#Oracle of emanations

[jasper-tarot-reader]

When you need to study the Book of Enoch in order to make heads or tails of an oracle deck, you know you've accidentally acquired a really niche deck.

[newhologram]

3rd quarter of 2024. This mid-point of the year can be hard for a lot of us. We look back and think, “the year is halfway over, what have I even accomplished?” But don’t forget how important it is that you’re still here, even if there’s a sense of feeling trapped by circumstances or even outdated thought patterns. Where have we outgrown certain beliefs and where is it time for an upgrade? Sometimes finding a way out requires a simple change of perspective. Please try to carve out time for rest. Even if it’s just five minutes of box-breathing or going on a day trip somewhere new. Sometimes the hardest thing to learn for our well-being is how to sit in that uncomfortable silence instead of constantly running to distractions. Now is the time for getting good at quick resets. What does it mean to you to be wealthy? If it’s not literal financial wealth, then maybe it’s your time. Your energy. Your heart. What kind of exchanges are happening right now, and are they worth it? Maybe you’re on the other side of it and find yourself on the receiving end of someone else’s generosity, even if it’s just being in flow with the rhythm of exchange. Find that balance between being thankful for what you have and being able to share with others, because you know that it’s all flowing back anyway.  Angelarium, Oracle of Emanations: Sahaqiel, Angel of Sky. Protector and gatekeeper between worlds. This guardian’s power comes from compassion. When it feels like the walls are closing in, look to the sky and remember how blessed each moment is. That is your protection. 

[chthonic-sorcery]

🚩🚩"Witch/Pagan" community PSA 🚩🚩

Goêteia is not evil, you dipshits.

I'm so sick of these neo-pagans getting all their information from Tumblr, Pinterest and TikTok.

Goêteia is literally just the Greek term for magic, for sorcery, which were one and the same.

Ancient Greece didn't have the word "witchcraft" it had Goêteia, and then later mageia, where we get our modern term magic from, although mageia was a misappropriated term from Zoroastrian priests or Magi.

It's so funny seeing baby witches claim Goêteia to be evil on one hand, then on the other worshipping Hekate, literally the goddess of Goêteia. The goddess of sorcerers and necromancy.

It screams puritanical morality policing. It's such a christian-centered way of looking at ancient religion.

Y'all need to open a damn book.

Goêteia was described as a "lesser" form of magic (mainly in the later Medieval period, roughly starting around the 8th century,) not meaning any less powerful, just simply the easiest or "closest" thus "lower" magic to achieve. This ability to more easily achieve success in magic was later taken and used by christian theologians to paint goêteia and Goêtes as "lesser practitioners."

There does seem to be little difference between Theurgy and goêteia as well,

Surprise!

Both Goêteia and Theurgy sharing the same goddamn workings through evocations of gods, the animation of statues, mediumship or what could be considered "divine possession" having a god or spirit speak through you, the use of iynx wheels / iynges, and mystery rites.

The only 'real' difference Theurgists claim, is that they "don't practice secularly/for selfish reasons" but supposedly rather to become closer to the divine. It's a nice sentiment, but total bullshit, because even in the Theurgic doctrine the Chaldean Oracles they bind the goddess Hekate to do their will.

Additionally, Theurgists had a more Neoplatonic belief, they essentially viewed a singular Oneness as supreme, the emanation from which all things return, a concept which was picked up by early christian theologians and is likely why while Goêtes were demonized in the later centuries mainly by early christians and christian philosophers, Theurgists on the other hand were seen as "pure" and "holier" despite Theurgical and Goêteic practices being pretty much exactly the same down to the tools and incantations.

(Agustine of Hippo for an example of these theologians, who wrote in "De civitate Dei contra Paganos", or "On the City of God Against the Pagans" how all "pagan" (non christian) gods and beliefs were secretly agents of Satan and evil, here to trick humanity into sin and that paganism, essentially any non christian faith, must be stopped–

He also wrote about how sorcerers/magicians (Goêtes) were charlatans, tricksters, that magic and sorcery were merely tricks of an invisible opposition to the divine and how only god could hold such supreme power. These ideas still seem to be deeply embedded into christian faith, particularly Orthodox and Evangelical, today.)

Practitioners of goêteia, the Goēs, was also understood to have the ability to initiate souls into mystery religions, or, in other words, to ensure through his superior knowledge of the Underworld and its workings that the souls under his care would receive preferential treatment after death, an easier way to paradise, such as the Orphic Hymns.

This likely also helped "other" the Goēs, as most practitioners of magic, of goêteia, of these mystery cults were made up of societies "unwanted" or marginalized people, such as women, foreigners, immigrants, the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. Early goêtes were described as being Thessalian (primarily women, particularly described as "old or decrepid") or. ethnically, not considered "fully Greek" to many of the era. Many critiques and fears of goêteia come from this "otherness," the fear the ruling classes of Greece had of groups they continued to harm, they feared the power they held within these mystery rites and practices.

With reliable accuracy from these critics, goêtes were (perceived to be) moral transgressors, who operated from the fringe of society in a private mago-mystical setting, offering their service for coin.

Or, in simpler terms, the Greeks were just really fucking racist

which is nothing new.

In fact, because goêteia itself is a synchronization of mainly Egyptian and Jewish magic, the Greeks and later christians went extra-hard into villifying it because they saw these people as lesser, as barbaric.

We have to understand where the fears and judgements of these critics were coming from, and continue to remain impartial. The ruling elite feared these practices because they feared losing their power, especially rich Greek men, and those early christian philosophers who saw everything outside their own faith as lies, manipulations, or tricks from "the Opposition" as well as the extremely racist and ethnocentric beliefs they held.

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippet Thursday:

Giving Sig gray hairs for fun and profit (sorry, Sig, it's for a good cause)

Going with the winner of the poll here: "Damas Commits to the Bit too hard and Sig is Going To Slap Him"

Premise: Sig went on all of two missions with the Demolition Duo and decided "dibs, my rookies now, no take-backs".

"No leads on Mar yet."

Sig slouched in the corner booth, eyeing the empty bar as he spoke quietly into his talk-box. "Been trying to work out why Jak was able to talk to that Oracle in the slums. Only thing I know for sure is that it's teaching him to control all the dark eco Praxis forced into his bloodstream."

"His bloodstream?!"*

Damas sounded appalled.

"Eco outside of the core organ is some of the worst pain a hu'men can experience shy of a gut-shot! When did that happen?"

Sig clenched his teeth hard.

"Over the last two years. Snatched the kid off the street and put him through that for two years trying to make a super-soldier while Jak fought him every step of the way."

"I wish I could say that didn't sound like a logical progression of his depravity," Damas hissed on the other end of the line. "That your recruit managed to walk away from that -- let alone resist for two years -- is impressive."

There was a thoughtful note in the king's voice. He was considering something. Now was as good a time as any to try to catch him in an agreeable mood. Sig braced himself.

"...I have a request. I know you don't want to get involved in the civil war beyond runnin' guns, but-"

"Spit it out, Sig."

Sig rubbed the skin under his prosthetic eye and groaned.

"I'm...scared for Jak, man. Every time I see him, he's weaker. Kid’s about to drop over the edge of exhaustion and he keeps trudging on because he says "they" told him to. And I'm pretty sure he's talkin' about the Underground. Now, I know it's off agenda, but- I wanna follow him back. Find out whose trying to work him to death and straighten em out."

He could barely see the shrug on the monitor as Damas answered.

"Why're you asking me? He's your kid."

Something warm fluttered in Sig’s stomach and he grinned despite himself. "Yeah. I...guess he kinda is at this point, isn't he?"

The line was quiet for a few seconds. Time enough for sounds to begin emanating from the street. Then,

"When you find Mar-"

When. Not if. As if his success wasn't even in question.

"When you bring him home, bring Jak, too. I want to meet this kid in person."

"You think I'd let him and Daxter stay here?" Sig scoffed.

Just then, the door swung open, bringing with it the ottsel's familiar voice.

"I'm tellin' you, sweetheart, it's all about the pine-pears. Slice em, grill em, put em on the steak. I guarantee even Hoverboy will love it."

Tess walked in with the boys -- Sig didn't blame them for walking together. This wasn't the nicest neighborhood even without the KG -- and she giggled.

"Daxxie, I've never even had pine-pear. How am I supposed to convince Krew to put something on the menu if we can't get any?"

