, has held the position for nine years but must step down because of another centuries-old tradition. She's gotten married. Symbolically, but married none-the-less. To a fruit. No, not that kind of fruit. A real fruit. Of the botanical variety. Here's a photo of her new husband posing with his family at the wedding.

To quote the little girl worshiping crop conjoiners, "we have a tradition to get our girls married to a Bael (Aegle marmelos), a fruit dedicated to Lord Shiva, around the age of 10 or 11." There is no word as to whether she has been pollinated.

Hey, I can't make this shit up. Here's the article:
Living goddess wanted in Nepal: young girls only please

So if any of you out there have daughters under the age of 10 you may want to consider applying. Good colleges are getting harder and harder to get into. I can't imagine that putting "Living Goddess" on your application would hurt your chances of acceptance. You may not want to mention the marital status though.

Fair and Balanced Reporting

I want everyone to know that I am fair and balanced (well, one out of two aint bad). The other day I posted about Saudi Arabia putting a woman on trial for witchcraft and sentencing her to death. Just so I don't give the unfair impression that Saudi Arabia is a sexist, male dominated society (be careful where you step, don't slip in the thick coating of SARCASM) I thought I'd post about this related article that turned up today:

Saudi Arabia arrests 57 men for flirting at mall

I mean, it was only one woman that was accused of witchcraft. They arrested 57 men for flirting. Never mind the fact that even if they're found guilty they'll probably get a slap on the wrist and the women they were flirting with will be stretched on a rack, tortured, hanged, beheaded and burned because they were the evil objects of temptation that caused the men to flirt in the first place. I mean, all that aside, surely this is progress.

Here is the list of charges being investigated:

• "flirting with women in front of a shopping mall"
• "dancing to pop music blaring from their cars"
• "wearing improper clothing (believed to be tee shirts with images and/or (gasp!) English on them)

The ANIMALS!!! Praise the lord that we don't have that kind of criminal behavior here. Now if only we can force the stores inside the malls to put veils and head scarves on the mannequins in the windows of Victoria's Secret and Frederick's of Hollywood I wouldn't have to fear impure thoughts in the heads of the young men attending Bible study group meetings in the mall food court.

Actually what I find most seriously disturbing and terrifying about this article are these two phrases:

"The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice"

and

"the fearsome religious police"

If those two particular combinations of words don't underscore in no uncertain terms the dangers of a state religion and a legal system based on a holy book, I don't know what the hell does.

We should be very, very thankful for the Constitution. And yet...we have a current Republican Presidential candidate who stated that the Constitution should be rewritten to reflect the Bible and the religious right won't back the other Republican candidate because he isn't conservative (the New English to Political Bullshit Translation Dictionary defines this usage as meaning "Right Wing Christian Religious Extremist Nut-job who wants to wage a holy war, make the Bible the law of the land, establish a Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, and unleash the fearsome religious police on the sinners of America") enough. The fact that these people can read an article like the one posted above and see only the differences - and not the vivid crystal-clear reflection of themselves - boggles my mind.

Wake up America. Apathy is going to kill us.

Welcome to 1692

Saudi Arabia to execute woman for 'witchcraft'

I saw this headline last Thursday and was going to comment on it but it was Valentine's Day and then the weekend was on us and I just didn't want to end the week with a story like this. I was frankly just too damn dumbfounded and depressed that something like this was still possible.

Now to be fair we had our own little brush with Witch trials here in America. A little brush that ended with 19 men and women dead from hanging, an 80 year old man pressed to death under heavy stones, and several others dead in prison waiting for their turn on the gallows. But all that was so long ago. After all it's been 316 years. This is 2008 there couldn't possibly be any similarities between what happen then and this "modern day" case. I mean, come on, the Salem Witch Trials took place in a horribly oppressive Puritan religious environment where the word of God ruled law. In the 1600's women had few rights, were subservient to men and were easy targets. The accusers had either personal "issues" with the accused, stood to gain from their conviction and execution (usually land), or both. See? Not at all similar. The Middle East is nothing like that. There has to be more to the story. I have no doubt that logic and reason were applied to this case. I'm sure they have in their possession hard evidence (well, not from the impotent guy). Evidence like an irrefutable modern scientific test. A test like throwing her into water to see if she floats, or checking to see if she weighs as much as a duck. One couldn't argue with that. You'd have to conclude that she was guilty.

The woman in the story was convicted based on a "coerced" confession (I looked that up in my legal bullshit dictionary and it said coerced confession was defined as torture, see for example "waterboarding"). Her conviction was also based on statements of "witnesses" (defined in this case as ass-backwards MEN who think that women are sub-human, worthless chattel) who claimed the woman had "bewitched" them. Why, one of these MEN(?) even became impotent after being "bewitched". Imagine that. I'm thinkin' he was having impure thoughts and wanting to act on them with this woman and she either told him where to go or agreed to help him out only to find that thinking about it was all he could do. To either hide embarrassment or avoid anyone finding out what they were up to or to cast the blame on her when someone did find out, poof, she suddenly became a witch.

