December is filled with the Christian/Commercial holiday of Christmas, though a quick look at the diverse calendar of holidays shows that the month is just stuffed with celebrations. Many of these center around light. This is not surprising, as December contains the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, the shortest day of the year. (It is also the longest day of the year for those in the southern hemisphere, so, there’s some perspective for you!)
These celebrations of light are a time of looking forward. Many of us become contemplative in the winter. We look back on the accomplishments and challenges of the past year, and 2020 has been a doozy! Many experience depression in this time of growing darkness. Dickens described it as “when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices.”
2020 has robbed us of some of our traditions, because we can’t afford them, or conditions separate us, and this may be weighing more heavily, making those nights feel that much longer and darker. But these various celebrations of light remind us that humans have conquered the darkness with fire, and that we are not restricted by the whims of nature. We can make our own light when needed. Furthermore, we have the ability to transform that path up ahead, to pursue what we truly desire, and to bring about the fantastic outcomes that dance around in our imaginations.
No matter what festival of light you embrace, and I connect with several of them, I hope that you are able to mourn what you need to, but then to light those candles of hope and desire to brighten your future path and to pursue it with enthusiasm, regardless of those influences that try to convince you that it’s impossible. Your inner light is truly bright, and the path behind you does not necessarily define the road before you.
I wish you all the best for your greatest good and happy holidays to you and all for whom you care.
In some ways it feels like Halloween is cancelled this year. The parties, the trick-or-treating, the parade… they are pretty much non-existent. I’m doing a zoom event tonight, but nowhere near the things I had hoped at the beginning of the year. But, while there is but one Halloween per year, there are 364 un-Halloweens that can be celebrated. Keep them and we will look forward to next year when we celebrate twice as much to make up for lost time.
Of course, Halloween is more than a party. In the pagan wheel of the year, it is the sabbat of Samhain (pronounced SAH-wen), a time when the veil between our world and the spirit world is thin, and connection with those who have crossed over is especially strong. We can reach out, and so can they!
This actually marks the end of the pagan year, so it comes with reflection and thoughts of how the year went, and what we want moving forward. The Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos), also takes place around this time, and is a similar reflection on family and friends who are no longer on this plane.
Whether your Halloween celebration is about monsters and mayhem or spirits and contemplation, or a bit of both, I hope that you find a way to celebrate.
Here is a treat for you. I found this Golden Wheel Fortune-Teller in a manuscript by Felix Fontaine, Professor of Astrology, and Lecturer on Astronomy and Spiritual Philosophy, published in 1862. He explains that he discovered it in a medieval manuscript and translated it from the original Latin. I will say that many of the fortunes given are pretty grim and could probably do with some re-interpretation. So, don’t take this too seriously, but have a little fun asking questions and blindly pointing to the wheel to find your answers. Perhaps I’ll be able to release an updated version soon.
Happy Halloween, and, as always, I wish you very good fortune!
THE GOLDEN WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
This singular wheel was much consulted in the middle ages, and is said to have been used by Cagliostro to aid him in his divinations. I have selected it from an old Latin manuscript on Astrology, and translated it into English for the benefit of those of my readers who cannot read the former language. See Frontispiece.
THE GOLDEN WHEEL OF FORTUNE SHOWS:
I. Whether you shall obtain the favor of the person you desire?
II. If the querent shall meet with the preferment he wisheth for?
III. Whether a sick person will recover?
IV. If the said sickness will be long or short?
V. Shall your expectation or wish succeed?
VI. If it is good for you to marry, or otherwise?
VII. Whether the friendship of a certain person will prove advantageous or not?
VIII. Whether a person shall be rich or poor? etc., etc.
HOW TO TELL FORTUNES BY THE GOLDEN WHEEL.
The person whose fortune is to be told, must place the wheel of Fortune face downward, prick into a number (it is better to do it with their eyes shut), then refer for an explanation, which stands at the corresponding number as that you pricked into. (See Frontispiece.)
The following observations answer for either sex, the party, therefore, trying this wheel, must alter wife for husband, or just as the answers may suit either party.
1. If this number is fixed upon, it assures the person that you will marry an homely person, but rich.
2. Whatever your intentions are, for the present, decline them. Those absent will return.
3. Shows loss of friends; bad success at law; loss of money; unfaithfulness in love.
4. If your desires are extravagant, they will not be granted; but mind how you make use of your fortune.
5. Very good fortune; sudden prosperity; great respect from high personages; a letter bringing important news.
6. Look well to those who owe you money, if ever so little, a letter of abuse may be expected.
7. Your lover will act constant and true toward you.
8. A friend has crossed the sea, and will bring home riches, by which you will be much benefited.
9. A loving partner; success in your undertakings; a large and prosperous family.
10. Your husband will not have a great fortune, but with your assistance he is likely to live in middling circumstances.
11. A very sudden journey, with a pleasant fellow-traveller, and the result of the journey will be generally beneficial to your family.
