David Bowie Tarot: The Starman Deck

The artwork is stunning! Very beautiful. I'm sure anyone who is a David Bowie fan (who isn't) will enjoy this deck, if only for the artwork and Bowie's legacy.

Alien Grey as The Chariot

 Posted this on my Orange Orb: UFOs, Forteana and More blog.

Another area of passion and interest of mine,  (see my blog OrangeOrbTarot) aside from the UFO, paranormal realm, is the tarot. I was searching for various decks, since I collect them as most readers do, I have several, and came across this image from the Bifrost tarot deck.

This is a Major Arcana card -- specifically, The Chariot -- from theBifrost tarotdeck. There is a distinctive alien grey ET figure, floating in outer space, giving the peace sign.

According to the deck's creator, the meaning of the Trump or Major Arcana card The Chariot is:

The Chariot of the information age is the mind.  This is symbolized by both the flying saucer behind the Roswell alien's eyes and the magic carpet at his seat.  The blood in his grail and the strand of DNA show that no matter where he travels, he will always find himself. [Tarotsmith.net/bifrostTarot]

The flying saucer is in the place of the third eye. The location is specific: Roswell.  The alien is peace loving, since he/she/it/gender neutral alien is flashing the peace sign. And, the ET is on a magic flying carpet, floating out there in the starry void.

What to make of this?

Assumptions that ET, as 'the grey' is a good vibe, well meaning, peaceful hippie alien. All is groovy and cosmic, flying around on the magic carpet.

Traditional, The Chariot, Waite-Coleman-Rider deck

Traditionally, The Chariot is depcited as having stars above (hence the alien I suppose) which represents the influences of the stars in this card. There is also the crescent moon. The wings have to do with Hinduism -- the Bifrost tarot interprets this image using the third eye.

There are actually a few tarot decks that use aliens in as symbols. I don't know how I feel about using a deck with this image, for myself, it seems too strange. In one sense, accessing memories of UFO encounters as a sort of tarot card reading, in order to make sense out of what happened, is useful. I try to do this for myself at times. But I don't know about integrating both. However, it's not a judgement
 and others might find newer, non-taditional decks using alien motifs useful.

Heliotrope Metaphysical Tarot and Oracle Shop

I move to a small touristy town up North. (Northern Oregon? California?) I buy a metaphysical bookstore/shop that has been in business for decades. In this delightful small community, the place has been a real fixture. Tourists love it, the staff has been dedicated and stable, the town considers it a good addition to the local economy and reputation. So everyone is very wary of me -- an outsider, a newcomer -- coming in and taking over. 

I assure everyone that I have no intention of changing anything. I want to keep the staff and let them know how valuable they are. I tell them I will learn from them, and I appreciate them. I only plan to add more, not take away. Become even more involved in local projects and issues, etc. Everyone seems more relaxed and trusting after this. 

During the dream I kept getting a sense of purple, violet, and a word that sounded like "heliotrope." The name of the shop? I think so.
The only real change I make in this shop is setting up a reading spot. At the top of the stairs (the store is in a charming converted two story house, sort of a small Victorian) is a small room with a large window and built-in bookshelves. I set up a table and two chairs, place all my tarot decks and books and pendulums and other divinatory tools on the shelf. A cozy space for doing readings. I start to read for a client, get up to get something to show the client, when I come back, there is a woman giving a reading at a table near mine. I am very upset. I tell her I am the owner, she does not have permission to read, it's distracting to myself and the clients, and a disservice to the clients. So I apologize to the clients, do their readings for free, and kick this woman out. She doesn't even work there, she just showed up.

I looked up the metaphysical aspects of heliotrope. I don't know how much of the following is accurate, but according to Witchipedia: (italics are mine)

Magical Attributes of Heliotrope

Heliotrope is associated with the Sun and the element Fire.
Heliotrope represents devotion, that to lovers as well as to a God or a cause.
To dream of heliotrope means unrequited love. You can place heliotrope flowers under your pillow to encourage prophetic dreams, especially related to finding lost things and people.
The essential oil can be used to anoint candles and other objects used in divination and in spells for wealth.
Heliotrope can can be burned for banishing. (Witchipedia.com)

And finally, while reading Brent Swancer's piece on the Djinn at Mysterious Universe, the reference to David Morehouse's book Psychic Warrior gave me a jolt. Last night, I had a dream I was back in this shop, and someone (unseen, and above) handed me a silver bracelet with the words Psychic Warrior engraved on the silver.

