Hello all, and welcome to the Synthesis conference.  This is a place
to talk about any number of things that could collectively be called
"occult."  Some obvious examples include: astrology, the tarrot and other
methods of "divination", various flavors of paganism and how they are
perceived by "mainstream" people and religions, as well as many things
that I hope you will come up with in the conference.  Note that the
quotation marks above are to remove any taint of my opinions from this
opening message.  
     I'd like this conference to be a comfortable environment for
practitioners of the various arts and religions we'll discuss here.  This
*does not* mean that there is no room for the skeptic.  However, as we may
be discussing deeply-rooted beliefs for some people, so courtesy and
open-mindedness is a necessity.  Other than that, anything goes.  Please,
be comfortable, learn, teach and enjoy.
     Chris, your fearless leader.
P.S.  By the way, I am a first-time fair witness, so bear with me.

834 responses total.

     Hi, it's me again.  I just thought I'd offer a little background on
why I am interested in this conference.  For the last several years, I've
had many friends who were interested in  everything from the i-ching to
the tarrot to "alternative religions" (the quotes were the person's who
told me this, and were implied by the pretentious tone of voice in which
she was declaiming at the time.)  With such prolonged exposure, I
naturally picked up bits and pieces from here, there and Cleveland
Heights, but I was never able to form a coherent picture of any of it.
     Then in October of last year, I came across a bulletin board on GEnie
devoted to astrology.  As I was curious, I began wading through the
messages.  And wonder of wonders, here was a community of people who were
discussing astrology not in the tabloid style we are all familiar with
from the media, but who were actually trying to find the patterns beneath
it all.  I was fascinated and downloaded the lessons-for-beginners file
and read through it all.  The author is marvelous, and while I was
certainly not ready to turn pro, I began to see some of the possibilities
for making astrology a useful part of my life.
     Around the same time, I was finally able to talk at length to a
practicing pagan, who took it quite seriously.  While some of what she
said left me mystified, some of it made good sense.  I also began to see
some shadowy links with my astrological studies.
     So here I am, the fair witness of a conference on Grex.  I am much
more of a student than a teacher at this point, but as many philosophical
schools teach, students can teach too.
     Chris

Hello, from your new fair-witness.  I've been interested in Tarot,
Wicca, the Qabalah, and the I-Ching for about three years now.  And
yet, the more I learn, the more I want to learn.  Isn't that always
the way?

     Ah good Rob.  I didn't know you had been elevated, but that's good. 
There I've learned something, I thought tarot had 2 r's.  <smile>

good I need the interaction of other pagans
for those interested there will be an open new moon ritual at half moon lake
rustic campgrounds on april 21 at 7:30p.m. all are welcome to attend please
bring one votive candle a flower and a small paper bag.

     Thank you for the info.

I've been reading Tarot for over a dozen years, been a practicing astrologer
for almost that, and a pagan for about 10 years.  Since most of the time I've
been learning what I could from books and then found myself the most
"knowledgable" person around, my backgrounds has some gaps you could drive
a tank through.  I'm always glad to share what I know and even more glad
to sit at the feet of someone with something to teach.  For instance, I know
quite a bit about synnastry, but my chart synthesis is rather weak.  (It's alot
harder to learn that from a book, with no gossi--um, feedback.  ;-)

Bryan, where's half moon lake?  Can you post (or mail) instructions for getting
there?  There are two of us (maybe more) who'd like to attend.

Why?

Why not?

OHH WHAT A GREAT RESPONSE!

The next time I think why, I will just remember the wisdom of robh
and think why not and JUST DO IT!

Hey, whatever works.

Maybe a more articulate question would warrant a more articulate answer?

>Dear Chris/from Jesse (om@grex.cyberspace.org)=I'm glad to find that
you 
>started this conference.  Just this morning I broke out my tarot deck
from
>a hiatus of several months. I have been having some terrible
nightmares,   
>for the last few days, and i did a reding on the cards to see where I
was at
>   Also one great divination tool I want to recomment while i still
remem-
>ber, is the runes.  if you want to get some beautiful rune stones to
cast, 
>my friend Kay Yourist is a potter who has a shop on Packard and she
makes 
>the greatest rune stones. The book in Crazy Wisdom by ralph blum is
the 
>guidebook par excellance.
> 
>But back to Tarot: When I was a Hindu monk, i made a pilgrimage
across america
>to visit manasteries of several faiths, and myself and another monk
were 
>hitchhiking thru Ohio, when we were picked up by two wonderful
hippies.  SHe
>said that she read the tarot as her spiritual path, and i told her
that i    
>had always wanted a deck. so she said she just got a new one, and I
could have
>hers.
>
>I was really gratefull.  She said that the instruction book was
inside. So 
>we went all the way to Columbus, and got to another temple, when lo
and behold
>I opened the deck to find that there was no book within.  I looked at
the
>cards and let them sift through my hands. then I realized that it was
meant
>that I would have to "receive" the instructions by opening up my
psychic
>channels and in-tuning^\


sorry for the mess...i accidentally quit so i copied my message off my
screen and pasted it here in case it didn't transmit


just to continue the story before entering the cyberdreamtime

so I just palyed out a few cards, shuffled them for a few days, and then
about a week into my experiments came a direct and unique "synthesis" of
the meanings of the cards.  Thank god that i had a simple deck. not that
rider deck, or something so individualistic as one of those artist's decks
that only make sense if you pay twenty bucks for the book!  I have an
UKIYOE tarot. its a deck with very universal symbols, done in ukiyoe
style, a style of print making art from 1800 century japan.


novel ending: Oh, well, I have to go. but I'll look here on this confer-
ence to see if anyone finds this story interesting. I'd be happy to share
whatever knowledge of mystical things I have. Jesse.

