For some reason, the 2 of Swords has always been a problematic card for me. Is the person in the image refusing to face facts or is she cutting off all external input so she can apply only her logic to the dilemma? Let's see what Rachel Pollack has to say. This is from her new book, The New Tarot Handbook: Master the Meanings of the Cards (Image: a sketch for the 2 of Swords from a deck in progress) With swords held at her shoulders, a blindfolded bowman in a dress as gray as her surroundings sits on a stone bench in front of a pool of water. The theme of balance seems tentative here, as if the mind can only stay at peace by closing off options and especially communication.

Everyday when I fire up my computer and rifle through my email, I always look forward to what the Writer's Almanac has in store for me. I find that reading a poem before I start my work day gives me a bit of peace and centers me before I launch into the busy work day. Thanks to today's entry, I was reminded that today is H.P. Lovecraft's birthday! I must be honest, I didn't know anything about Lovecraft before I started working here, but in the three years that I have been the acquisitions editor in charge of all things paranormal, I have learned a bit about him thanks to working on The Dream World of H.P. Lovecraft by Donald Tyson. I am forever amazed at the creativity of people, but

Today I am honored to share this guest post by Jean-Louis de Biasi, Grand Master of the Ordo Aurum Solis, Hermetic philosopher, and author of books such as Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons, and The Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis. A Brief History of Color and Magic For many years now, it has been very easy to find various writings about the ritual use of colors. It seems evident that colors constitute a very old knowledge which was associated with ritual practices from the very beginning of the use of rituals. It is easy to imagine that there must have been a good symbolic understanding of the use of colors in ancient Egypt, but proof of this is very rare in the old texts. In