Two Tracts on Cartomancy

Two Tracts on Cartomancy / .I -:

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by Austin Osman Spare with an introduction by Gavin W Semple

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FULGUR MCMXCVII

Ackno wledgements, FIt/gur would like fo express their thanks to Frank Letchford; to David Reed, Charles Cholmondeley andthe Estateoj the late AlanPuIIeyn-Holden for pffmission to reproduce the origina l drawings in this work; to Trevor and Paul Grimsdale for reprodltctiol1, to AlexBrattdl and Wayllc Williams for photography, to The Harry Rallsom Humm1ilies Research Centr!:, Austm. Texas, forpermission to quotefromthe Spare/Crowley correspondence; to Dnmis Bardens for supplying the original SurrealistRacing Forecast Cards forthe limJted editioll ; and to Kenneth Grantfor pcnnission to usc 'Mind to Mind and How '. Especial thanks to Edwa rd Craig, Jan Fries, Kenneth Grant, CliveHarper, Brian T. Grove, Nigel Aldcroft Jackson, Frank LetchIord and Dr William Wallan: for the details and suggestions whirlJ theymost kindly offered

T o the me mory o f Alan Pulleyn-H olden

Co pyrigh t © 1997 FULGUR Limited, BCM Fulgur, London, W CI N 3XX. Mind to Mind and How © Kenneth Gr ant 199 7. Int roduction © Ga vin W . Semp le 1997. All righ ts res erved. N o par t of th is pu b lica tio n may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitt ed in any form or by any means, elect ron ic, mech anical, pho to cop ying, record ing or otherwi se, with ou t prior written permi ssion of th e co pyright holder . Reprodu ction by Co lor scan , High Wycom be . Print ed by T he N uffield Press, Abingdon. Speci al edit ion bound by Cedric Chi vers, Bristol.

A FEW LEAVES FROM TH E DEVILS PICT URE-BOOK by Gavill W. S,mpl, Part I Spades an d Hea rts Fo r Austin Spare the n ineteen -twenti es pro ved to be a decade o f bit ing poverty. The G reat W ar and its soc ial afte rmath had all but te rminat ed h is burgeo ni ng career, and afte r the ca pitu lati on in t 9 24 of The Golden Hind - the thi rd and last ar ts per iodica l o n whi ch he had staked his hop es - the arti st was reduced to eking out a p recario us living fro m the manuf acture of prototyp e radio sets in c nc of the two small rooms of his te ne men t flat at 52, Becke t H o use in Sou th wa rk. W itho ut any cha nce of m oun ting a West End exh ibit ion, liv in g in virt ual crea tive iso lat ion amon gst Lo ndon's poorest - "" swi",: wifh sll'il1e", as he to ld Gra ce Rog ers - S pare devot ed h is e nerg ies to perfec ting h is techn iqu e o f au to matic d rawing , an d , throug h dream ing an d ma gical experimen t, ma d e dee p incurs ions into the psychic rea lms. From chi ldhoo d , AOS had retaine d an abiding fasc ina tion fo r cartomancy, an art whic h he had not on ly developed along lines of his own, b ut had evolved into a un ique meth od of theurgy tail ored to th e patterns o f hi s so rce ry . Althoug h he was ge nera lly ret icent about the m ore e so teric as p ec ts o f h is occu lt procl iv it ies , in t he ba rren mi d twen ties the necessity o f keeping body and soul tog eth er led Spare to 'go publi c' with the results of his co n tinued researches , and he began to produce sets of d ivinatio n ca rds fo r sale . H is first majo r show sinc e the War, at th e St Georg e's Gallery, H anover Square, Lon do n, in M arch , 19 2 7 , ge ner a te d suff ici e n t imp e tus and c a p ital t o undertak e t h e publi cation of AnatlJfnll1 oj 20s, an intense se lf-in terrogatio n framed as a cas tiga tio n o f 'th e h ypocri tes', bu t, writt en in th e mon th s fo llowing th e co llapse o f Thr Golden Hmd, actua lly refle ct ing Sp are's bi tter frustratio n an d cr isis o f co n fide nc e at th at time. Among the wo rks adve rtised fo r sale at the back of the boo k ap pea rs th e intriguing title 'Arena o f Ano n (Fo rtune -T elling Ca rd s)'; o f these complete packs do not ap pea r to h ave survived , but at least seven orig inal cards of the ty pe are extant - hand drawn , numbered and embellished Wi th d aemon ic heads in the familiar calligrap h ic style. Lacking pictorial elaboration and att ribution by suit o r e le men t, th ese ca rds are no t sim ply a rei teratio n o f th e M arsei lles o r ga ming deck, bu t exem plify the sys tem wh ich Spa re had developed for magical evoca tio n. 9

