N'wraenomicon

From the beginning of the book The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep ,  by Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe: "Your modern man would rather disbelieve something than be lieve it. He likes to think he is cynical and hard-boiled, whereas he is the most credulous creature ever made. When he can't under stand a thing, like astronomy, or relativity, or finance, he believes anything you care to tell him, if you tell him with sufficient scien tific and financial trimmings. But the trouble is he can understand a sea serpent. He can visualize it. Therefore, he disbelieves it. His disbelief flatters his vanity, makes him think he is a superior fellow. Well, it doesn't make him a superior fellow. Any fool can disbe lieve in sea serpents..." -Archie Wills, Editor of The Victoria Daily Times , October 11, 1933

I drew these cards from the ToA deck on the 23rd of this month. I talk about divination a lot on social media, and I sometimes share glimpses of my Yog-Sothothery work without explaining what it is. I wouldn't say I'm hiding it. Having a link to this blog publicly available wouldn't be the way to do that. I just keep it quieter than other things. I admit I do fret over what people think of me, but I'm not afraid of being weird online and I don't think that's what keeps me quieter about it. It's personal. There are other things I do that with, as well. These things are public, but I'm not really advertising them. It's personal. Quiet.  So I didn't post the cards on social media, and I was going to do it here (that's why I took the picture), but the past few days have been hectic. Not all in good ways, not all in bad ways. Here are the cards now. Reading them in that odd back-and-forth way that I do with this deck... Eyes Forming An...

The 23rd of each month is a special day in my practice of Yog-Sothothery, as it is for many others in their own practices. I can't say it's a hard rule for all who would describe their practice as Yog-Sothothery. We are called to the Old Ones in different ways, and for different reasons. The choice of the 23rd day of the month wasn't a choice I personally made, though, and there are reasons the number is important to others, not just myself. Oh, but I probably would have chosen it if it had been up to me! It was something that drew me in. My favorite number! There are stories about that, and jokes about 5 and 23 being the same number, but I'll save those for other times. The number wasn't my choice, but it did already have personal meaning for me. I find that happens often in my practice of Yog-Sothothery. Things line up in a way that shows how unconnected they seemed before to be an illusion. There's a certain box I keep items related to my practice...

After over 25 years of experience practicing multiple forms of divination, I can say there's always something new for me to learn. Not just that the readings still surprise me (though that is true), but that there are always things for me to learn about different types of divination. I stuck with only tarot cards for a long time. It used to not be as common as it is now. There are a lot of people who don't read cards but, upon finding out I do, will tell me there is someone close to them who does. A roommate, a sibling, a friend at work...someone. I remember when it was necessary to know somebody who knew somebody who could tell you where to buy a deck, and if it was okay to tell someone I could read cards it would almost guarantee they would ask for a reading. "I've never had my cards read. Do we need to do it at night or something?" Oracle cards weren't one of my tools for a long time. In fact, I've only really started working with them frequently in the...

This week has tested my limits, and the worst of it may not even be here yet. I knew it would happen. I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. It's a situation too personal to write the details here, but I do want to record what I was given when I pulled out my cards tonight to seek guidance. I'm still getting familiar with my ToA deck. That process doesn't usually take this long, but I've never worked with a deck like this one before. Diving into the Eldritch Mysteries...well, it's possible I'll never truly know this deck like all the other decks and various divination tools I work with. There may always be some surprise, some new method, some unexpected twist. I pulled out three cards tonight, looking for guidance for the situation I'm currently working my way through. Reading them with that back and forth flow that I do: A Wide-Nebulous Shadow Black Wells Of Wisdom A Central Black Throne Beyond The Veil Colors And Sounds ...

The spiritual journey that has led me to Yog-Sothothery has, so far, flowed like a river carrying me to where it wants me to be. That's not a common theme in my life. In fact, I've often rolled my eyes and been frustrated by people who say things like, "It all just kind of...flows, y'know?" No, I didn't know. That's not a privilege I was blessed with.  There are only two areas of my life where I can now say everything just seemed to flow, and they are closely connected. One led me to other other. Maybe it's really just one big flow. Going with that whole "it just seems to flow" thing, I come back to what I had previously written about the Shining Trapezohedron and the garnet.  I think there's definitely some work for me to be doing here, though I don't know what it is yet. I've suddenly found myself in possession of a raw garnet. It was a surprise gift, and I knew what it was as soon as I held it in my hand! To have this stone sho...

Math is not one of my strengths. A lot of people say that, and there is a while range of reasons why it may be so. There are serious problems with how we approach teaching math in schools. There's also an "attitude problem". Adults often display an attitude of, "No, it's not fun. Yes, it's hard. Quit whinin' and start studyin'!" That doesn't really encourage children to want to learn. Personally, I think math is fascinating! That's even true after years of adults confusing my dread of doing the schoolwork for not liking math. The biggest obstacle for me is that my ability to understand concepts hits a point where it is impaired by my limitations when it comes to arithmetic. I have a learning disability called dyscalculia. Even if math came easy to me, though, algebra probably would have been something I felt neutral about. It would have been a necessary class to acquire skills to move on to things I found more fascinating. I wish I had be...