October 27th, 2010 § § permalink
Check out this website –> forgottenbooks.org.
There are thousands of books for you to download, absolutely free. You won’t find anything new there. All the titles are part of the Public Domain. But it’s actually the ‘old’ nature of these books that is so attractive.
The Tarot
Maybe I could find affordable original copies of Ouspensky’s The Symbolism of the Tarot (1913) or Foli’s Fortune-Telling By Cards (1915) in an old book store, on Amazon or at eBay. But here they’re at my fingertips – for free!! No shipping charges.
In a few short minutes, I downloaded The Tarot (1888) by MacGregor Mathers, Thierens’ General Book of the Tarot (1930), and Alchemy, The Turba Philosophorum by Arthur Edward Waite. It’s extraordinary.
You can become a member of the site for a one-time charge of either $49 or $69. With that you get ‘clean’ downloads. It’s not a problem for me, but the free pdf’s have a line running through them and are a little splotchier than the members’ downloads. But don’t worry, they’re very readable.
Also, if you’d prefer reading a book with a cover, they’ll print one up for you at a very nominal fee. I actually discovered them by ordering one of their books from Amazon.
This sounds like an ad I know, but it’s really just an unsolicited endorsement of a fabulous site (and idea). I’ve already downloaded six books from them for free. If after I read them, I feel like I must own a hardcopy, I’ll get one. But really … this is just great!!!
And though they have a huge metaphysical section, that’s not all. They also have classical fiction, art, philosophy, science, religion, folklore, mythology and sacred texts.
Visit forgottenbooks.org today and get reading!!
comment on this post
October 27th, 2010 § § permalink
Who knew that Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, was crazy for Tarot? I didn’t.
I just got Mary K. Greer’s latest blog update (if you’re not subscribing to her blog yet – do it now) and she’s written about a BBC broadcast of Burgess’ short story Chance Would Be A Fine Thing. The story is about a not-so-wise woman who looks to the cards for some gambling advice. And it’s fabulous!!
Burgess himself designed a Tarot deck and was apparently fascinated by prediction. His biographer, Andrew Biswell describes him as having, “had a strong interest in horoscopes, tarot cards and predictive dreams.” In volume two of his autobiography, he claimed to have predicted Kennedy’s assassination a year before it happened.
This cautionary Tarot tale is brilliantly read by John Sessions. It’s only 20 minutes long, but don’t wait to listen. It’s only going to be available till this Friday, October 29th. After that it’ll disappear till 2013 when we can see it again in the Collected Short Stories Biswell is editing.
Go listen now!
comment on this post
October 27th, 2010 § § permalink
Queen of Swords
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Queen of Swords
The truth is an important commodity to you right now. Getting through the fog and cutting out that which no longer works is priority. You might be feeling a little hardcore, a little less sympathetic to sob stories and other tales of woe than usual. That’s alright. Sometimes it’s more important to be clear than sweet.
Get the job done and do it with the determination, diligence and discernment that you expect from others. Keep in mind though that the bigger picture includes compassion. You need not be cruel or mean to be truthful and serious. Not everyone is as tough-skinned as you are right now, so be aware of the potential effect your words might have.