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II .J Ju st pr ior to the St G eorge's G aller y sho w, Spare hod ob se rved to jo urn alist frie nd , Hannen Swa ffer. "PrOp1}f' y " Ifd n:tleldtiolf fir( as possible today as they ever IPm . They can Opf ftl tr. if Dilly y ou illdun' thr cOlldi li o1lS. Wh" t fhr conditioliS are li ' t lIlus t discollt'r The propJn·ts tlnd seers u-ere hrrmits. Brclltl5t of circ ulIls/ml((S I have lwed Jor mOllths rl hermit's life Poverty hd5made lil t' lipf
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T hough poor, Spare was not starved o f fnc ndsh tp, and those few who were accepte d into h is small and fiercely guarded dom ain foun d h im an imme nse ly likea ble compa nion; o ne suc h was the young a rt ist a nd des ign er Ed ward C arrick, who made periodi c excur sio ns int o Southwark to visit Spare and admi re his d rawin gs. On th is occasio n C arrick p ressed th e electric door-buzzer of number 52 as usual, to be confronted, after severa l minut es delay , by a sickly and dish evelled Spare who offe red , "Ab, it', y~" - rm bloody "'dl DYING'" befo re co llapsing back o nto the bed from wh ich he had d ragged h imself. Inside. th e two chatt ed for a while, and Spare b righten ed . Loo king aro und at the sea o f clu tter in the small roo m, C arrick suggested he migh t help out by tidying a littl e, a kindn ess whic h Spare gratefully acce pted . H aving firs t rescu ed a loaf of bread from its immi ne nt prec ipitatio n int o th e piss-p o t, itse lf chee k-by -jowl with th e saucepan, Carrick soo n disco vered tha t a nu mber of curiously illustrated cards were strewn am o ngs t the chaos , which he presumed must be some sort of T aro t. "Hf lJdt's this one tJJe10 " he asked, holding a card up to the ligh t; ''Tllrn it 'rolll1d so 1 CClI1 sec:' said Spare, "O IJ - rhllt brings 011 thunderstorms.. " C arrick was still musing o n thi s a few minutes later, wh en a sudde n and magnif ice nt clap of th unde r rattle d the iron wo rk balconi es o f Becket H ome, and rain beg an to lash again st the g rimy windo ws. Afte r eleven years at the Bo re', and two in similarly cramped quarters , in 1936 the arti..l took up res ide nc e at 56A Wa lwo rth Road , SE 1, a co nd uc ive abo de on one of Lond on 's main tho rou ghfares, wit h the bustle of mark et traffic outside . He re he exper ienc ed some thi ng o f a ren aissance and bega n to host large annual exhibitio ns at home The flat had been o btai ned th rough th e kind age ncy o f a friend from his you nger days, Ada Millic en t Pain , and th e new loca tio n enabled the m to re new their friendship and co ntact. Spare had at least o ne interest in co mmo n with Miss Pain ; a pen chan t for gambling on the ho rse races. At th at time I AJlJtrrlllrrl ~"

lh r»~p 'r.llIO»

hy Hannen Swaffc:r (Mo rley

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Mlt...hd l Kennerly. September 1919 j