12. You may regain that which you have lost with great perseverance and trouble.
13. A letter of importance will arrive, announcing the death of a relative for whom you have no very great respect, but who has left you a legacy.
14. By venturing carefully, you will gain doubly, though you will suffer great privation.
15. You will meet with many crosses before you are comfortably settled.
16. Too sudden acquaintance with the opposite sex; but which will be opposed; notwithstanding the party should persevere, as it will be to his or her advantage.
17. An agreeable partner, a good temper, and a large family of children.
18. Let the chooser of this number persevere; for your schemes are good, and must succeed.
19. You will marry young, and have dutiful children.
20. Your lover may be low in circumstances, but affectionate.
21. Your marriage will add to your welfare, and you will be very happy.
22. A drunken partner, bad success in trade, but the party will never be very poor, though always unhappy.
23. Do not neglect your lover; let your conduct command respect.
24. You have many friends, and will probably have a large and virtuous family.
25. Your travels will be prosperous, if you are prudent.
26. You have many enemies, who will endeavor to make you unhappy.
27. The luck that is ordained for you, will be coveted by others.
28. Be very prudent in your conduct, as this number is very precarious, and much depends upon yourself; it is generally good.
29. Beware, or you will be deceived by the person you are paying your attentions to.
30. You love one who is affectionate and true, and deserves respect.
31. You too fantastically refuse offers. Be prudent when you accept, or you will be sorry.
32. You will be very unfortunate for a short time, but be careful, and your situation will very soon alter.
33. A fortune will be yours, but be not over anxious.
34. Alter your intentions, or you will be sorry when it is too late.
35. You will have a rich, but jealous partner, and will live very uncomfortably.
36. You will have a sober, steady, and affectionate partner, but poor.
37. A very good fortune, sudden prosperity, and a large family.
38. The persons who choose this unlucky number, must look well to their conduct; or justice will overtake them.
39. Remain among your friends, then you will escape misfortune.
40. You will have an affectionate partner, but no family; and a large fortune.
41. If you have a fortune, be charitable; if but little, be frugal.
42. You will have a quarrel with your lover, through jealousy.
43. You must bear your losses with fortitude.
44. You will get a handsome, young, and wealthy partner.
45. When your conduct changes, your fortune will mend, by marrying a rich partner.
46. You have mixed with bad company, and you may depend on it, that you will be brought to disgrace.
47. A large family of healthy children, give them learning, and they will honor their father and mother.
48. You will be very unfortunate at first, but persevere, and your schemes will be successful.
49. You have a number of secret enemies, who will try to do you an injury; be on your guard and you will prosper.
50. Your happiness will consist in doing good: they are pleasing spots in the memory, which vexations cannot erase.
51. You will die an old maid, you have been too whimsical in choosing for yourself a partner.
52. Your lover will travel in Europe, and will be very successful.
53. You will marry a person with whom you will have but little comfort.
54. This is a very lucky number; whatever you do, will always prove successful.
55. After much misfortune, you will be pretty comfortable and happy.
56. Good conduct will produce much luck and happiness.
57. Through affection you will marry unfortunately; but you must make one another happy.
58. You have many lovers, but mind how you choose, or else you will suffer for it.
59. Your lover is on his return home, but he has met with severe losses.
60. A letter announcing the loss of money.
61. You have a secret enemy, mind or he will do you some harm.
62. Warns you against the evil consequences of idleness, either in yourself or partner.
63. Your partner will be very rich, but very neglectful.
64. You will be very poor and miserable, with one child.
65. Sincere love from an upright heart will be rewarded.
66. You will marry an old person with whom you will be very unhappy.
67. Plenty of offers will happen before one is worthy of acceptance, be cautious how you make your choice.
68. You will play with the mouse till you lose it.
69. Take heed, you are being deceived by your lover.
70. You will meet with great trouble, you should have consulted your friends.
71. Beware, the person you love, does not love you, he seeks your ruin.
72. If you marry in haste, you will be deceived, wait patiently, and you will be happy.
73. Hard work, hard fare, little joy, and much care.
74. A scolding wife, but rich.
75. Your partner will be very rich, but will have no children.
76. You have a rival, be not deceived; depend on our tablets, and you will better your condition.
77. You will have many children, but will be very poor.
78. Do not delay, hasten your marriage, or you will lose your virtue.
79. Your wife will have no children, and will be addicted to drinking liquors.
80. Be honest and industrious, and you will triumph over your enemies.
81. You will have children, who, if you give them a good education, will make you happy.
82. You will fall into great difficulties, you will lose your partner and marry a drunkard.
83. Hasten your marriage; the person is faithful, and you will be happy.
84. You must break off the connection you have formed, or you will come to absolute want.
85. Your lover is jealous of you, and will break off the connection.
86. You will travel in Europe, and be married there, but will have no children.
87. You will get married, but not till you begin to get old.
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88. Beware, you have a secret enemy who will try and do you some injury.