Welcome, Jesse!

Jesse, your deck sounds really neat.  Does it have more Japanese
symbols than others?  Not that I'm overly familiar with Japanese
culture, just curious.

robh: Jese= Hey! The deck is really simple. UKIYOE is a style of Japanese
art that was kind of the "beat" style, and I think it influenced Lautrec and
Van Gogh. The colors are subdued and the drawings very stylized. In terms of
sym symbology, the 4 suites of the cards are diamonds, spades, club and heart. 
it is these which give the cards some more familiar icons. There are the reg-
ular pentacles, swords, cups and wands also, except that the wands look like
tibetan buddhist dorjes, which mean that the power of "casting" a material
spell, which is kind of a tantric or witch/shamanic interpretation comes off in
the character of the reading; ie, its analysis.  The pentacle is in the  shape
of a chinese or japanese coin, with a square hole in the center.  I think that
it represents an ancient divination coin similar to the ICHING  method of
casting, but like a rune stone also.  Finally, there are some Jap- anese
characters, but they are very small, and are obviously not essential to  the
use of the deck.

The remarkable thing about this deck is that the energy is light and airey, 
and not at all greusome or heavy, as are some decks. I think that the type
of imagery has a lot to do with the nature of the readings.

bryan a.k.a.shadow walker- where do you find this wonderful deck?

Dear bryan/from jesse: The Ukiyoe Tarot is copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc.,
New York New York, NY 10016. I am sure that Bill Zirinsky or one of his people
at  Crazy Wisdom on Fourth Ave in Ann Arbor can order it; probably for about
$15.

     Jesse, while I'm not a tarot reader myself, what you say about the
imagery of the cards influencing the reading makes a lot of sense.  The
people I have known who got the most out of Tarot were the ones who ignored
the conventional symbology of whatever deck they used and just let the
pattern of the cards and the images on each individual cards form into a
picture or feeling in their mind.  As a blind person, tarot doesn't do me
much good for this reason, which is one reason I turned to astrology.
     Huzzah, I'm glad to see some action in this conference.  Now maybe I'll
finally get around to posting some more about astrology.
     Chris the long absent.

HELLO Pagans of Ann Arbor,
where do you hide??!!
Glad to see a pagan bbs here, I've been looking for something closer to'
home for a while, but it seems the pagan community hides itself well
in A2. 
I think I met Rob H, last Wednesday..?? At Crossroads, is that so?
We didn't get a chance to talk, what a strange atmosphere that was!
My given name is Scott, my chosen name is Phaedrus, Merry meet!
Are there any open groups that meet around A2, I'd love to know about them. 
Nice to read your post Chris, please post more about astrology, 
I've been studying and learning for a while now, it's tough stuff,
it doesn't come very intuitively to me like scrying! 
I'm a Virgo sun, gemini moon, libra rising. What can you tell me about this.
One of my coven brothers tells me a gemini moon makes for a fickle two
faced personality, I'm far from being perfect, but I don't think I'm
that impulsive!!
Merry part, and Merry meet again pagan brothers and sisters!!

Phaedrus, a Geminii moon in no way predicts a fickle, two faced personality.
(Sounds like an ill-aspected Capricorn comment to me!) ;)  What it does
predict is a great deal of curiosity and an intellectual restlessness.
many people with Geminii moons are prone to collecting two of everything,
not out of selfishness particularly, but because they find it hard to
limit their experience by settling on just one. Then again, it also means
that, if other factors are favourable, a Geminii sun sign may be a good match 
for you.  Your Virgo sun is not nearly as restless as your Geminii moon,
and would probably be more comfortable settling in with one kalaidascope
personality than going out collecting new people.  ;)  With your Libra
Ascendant, you are very likely easy on the eyes.

As if you can really tell much from 3 facts.  ;)

Not bad M.T, I like that much better!! It is acctually quite accurate!
Acctually the comment comes from a well balanced Leo, and it was acctually
a joke. We constantly play with each other in reference to astrological 
stereotypes, it's fun! What sign are you?? (The trap is set...)
-Phaedrus

Well, for the record, I'm a Cancer sun with Pisces moon and a stellium
on my Leo ascendant containing Venus, Mars, and Uranus, with Merc not
far away, but in the 12th.

Are you Pagan, many Witches I know are Cancer sun.