betting was illeg al excep t at t he racecourse Tote , a regulat io n whi ch ga ve bir th to a sh adowy army of illic it boo kmakers who plied thei r trade in pu bl ic h o use s, po s ti ng t he ir ' ru n ne rs' a t factory gat e s a nd o n conven ien t stree t co rne rs. Inspired by the frie ndship, Sp are lost no time in app lying his magical insig ht to devise a system of card d ivmatio n that wou ld - in theory - allow the two to co nspire in making the proverbial killing. Hi s ideas and inst ructio ns flowed in a stream of le tters to Miss Pain; "On OIquiry - the only 'bookie' so Jar IS about as wldesirtl hle liS possible hangs abo lIt diJJewl1pubs mId I should have to trml him about. So y ou had better get the address of the cue you know in tlJf LOlldo/l Road. So today 1 canuot get on.. Tbe system shows a very interesting col/retial! 1 must say - any oj them are pOSSIble . 'TaIlkerlo/l' tells me he will will bllt hasforgoJlm lllhlch race & mertmg!l" "Jdo strongly advise y ou to keep to about three horses at most a day [drop every donkey that you have 0 11 your list) and "dopt system alld ollly class horses jor jolloIPing. ." "/ llotice that the system was very sOllnd yesterday - very ulllucky .. Actually it f}Illle 2 Illinnrrs 'Q llashed' and 'Swifl Arrolv'. I lr}t oul tlu latter because it U1M a dropped card. I've seltled on my system of lIapping 2 . Simply Ihis - after u)orkillg the sy stem /llId seeing what comes up - 1 just use commOll sense - and any horse I su ova -1 -1 qivcn by a • good paper 'Hld tlu system - that's the horse toback.. " While S pare and Miss Pai n were doing their utmo st to bre ak the boo kies' he art s, a strange light dawnmg fro m Paris was abo ut to break ove r the heads of an unsuspec ting pu blic . The Intern atio nal Surre alist Exhib itio n was opene d by Andre Breto n in Lo ndo n o n June 11th , 19 36, and 'Surr e a lis m' was abrup tl y catapulted int o vo gu e , draw ing te n tho usand vis ito rs flocki ng to th e sh ow in a mo nth . On July 11t h Salvador D ali ca p ture d hi s own h eadli ne s, lectu ring - and ne arly suffo cating - in a d iving -suit and helmet befo re a rapt audience o f 'bright yo ung thin gs ' a t Burl in gto n Gardens . Amids t a11 the hy perbol e , the Engl ishman w h o had sin gl e h and e dl y inv e n te d Su rr e a lism by his app lica tio n o f psyc hic automa tism to art, and pub lished a pio neerin g thes is in The Book of Plea sure - an ticipatin g th e First Surreal ist Ma nifesto of 1924 by e leven years - wa s left (II passQnt 3. With an ex hi bition of new wo rks at the Walwort h Road st udio in O ctober, 1936 , Spare set o ut to redres s t he bal anc e ; the very term 'Surre ali sm' which Breto n had ap pro priate d from Apollinaire was now assum ed - wit h calculated irony - by Spare as his ow n. He was aid ed in h is d for t by Oswell Blakesro n, poe t , cr itic , film -make r and e nth usias t of the new style , who , in h is int ro d uc t io n to S pa re's c a ta lo g ue , h a ile d the art ist as "Surrealist ill Surrealism", adding , "How lIl all)' 'lIIovrlll(llls' he has originalrd the lIea r f Uhlff miH

shou), well 115 modem psychology is dfll elopmf} lmes sllggesl el~ by Spare's outstllllding lIly stlCtll UJrilings". The last item in the ca talogue. hvred as num ber 176, was "O BEAH CARDS - jor jorml stmf} mcillg results" pr iced at three gu inea s fo r a hand d raw n pac k, and five vhtlltngs fo r the co mmerc ially prin ted ed itio n. T hese were presen ted in an en velop e stamped "SlI rrrt,l,sl RlIClllg FOft'("tIS 1 Gm/s - Read instructloliS carrfully"; the accompanyin g instruction s gav e a po pu lar condensatio n o f h IS doc trine of W ill, Desire, Belief and their relatio n to subconscio us Irisptration - which he had set fo rt h in TIJC Book oj Plras tlre in 19 13. A furth er reference to his earlier book was the pr in t ed 'sp irit face', a re vis io n o f the image used in 'Rea liza tio n o f Karma'! with the add ition (o r elucida tion) of a styli sed horse's head. T he prin ted cards were num bered from twenty -five LO fifty, and It might be asked why Spa re d id t his; a likel y ans wer is so tha t the ac tual race num be rs ca rrie d by the ru nne rs sho uld no t sugges t an o rde r at t he [inivhing line. T he card numbers wo uld be d ivid ed rando mly amo ngs t th e list of horses, and the selec t ion made from the se. so avoidin g any preco nceived ide as abo ut t he result . Starting fro m numbe r twenty- five wou ld therefor e make the card s practic al for even large races such as the G rand N ation al or Derby . At C hr istmas an d on her birt hday Ada Pain received affectio nat e cards fro m "Your SlIrrmll-st - Allstin 0 Spllrt". Afte r his Autum n sho w he had been le ft wi th a number o f pri nted card packs o n hi" hands , so , the fo llowing Ma rch, jou rna list friend Denni s Harde ns attemp ted to mu ster sales by insert ing an adv e rt in th e weekly ad ve rti sem en t pa per Tin: Exchmlgr & AtJrt 5 . In th e 'Mi scell anc o us' sect io n, at th e head of two colum ns of adverts for raci ng tips ("A regular hJComf of.uo to £.50" etc. e tc.) appe ared a box headed "UNLUCKY AT GAMnUNC," and offering the pros pective pun ter a ch ance to "rolldflef an 1I1 1msflllg mId perhaps proJittlblr eX1Jeriment WIth lllck" usi ng th e cards "dcsig11Cd hy /I jt1ltlOUS m)'sli( tlr!ls l 1lI111 'HI/hor", pri ce five sh illing s, wi th a money bac k guara ntee in c ave 01 d issa ti sfa c t io n . Packs were so ld to Spa re 's drink in g pills - to the d ispleasure of the Elephant and Ca stle boo kies who feared for t heir own profits - but there were ot he r tak ers, and some cardv even travelled as far as the U nit ed Stat es.