Jak looked worse than before. The circles beneath his eyes were deep and purple, and he looked dehydrated. Daxter perked up from his shoulders to glance in Sig’s direction.

Crap. He loved the boys, but they weren't cleared to know about Spargus yet.

"Hey, shift's gonna be starting soon, hon. Imma have to call you back."

"I beg your pardon?!" Damas sputtered.

After a beat, in which he must've heard the other voices, he sounded calmer. "Ah. You have company. Carry on."

"Yeah yeah yeah. No, I'll remember. Don't worry about it," Sig said quickly, and a little louder than necessary. "Milk, eggs, paper towels. You need me to grab anything else when I clock out?"

Jak stopped next to his table and cocked his head with a soft frown.

"Who you talkin' to?" he asked.

With a sardonic lilt, Damas’s voice grated in his ear.

"Oh, is that my "stepson"? Yeesh, he sounds rough. Tell him to take a nap."

"Tell him yourself!"

"Sure. Watch your ears."

And before he had time to brace himself, Sig had his ears ringing as Damas raised his voice and loudly called,

"Hey kid! Be good for your old man today. Take a nap when he tells you to this time."

"What the-?" Jak squinted at the talk-box.

Sig flushed scarlet from the tip of his ears to his neck when he heard the usually stoic king burst into uncontrolled cackling.

"I'm gonna round up the kids, and then I'm gonna smack you when I get home" he whispered harshly into the line.

"You wouldn't!" Damas snickered, just before ending the call, "Think of the children!"

"I am going to get him for this," Sig muttered as Jak’s face twisted in confusion.

"Who the heck is that?"

"A menace, that's who," Sig growled. "Ignore him."

Unfortunately, Jak did not.

The more time he and Daxter spent with Sig, recovering from missions under the guise of "Wastelander training", the more comfortable he became with Sig having more or less unceremoniously adopted them. And the more comfortable with Sig he got, the more accustomed he became to encrypted calls from Spargus. The ones Sig wouldn't tell him about yet.

Damas’s terrible habit of taking a Situation and running with it came back to bite them both when a message came while Sig was running perimeter check. And Jak answered the comm.

"You...are not supposed to be on this line."

To his credit, Damas kept reasonably calm.

"Where's your dad, rookie?"

"Sig's clearing the building," Jak answered with a shrug.

"I'd go grab him, but apparently broken toes disqualify you from pest control."

"Eco would fix that quickly enough."

"That's what I said!" Jak gestured vaguely towards the door. "It's not even the worst injury I've gotten in a base!"

Daxter paused on his way past Jak to the kitchen.

"That's true," he called over, "I think catching the live scatter rounds with your bare hands still holds the title on that one, pal."

"Eh." Jak made an entirely too casual shrug.

"Now, don't tell me you were juggling ammunition," Damas said, with a bit of mild reproof under the dry tone.

"The kid tried to channel em," Jak defended himself, "Slight burns or crabby toddler with super strength? Definitely could have been worse. Sig freaked out over that one, too."

Damas’s face went blank very abruptly.

"What toddler."

The door opened, and Jak glanced over.

"Oh, hey Sig. Your "it's complicated" is on the comm."

Sig made a very amusing impression of a fish out of water. He rushed across the room and snatched the talk-box.

"You don't have clearance for my comm, cherry! You know that!"

"What?" Jak asked indignantly, even as Sig propelled him out of the room.

"It's just that stepdad guy! What's the big deal?"

Sig glared at the box. "You did this."

Damas barely noticed. "He can stay, I need to clear something up with him."

If looks could kill, Damas would have been shaking hands with his ancestors at that moment.

"Out. Go run your weapons drills." Sig waved the boys away.

"Well so much for being consistent with him," Damas needled.

Another discreetly murderous glance was aimed at the camera lens.

"Are you serious right now."

"Jak may have information about Mar's location, Sig. I'm dead serious."

Sig snapped back to look at Jak so quickly that Jak was afraid he was going to get whiplash.

Jak blinked.

"Uh...we're not talking about the dead city founder guy, are we? Because I don't know where he is, but the old lady is making me look, so I can probably get you intel later."

*"Toddler,"* Damas corrected tightly, "Green hair, wearing an amulet of Mar. Powerful but uncontrolled channeling potential. Would be about four now."

Jak relaxed. "Oh, him! Yeah, I dropped him off with Vin at the power station because the Shadow was letting him play in the street again."

The combined stares of his semi-legal guardian and the man on the tiny screen left him fidgeting uncomfortably.

"....what?"

[majokkid]

Secrets of the Clow, Part I: Card System Foundations

Whether you are inspired to emulate Sakura Kinomoto’s journey as a Cardcaptor or you are purely interested in exploring magical systems and techniques, there are few experiences more fruitful than deciding to create your own tarot or oracle deck.

With all of the planning, associations, and other considerations that go into developing something like a tarot deck, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Hopefully this series of posts will elucidate the foundations of creating a card-based divinatory system and help you determine how you want to organize your own!

This post is part of my Magi Praxis series. If you have any suggestions for future topics, or you have attempted anything I have shared and want you share your experiences, please send me a message! I am always happy to go back and provide further explanation as well. ☆

The first thing to consider when building a card system is determining now you ultimately want to use it. Some questions you can ask yourself are:

⭒ What card systems do I gravitate towards? (ex. Tarot, Lenormand, oracle decks, etc.) ⭒ What divination systems am I comfortable using? (Even if they’re not card-based! Many times you can utilize other divinatory methods, such as using a pendulum or curios, with cards for nuanced results.) ⭒ How many cards do I want in my deck?

There is no right answer to any of these questions—it is purely a matter of preference and functionality—but once you have an idea of what you want, do some research! Look at decks you like using or that you are drawn to and take note of how they are organized. Does it follow a traditional or established canon or does it offer an original approach?

Many Tarot decks use the qabalistic Tree of Life (derived from the Jewish mystical teachings of the Kabbalah by Western occultists and esotericists) at least as a framework for the Fool’s Journey emulated in the Major Arcana. If you’re looking for a plug-and-play method of organization, this is a respectable avenue to that end. Alternatively, you can check out the work my partner has done on @covn if you want a less syncretic system to build off of. (While it looks similar to qabalah on the surface, the tree referenced throughout the blog was created out of series of mathematical emanations that just happens to look similar to the sefirot!) I highly recommend his work, and have used it in my own practice and in my personal deck creation as a meta-paradigm to work from, but it is not necessarily beginner friendly.

A potential downside of deciding to tackle the Tarot is that a standard deck has 78 cards—that’s a lot of work for one person to take on! For reference, my deck consists of 42 cards and that still took a long time to develop! While I will go into how my deck is organized in a follow-up post, I tend to describe it as Lenormand Plus™. Lenormand decks typically consist of 36 cards, which is definitely more realistic of a project for most practitioners to handle on their own. A quick web search yields many beginner-friendly introductions to the traditional associations and reading techniques, if this is something you’re considering!

If you’re seeking a more intuitive approach, many oracle decks throw traditional frameworks out the window and work more like curios or magpie oracles. These divinatory systems have roots in various folk traditions and consist of various small items that are collected by the practitioner and are cast on a surface for reading; each item has specific associations, sometimes only known to the practitioner, and can be interpreted by itself and/or in conjunction with where it falls in relation to other items. When creating a deck with this mindset, there is no map holding you back—you are free to include whatever you deem appropriate. And while this may seem like the simplest approach on the surface, I can say from experience that you can easily want to add in too many cards in order to feel like you’re ‘covering all the bases’. (I made a curio deck as an experiment several years ago and I quickly had over 100 cards! They were fun to read but the amount of cards was kind of unwieldy and were awkward to shuffle, etc.)

Once you feel comfortable moving forward with a plan to guide your decisions, it’s time to start figuring out what you want to include in your deck! In the next part of this series, I’ll use my deck as an example of how I looked at Sakura Kinomoto’s Sakura and Clear Cards for inspiration and used the C-ov-N system to decide what to include and how!

[bats-and-birds-24]

Chapter 18: Tim Drake acquires siblings

Tim listened to the rain pound on the manor’s roof, the ferocity of the downpour contrasted harshly with the peaceful atmosphere inside.

