Michael Sternbach

Watts turned Zen and Daoism from what had been more of an abstract intellectual study into something practically applicable for Western people.

The first third of the old Yang form, performed by Eli Montaigue who inherited it from his father Erle Montaigue, whose lineage included Chiang Yiu-Chun and Yang Shaohou, the latter being the grandson of Yang style founder Yang Luchan.

Make this universal interest (rather than public interest), and you are on the same page with the Dao.

Qicat, I feel you need to heal some trauma before you are ready for forgiveness.

Wow, Marblehead reading Tarot cards... That's absolutely fab!

Qicat, Long before you joined, there was a member called BaguaKicksAss frequenting this site. Among other things, she was known for making jewelry. One day she decided she needs time away from TDB and hasn't been active since, but maybe she can still be reached by PM? (And if you do, don't forget to say "hi" for me, please.) She would probably meet all your criteria, and I feel you might actually quite like her...

I agree with Miffymog's Interpretation and have nothing to add, except that timing questions to the Tarot are a little tricky.

I was just a little busy over on the Eclectic Tarot forum. As a new born baby, it requires quite a lot of care. Thank you for conjuring me though! I recall that I quite liked his "Eight Lectures on Yoga" when I read it so many years ago. I glanced through his edition of the DDJ in preparation of this reply, and I actually didn't find it less faithful or otherwise inferior to other translations that I have read. Notably, he extended the first chapter with his model of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life in unison with the Bagua of the Yijing though. He elaborates on this scheme in the appendix of the Book of Thoth. Crowley considered this synthesis of Western and Eastern esoteric fundamentals one of his greatest achievements. Based on the correspondences between the Bagua and the Aristotelian elements shown here, he attributed each of the Court cards of the Tarot with an Yijing hexagram. The parallels between the two systems derived in this way are quite interesting. There was a thread on this topic started by me in the now archived Aeclectic Tarot forum. http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=226380 In reply to your question as per the OP: If you were simply a newbie with an interest in Daoism and/or Eastern philosophy in general (which I know you are not), I most likely wouldn't recommend turning to Crowley for an introduction to the topic. There are plenty of good modern books written by specialists in those topics available today. But if you already had some background in Crowley's syncretistic system and wanted to know more about his perspective on Daoism, Yoga etc., or vice versa, if you wanted to use an existing knowledge base in Eastern philosophy to facilitate finding access to AC's intricate work, then I would say, by all means, go ahead with this.

Alien

As the world's biggest Tarot forum, part of Solandria's website Aeclectic Tarot, very recently shut down for personal reasons of the owner, a new forum was created. http://eclectic.jomay.com The board is currently run by three Admins, including myself. Additionally, I am moderating the Thoth sections (as I am specialized on this deck), with Golden Dawn and Kabbalah subforums. I am inviting all you Tarot Bums to join us over on Eclectic Tarot. And make sure you let me know it's you, I will be happy to roll out the red carpet. Michael

Yes, it's there... On the left.

I'm afraid, you gotta scroll down a bit... To: Our Eclectic Community > Member Introductions

It might mean, become more receptive and follow your inner guidance. And you are welcome.

Sure. As soon as you write an introductory post.

Admittedly, the password registration sucks. Entering a capital letter, some small letters, a symbol (e.g. a hyphen), and a number did the trick for me though. Make sure that you have done all that. If it still doesn't work, I will talk to our technician.

Mais bien sûr, monsieur!

And from incorrect spelling! No such rules! Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law! Well, at least as long as members are being reasonable, we do treat them like adults. You are welcome! Looking forward to your contributions, especially in "Thoth Exploration."

I understand that the contents of the forum (at least as far as it was publicly accessible) will be made available again in a short while. However, it will all be set to "read only."

Second picture: Hippie festival. Fourth picture: Qigong for obesity.

Well, I generally appreciate the relaxed atmosphere on this forum. But yes, it has happened to me on one occasion that I felt bothered by an otherwise delightful thread being marred with silly jokes. And I mean, silly ones - reasonably intelligent jokes that tied in with the topic wouldn't have bothered me at all. But of course, it's quite to impossible to set any generally binding standards. Let's face it, truth is:

This post: was started as a reply to the highlighted quotes above, but as it became more detailed, I decided to place it as a new topic in my PPD.

No need to blush. While that button is somewhat controversial, I do find it reassuring to get some confirmation that some people found a certain post useful. That kind of feedback motivates me to further writing.

To try answering this question adequately, it is important to understand where you come from. Are you normally respectful of all sentient beings? Thus avoiding to step on ants, etc.? Or did the episode with the bug make you seriously think about such things for the first time?

Above all, a true spiritual path must be a path of self-integration. So if you find a warrior inside you, you better cultivate and integrate him (or her ) in some fashion. But I see the dichotomy that the OP speaks to: A spiritual path leading to unity, whereas the martial way seems based on duality. - Well, is it really? Maybe it's exactly the study of opposite forces that offers a comparatively fast way to unification in self. Spiritual development isn't simply a way upwards. Dualistic views must be overcome and shadow self aspects must be acknowledged and put to constructive use at various stages.

French fries