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1 ·Nap· - a raLlIlt{ up tha i rnolc~<,(·, 10 be a ce rtnm ry ~ Alt hotll{h rn lal,.t auuunauc d rawma only tlot, n~h(·d amo ng-, t thL• Pan, l-(roup lo r ,) lew mon lh, o f 1 ~11 0. after wh ll,. h t"mpha, ,, , h,lle d III aurornanc wnung -4 n1r Book of PIMw ,r. page -1 2 5 1<.~Ut:, from March 25 th 10 Apnl 15th , I' H 7

T he W alworth Road flat was destroyed in th e Blitz o f I O- I 1th Ma y 1941 , an d Spa re on ly nar ro wly esc ap ed th e blast, mo ving betw een a num ber o f temporary addresses before eve nt ually ins talling h imself in the basem ent o f Miss Pain's home at 5 W ynne Road, S\X!9, in May o f 19 4 3. Afte r th e W ar h e be ga n to ex h ib it aga in , a nd , fo llowi ng th e success o f the Arc he r G allery show in 1947 , held hrs first pub show at

ed ito r o f The Londo" My stery M agaziHl', a new jo urnal devo ted to th riller a nd g h os t st orie s. H all lost n o time in inv itin g AD S to con tr ibu te illust ra tion s, and n um ero us vig net te s ap pe are d d uring the maga zin e's first yearv. The fifth issue carried an ar ticle by H an nen Swaf fer wh ich in troduced read ers to the life and wo rk o f the wei rd ar tist , and , aided an d abe tte d by Kenn eth Grant , Spare attemp ted to intro duce arti cles of h is ow n in to th e mag azin e. M uc h wran glin g ensu ed ove r th es e text s, which we re passed ba ck and forth , rejec ted and rewritten, whi le Spare grew inc reasin g ly impatien t. Th e d raft of 'M ind to Mind - and H ow' pu bli s h e d here was e d it ed a nd typ e d from m a nu script b y Fr an k Letch ford in March 195 1, an d on th e 16t h Spare wrote to his friend; "/ agree IlIftlJ till YO flr corrections - so p/ellse IIldke thelll !llh", you retype.. The EdItor hates tiny criticislll of articles that ,'flPedr ill The Alystery A1"g.' - othnwise I would I", pe CdrPed up the pre((;Jiug artides - so I've IJdd to keep mille ti S " seqU(Jl(( - ,.HId pm ulIle pcoplr knolP u1h"t I'm talkillg dhout. foe aiMed all odd sentence to lJelp.. u Discu ssio ns b e tween S pare a nd M ic ha e l H all were usu all y h el d in c rowded , rowdy b ar s , s h o ut i n g a b ove t h e h ubb ub , a n d in th e se ci rcu msta nc es th e art ist, bei ng slig h tly ha rd of heari ng , WJ S wo nt to m isconstr ue t he edito r's re marks. C o n fusio ns proliferate d un til, fin ally, Sp are withdrew th e art icle , and made no fur the r co n tribu tio ns to the magazine . Afte r h is de ath in 1956 an unfinish ed design for two for tune te lling card s, wh ich wa... to h ave accom panied the magazine text , carne into the ha nd s o f a collec tor. T h eir att ributions see m to ep ito mize th e close b ond between AO S an d th e cards, from h IS b oyh ood un til the very end of h is days. Wh en Miss Pain d ied in 196 8 th e old hou se at W y n ne Roa d was left derelic t, un til fina lly th e ro w was pu lled down to make way for a block o f c o u nci l fla ts . Publi s h e r an d hi blio ph ile , th e la te Ia n Kc n yur H o dgkins, visited the site dur ing demolit io n, wh en the ro of h ad already go ne, an d not ice d a few o f Spare's ha nd -dr awn cards scattered h ere and the re abou t the floo r. He d id no t re tri eve th em , an d th ey were le ft am ongst th e re mai ns o f Spare's las t horne , to rn and mou lde rin g , like leaves turned o nly by the hands o f th e wind 7 ,