Their arrival hadn’t been as awkward as expected, if only because of the addition of Damian. The existing feuds with each other were put aside in order to properly welcome the newest member of the family.

Of course, there were some hiccups in the process, such as Damian assuming Alfred was merely ‘the help’ and not the backbone of the family. He noticed his mistake very quickly when the rest of the family paused what they were doing to look at him. However, not wanting to let go of his pride, he simply pouted, “Why’s everyone looking at me?”

Bruce realized that there were going to be some obstacles in acclimating Damian to Gotham and a more normal life in general. Dick had a flat look on his face, Tim was internally cringing, and Barbara could be seen giving Damian the side eye.

Alfred for his part, simply raised an eyebrow, he had dealt with his fair share of brattiness from Bruce in the past, and Damian seemed to have inherited it, his childhood in the League of Assassins clearly haven’t helped his behavior. And yet, he could see the self consciousness and worry emanating from the toddler’s face. Ah well, it’s not like he hasn’t dealt with worse than a bratty child.

After that wrinkle was sorted, the family settled into a routine that was new to none but Damian. He had confusedly followed the family down to the cave and listened in on the older bat trio filling in Agent A and Oracle.

It seemed that Dick Grayson, the one in the blue and black outfit was Nightwing, Tim was Robin, (His mantle, his league training supplied), The woman in the wheelchair was Barbara Gordon and her code name was Oracle, the butler Alfred was called Agent A, and of course his father was Batman. (He was the only one in the group without a place in the family.)

He pushed away the discomforting thoughts and focused on how proud his mother would be of him for following his training and gaining information on important targets.

After the briefing was complete the group shuffled back up to the manor for dinner. Damian realized that Alfred was actually an excellent cook. The family continued to chat about non-case related topics until everyone retired to their rooms to rest.

As Damian watched everyone leave, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was his Baba father. Had he managed to disappoint him already? Why was he singling him out?

Bruce had a kindly look on his face, he steered his son to his study.

He looked at his Baba, he could glean nothing from his face or body language. Only more proof that his father was a master at his craft.

Bruce could see the League training in him, the way his eyes darted around his face and body, seeking clues as to what his goals truly were. A child shouldn't have to go through all this, a child of his age should be carefree and happy.

He internally cringed as he remembered how he took that away from Jason.

It was an action that would have been imperceptible to anyone else, but not to him.

Damian could feel his father's dip in mood.

Great, only a few minutes into this meeting and he’s already managed to disappoint him.

In a bid to win back favor he asks, “Do you have a mission that you require me to fulfill?”

He sits up straight, so as to be taken more seriously. It was somewhat comical to see a five year old act that serious, but understanding that his son wouldn't take kindly to him laughing at him.

Bruce sat up straight too. “Hm, no. No missions just yet. This is more of a way for me to introduce myself, and for me to get to know you.” He explained.

Damian paused, so it was a test. A way for him to explain his worth, he could understand that.

“I was trained from birth to take over either the league of assassins or to become Batman. I intend to do both.” He puffed out his chest as he said it, making Bruce wish he could take a photo of his son.

“I see. I was hoping to learn more about your personal interests and other things you like.” He explained patiently. He could see the panic in his son’s eyes as he processed the new information.

Seeing his son's confusion and worry, he clarified himself, “You see, I myself am partial to literature and music.”

“Oh.” Damian’s brows furrowed as he went through his interests.

He was so lost in thought that he began to fidget. Bruce once again desperately wished he had a camera on hand. It wasn't often that his small boy actually acted his age.

“Um,” his son stuttered, “I like drawing and animals.”

“Animals huh?” The gears in Bruce’s mind began to turn. He could use this to his advantage.

“That's good to hear. You’ll get along well with Ace then.”

Damian squinted at his father. He already has to share his father with so many people, and now there's someone else as well? It was unfair! “Who are they?!” He demanded, his initial attempts to make a good impression falling to the wayside.

Bruce hid a smile, “I think it would be best to show you, ACE! Come here boy!”

At his call, a large black dog came bounding into the room, only to then sit next to him. He was large with a shiny coat and looked at Damian inquisitively.

Damian was immediately taken with him. Ace was clearly well trained and intelligent. He could work with him. Ummi never allowed him pets. She said that they require a lot of care and he should instead focus on his training.

As he petted the dog, he thought to himself that maybe coming here was for the best.

While most of the inhabitants of the manor were at peace, there was one person within its walls whose mental state reflected the stormy weather outside.

Cassandra Cain was up in the attic watching the rain pound against the window.

This city was so different from her home in the league.

The league was rigid yet perfect. Everyone and everything had its time and place.

Gotham was the opposite. It seemed to be the embodiment of chaos. From the rich mansions of Bristol to the cardboard shacks of crime alley there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. Things seemed to happen as they damn well pleased. It was true freedom, along with every pitfall that came with it.

She shuddered and remembered her mission. Find her mother, Lady Shiva. She’ll have the answers she wants then.

The consequences if she failed would be dire. Cass would be brought back to her father. He sees her as nothing more than a tool, as something subhuman. She won't allow it.

She shook the thoughts out of her head, she cannot afford to be bogged down by what ifs and scenarios that may never come to pass. She had a mission to complete.

Letting out a weary sigh, she rested her head against the floorboards and fell asleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------

So this is the final chapter of Tim Drake Acquires Siblings fic. I do plan on writing a sequel, but not for a while. I need to recharge and actually draft out a plot along with introducing new characters and such.

Anyway, thank you for following my story for so long!

It always makes my extremely happy to see notes on any of my fics, especially those of you who were here from the start.

Special thanks to;

@queensilber @midnightdreamerposts @thisisafish @notoriginalenoughtohavmyprefname @thedavidstrife @scarletackrmn @captain-daryn @kyoko-reading-fics @iamthreeracoonsinatrenchcoat @aceauthorcatqueen @theeclecticenquirer @imma-dragon53 @hannahhook7744 @sokorin @spidey29phangirl @vi-reads @christanbrowneyedgirl @batfsm @willow-vines @those-goddamn-bats @voiceoftemptation @whittlefire

[talonabraxas]

Akashagarbha.

Also: Kokuzo Bosatsu. From the Esoteric Buddhism of Japan Oracle. Art by Miki Okuda.

The Akashagarbha 虛空藏菩薩 is the Buddha/bodhisattva associated with the akasha, the bodhisattva of infinite sky and space, whose magical powers are boundless, wielding a sky jewel and a flaming sword of truth and knowledge. Akashagarbha also presents through five manifestations of the Akashagarbha, which are in turn directional emanations of the Five Wisdom Buddhas.

If the Akashagarbha is the Buddhist divine manifestation of the Akasha, then the Five Emanations of Akashagarbha in the five directions conveys five purposes of accessing the Akasha, five of its key attributes:

1.It is the nothingness, and therefore equated to the Taoist Realm of Nothingness.

2. It is a mirror of knowledge, as expressed in the magical bronze mirror one finds in the Inner Palace.

3. You can access the Akasha to heal and cure suffering.

4. It is Light.

5. And it is a reservoir of all memory imprints of the universe, an accounting of the universe’s karma.

Your Inner Palace 元辰宮 and the Akashic Records

[hermitsmirror]

PICK 🌱 A 🫖 CARD

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and imagine light entering up from the ground and running up through your body. With each breath let it flow more fully up and in you. Breathe out all the gunk that it finds that you don’t want with you. Then pick-a-card from the Apothecary Spirits Oracle, a collaboration between Eric Maille, Michael Anthony, and me (Thomas Witholt).

Which card will you pick?

If you need more time to decide, remember to ground yourself and tap into the earth that provides such wisdom. Find a breathing pace that nourishes you. The Apothecary Spirits Oracle is an herbalist's oracle, a tool for healing. Sometimes it's enough to just reconnect with nature. Breathe in the beauty of the natural world and all the healing energies that emanate from it.

When you're ready, pick a card. Will you choose left, right, or center?

Read your messages in the reveal.

And if you're ready for a beautiful queer-inclusive healing herbalist deck, get a copy of this beauty and the divinatory and herbalist wisdom inside at apothecaryspirits.com.

[primordialsoundmeditation]

DAILY ANGEL MESSAGE!

Take a deep breath, let it out slowly, say this prayer and then keep reading: “Thank you angels for revealing to me what I need to know!”

