Eye of Modok

Happy Halloween everyone!! These pictures were actually taken last Saturday at a Halloween party held at A-Z Kids, a family entertainment center right around the corner from our house.

We had a lot of fun, although it was a bit nostalgia-tinged due the imminent departure of the kids’ mother, who has moved back to the US of all places (a bit odd considering she vowed never to return when we left in 2003).

As this will possibly be the last time Salomae does the kids’ makeup, I guess I will have to step up to the plate for future festivities. My own efforts at “makeup” can be seen by scrutinizing my face, which is covered with sigils. Go ahead… stare at my face. Do you feel any… urges? Let me know if you do.

Walking along my favorite stretch of the canal near Dawanglu, I came upon a King of Diamonds lying face up on the path in front of me. Of course I assumed it was meant for me. Through the years I have encountered nearly whole decks discarded on the streets of Beijing, the casualty no doubt of a lost or damaged card in the deck that seemingly warranted scattering the remaining cards to the wind. There are certainly plenty of people playing cards in the city, often gathering huge crowds, in a similar fashion to the Chinese chess matches that get small groups of onlookers very excited on occasion. So, it is not surprising then to encounter single cards, or small groups of cards as fate and the winds may blow them. It occurred to me a few years back when I came across a favorable card that perhaps I could take it as a good omen. Since that time, whenever I chance upon some cards dealt by the hand of fate, I don my divination cap and do a quick interpretation.

The King of Diamonds symbolizes the King of Pentacles, Disks or Coins, depending on your preference. Depending on your school of thought the exact meaning may vary, and one can never remove the context from the situation. As this card just popped up “out of nowhere” I went with a general indicator of the thoughts I hold most regularly and intently in my head. This is usually related to my goals of establishing an Ecovillage in China, the financing and realization of which is one of the primary drivers for my life in Beijing, but could also be related to any of a half dozen projects I’ve got boiling away. The King of Diamonds usually signifies a rich, powerful and successful man, often indicating that someone of that description is going to arrive on the scene. Nice! Maybe a new mentor? An investor?

I walked a bit further and eventually found the Ace of Diamonds, apparent sole surviving kin to the King out of the whole deck. This was a pleasant development, as the Ace represents the beginning of a new profitable venture, often at the culmination of a previous cycle (as the ten becomes a one). Taken with the first card, this appears to be a very good omen. Easy to go along with it when the cards are good! Of course, this isn’t always the case - I have come across a five of coins before, which really pissed me off at the time because I was going through financially tough times at the moment and didn’t wish to be reminded of it. For some reason, I do seem to come a across a lot more good cards though. Regardless of the future they portend, I enjoy passing time with the tarot of happenstance.

I’ve recently been experimenting with time magic.

I’d been toying with the nature of time and how I could effectively incorporate it into a ritual when I found myself in a position that seemed to demand some “on-the-fly” magic. I didn’t think I was capable of performing such a feat when a little voice suggested I attempt some time magic.

I suddenly realized that at a certain point in the future of my current timestream, I had already created a powerful servitor who would aid me in my dilemma. Once, I realized this to be the “truth” I had no qualms evoking said servitor and using it to get out of a sticky situation. The conviction that I felt that I will have done this in the future was so strong, I knew I couldn’t fail. The results were highly satisfying and was the closest I’d ever come to “instant” magic.

Then, came the fun part… the mental gymnastics as I pondered what would happen if I didn’t actually perform the rite and create the servitor. I eventually realized that no matter what I decided to do on this particular timestream, dimension, or whatever reference point you choose to consider, the fact remained that it will have been done. It could be another of my multi-dimensional aspects, or could be me in a conscious state for which I have no awareness.

In the end I went ahead and performed the rite. The remarkable thing was that I felt more powerful than usual and had more confidence in the outcome because I had already witnessed the results! In fact, that might have been why the results were so profound!!

I’m relatively comfortable with this seeming paradox but I have to admit that when thinking about time my head sometimes hurts.