the Temple Bar, Walworth Road, in Oc tober 1949. H ere, the catalogue incl ud e d t h re e po r tra it s o f h o rses, t h e p ro ceed s fro m whic h S pare d on ated to th e D um b Friends League , notin g "Horses /lrf "Oil' IPorth more Jmd thall d 1;p ( ". O ne of the sh ow's adm iring visito rs was Mic h ael Hall,

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5 11>tLon,lonA lYlltryAl.lgazmr Vo l I N n~ 1, 5. (,, 7, 1$l 12 ( 19 S{l·I ) 7 Th,<, detai l courtesy o f D r WIllIam Wall acc 10 cone..pon derx..e 20 th Mar ch , 19 97

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Port II D iamonds and Cl ubs

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' M in d t o M ind - an d H o w' offe r... a b r id ge b e tw e e n the 'low e s t d e no m ina tor' o f m agic - fo rt u ne -te ll ing - and t he more reco ndi te as p ec ts o f app lied sorcery , and in addition g ive s ins ig h t In to the met ho ds b y wh ich Spare gai ned his flair fo r bo th . As a c hild , he was in tro duced to th e art o f carto man cy by a friend o f the fam ily, an elderly lady who , he cl aime d , not on ly c o nvinced h im o f th e real ity o f her clairvo yan t po we rs, bu t also taug h t him how to tell fortunes by 'read ing the cards'". Th e o ld seeress' skill nurtured in Spare a fascinatio n for the mag ic of th e cards whrch remain ed th rou gho ut his life , and fo rmed a basis for th e me tho ds by which he acco mplished m uch o f his craft. O ver fifty yea rs later he rec alled ; "She WflS 50 tKOlrate twA so detmlrd III her jortcast of future rpenis tlMt t"llrrybody ll'.H vrry im prm ed IJer 51)( told me ;)fl Ihe ml/jor wm ts of Illy life. WhCll I've lold d fortune, [ htwe a/wtlys U1tmled to go to slrrp Jar a!JoulJOllr hours. TIJe oldlady could do IJlIudrrds without gelling fired ..~, Wit h his predilec tio n for obscure and o ccu lt kn owle dge , the yo ung artist progresse d from basic divinatio n by playi ng -cards 10 co nstructing packs fo r sp ecif ic ma gical purpo..es. Seve ral auth o rities ag ree th at his co nt in ued experiment s with the car ds is ind icated hy co m ments in an en ig ma tic let ter to C ro wley , dated (incongruo usly ) 3 1s l Apri l 1909 . Spare refe rs to o ne of the requ ireme nts for begin ning his pro batio nary yea r in the Arge ntu m Astrum : "] Ct,mlOt afford lI,e Robe (hdve llO tlJiHg) aud it's kind oj y ou to ptlY off all tJJe l/lork: Do you order it or Iz", then contin ues with a guarded d iscu ss ion of th e magica l pro ject In wh ich he was engag ed: "About t lltl t other mailer - to be certain - we must u1ait till fllC meet,.. Had a try today... ,,/I too chaotic fhough So tOlllorrow f make tJ sped,,1 {h ere AOS has d rawn a sketch rese mbling a stac k o f cards] - tlflyUld y there (pjll br 110 doubt whm u'e lIl eet.:" Crowley's usua l me thod o f assess ing students' psych ic abi litie s was to write the nam e o f so me e ntity o r powe r on a card , which he co nce aled while the sub jec t investigated as trally t he natur e uf t he summone d force . W hen successful, the pupil's visio n would accor d with th e name o n the card, which was the n shown to him o r her. It seems likely that he wou ld have teste d Spare in just th is mann er. Du ring this

wi'"