MESSAGE

The Seraphim are the highest order of the angelic realm. They are so closely connected to God that they emanate the highest frequency of love available. They ensure that all of the energy streaming from Source reaches where it was intended to go. Seraphim means “the burning ones,” and these angels are flames of universal love. They have been described as having six wings and are known as heavenly hosts with beautiful voices—they are the angels who sing devotional praise. If you have ever woken to the sound of singing, there’s a chance you have been visited by the Seraphim.

EXTRA GUIDANCE

The spiritual law of divine compensation is here to bless your life with goodness and love. Divine compensation is guided by a culmination of all your acts of goodness and kindness to others, the Earth, and ultimately yourself—all of these actions build up an energy in your aura that becomes magnetic to goodness and blessings. You are blessed to receive this angel card today, for the Seraphim are the highest form of angel, and they are here to work with you and divine compensation to herald in goodness and blessings to your life, because that’s what you deserve!

ACTIVATION

My own goodness attracts good things, opportunities, and experiences.

DECK: Angelic Activations Oracle

ARTIST: Jessica Tumminello

Now available from all major booksellers! Please share this card if it relates to you.

Kyle Gray

[bartholomewillustrated]

Auriel.. first of the three brothers, king of all kingdoms in the underworld, he's a man who bears the weight of greif and responsibility.. and an elegant blunt bang. (An apparently popular choice in the underworld....)

Lore under the cut.

In an age long since passed the Heart of the Underworld, a living magical artifact from which all life in the underworld springs, brought into being 3 brothers - imbueing them with the power and magic needed to steward the world it had created.

The first of these was Dreor; who became king of beasts and keeper of knowledge, the second was Auriel.

Less beasitial than his elder sibling, but no less the striking figure; Auriel was granted the gift of leadership and strength. He was always stoic, but kind, and took very seriously the role given to him by the Heart. It was with a gentle hand he aided and guided the newborn people of the underworld alongside his brothers as the heart had intended.

But their relationship became difficult and strained as Urlac, the youngest brother, had developed a taste for power and selfish cruelty.

When the third brother had turned completely to the darkness Auriel and Dreor had no choice but to intervene. Forcing Urlac to flee with his court to Nowhere; where he established his own kingdom, and set his sights on a long and destructive War with his second brother.

It was ultimately Auriel who killed Urlac and ended the War of Three Brothers. This war and this death, that had been thought to be impossible, as all three brothers are more than mortal, fractured the Heart of the Underworld, and life nor magic have been quiet the same since.

Despite all that was between them Auriel had still loved his brother, and he carries the weight of his passing, and the wanton destruction that preceeded it with him everyday. At the wars end he flung himself completely into the work of rebuilding what had been lost, often with his own two hands, labouring tirelessly, day and night, often without rest, to restore the peace of the Underworld. Slowly, eventually, the peace returned and the Underworld was safe once more.

But Auriel and Dreor knew that that peace was fragile and limited, as the oracles words had been shared to him; Urlac would someday return, and if his brothers youngest daughter was unsuccessful in her quest to stop him - he himself would be killed and the underworld would be lost to the whims of his tyrannical brother... As such he has been quietly making his own preparations for the day of Urlac's return.

For as much as he trusts the words of the Oracles, he will take not make the same mistakes he once made, and let Urlac run rampant across the Underworld again.

-

Fun Facts!

The two symbols on his cape clasp chain thing are the crest of the Kingdoms of Beasts (Dreor's Crest) and the Symbol of the First Born, the same as Gerrick wears marking members of the oldest draconic families sworn to Auriel and Dreor.

The symbol in the centre of his chest, resembling the sun, and many in the modern underworld confuse it for such, is actually the heart of the underworld. magic and life emanating from it's center. The crack is something Auriel has made sure to stitch into every version of the symbol he personally wears, to reflect the real fracture in the heart that he feels he caused.

[smolstarthief]

Supernatural, like an oracle... When darkness starts to call, you'll find me after all. A face that could emanate, a stare like a spotlight... If you guide me into your space, I'll be there at the first light...

[bluemoonpunch]

🌟Deck Impression & Advice Reading for Kim Seokjin - Tarot & Oracle Reading

[Performed: May 23, 2025 / Posted: June 4, 2025]

VOTING RESULTS!

Deck Impression & Advice — 27.8%

Core Energy Reading — 22.2%

3612 Blueprint Reading — 22.2%

Crystal Garden — 16.7%

For this reading, I chose ten decks for their impressions and advice for Jin. This reading gauges energy signatures and projections based on the typical uses or calibrations for each deck, and provides additional advice or guidance based on those impressions.

Chosen Decks:

Tarotwave

The Wild Unknown: Archetypes

Spirit Animal Oracle

The Arcana of Astrology

Celtic Tree Oracle

Guardian Tarot

Chakra Reading Cards

Wisdom Of The Oracle

Moonology Oracle Cards

Angelarium Oracle of Emanations

Main Reading

Tarotwave

TAROTWAVE

IMPRESSION: QUEEN OF PENTACLES (REV.)

ADVICE: 7 OF CUPS + 9 OF PENTACLES

The Tarotwave, when I use it on its own, is typically geared toward registers of frequency, or the source of projected energies. Here, the impression this deck has of Jin is represented with the Queen of Pentacles in reverse, which comes through as a notice of instability in power or output. As I’m seeing it, the Queen is just starting to drop things, something I’m seeing as the chess piece in the image — losing pieces of the game, or losing certain anchors within a certain task, goal, or design. This deck is picking up on a wobbly, but not yet fallen energy at the base of Jin’s core and the advice suggests this to be rooted between emotional and physical aspects, or the perception of things on the outside influencing the emotional center.

Between the 7 of Cups and the 9 of Pentacles, there’s a big wave pushing the focus of the 7 of Cups toward the 9 of Pentacles, trying to get him to focus more on concrete, solid, out-in-the-real-world type of things. The advice is for him to anchor in what he is sure of rather than what he is feeling about things that haven’t even happened yet. The 7 of Cups seems to be connected to the slight bit of anxiety around the group coming back together and figuring out how things are going to work going forward. It came up in his Elemental Alignment, as well as for some of the other members, that there is an issue of concern or nervousness around what or how things will play out going forward as a group. This deck seems to think Jin is scaring himself and causing energetic upsets where there doesn’t need to be and is encouraging him to focus on solid things that are already in motion, plans that are already in place, rather than worrying too much about the what ifs.

Keep in mind, this issue is a lot smaller than this deck is making it out to be. It just seems way more prominent because this deck is focusing solely on the projected energy of it.

THE WILD UNKNOWN: ARCHETYPES

IMPRESSION: THE SWORD

ADVICE: AGAPE

This deck is focusing on the state of the soul and soul development. With the impression of The Sword suggests this deck is picking up on efforts to separate things out in an odd way. I was seeing it as cutting chords, but also drawing lines in the sand, an effort to separate himself from others. It’s very messy and not quite all there, so it seems to mostly be something in the mind, possibly connecting to the 7 of Cups in the previous set, that inner anxiety around the group coming together again. In the same way that I was focused on the chess piece with the Queen of Pentacles, I’m seeing a strategy in place with The Sword, a very clinical effort to lay things out or figure things out before anything is actually fully in motion. It’s coming through as overthinking or overplanning, and it’s causing some stutters to occur in the soul, which is probably the same as the wobble or instability being picked up on in the Queen of Pentacles.

The advice with Agape is to just… stop doing that? The Sword wants to separate and make clean-cut decisions, but Agape, which is associated with unconditional love, wants everything to be looked at as a solid picture, one where different pieces can change and move around a bit while still holding the same scenery. I’m thinking of a pop-up book where you can see a whole landscape and there’s an interactive sun that you can make rise and set across the sky. It’s also making me think of a mother who is very excited about having all of her kids home for the holidays. It hasn’t happened in a while, so she over-prepared to the point of even assigning her children seats at the table and in the living room. It’s a little overkill but she’s not going to realize that at the moment. Agape is suggesting just opening the door, letting them in, and letting everyone settle in as they need to. In other words, this deck wants Jin to stop overthinking.

ANIMAL SPIRIT ORACLE

IMPRESSION: BUTTERFLY SPIRIT

ADVICE: FLAMINGO SPIRIT

This deck is focusing on outer energetic influences, mainly coming from higher sources such as his soul, his Guides, or the Universe in totality. This deck is picking up on Jin’s state of transformation, being in the midst of a transition into a new state of being that will be marked by the reunion of the group. This can also be registering the energies of the overall Soul Body as well, perhaps picking up on projections of the incubation some of the energy centers are moving through currently.