As 
stellium" ascendant, you just lost me in novice land!


-Pheadrus

As I just mentioned to phaedrus via e-mail, what does everyone think
about a Grex magickal study group?

(BTW, I'm a Scorpio Sun, Scorpio Moon, Scorpio Ascendant.  You may all
cringe in horror now.  >8)

Yep--I'm a pagan. Very good guess.  ;)

A magical study group sounds like fun.  That is, assuming we can get past
our interdenominational differences.  From what I've seen so far it seems
like a piece of cake.

A stellium is a groupof three or more bodies in (at least) a loose
conjunction.  Some people don't acknowledge them, though unless they
include either the sun or the moon.

Yes, I've got one of those too, Mars Jupiter and Uranus in Libra.
Not that I know what any of this means, mind youu.

WOW, Robh, lots-o-scorp, acctually I bet you can cut through the BS quite
effectivly!!!
The study group sounds great, do you mean ON grex, or people from grex??
It sounds cool to do it ON Grex but I think there will come a point 
when it becomes ineffective, I'm personally into face-to-face, but 
I could give the via Grex a shot!
As far as dominational differences, I think most pagans are so eclectic
that no two are alike!! That's what makes it so interesting.
I'd like to learn more about my astrology chart too!
-Phaedrus

I was thinking of an off-line study group of some sort.  The big question
facing us first being, of course, "What do we study?"

I'm so glad you want to do an off line group. Computer networking is
powerful no doubt, but is a poor replacement for face-to-face. 
What to study? Many times groups like this define themselves, I would be
interested in forms of magick and Witchcraft, Shamanism, etc... I suppose
the dirction will be decided by the experiences of those involved.
I assume that most of the people that would want to be involved would be
pagans already, this works the best. I'm way tired of the 
evangilstic thing. But, this is my opinion. Has anyone else gone through that
stage where you want people that you know to hear the gospel according to the
Godess, God, etc... I started out xtian, maybe that's where it comes from??!!
At any rate, I'm not anti anyone, and I hope it doesn't sound that way.
-Phaedrus

One of the things I've always loved about paganism is that I've never
run into an evangelical pagan.  

<sniff> (re 21) No one wants to have a go at it, eh? How sad.

(Leo self absorbtion meets Cancer teariness)    ;)

A go at what MT?? Pagavangelism??
I hate to see a Leo cry...
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE GODESSS BROTHERS AND SISTERS??
That's as far as I can get without going Subgenius on you!
I think the reason you wont see Pagavangelism, is that most Pagan traditions
believe in tolerance, peaceful coexistance. Even the traditions with
psuedo-doghma. Makes ritual interesting!
The Coven I circle with takes it's "style" from many cultures and 
traditions.
-Phaedrus

No, no, no --the sniff was re resp. #21...where you asked what my sign
was and I told you in (painful?) detail.  ;)

As to pagangelism, you pretty much covered my thoughts on it...every
now and then I get an "invitation" to speak at length about my belief
system.  (Often by JW's or Roving Baptist Conversion Teams (tm) ...my
usual response is something like "uh...well, what would you like to know?"
or "Unless you're very interested, I couldn't do it justice without boring
you.".

I was trying to politely avoihe [C[C[C[C[C[C[C[C[C[C[C[D[D[D[D[D[D[D[D[D[D[D[D

I HATE ERROR CORRECTING MODEMS...sorry about that...!
I was trying to politely avoid the pisces issue...but WOW, after reviewing 
#21, I never thought about having all those aspects iyou MT,
must be a very interesting and complicated person, this is good. In the
world of people with the depth of a puddle, people that are complex are
truely rare, AND a treat! 
What about Leo rising...?  Leo sun is easy, and natural, Leo rising...
For one I'm sure you must be attractive, (most Leo's will tell you this
right off to avoid confusion...), and great at parties..??
-Phaedrus

Rejoicing for all, Pagans and others,the U.S. Supreme (hah) court has 
ruled that the ban against Sateria, specificaly thier practice of ritual sa
sacriice, anyway, they said the ban is unconstitutional! I[D[D
This seems to me to bea mighty boost to all religions, even for us, 
"alternative" religions, (doesn't the use of alternative bug you??!!)
Even if you don't agree with blood sacrifice, to begin a ban on
religions scares me!
Hial the Orisha
-Phaedrus

Are there any open Solstice celebrations going on in or around Ann Arbor??
It doesn't look like I'm going to make it to my Coven's circle, which
is in Detroit.

Phaedrus and I have been talking via e-mail, and we really want to form
some kind of face-to-face study group.  I'll go start up an item for discussion
of such.

     Hello again everyone, I just wanted to let y'all know that I am
actually back now and prepared to be the f/w I volunteered to be at the
start of the conference.  Sorry Rob, but between a dead computer and madly
trying to get school, moving and my unemployed state in order, I was not on
Grex much.  But anyway, I'm off to see what all you folks have been doing in
my absence.
     Chris

Nice to see you back, Chris.

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss