The Tarot Room – Georgianna

Lon Milo Duquette is best known in the Tarot community as the preeminent expert on Aleister Crowley and the Thoth Tarot. But it might be less well known that he’s also an accomplished musician.

Before he was the master of the occult that he is now, and author of 16 books on the topic, he was the Milo in the 1970′s duo of Charley D. & Milo.

At the time, he recorded two albums for Epic Records and worked with the likes of Johnny Rivers and Arlo Guthries. He even opened for Sammy Davis Jr.

Now the Tarot legend is releasing a new CD on Ninety Three Records called I Am Baba Lon, a return to his folk roots.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Anaheim, California on March 9th, you can see Milo perform live at the Chance Theatre.

But if you can’t be there, don’t despair, you can still listen to the CD, or take a look at the video below to watch him sing Love’s Song.

It’s very sweet.

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Here’s a wonderful clip from this year’s Readers’ Studio in New York City.

Barbara Moore, author of Tarot for Beginners, is talking about maps, specifically the Tarot as a map.

On stage behind Barbara is the legendary Mary K. Greer nodding her head in approval. Corrine Kenner and James Wells are there too, but you don’t see them till the end.

It’s a fantastic peek into what looks to have been a brilliant conference. Thanks to Donnaleigh de LaRose of Beyond Worlds, for posting some highlights from the event.

She also captured Lon Milo DuQuette singing his unlikely hit, I Love To Get Drunk In the Car. And Mary K. Greer can be seen talking about the future of Tarot.

Fun! I have to get there next year.

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My most recent shipment from Amazon has arrived and I can hardly wait to dig on into my new books! I got The Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo Duquette, and Tarot for Beginners by Barbara Moore.

Tarot for Beginners

I’ve been reading a long time now, so I’m not really a Tarot beginner, but I’m always looking for fresh ways to teach the cards. Barbara Moore is a fabulous writer and teacher and I’m excited to see how she lays things out for people just starting.

Within the first few pages, I’m already liking what I see. In her Tarot History section she doesn’t weigh the new reader down with lists of dates and deck developments, but instead focuses on the ‘fluidity’ of what has become Tarot. It’s alive, not an old text to be memorized.

And in her Reading section she gets the student to jump right in, proving from the start that they already have what it takes to read Tarot cards.

Straight forward, information packed and modern. I think I’ll be lending this one out to friends asking to learn about the Tarot. Not to mention, I’m looking forward to finishing it myself.

The Chicken Qabalah

Then there’s Duquette’s book, the full title of which is The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford. It’s sure to be a treat! I’ve been meaning to get it for some time now. His Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot is my absolute favourite book about that deck. I recommend it to anyone who reads with it.

So it’s with hopes high that I’ll be delving into this one. The back cover promises “Learn the basics of Qabalah in spite of yourself and laugh your way up the Tree of Life!”. Now that’s how I want to learn!

Lon Milo Duquette is a world class occultist with a truly wicked sense of humour. If anyone can keep me entertained while teaching me the ‘hard stuff’, I think it’s him. This is going to be really good.
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Both Barbara Moore and Lon Milo Duquette have been guests on Beyond Worlds. If you haven’t had a chance to hear them speak, take a listen to them in the archives.
Barbara Moore: Publishing Decks or Books
Barbara Moore: Keeping A Beginner’s Mind
Lon Milo Duquette: My Life With Spirits

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