89. You will die an old maid.
90. You will marry three different times, and still be very poor and miserable.
91. The person you are paying your attentions to, is deceitful.
92. If you marry, you will have great trouble, and many children; be persuaded, and live single, then you will be happy.
93. You will live to a great age and be happy.
94. There is a young man dying in love for you, but mind you are not led astray.
95. You will marry poor, but in the end be rich.
96. You are too whimsical and deceitful ever to be happy.
97. Be not flattered, for you have an amorous sweetheart.
98. A shocking accident will happen to you, or to your children, which will cause great trouble.
99. You will discover your false lover.
100. You will have a very handsome, but artful partner.
Between disease control and civil unrest it has been harder to keep up with the exploits of Florida Man. However, a quick search does not disappoint. Florida Man is alive, well, and up to no good.
An Associated Press article dated May 29, 2020, reports that Miramar, Florida police were searching for a 21-year-old naked man who broke into a South Florida high school and spent almost 24 hours vandalizing the building.
Here is the photo they released on Twitter, seeking to identify the culprit.
Security cameras caught a man trashing Miramar High School. The photo was successful, and police identified Matthew Crandall.
Video showed Crandall broke into the school around 7 a.m. Monday. He gallivanted around the school, wearing only a hat and headphones, causing flooding in hallways, smashing computers and televisions, and vandalizing classrooms, walls, and hallways throughout the school in Broward County.
Police say a school custodian discovered the damage, estimated at about $100,000.
Crandall is from North Fort Myers. It was not known whether he had any ties to the school. Police said Crandall is charged with burglary and criminal mischief.
Oh, Florida Man! You are a pale, pasty light in a dark day!
If you have not seen the movie, The Men Who Stare at Goats, you should. It’s fun. You should also read the book, because they are different in important ways.
The story centers around a journalist’s exploration of the First Earth Battalion, a military group that tried to militarize psychic techniques. Their manual is available online and it’s some wild stuff!
One of the techniques that were explored was Remote Viewing. Essentially, it is using your intuition to visualize a place that you have never been, and providing detailed information. Does it work? Let’s find out!
I’m going to give you some ways to try remote viewing for yourself. It’s more fun when you include friends and, since it’s remote, it’s a perfect thing to do during times of isolation. I’ll give the steps for a basic exercise and then give some variations
Establish your target
How can you determine success if you don’t know where you’re aiming? To begin, focus on a place that you can verify. Either have a friend select a place that they know or select a place that you can look up on Google Maps and see details.
To do it formally—and this is the technique I tend to use when I experiment with curious people at events—one location will be randomly selected from a number of photographs. To be really formal they will be sealed inside envelopes. A person will focus mentally on that photograph while the other person tries to remotely view it. If you are by yourself, you can randomly select from a few envelopes and just try to focus on the location.
View the target
Now, the viewer just opens up their intuition and records what comes to them. Any ideas or sensations should be recorded. Shapes, details, anything at all counts. At first, these things may be disjointed and unrelated. With practice they will become clearer and more structured.
A good technique is to imagine a white movie screen on the inside of your forehead. Close your eyes and imagine actually looking up at this screen. This physical action actually helps you tap into your subconscious and intuition. Focus on the blank screen and will yourself to see things about the place you are remote viewing.
The idea is to not worry about whether what you perceive is reasonable. Don’t second guess yourself. Don’t worry if what you get is not a visual image, but an idea of something, or sounds, or smells. Just record what you get.
Take whatever you get
I mentioned this before but I want to re-emphasize: Don’t second guess yourself.
When you begin to have this conversation with your subconscious you will get things as metaphor, or exaggerated, or abstract. Interpretation comes next. Not everything you get will be explained. That’s all OK. Just let it flow.
Some people find it’s easier to draw as they do this. Some like to speak aloud into an audio or video recorder. Some like to have a scribe document the session. You may use more than one approach. Explore. Experiment. See what works for you. There is no right way to do this.
Examine your results
Once you’ve really settled down and disconnected from your viewing, look at the results. Go over information from the sender, but don’t stop there. Use tools available, such as Google Maps, to dig into the location. Some of the details you picked up may be things the sender doesn’t remember, or things that have changed since they were last there. These are very exciting finds!
As you go through this process something that was obscure and fuzzy to you may become more obvious. That fuzzy man walking on a black, square block becomes a lighted walk sign at an intersection. It’s OK to re-interpret your results and even add things that you forgot to mention. A lot of detail can flood into you all at once and it takes practice to discern.
If you take this process seriously, and genuinely try to connect, you are very likely to get hits even your very first time.
Practice makes perfect
This is a skill. You start with some natural ability, but then you hone it by repetition. Over time, you’ll become more fluent in your subconscious language. Things that were obscure and abstract will become clearer. You’ll discover the best methods for you and how to go into and come out of a remote viewing session.
Here are a few variations you might try as you experiment:
Have a friend perform an action while you focus on them. See if you can tell what they were doing and pick out details.
Try to see someplace historic, such as an event. See what details occur to you. Research the event and see if you have any hits.
Focus on a celebrity and see if you can find news that connects with what you saw and felt.
Remote viewing can be a fun game to play. You may find that you develop skill with it. In that case, it could be an interesting tool to help you prepare or just explore from afar. Could you view other planets? Find out!
As our world has become more virtual, Saul has moved right along with the times. Saul has set up special broadcasting capabilities and developed material specifically designed to add surprises and fun into any virtual gathering.
He has also arranged special pricing through the end of May. Virtual offerings will be 50% off to help pilot these remote enhancements that will drive engagement for your online meetings and events. It can be purely entertainment, or Saul can use his 15 years of experience in government and corporate environments to help deliver important learning and messages in an interactive and memorable way.
If you live in Austin, you probably look forward to the second Monday of every month when horror fans gather with Saul at Mister Tramps to revel in Ravencraft’s Vault of Horror. Our gatherings were an early casualty of COVID-19 as the venue was forced to shut down with all the other bars and restaurants.
The good news is that Mister Tramps has been doing well, switching to takeout service from their outstanding kitchen along with take-home smoothie drinks. We are hopeful they’ll be waiting for us when things open up again and that we can resume the live gathering in June and pick up where we left off.
In the mean time, we are doing the Day-Drinking edition of RVoH, showing some classic films from the horror library. Here is a playlist of all the episodes so far and new ones will be added as they occur.
Like many, I have been innovating my way around the conditions the COVID-19 pandemic forced upon us. The term “pivoting” has become popular to describe the twists in our path, continuing to do what we do in strange circumstances. I have spent a good deal of effort to find ways to connect and entertain at a distance.
The first thing I did was to create a multi-camera broadcasting setup that lets me show both my face and a table. I can easily move between these views while I broadcast through social media, or Zoom, or other carriers. This allows me to provide a more varied experience, smoothly moving between views and even bringing in videos, images and other elements. Basically I can broadcast something that feels more like TV show into a video conference! This was not easy, but it’s been worth it!
Next, I had to explore my material and see what could work in a virtual environment. All of my performance is about connection and engagement. It was challenging to find things that could be done in a virtual environment that maintained the engagement, even if some of the connection was not possible. Again, this challenged me and forced me to get out of my own comfort zone, rethinking what was possible. It’s been a wonderful journey, and I’ve found a number of fantastic ways to engage with people one-on-one, or in a group.
I can now offer readings with tarot and other tools just as I would in person. I have also found a number of ways to tell interactive tales, play with my artifacts, and even read minds at a distance.
On one hand, I can’t wait for all of this to be over so we can reconnect and be full-contact again. On the other hand, I’m extremely grateful for the ways this situation has pushed me to come up with new approaches to my arts. In future, distance no longer has to be a barrier to take people down the rabbit hole. I can offer a different kind of experience to anyone in the world. How exciting!
If you are interested in exploring some of these innovations and adding some fun into your virtual gatherings, commercial or private, fill in the contact form and we’ll get started. Some things will be different for all of us for a while, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Let’s explore together!
Here is the strange tale of William Yeldell Cosper, born 1844 and died 1919. His grave lies in Childersburg, Talladega County, Alabama, but it has not been a peaceful rest.
In 1919, Cosper was standing on his front porch during a storm and was struck by lightning. Miraculously he survived, even though he was pushing 75. He was convalescing some time after the incident when lightning struck him again, inside the house! The second strike was fatal.
He was mourned and buried in the Childersburg Cemetery and left to rest in peace. However, several years later his headstone was struck by lightning and destroyed.
The family had the stone replaced. Then, sometime later, the stone was struck, yet again, and destroyed a second time. At this point the family was no longer able to bear the expense of another stone replacement, so the grave remains in its shattered state.
Is there any reason for lightning to be so persistently attracted to William Yeldell Cosper? Is it simply a remarkable coincidence?
For the longest time I didn’t think I dreamt. My sleep cycle was a little funky and I always struggled with getting my mind to settle. Awakenings were abrupt and I had to get going. I had not remembered dreaming for years. Of course, I was dreaming, and I may have even had one occasionally peek through when I woke, but I mentally threw it away to get on with my day.
Studies suggest that dreaming is part of having a healthy mind and an important part of our rest cycle. Some people don’t recall their dreams, which is not the same as not having them.
One day, the spigot turned on. Oddly, it was after a conversation with medium, Ericka Boussarhane, where I mentioned not being conscious of my dreams. The next morning I woke up with a vivid memory of a dream. I have continued to have regular awareness of my dreams ever since. Having gone without dreams for a while, I find them to be valuable. I really try to pay attention to my dreams and a journal helps me to do that.
A dream journal is simply a record of what you remember from your dreams. It can be in a lovely book, but it does not need to be. A spiral notebook works fine, as do index cards or other pieces of paper, as long as you can organize them. Some people use video or audio recordings to capture their dreams. This is fine, but it adds some challenges to part of what a journal can do for you. (More on that shortly.)
It is important that what you use to record your dreams is readily at hand the moment you awake. Dreams fade surprisingly quickly. Any delay between waking and recording the memory of your dream will cause details to fade, or the dream to be forgotten altogether. When you record your dream just put down what you remember. Put as much detail as you can. It doesn’t have to be eloquent. No one else is going to see this. Sometimes there will be images that seem important. Drawing in your dream journal is a good way to help capture things that are hard to put into words. Again, this is for your eyes only. Time and date the entries.
You will find that simply documenting your dreams in this fashion causes you to remember much more about what you dream. It pulls the information from your subconscious into your conscious mind. Now, what do we do with this stuff?
Exploring your dreams
Review The most important aspect of keeping a journal is to review it from time to time. See what the ideas and symbols in your dreams say about what you experience. There are dream symbol books that claim to explain the things you see in your dreams, but you don’t need that. Your dreams talk to you in your own language. Look for patterns in your dreams and changes over time. For me, it is easier to review something written, since I can more easily scan through it. I find this harder to do with recordings. If I did recordings, I would probably transcribe them in some way so I could more easily review them.
Ask your dreams Once you get the hang of recording your dreams, you can ask yourself questions before you go to bed. Concentrate on something important, or something you are trying to understand. Decide that you want to dream about it. See if something meaningful is revealed. Inventions have come through dreams. The answers may be in a strange, exaggerated play, but you may recognize something beneficial. This takes practice and will improve in time.
Look for connections Some people find that their dreams reflect things that are about to happen. There are stories about people who have foreseen disasters. Others have dreamed things that give them a sort of déjà vu. If you find that you experience this, then it might be something that you can turn to your advantage. It may help you see things coming.
Talk with a partner If you have someone close to you with whom you can share your dreams, you may want to talk some of them over. Sharing can be a nice way to express your closeness, as dreams are about as intimate as it gets. You may also find that your partner gives you some unexpected insight.
Try some dream journaling and see what you discover. Who knows? Your next great inspiration may come from your dreams.
Can your mind influence random events? Here’s a game to find out, you can play alone or with a friend. Get some dice.
First, make a number of rolls of the dice. Record the numbers you get. The more you do it, the better your experiment will be. This is your control, which we will use for comparison.
Now, start again with a new record of the dice rolls. Concentrate. Let’s say we want more threes. Focus intently on the number three. Picture the diagonal dots of the three. Maybe it helps to close your eyes as you roll. Do the same number of rolls as you did before.
There are a few possible outcomes:
You get about the same number of threes as before Nothing special is going on here. Randomness is still occurring. You don’t appear to have influenced anything.
You get noticeably more threes than before You may be having an influence on the roll of the dice. Keep trying and see if the number increases further. If so, you may want to explore this in other ways!
You get noticeably fewer threes than before This is also interesting. You may be having an effect, just not in the way that you expected. Again, this is worth exploring in different ways.
You could vary this game in a number of ways. You could focus on different numbers and see if that varies from the control. You could try the game again looking at the total of the dice rather than the individual faces. You could try using something else such as flipping coins.
