A shinto talisman

My town is going to hold a shinto festival next month and the preparation has begun. Today we made a lot of "shimenawa"s, a sort of small wreath made of rice straw. Then we brought shimenawas to a local shrine and made them consecrated ritually by a priest (the white paper signifies that the object is sacred). The shemenawa is now a talisman blessed by a local goddess --  Seoritsu-hime, a very mysterious goddess of purification --  and going to be presented to the households of the area which support the goddess and her shrine.

After the work we joined in a small party with "omiki" (sacred sake)  and beer (a common one). All in all a very impressive day.

Happy 30th Anniversary

The 30th aniversary of the Consecration of the Vault

I' m fully aware I'm not in a position to say congratulation to the G.H. Fraters & Sorors of the GD community on this happy occasion. A joker on the threshold may well stay away from the party scene and seek his own game. However, I've been learning many, many things from the works of Dr Regardie and the Ciceros so that out of gratitude I would like to join in the thanking chorus and sing a line or two. Thank you very much and happy anniversary to you all. (I wish I had a Facebook account.)

Oujupah

GURC Tablet Clip

as it is.

The first GD book in Japan

Mahou Nyumon. Written by W.E. Butler. Translated by Onuma Tadahiro. Published by Kadokawa Shoten. 1974.

Mahou Nyumon (roughly translated as "The Introduction to Magic") consists of the translation of two books by W.E. Butler, Magic: its Ritual, Power and Purpose and The Magician: his Training and Work. I read the book so many times that the cover got tattered, repaired and again tattered .... This book was the starting point for the Japanese students who by their fates or tastes somehow adopted the Western Esoteric Tradition for their spiritual pursuits.

Wicked Packs of Cards

A friend of mine came to my house today and showed me his collection of pre-WWII Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Packs, Pamela-A, B, C, and D (classification by K. Frank Jensen).  I wonder why he carried such treasures in a brown Amazon delivery box!

Cross of Suffering

The Cross of Suffering. Experimental clip for further expansion. Constructed from a diagram found in a GD collection.