Fortean Card: Spring Heeled Jack; Steampunk Tarot

Unexpected birthday gift: Steampunk Tarot: Wisdom from the Gods of the Machine, designed by John and Caitlin Matthews. I haven't explored this deck yet, but this card did get my attention: Springheeled Jack. As any Fortean knows, Spring-Heeled Jack is a mysterious -- and quite steampunkian -- figure. Spring-Heeled Jack was a real person, or entity, (we don't know if he was human or not) that terrorized London in the 1800s:

In January 1838, the Lord Mayor, Sir John Cowan, drew public attention to a letter he had received from a resident of Peckham giving details of an attack by the so-called "Spring-Heeled Jack." This public acknowledgement of the rumors by the Lord Mayor immediately led to a flood of letters from individuals who had been too frightened and embarrassed to report their own encounters previously.
        On a February night of the same year, Jane Alsop, who lived with her father and two sisters, was assaulted by a devilish -- some say alien -- being who spat blue and white flames at her and scratched and tore at her with iron claws, only to leap away into the darkness when one of her sisters called for help. Less than a month later, Lucy Scales and her sister met Jack as they walked home through Green Dragon Alley in Limehouse. A tall, cloaked figure leaped from the shadows and belched blue flames into Lucy’s face, blinding her and causing her to collapse. As her sister attempted to help, the cloaked figure walked quietly away. (From Anomaly Info.com)

Sightings continued for decades afterwards. There is an interesting related phenomea that occurred in the U.S. in the 1940s: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, Illinois:

The oft told tale of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon — also known as the “Mad Anesthetic” — began (aptly enough) in the small town of Mattoon, Illinois in 1944. Between the dates of August 31st and September 13th, a thin, black clad assailant would spread a reign of terror with a series of unprovoked and invasive “gas attacks.” Although police and FBI agents attempted to dismiss the whole thing as a classic case of mass hysteria, the evidence supports the reality that during those weeks in 1944, an unidentified person (or persons) managed to infiltrate the homes of local citizenry with an unknown gaseous substance, which rendered — through means as yet unidentified — the occupants incapacitated or violently ill. (Rob Morphy, Mysterious Universe)

The Spring -Heeled Jack card in this deck is the Major Arcana "Death" card. Not representing literal death but transformations, changes. Although at first glance this could also represent the Devil card, however, I haven't seen the Devil card in this deck yet.

As to the usefulness of this deck, to each their own. I have no opinion yet since I haven't worked with the deck. I'm engaged in a debate with my dear one concerning "being arbitrary" and "playing around with symbols." That's a whole other issue though! What do we think of creating new decks with new symbols to stand in for more traditional ones, new contexts and designs, etc? More on this in a future post.

Medium Chip Coffey on Mothman - and a Strange Pull

(cross posted at my blog Orange Orb Tarot)

A few years ago, television's Paranormal State aired a Mothman episode. Medium Chip Coffey was a part of that investigation. One moment in that episode I found very interesting; just before Coffey uttered his comments on what he thought Mothman was, I felt a weird electrical feeling. I also knew what Coffey was going to say; that Mothman was an intelligence, a true and non-human presence.

The other night Coffey was on Coast to Coast, and when asked what he thought was his strangest paranormal experience, he said it during the Paranormal State Mothman episode. That he felt Mothman was "superior." Not negative, or evil, just "superior." Very interesting word to describe this entity.

Which suggests to me that, one, Mothman is not human. Nor a barn owl. (The popular debunk theory to explain away Mothman.) Quite obviously an "other" and paranormal, or more accurately, supernatural entity.

I myself have never seen Mothman or been to Pt. Pleasant. But like so many unexplained and mysterious things, I have not only a fascination, but sometimes, as the case with Mothman, some type of pull, something that calls and tugs between me and it. A sort of anomalous mediumship or communication.

Related links:
Host of Paranormal State Ryan Buell on the Mothman episode, and his odd experience involving a tape recorder. 

The UFO Tarot

There are tarot decks for just about any genre, including UFOs. The UFO Tarot, created by Bepi Vigna and Arturo Picca. 

The Magician: UFO Tarot

I haven’t seen this deck yet in person -- haven’t held it or worked with it -- and, while I am of course, all about UFOs, aliens/entities and all that goes with the phenomena, I’m not sure about using this deck. More specifically, I don’t know what I think about using this deck to directly address one’s UFO/entity/abduction/missing time experience. That might sound contradictory, I realize. But, I haven’t actually handled this deck -- it’s just the overall impression I have. It seems to me too trite and too easy. An interesting artistic deck, but to use in a serious way to get at these experiences?  Not sure. 

The Hanged Man: UFO Tarot

I find the idea of using tarot and oracles to access memories and insight into one’s UFO experiences fascinating. It’s just that I’m not sure about using such an overt collection of UFO themed -- which are, by definition, subjective and even more so in this context  -- to get to that information.

Here are links to a few reviews of the deck:

On Aeclectic

On Amazon

More UFO themed decks on Aeclectic

YouTube

Llewellyn