When you get a new deck, do you have a routine, ritual, or process for getting to know it? What do you do when you first unwrap a new deck? I don't always do this full process, but these are things that I like to do. 1. go through the cards quickly one by one in order, stopping to pay particular attention to ones that catch my eye or are my traditional favorites or are make/break cards for me. Faves include: High Priestess, Hermit, Temperance, 3 of Cups, 3 of Pentacles, 9 of Pentacles. Make/Break cards...Hierophant and Sun (I have an aversion to what I call "creepy kids" on the Sun card). 2. Lay out the cards in groups. For example, the minor suits in order, Ace - 10, and then all

In a recent post on the functioning of magickal energy, I was confronted with comments from a couple of posters who presented the pseudo-skeptical, pseudo-scientific and so-called debunking position. As I have repeatedly pointed out, some of the techniques of this position consist of: 1) Demanding proof but not saying what will happen if you provide such proof. 2) Not giving specific and clear examples of what such proof should entail. This will allow people following the debunking position to change what is acceptable as proof—what is commonly called "moving the goalposts"—so they never have to admit their position was in error. Perhaps most importantly, though, I would

The tools of magick—wands, chalices, robes, altars, pentacles and more—can be daunting to an aspiring magician. If you read some books such as those involved with Solomonic magick or Enochian magick, these are just the beginning tools. If all you want to do is perform a few spells or begin to move along on your magickal path, that's a lot of stuff to find or make. Some of the things that are required for more advanced, specialized, or group work can be expensive (banners, triangles of the art, rings) and rare (a lion-skin belt). When I started with magick I was eager to obtain all of the appropriate tools. I sewed my own robe. I built an altar. I bought an expensive dagger to be my

Lon Milo DuQuette, author of Low Magick, will be a featured guest on Coast to Coast AM tonight. He will be discussing his recent work on spirit evocation for the purposes of self-illumination and life mastery, as well as The Book of Enoch. Click here for full show details. Coast to Coast AM is the #1 radio show in the US, airing nationwide on over 500 affiliates and with a combined audience of over 17 million people. The show airs from 10pm—2am Pacific time; it is the most listened to overnight radio program in North America. Visit http://www.coasttocoastam.com/affiliates to find a radio station near you that airs the program.