Identified hy Kennet h Cra nt CIS '\XIitt.h l'at ervon' See lm'lgC) '" Or
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period an othe r me mb er o f th e Crow ley cli q ue, the H OD , Everar d Feild ing , set a similar ch allenge to which Spare respo nded successfully , using stgils draw n on cards 10, W hi le C rowley was groom ing th e young ar tist fo r en try into h is newly -fou nde d m ag ical Order, the Arge n tum Astrum , Spare was alrea dy engaged in gath er ing th e elem en ts wh ich he ne ede d in o rd er to formu la te h is ow n m e th od o f the u rg y a nd its metaph ysical underp in ning, the doctrine o f the Kn . In J uly of 1909 , Sp ar e was plan ning his mastcrwo rk The Book oj Plea s~ re, wh ich by the fo ll o w in g Spring h e c o nc ei ve d as a ser ics of th ir ty -two p ic to r ia l allegories co nveyi ng the 'Psycho log y of Ecstasy' by ma gica l ar t. T his numeration , following his contac t with Crowley, and with the work of Eliph as Levi and 1vlacGreg o r Ma th ers, could have be en modelled after the Sep h iro th and Pat hs o f the Qabalisttc T ree o f Life. It was Lev i who first connect ed the twenty-two T arot M ajor Arcana with the lett ers o f th e Heb rew alphabet , the reby u nifying the pictorial and letter arcana , and th is att ribu tion was taug h t in Mathers' O rder o f the C olde n Dawn, a nd contin ued b y C ro w ley l l, Spare had a lre ady dem o nst rated hi s com mand of pict o rial allegory in the Earth InJemo of 1904 , and ca rried this app roa ch into social critique with A Bo ok oj Satyrs ; a na tu ral ste p for t he a rt ist wo uld b e to design h is own Ta r ot , and t h is rev ivif ie d Q abalts tic pack offere d a viable tem plate , Ho weve r, Spare was no t abo ut to swallow anyo ne else's g nos is whole sale - the ch alle nge for h im was to formulate a symbo lic arcanum wh ich wo uld elucid ate the most abstrac t princi ples o f magic in terms uniquely his ow n,

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It ap pears that at this time Spare's fam iliarity wi th the pla y ing cards provided a vital me d ium for the evo lution o f h is concept o f the 'Sacred Alph abet', and the tech nique s of sigil sorcery . An early influence on his you thful myst icism had been M adam e Blavatsky's Theoso phy , reflected by the app earance of terms such as 'lkkah' and 'Stkah' in the Eartl, Inferno of 1904 ". H ow ever, by the time o f writi ng The Book of Pleasure he had acquainted himself with the classical wo rks on cerem onial magic , such as The Goetia, The Greater Key of SolomOll, Grimo rium Verum and the En chiridion, and their mag ical seals sup plied a key inspirat io n fo r the cryp tic le tterforms an d devices of The Book of Pleasur€13. One h ither to unacknowledged influence was Corneliu s Agri p pa, wh om Spare virtually paraph rases in hi s Writings o n s ig ils. Agr ip p a's De O cculta Philosop hia sugges ts th e co nstruc tio n of magical sigi ls from G reek , Latin an d Arabic lette rs, and adv ise s the fo rm at io n of a 'sacred alp habe t', usin g t he H ebr ew as a mo de l. H e asserts th at; "There are, therefore, tU'o and tU'enty letters, which are the foundation oj tlJe world, and oj creatu res that are, and (ire Hamed in it... He, therefore, that would Jind them out, must by each joiHing together oj the letters so long examine them, rwti! the voice oj God is manifest. and the framing oj the most sacred letters be opened and discovered..."14 Th is may have sown the seeds o f Spare 's high ly perso nalize d techni que, and his familiarity with the book is suggested by a page o f sketch es for The Book of Pleasurr vignettes, dati ng from arou nd 19 10. H ere , amongst Ierter -fo rms from seve ral arcane alphabe ts, Spare ha s tr ansc ribe d two sig ns fro m Agrt ppa. Whil st th e grimo ires dic tat e the use o f speci fic magical sea ls fo r the bin din g and co nt ro l of spir its, and dem and a high degree o f faith (t.e. consc iously fo rmula ted beli ef) in their efficacy , and in the t heu rg ic system of which they form a pa rt , Spa re realized th at any sym bo ls must be effe ct ive provided that they are co ngruent with the pattern s o f the operator's innate be lie fs and pe rso nal ae sthe tic. This is certain to be th e c ase if they ar e dra wn fro m h is o r he r ow n subco nsc io usn es s. H e JO See The M"glCa l RWlVal by Ke nnet h C rant (Frcdcrtck Muller . 1972) J I lt cou ld equally have de rive d di rec tly from h15ca rto mancy , as several t radruonal me tho ds use t hirty-two l ards - from the sevens up wards plus Aces J 2 Sunsknr hdM a nd Slkkah = 'W Ill' and 'M e t h o d Smnlarly t h e Sa ns k rn ro o t KhY,1 - 'to disc runmatc or numbe r', suggests o ne de rivatio n fo r hI S KIJ, the pr nnal VOId which en ge nd ers all nu mbe r a nd qualit y As Q w It resume s the first o f the Nine C hambe rs of Qabahsuc excgcsts known as 'Arq Bekar ' J 3 For examples see TIJr Book ojCmnlOHla! MagIC by A. E Wa ite (RIde r & Co , 19 J I) 14 See Ag nppa's Thm Booh oj Occult Philosophy (tra nsla ted by H enry M o rley , 18( 7) Book JlI, c ha pter 30, and Book 1. c hapter 74 , c o mpare ThrBook oj Plw surr on 'Srg rls and Sac red Le tte rs', pp 50 , 56 el p'lmm

21

understood 'Karmas' to be those elem ents o f past exper ience and desire whi ch dwell unrecogn ized with in th e deep mind, peri od ically resurg ing into waking life in new , som etimes dis com frrin g guises . T hey seem au tono mous , eve n demo nic, because they elude co nsci ous co ntrol; yet when iso lated and giv en dist inct fo rms th ro ug h which to man ifest stglls - these 'Ids' be come tran slo rmau ve potentials , th ei r knowle dge spoke n forth in prima l language s of de sire . T he Sacred Alphabe t, as Spare describes it, consists of th e root forms of these evoca tive sigHs; it is the veritabl e script of the familiars th ro nging the magi cia n's Circle, and epitomi ze s the mot her tongue of tha t oblique dom inion . Ult ima tely abs tra c t and in sc rutable , it a rticu la te s v ia ae s rh e st s . a n d will conseq uentl y find d irect exp ressio n throug h the ind ividu al's do mi na nt crea tive ab ility - wh ich may be dance, line, poet ry , music, or ind eed any artfo rm. S pare , a d raughtsman g ifte d with superb eidet ic memo ry and hand-e ye coo rd inatio n, set tled o n a g raphic form fo r his Alph abet , and found a perfec t vehicle for his Sacred Le tters in the cartomancy he had lea rned as a bo y. The sorcery deck as a magica l ins trum ent has the virtue of being eas ily carr ie d and c on cealed on t he pe rso n, may be used d iscreetly at any time, and , wh en fully em powe red by th e sorcerer's bel ief, pe rmits him o r her to align and manipu late energi es mo re adroitly than any elabo rate ritual procedure. He nce , in the weaving of line u pon line, the fall of card upon card , S pare's theurgy was acco mp lished. Th e te xt o f 'M ind to Mi n d .. .' exe m p li fie s th e pro lifi c pun n in g , allite rat ion a nd seman t ic c h icane ry at w hic h S pa re ex c ell ed - h is app licati on of th e 'sacred inbetween ncssconcepts' to writi ng, to express the inexpressible through parado x and suggestio n. H ere he sets out by reiterating sever al themes from The Book oj Pleasllre, an d in terweaves them w ith a Kanti an th esis (de rive d fro m Vai h tnge r U) address ing the re lat ionsh ip betwee n ca use and e ffec t as the se are pe rce ived by the indi vidual co nscio usness. In acco rd with Vai hin ger, Spare co nten ds tha t our o rd ina ry wa ki ng rea lit y is fic t ive - a pure ly sub jec ti ve an d ap pari tio nal worl d. T he a priori and a floslrriori - in the present contex t 'pas t' and ' future' - represe n t dual pol ari t ie s o f pur e consc io us ness , which, as ' thing in itself', or Kia , ultimately transcends and begets bo th cause and consequence. H is contention is that ou r apparent dua lity of mind is reso lved in the momen t of prophetic inspiratio n (med ianimity ) so that, as with the Death Posture, all past and futu re possibilities may be sensed direc tly as vivi d an d tac tual imp ressio ns u nd istor ted by d iscursive thou ght. Th e ca rds , an d the ir atten dant [arni harv, act as