The advice here, similar to the other sets, is asking Jin to just sort of sit back and embrace the stillness or the time in between now and then, the space between the old body and the new body, the space between purely solo endeavors and the upcoming group activities. So far, all of the decks have been just wanting Jin to relax a bit and float. I think these first few decks have just been putting a lot of emphasis on the conscious mind’s effect on the higher aspects of development and progression.

THE ARCANA OF ASTROLOGY

IMPRESSION: WANING GIBBOUS MOON

ADVICE: ASCENDANT

This deck focuses on cosmic influence as well as points of energetic projection. Here, it’s much more focused on Jin’s projections, especially in the mind. The Waning Gibbous Moon is bringing to mind a curtain call, or the perspective of that final curtain fall from the view of the last person on stage. There’s a closing out feeling here, and this, I’m sure, is going back again to the potential anxiety, excitement, and overthinking around the group coming back together. The Waning Gibbous puts a lot of emphasis on the mind, elements of communication especially. In the description, it talks about learning a lot of new things and wanting to unload that onto other people, as well as a situation where you have a lot on your mind but the people that you would normally share that with are not there or are deliberately ignoring you. For Jin, this seems to be the element of overthinking, excitement mixing with anxiety, and creating a kind of abstract lens to everything, something that goes into the idea of the Queen of Pentacles dropping her pieces and the 7 of Cups being a symbol of confusion or unknown potential.

The advice being the Ascendant is asking Jin to stop any and all thoughts around the idea that he himself is going to be toned down or needs to tone down. The pressure of the Waning Gibbous from the perspective of the Ascendant is much more focused on the idea that he has ideas and plans for his own work and he’s thinking he’s not going to get to do them now, while also being quite excited about being with the group again. The Ascendant is asking him to remember or recognize his ability to rise as an individual within the group, just as everyone else can and has.

CELTIC TREE ORACLE

IMPRESSION: UR HEATHER / MISTLETOE

ADVICE: MUIN VINE

This set is much calmer than the others as this deck focuses on connections to the Earth and more physical elements of influence and our connection to them. Here, with Mistletoe, this deck is perceiving Jin as someone within a growth spurt. It’s really zooming in on the idea of skin stretching or cells multiplying in order to give more surface to a leaf, there’s expansion happening in a very physical way, out in the world, based on Jin’s own energy. It’s happening in such a way where I’m seeing pieces of things coming together to make a whole, which can connect to the very physical aspect of the group coming back together as well as the Soul Body coming back together. There’s a significance to healing and the idea of things that were deliberately separated or cut from each other being brought together and “new skin” being grown around it.

The advice here with the Muin Vine isn’t really advice, it’s registering more as reassurance with its association with bringing things to fruition, abundance, and steady growth assured toward a harvest. This deck wants Jin to know that any of the “growing pains” he may be feeling, any anxiety or overthinking he may be having, all of that is going to wash away the second all the pieces are back together and they are able to “heal” together.

GUARDIAN TAROT

IMPRESSION: ACE OF SWORDS

ADVICE: 8 OF PENTACLES

This deck focuses on subconscious matters and hidden emotions. This is really interesting in this context because the Ace of Swords specifically is all about a person having a lot of things to say, a lot of things building up inside of them both for communication and creative expression, and readying themselves to let it out. This is registering as Jin’s own personal ideas and inspirations for his work, especially in music, which could possibly extend into ideas he has for the group. It’s like these ideas and inspiration are at the very edge about to spill over. This could connect back to the “dropped pieces” of the Queen of Pentacles, the idea of her strategy being upset or lost as she’s trying to make room for someone else’s game.

With the advice, of course, Jin is being encouraged to make those ideas come to life. Share them, they’re already right there at the edge of his mind, and they’re worth sharing and putting on display. There’s a very fast and snappy kind of progression there with the Ace of Swords representing an idea and the 8 of Pentacles being the hands-on work to make that idea a reality. I want to say, on some level, this deck is literally trying to tell Jin that there’s no use in trying to suppress any of the ideas he has, his own mind is going to burst out of his head at some point, so he might as well just lay everything out. Most likely, everyone else is already doing that, and if they haven’t, there’s no way they’re all going to wind up in a room together at some point and someone’s not going to be like, “any ideas?”

CHAKRA READING CARDS

IMPRESSION: PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

ADVICE: PERSONAL POWER

This deck focuses on elements of soul progression and the alignment between the conscious mind and the soul. Here, the impression of Jin being Psychic Development puts a lot of emphasis on the soul and the integration of the soul. There’s a broadening of the mind, and I see this as him somewhat having a “zoomed out” perspective on himself, similar to what we see in the image as if he can see himself in his life with everything and everyone that is around him. For some reason, I keep seeing this as him becoming detached from himself or the image of himself as part of a group. Like, he’s looking at a picture of himself with the other members and, in his mind, he’s thinking he will have to shrink himself down to reenter that image when in reality, that image is going to expand to fit all of them at their new stature.

This is where the advice stands with Personal Power. I’m really focused on the hands in the images, where, in Psychic Development, the hands gently hold the image so as not to break it and prepare to step into it, but the hand in Personal Power blows through it. I was seeing this as a matter of the heat shown causing the bubble or the glass ball in Psychic Development to expand to fit Jin and the other members. It’s emphasizing for him that he, just like the others, does not have to tone himself down or restrict anything that has built up over the time of his solo ventures. The space will adapt to them, they don’t need to adapt to the space. They’ve all grown well beyond that.

WISDOM OF THE ORACLE

IMPRESSION: TICK-TOCK + CHOP WOOD

ADVICE: TO THE SEA

This deck connects to higher universal influences and divine guidance. With the impression, there is a lot of pressure or stress shown with Chop Wood and Tick-Tock, a lot of work being done on a tight schedule. It’s a little overbearing and the image of these two cards, as they show a lot of dust/sand, and a kind of hot space compared to the To The Sea card, creates a pressure to where it feels like there’s not enough time and in the time he had, he didn’t do enough work. Again, this goes into him potentially feeling like he didn’t get to do all that he wanted to do as a soloist and thinking there’s not going to be room for him to do it going forward, as well as thinking that, in the time he was representing BTS as an individual, he didn’t do enough or achieve enough. In Tick-Tock there’s a feeling of time having run out, and in Chop Wood there’s a feeling of not having done enough.

With the advice being To The Sea, this deck is telling him to relax and that he has done more than enough, and because of that, he deserves some time where he is just sort of floating along with everyone else. There’s also this feeling of him being told that they are moving away from this anywhere, the dust and sand making it feel old. It’s an old energy, it’s dried up, it’s going to feel heavier and heavier if you linger in it because energy is being moved and put toward something else. To The Sea is a higher universal energy basically being like, “relax, I’ll make sure you get where you’re supposed to be, don’t worry about any of that. Everything that could be done was done, and now it’s time to move on. There’s more for all of you elsewhere.”

MOONOLOGY

IMPRESSION: NORTH NODE

ADVICE: FULL MOON IN LIBRA

This deck focuses on inner awareness, self-guidance, and connections to the Higher Self or the higher subconscious mind. Here, the impression of Jin is represented with the North Node, which is registered as a very complimentary note about his excitement, eccentricity, and willingness to step out and try new things. He’s setting a good example and in that way being a leader or a guide for the other members as well as ARMY. This deck is coming off as infatuated with Jin, if I’m being honest, it feels so gushy about how expansive he is, and how, even with his insecurities, they don’t show up on the surface. He actively works against them and tries to step over and around any part of him that tries to speak against his ability to achieve things for himself. This extends to his view of the group as well. He has his doubts like anyone would, but they never fully reach his mouth, he doesn’t put them out there, and if they’re pestering him, he’ll deliberately do or say something to counteract it, to prove himself wrong.

The advice from this deck isn’t advice, it’s more approval and encouragement to keep this energy and mindset as it works well for everyone. It does good things for him, the group, and everyone who comes into contact with him. His confidence and self-assurance is contagious.

ANGELARIUM

IMPRESSION: SANDALPHON — ANGEL OF NEW LIFE

ADVICE: TIFERET — HEART/BEAUTY

This deck focuses on high vibrational external influence, so rather than registering Jin’s energy alone, this is most likely picking up on energy that is around him, stemming from higher sources. There’s quite an abstract view to this, but there’s an interesting thing here with Sandalphon where this energy, a strand of it, is present in Jin in relation to him being the first to separate from the group and the first to reconnect with the public after his military service. He initiated the “hiatus” and he was the first to lay the groundwork for the return of BTS. It may seem so simple and not that important, but there’s such a strong blueprint here that he’s been operating in that connects really well to Sandalphon. For this, I want to include the description of this card:

“When the time is right, the twin Angel will return. Sandalphon was the first and now we follow it forward along the shoreline and into the water. Sandalphon’s footsteps bring with it great fear but also awe and hope. With each step, we move closer to the conclusion and a new beginning. Embrace this new epoch; what has come has already passed. What will be is still a dream. Sandalphon flows through it all. When a new era emerges, the blood of the twin Angels brings fertility to everything it touches. Angelarium too was formed this way. So too will the next world, born in the wake of Sandalphon.”

In reading that, I was taken back to the image of To The Sea, and Jin being guided to “leave behind dead energy,” to simply be carried into a new era, a new age of things, and the others will follow right behind him. Maybe this is where a lot of that anxiety is coming from, a conscious level FEELING of needing to prepare and get things in order, but really everything already is in order, it’s just a matter of letting time pass and letting things flow and fall into place.

The advice with Tiferet is to simply maintain balance, not just for himself, but for the others as well. Again, I’m taken to the image of To The Sea, the idea of him needing to wilfully step into the boat, and wilfully hold still, remain calm, as to not tip the boat over. The boat will only move if he’s in it, it will only stay upright if he remains still and passive within this transition, and as that boat moves, the ripples behind him guide the others to where he is. This can be more of a mental thing, energetic, or it could be registering entirely in the soul space. Either way, it’s rippling downward toward the conscious and physical space in one way or another.

MAIN READING WITH SPRINKLES

At the very beginning, over the reversed Queen of Pentacles, there is “it’s about you,” connecting to “longing to go to…” which lies over the 7 of Cups and 9 of Pentacles. It comes through as, “this is about you wanting to continue your work with the group and as a solo artist." Then, over the 9 of Pentacles on its own is “lists and lists,” “destroyed books,” “spirits are resting,” and “day to day.”

“Destroyed books,” connects back to his Elemental Alignment reading where we were shown something that implied a potential shutdown or destruction of his own work in the past. I saw “lists and lists” connecting to both ideas that he has for himself and ideas that he has for the group. “Spirits are resting,” and “day to day,” come together as a kind of response to this hyper-focus on ideas or plans rooted in the past and future, to say, “let your spirits rest and take it day by day, you will get where you are wanting to go.”

Moving over to The Sword, there is “this is painful to hear,” and “teaching.” The Sword was very focused on elements of separation and cutting ties, drawing lines in the sand, and stripping aspects of energy. I was seeing “teaching” as connecting to the “learning curves” that we keep seeing in the readings, them having to learn that they are in a new state of being, they need to acclimate to each other in a new way, and it does not require anyone to quiet down or settle down their energy of influence to do so. It’s a bit humorous as well in the way I was hearing this coming from Jin being like, “this is painful, I don’t want to cut them off and I don’t want to cut myself off,” and his Guides being like, “well, guess what! You never had to!”

Moving over to Agape, there is “Gemini,” “888,” and “more like you than you thought.” This extends over from the learning curve or the teaching moment where through communication (Gemini) he is going to figure out, along with the rest of them, that there is in fact space for everyone in their new standing, and that it’s going to be a lot easier to blend together after they realize that. The 888 implies self-sustained energetic generation and amplification within the group. There’s a moment where they will sync up or something mentally will just click and the “more like you than you thought,” becomes an aspect of recognition in all of them that they were all worried about the same things, and that they’re all ready and willing to sort of allow the environment to expand around them rather than cutting pieces of themselves off in order to fit in an old box.

This then extends down toward TIck-Tock and Chop Wood, where that “dead energy” or the “old box” energy is, through “let’s cry about it.” This Sprinkle bounces off of 888 and shows a kind of release, a letting go of this energy that they would all recognize. It’s like there could be a point where it dawns on them that they are literally in a completely new reality to some degree and where they were before the separation is not something they can go back to. There’s a slight sense of mourning as they are looking back at that space of “dead energy.” Over Tick-Tock and Chop Wood on its own is “soul trip,” which feels like an element of transcendence, they, as a group, would recognize that they have progressed past that state or that time of their lives.

Over To The Sea on its own is “inner insights,” which feels like a floodgate opening up where Jin shares his ideas, and understanding, maybe even getting a bit philosophical in some way and really laying things out from his perspective as the first to go and the first to come back. It might not be so dramatic and abstract on a conscious level, but it really does feel like this is tapping into a really deep conversation that they are going to have, that they NEED to have in order to really initiate this new phase for themselves.

Going back up to the Flamingo, there is a Sprinkle connecting it over to the Ascendant that says, “what’s happening next?” which is then followed up by a Sprinkle that lays over the Ascendant on its own that says, “look at history.” This feels so connected to the previous set, as if the conversation continues on after everything is understood and someone just asks, “okay, so, what do we do now? What happens next?” and they are prompted to look back at their history, implying that this sort of transcendence has happened before — and technically it did in 2015, but this is on a whole other level as it’s happening to 7 individuals at once rather than something that was affecting a single “body” at that time.

To “look at history,” as I’m seeing it, is to look at the “outline” of Chop Wood and Tick-Tock, to look at the time that has passed and all of what was done to get where they are now. To really, quite superficial look at all of it. It’s very detailed for them, but for me it’s like, look back at how you walked up the stairs for ten years, now look forward at how you’ll walk up the stairs for another ten years. Like, it’s very black and white for me, but I’m sure it’s way more abstract and meaningful for them, especially as individuals.

Over the Muin Vine, there is “muddy feet in the grass,” which I was getting as a reference to the idea of Jin having his roots firmly planted in the ground, a more stable standing than one might think. “Muddy feet in the grass,” can imply slippery and unstable movement, but as it is connected to the Celtic Trees, it feels more connected to guaranteed stability, stability you may even forget about or become a bit numb to as it is your natural standing. This makes me think of the idea of how someone from the outside could look in on someone who is very wealthy being very concerned about their finances and worried about losing a certain amount. For someone who is not living that life, they may scoff and mock that person saying, “you’re rich, you’ll be fine,” but for that person their entire way of living, the only way they know how to live is on the line. That’s scary for anyone no matter the superficial context of it. In the same way, Jin, as well as the other members, could be very concerned or worried about things going forward while the rest of the world is looking at living, breathing legends that have already cemented themselves into history.

Following that, “a piece of a story,” lies between both the Muin Vine and Mistletoe, which came to me as a “piece of history.” I was seeing it as, for one, reassurance for Jin that he is a tree in a forest, he is a part of BTS and there is no need to cut off your own branches or sacrifice anything in such a place where all the trees are growing together and supporting each other through it. Just the same, this is reassurance for the group that they are part of history, they are locked in as pillars in the world of art, communication, and personal development. It just keeps coming back to them being able to recognize that they have grown and that there is room in the group and room in the world to hold all of what they can be.

Moving downward, over Muin Vine there is “grieving in the stars,” which then connects down to Sandalphon through “I enjoyed the beginning.” Again, there’s the element of grieving after recognizing that they have in fact turned the page on all of this and are not able to return to the same kind of dynamics, operations, and statuses that they were at before. The “grieving in the stars,” really feels like a tree that has grown so tall that it’s broken through the Earth’s atmosphere, and it’s looking down at where its roots go into the Earth, how far away it is, how far away they are from their humble beginnings.

With this being over Sandalphon, the Angel of New Life, this really could sit with Jin a lot heavier than the others because, for one, he’s the oldest, and two, he was the first to leave and the first to return. He was and is the first to feel that change and separation. It’s really making me want to cry, like there is such a heaviness to it. Time is passing, they’re getting older, they can’t go back.

This heaviness continues with a black Sprinkle that lays over Sandalphon and Tiferet, which feels a bit like a blockade, an element of denial. The next two Sprinkles feel very detached from it, almost like they’re floating around these cards without touching them. They say, “bring magic into the world,” and “they’re coming soon.” This feels like a call to Jin’s soul, not his conscious mind at all, saying, “keep doing what you’re doing, keep raising the energy, keep turning on the lights, we’re almost ready, they’re on their way.”

Lastly, there are a few Sprinkles over the Full Moon in Libra card, starting with a prompt to “consult Sacred Geometry." With this, he got the Healing card:

Following this, there is “something you have your eye on,” which connects back over into “they’re coming soon,” registering as a reference to Jin’s conscious mind anticipating the group reunion just the same as his soul is anticipating the revival of the Soul Body. The Healing card is in reference to that, of these different pieces coming back together again, becoming stronger as they do.

“Such is life I guess,” is supposed to feel like a shrugging off of any matter it’s connected to, as if to say it doesn’t really matter, but here, it feels like an intentional simplification of the whole thing. As if it’s really saying, “such a situation is of nature, it is only natural that these pieces would come back together again, that you would have grown and become more in that time. It is only nature.”

That’s all I have for this one, thanks for reading. :)

XXXX

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Deck Impression & Advice Reading for Kim Seokjin Post

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[zeestarfishalien]

Part 13: My Bones Became a Drip

No TW for this chapter (let me know if I missed anything)

Masterpost/chapter list

Recap:

Jason spins, eyes wide and searching, landing on the glowing white haired teen and his unconscious brother draped across their arms. Even with the cape still covering Tim’s face, he knows it’s Tim.

And the teen…

oh…

The teen is Spooky, Danny. He’d recognize that funky jumpsuit anywhere and those eyes are the same Lazarus green eyes he sees on a canid face every damn day.

He’s frozen mentally. Physically he’s moving forward to check Tim’s vitals and look for any obvious signs of injury but it’s all autopilot, all things that were drilled into him so that it became second nature, so that he could function even when his emotions are running wild like they are right now. He’s furious and relieved and anxious and surprised and ecstatic and so much more nuances of the same. It’s a cyclone of vicious emotions attempting to claw their way to the surface, fighting each other for the top spot.

His instincts purr, they’re safe they’re safe family is safe , while he gets on coms with Oracle to make sure she knows they’ve got Tim and that he’s alive.

Gingerly, he takes Tim off of Spooky’s hands and hoists him onto his hip like he’s a sleeping toddler so he can free one of his hands.

He gently reaches out to ruffle hair that has the same wispy feeling as before.

“Thank you,” he says quietly. Family , his instincts say. I love you , says the odd rumbling tone that ripples out from somewhere in his chest.

Danny clicks and a similar rumble in higher pitch comes from him and somehow Jason knows that it means, I love you too. Family.

[I felt we could all use a little refresher but on to the new chapter!]

Jason wants to cry and rage at how long it takes him to notice the way Danny scratches gingerly at the skin around the collar on his neck. They’re in the bat cave waiting to hear news on Red Robin’s checkup. Danny had followed, a ghost of a thing, barely visible most of the time, and his feet had yet to touch the ground after he passed off Tim. However, he stayed with Jason. He didn’t appear nervous, but neither was he eager to explore the wonders of the world around him.

When Black Bat sent him a little wave, he perked up a little, tilting his head to the side, assessing the vigilante. He slowly raises his hand in a small wave back.

Immediately after, his hand reaches up to ever so carefully shift the collar.

“You okay, Spooky?”

Wide bright green eyes snap to Jason in some form of surprise.

He nods, but the hollow groaning sound that emanates from his body tells a different story to Jason. It says, uncomfortable, burns, powers hurt, not enough energy.

“Is that collar dampening your abilities?”

Danny opens his mouth to speak only for the syllables to catch in his apparently raw throat. Raw from smoke? The collar?

He coughs, and Jason can hear his lungs rattling on the inhale. Spooky….

The chirp from Danny speaks clearly, some, not all.

“Well fiddle sticks…let me get Z or one of the other magic guys on the phone and see if we need magic, tech, or both to get it off.”

The cracking and groaning that comes as a response is more emotion than actual words, but it gets the message mostly across. His situation isn’t urgent. The power he holds is too great for the collar to block much of. Danny shares the way that the power flows over and around the collar like it’s an annoyingly large boulder in a stream. It may block the most convenient route, but the water will still find a way to go downhill.

“Still…” he argues. “If it’s not comfortable, we should find a way to get it off.”

Danny shrugs like it’s of little importance to him. Jason knows that kind of attitude. It’s very common among the hero types.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Dick watching them. His brother mouths, “I can call her,” and Jason nods his assent. He already owes her one favor. Let her pay back one of her debts to Big Bird.

~•~

"Heyyyyyy Z..."

"The next words out of your mouth better not have anything to do with that mind boggling fiend of Jason’s," she rattles off bluntly.

Pressing his lips together, Dick debates how to reply, but evidently his silence is reply enough.

She sighs. "What is it this time?"

It's probably better to get straight to the point. "They've got a suppression collar on."

"What? But that's not possible. The size of the device capable of completely suppressing that spirit's powers would have to be..." she trails off as something occurs to her. "Except it's not fully suppressing their power, is it? We would have noticed that."

"Yep. Got it in two," Dick says cheerfully but his smile doesn't last. "They seem able to use most of their abilities fine, but whatever material it's made from irritates their skin now that they're back in their body."

"Good to see I'm the first to know" she cuts back sarcastically.

"You are. It all just happened tonight. They rescued RR from a warehouse fire. They've been following Hood ever since."

There's a long pause and then she sighs again.

"Is RR alright?"

"He will be. He's resting now, nothing he shouldn't be able to recover from, but he'll be down for a while," he lets warmth trickle into his voice. He appreciates her asking about Tim’s health. Not everyone makes that effort.

"Okay, well that might complicate things. If we're going based on past experience, whoever collared Spooky is probably the same person or people that put them in that wretched abomination of a coffin. Which means...tech," she ends with a sigh. "Specifically, mad scientist levels of tech. I swear I'm going to strangle whoever is behind all of this wretched spirit-tech when we find them because I don't know that I can get that collar off without it blowing up in our faces."

"How should we approach this then?"

He can hear another long drawn out sigh from Zatanna's end.

"Lemme....Let me talk to Marvel and I'll get back to you with a game plan."

"Thanks Zee!! You're the best!!"

"Fuck you, Dickwing."

She hangs up before he can quip back so he just smiles at his phone.

~•~

Jason turns his attention back to his spooky friend.

“What’s on the agenda now that you’re free?”

The spirit freezes. The temperature around him drops, too. He frowns to himself, and stormy eyes look a little lost.

“You can stay with me until you figure it out. I’d like the company. Your company specifically,” Jason offers softly.

He nearly breaks down at the look that slowly dawns on Danny’s face. It’s like Jason gave him the world in his little selfish offer. All Jason wanted was to keep his companion.

“Thank you.” The words are half garbled and sound like they had to have hurt coming out, but Jason understands them all the same, and that’s all that matters.

Black Bat sidles over with a long strip of thin cloth in her hand, some scrap of non-conductive polymer used on something or other. [reference to City pigeons bleed green?] Jason is not sure where she got it from, but she holds it out and gestures to her neck with the other hand.

Spooky drifts closer and carefully snags the hanging end of the cloth, careful not to brush his fingers against Cass.

“May I help you?” She signs, repeating it slower when Danny looks confused. Jason is about to translate when comprehension dawns on Danny’s face.

He looks to the cloth and then back to Cass before slowly nodding. He dips back down to the ground, the tips of his toes brush the floor, and replies with sign, though it’s simple and hesitant.

“You hold.” He demonstrates holding his collar up at the narrowest part of his neck.

Cass nods and replicates his action. Danny carefully eases the cloth between the bare skin on his neck and the collar. It’s a tight fit, but he manages to make it work.

Jason steps away for a brief moment, returning with a needle and thread.

“Want me to tack it in place so it doesn’t slip?”

Danny nods, but his eyes follow the needle in Jason’s hand closely. He makes sure to move slow and steady so Danny doesn’t startle or panic. It takes a few minutes to sew together three separate spots on the fabric to hold it in place on the collar, but it’s done with no fuss and no panic on anyone’s part.

Danny is more relaxed by the time Dick peeks out of the changing rooms and meanders back over.