It might seem like I'm making light of this. While I am being a tad sarcastic, I don't find this subject at all funny. I am angry, horrified, disgusted and more than a little bit frightened. It's bad enough to feel like we're drifting backwards but this kind of thing is a harsh reminder that there are people out there slamming it into reverse and mashing the friggin' pedal. I want out of the car.

Follow-up on the Intoleration of Intolerance

A few weeks back I blogged about the charming little hate group called the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas coming to my little town to protest. They were met by the UNwelcome wagon. I'm only sorry that tar and feathers weren't available. Well, there's some new information about these lovely folks.

In March 2006 Albert Snyder experienced the pain of attending the military funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder. One would not think that attending the funeral of one of your children could possibly be made any worse. Unfortunately Mr. Snyder and his family learned it could. Also in attendance at that funeral were the looneys from the Westboro Baptist Church, complete with their trademark "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" signs and "God Hates Fags" tee shirts.

At some point after the funeral Mr. Snyder sued the so-called church and yesterday in federal court the verdict was announced. Mr. Snyder was awarded $11 million. $2.9 million was awarded in compensatory damages. Before the jury deliberated the amount of punitive damages the judge informed the jury that the compensatory damages award "far exceeds the net worth of the defendants". The jury came back with $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress. Hello! Can you say MESSAGE? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!! There's serious doubt that Mr. Snyder will ever be able to collect his award but that's not the point. Here's hoping that every other family that's ever been assaulted by these dark hearts files a lawsuit too. Here's hoping that this case and every other one filed keeps these vermin tied up with legal fees to the point that they can't afford poster board and crayons for their signs or the gas needed to drive someplace to use them.

The "church" of course vowed to appeal based on their First Amendment rights to free speech and religion. I am absolutely NOT against free speech or freedom of religion. I have literally taken an oath to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" and I take it seriously. Much more seriously than our president does. However, the freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution apply to EVERYONE. This group does have rights but they do not include using their right to free speech to cram their religion down the throat of anyone else . At the risk of sounding like Peter Parker's uncle Ben, I believe that with great freedoms come great responsibility. Some things are just wrong and when people cross the line they need to be called on it.

My wife and I tried to raise our children using the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" approach. It's not an infallible system but it's a pretty good starting point and guideline. We didn't beat them over the head with a holy book or threaten them with a boogieman either in the sky or in the underworld. They know right from wrong and have grown into girls that we are very proud of. I mention this because, while I take some degree of satisfaction and feel some hope in seeing this jury verdict, ultimately I'm concerned and frightened. Why? Check out the picture that accompanies the linked article. The one of the ten and thirteen year old Westboro Baptist church members (children of the "church" founder) holding the protest signs. The one of the kids who experience hatred as a way of life. I shudder at the virulence of what they've been taught and of what they in turn might teach.

It brings to mind the lyrics to Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You've Got to be Carefully Taught" from South Pacific:

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear—
You’ve got to be carefully taught

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade—
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late—
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

Hey Buddy, You Got a Permit For Dat Reincarnation?

Okay. I don't know how I missed this Newsweek story from over a month ago. China in what has to be one of its most bizarre moves, has decreed that Buddhist Monks in Tibet are forbidden to reincarnate without government permission. I ain't makin' this up folks. Here's the link to the article By Matthew Philips. The State Administration for Religious Affairs ( I don't know about you but the term "State Administration for Religious Affairs" sends shivers up my spine) says that the law is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." Well those Tibetan Buddhists have nothing to worry about. We all know that once the government institutionalizes a program, well, it's just gonna run like a top. Smooth as silk. If you do have a complaint you'll just have to go to the Hypnotic Regression department (take the escalator down, deeper and deeper into a state of total relaxation).

Of course regulating reincarnation has nothing to do with their real intentions. As the article points out, it's their latest strong arm tactic to do what they've been trying for 50 years. To cut off influence from the Dalai Lama (who's been in exile in India for 48 years) and squash the Buddhist order in Tibet. The plan is to set up a puppet Lama (not THAT kind of Llama) of their choosing who has been legally and officially reincarnated - in Tibet. One who has properly disembarked from his metaphysical plane. One who had his spiritual passport properly stamped. One who will do what they tell him.

China, China, China. Ancient and glorious culture. So much potential, and now that the world knows the lead in the toys was ALL the fault of Mattel's design flaws and that you're completely innocent, maybe you can focus on living up to it.

I just hope that someone in Washington hasn't read this and realized that reincarnation can be used by illegal immigrants to get past that wall they want to build. DHS will be all over that. And you thought the lines at airport security were long.