"It's good to see you up and about Spooky. Sorry we gave you such a cold reception. We get a little single-minded when one of us is injured," Dick says amicably.

Danny shrugs but doesn’t seem interested in attempting more communication with the man. He looks dead on his feet, no pun intended.

Dick for his part, tries not to show his disappointment in being ignored.

Alfred appears in the doorway, looking pristine as always except...ah, there's a few wrinkles in his suit, and his worry lines are deeper than usual.

"Master Tim will make a full recovery given time and rest. Luckily, he avoided the worst of the smoke and was rescued before things got out of hand." He aims that last part at Danny who ducks away and flickers in and out of sight from the grateful tone.

Jason stands and stretches with a long groan. It must have startled Danny because he blips a few feet before catching himself and drifting back close to Jason.

~•~

The brother, Red Robin, Tim... is okay. He's alive and being checked over by professionals. That's really all that matters to Danny.

He is tired though.

That's part of the reason why he doesn't give much of a response to the energetic one, Nightwing. The other part being that this one's words and actions don't match what he's actually feeling. He's clearly, at least to a ghost's senses, masking and shoving all of his emotions and problems into a box that will one day explode on him.

Sensing that sets Danny on edge. He doesn't like that false cheer, one so deeply ingrained that even Nightwing might not know it's false.

Luckily he doesn't have to attempt to summon energy to respond because the elder gentleman comes out to let them know that Tim will be okay.

His gratitude towards Danny has every part of him squirming beneath his skin. People don't just...thank him. Not before... and he certainly hasn't done much now to garner that level of acknowledgment. He has to fight to stay visible even as they're leaving. He doesn't want to worry Jason.

Previous | Next

I'm so excited to post this finally!!! It's been a rough one to wrestle with and it's definitely a little funky round the edges but I'm still happy with it.

I think there's a reference to City Pigeons Bleed Green by @clockwayswrites Go check out their stuff it's amazing!!! I could be wrong on which fic it's from but it's definitely one of Clock's works. (Lol pun intended)

As always, please let me know if there's anything confusing (sometimes I word stuff strangely and it doesn't make sense).

I am part way into the next chapter as well, but with my life how it is at the moment, who knows when I'll get it finished. Could be tomorrow, could be 6 months from now.

Next chapter is a good one which is part of what made this one so hard. I can't wait to write and show y'all the developments I have planned. I can't wait to see it myself!

Anywho, thank you so much for your support. You guys are amazing. Don't forget that.

[jasper-tarot-reader]

Helloo, light curiosity questions if u wanna: Do you have any decks that you use more frequently than others? And/or do you limit any specific decks for specific topics?

Do you have any decks that you use more frequently than others?

I've noticed that I end to go to the same ~15 decks with readings because I like them the most, which is why I've blown open my decklist so people can pick the names of decks they think are most interesting for readings.

Some decks are also just...harder for me to read. The very pan-Celtic Wild Wood Tarot, most of my overly-Wiccan decks, or the extremely minimalist Spoopy Tarot are all difficult for me to make heads or tails of.

And there's also the Shame Corner decks. There are currently three decks in there that are not on the decklist. One is Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot (I gave this deck anxiety somehow), one is a really generically shitty crystal oracle deck, and one is an angel deck that's somehow both appropriative of Kabbalah and also requires me to study the Book of Enoch to understand (but the artwork is fan-fucking-tastic, it's like Hive God meets Machine Orthodoxy Phyrexian meets Eldrazi).

And/or do you limit any specific decks for specific topics?

Some of my decks are better at identification. Not in "this is the entity's name", but rather "here's some characteristics". These would be the Deck of Many Friends & the Deck of Many Foes, Spirit Allies, and Wisdom of the Hidden Realms (though that last one can also be used for regular readings too thanks to how it's set up). I imagine that my Angelarium Emanations deck I bought secondhand off of a friend will also be like this once I wrap my head around it.

I also have a deck of positivity cards called the Magical Times Empowerment Cards, which are more of a "you're doing great!" style deck, for when you just need to hear something nice or motivational. Most people who get readings from me want to be raked over the coals, however, so it doesn't get much use and isn't really fit for most kinds of readings since it lacks much-needed nuance.

There's also the Resilience Alchemy deck, which is focused on self-care and self-betterment, but I don't think it's fit for readings for others. It's focused on deeply personal stuff in a way that doing a reading for a random person on the Internet isn't...ideal for. I'm already cutting close doing readings for people that I don't know, I can't read minds so I'm not going to act as though I can.

I've also decided that the second copies of decks I own (a second deck of the Skyrim Tarot and a second deck of the As Above Tarot by Barbara Moore [derogatory]) are now to be used for spellwork instead of divination.

I also have four different decks of playing cards because I've been wanting to get into cartomancy (one of them is dedicated to Athena, and I use the Pride Knights playing cards to represent various deities and spirits), two sets of Futhark runes (I've never gotten runes to work for me, so I use them for spell work), a DIY Lenormand deck made from a deck of playing cards (and honestly looks like crap and doesn't work well...I need to get a proper Lenormand deck and I've got my eye on one already), and now a basic osteomancy set from Lupa Greenwolf because it came as part of a giant divination bundle kit I recently bought and finally received.

So, you know. Spreading out my little divination feelers and learning many more divination systems. Divination is something I enjoy doing, even though I keep wiping my ass out with it.

Thanks for sending these in! I love rambling about tarot and oracle decks and my practice.

~Jasper

[santoschristos]

Akashagarbha.

Also: Kokuzo Bosatsu. From the Esoteric Buddhism of Japan Oracle. Art by Miki Okuda.

The Akashagarbha 虛空藏菩薩 is the Buddha/bodhisattva associated with the akasha, the bodhisattva of infinite sky and space, whose magical powers are boundless, wielding a sky jewel and a flaming sword of truth and knowledge. Akashagarbha also presents through five manifestations of the Akashagarbha, which are in turn directional emanations of the Five Wisdom Buddhas.

If the Akashagarbha is the Buddhist divine manifestation of the Akasha, then the Five Emanations of Akashagarbha in the five directions conveys five purposes of accessing the Akasha, five of its key attributes:

1.It is the nothingness, and therefore equated to the Taoist Realm of Nothingness.

2. It is a mirror of knowledge, as expressed in the magical bronze mirror one finds in the Inner Palace.

3. You can access the Akasha to heal and cure suffering.

4. It is Light.

5. And it is a reservoir of all memory imprints of the universe, an accounting of the universe’s karma.

Your Inner Palace 元辰宮 and the Akashic Records:

[dailycharacteroption]

Conversion Corner: Even More Castlevania Spells part 2

Dark Rift

Moving right along to another Charlotte spell, this one being exclusive to her so far in the games!

I’ve said it before, but dark is a curious element to give to your players in Castlevania, as most games in the series that have elemental resistances and weaknesses have the enemies be resistant to dark. (you know, on account of being creatures of the night), but some such darkness spells, even if not effective, can have surprising utility, in certain cases, such as today’s subject: Dark Rift.

The Dark Rift spell creates a hungry sucking portal above Charlotte’s head which deals damage to those that get too close, and lingers there. What’s more, projectiles in the area get pulled in. While not effective against most foes, it can tremendously powerful as a way to prevent projectile-spamming creatures from getting the better of you. (such as the angelic sniper enemies or Portrait of Ruin’s version of The Creature.

So let’s look into how to replicate this effect in Pathfinder!

Void Rift

School conjuration; Level cleric/oracle 6, magus 6, occultist 6, psychic 6, sorcerer/wizard 6

Casting

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S, M/DF (pinch of black sand)

Effect

Range close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels)

Area 20 ft. radius emanation

Duration 1 round/level (D)

Saving Throw Fortitude partial, see text; Spell Resistance yes

Description

You open up a tiny rift to the negative energy plane which generates a sucking force that pulls at both life and small objects, inflicting 4d6 negative energy damage +1 point per caster level to all creatures in the area. This negative energy does not heal undead, but it does not damage them either. A successful Fortitude save halves the negative energy damage. Additionally, the spell also pulls physical projectiles into it, granting all creatures in the area a 50% miss chance against ranged attacks. You do not take damage from your own Void Rift.

=====

I used Sirocco for the base of this spell, replacing all the negative effects on failed saves with the defensive aspects. I think it turned out quite nicely.