22

cat alysts for th is all-prolt frc state of mind, op en ing the way to the Aren a o f Anon , whe re in the un na mable 'I' ma y rov e at will throughou t th e alp habe t o f its transforma tion s. To formulate your own sys te m of carto mancy you will need on ly a pack of playing ca rds , a pen , some ability to dood le c rea tively, and a wi llin gness to ex penment. S pare su ggest s that a st a nda rd boo k on fore telling by cards be o btaine d; no wadays these arc fairly thin o n the ground, but a larg e number of manuals were published in Britain in the first half of the cen tury - on e of the best of the perio d, which Spare

likely knew, is Card Fortune Telling by Charles Platt (Foulsham

&

Co .,

19 25 ). Such vol umes offe r a variety o f trad itio nal attribu tio ns for th e cards , but Sp a re ad vi se s that t h e op e ra to r d istri butes m ean ings arb itrarily, along the ge ner al lines o f the four suits - as with the pe rsonal sigi l. this ens ures that the attributio ns reflect the predominant con cern s of the d iviner's ow n magical sphere; the cartomante can easily make a list o f c o nce pts and eve nts , tangibles and in ta ngi b les , which have pe rson al significance. and transfer these to the cards. List as many as you can - ex perience will soon reveal wh ich others mus t to be added. Then, so me pra ctice with shuffling and laying the cards ou t will give familia rity and reveal the most satisfying spread to use. The shuffle is itsel f a vital part of t h e procedu re , divert ing attention fro m the co nsciously formula ted ques tio n or desire, and send ing ripples throug h the pool of subco nsciousness Sym bo lically, while the cards arc be ing sh uffled the men ta l unive rse wh ich they represen t is tem porarily d isso lved; it is the hand of the divine r that brea ks and remakes reality anew. Spen ding time with th e ca rds, you might co nside r thei r ind ividual att ributio ns and the ex per iences which suggested them , no experie nce is entirely fo rgotten , an d though the memories may become vagu e , all serve as media for th e pow ers of th e visio nary mi nd . Th e next and key step for the purpo ses o f sorce ry , whic h S pa re has e mph as iz ed in his tex t, is t he process o f cha ng ing the ca rds ' meanings int o 'sym pat he tic sy mbo ls' - sigi ls or geome t ric fo rm s. My suggestio n is that th is inspira tio n had in 1909

pave d t he way for the ge nesis of the Sacred Alp habet , whic h Spa re dev ised as an abecedary of symbo ls mediating the powers of the primal 'Ids' - to co here and commun icat e, as does th e T aro t, the spectrum of abs tract k no wl e d ge eman ating from the h it h e r side o f our mind . 15 S<.-e TIl( PIJrJosofthy oj"As Jf hy H a ns Valhmger (Kcgen Paul & C o . 192 4 ). At the begmnm~ o f rhcrr frien dship Ken neth Gr an I le n I the bonk to Spare. who ent husravuc ally asvmulated ItS themes

23

T ranslat ing the ratio nal meanin gs of the cards into cryptic symbols will give a series o f glyphs which constitu te the 'sig natures' o f e lem ental auto mat a, an d, by t heir c hance align ments and jux taposit io ns in th e spread, these familiars will reveal their posi tion s as connective med ia in the causal ch a in o f even ts . At th is poin t th e mundan e ben efits o f forete lling rece de so mewhat , and th e practit ion er is now in a position to interact directly with event s yet in embryo ; by inducin g th e familiars to influe nce t he situat io n in questio n. to avert o r pote ntiate events as desired. In fact , Spare used the cards in just thi s way in th e course of a read ing for Kenneth G rant in the t 950 s. After shuffling and cutt ing the 'Arena of Ano n', but before lay ing out the spread , he asked M r G ran t to dr aw a card , and to gaze at it intent ly , without conce ntrat ing !" . This method of evoca tion by silen t fascinat ion is a characteristic eleme nt of Spare's tec hnique. Vivified by the presence of the sp irits , the card oracl e will accu rately reflect the transit o f elem ental forces behind the scree ns o f day -t o -d ay realit y . Once pla ced in c ontact wit h th e pre sid in g familiar, the questioner beco mes an acti ve participa nt in the unfol ding o f futur e eve nts from the latent seeds of pas t and fo rgo tten experience. H en ce , from the lowest denominator we may arrive at the high est, and in th at fract io nal mom ent of fore -seein g reali ze the subje cti ve nat ure of bo th past and futur e - which are ever susceptible to the subtle theurgy

of Will. Seen in the co ntext of Spare's lifelong experi ence of the art, 'Mind to M in d ...' encapsu la tes one of th e ess e n tial tec hn iques by wh ic h h e manifeste d th e potent mys tique of Z os. it coul d be co nsidered a key to his oblique te ach ings, except - what use is a key when the doo r has neve r been locked , and will o pe n at the merest tou ch ] T hrou gh his work he has exemplified the indi vidua listic and ecce ntric striving for VI sio n th at is the esse nce o f th e truly magica l art , fo r, as T1u Book of Pleasure reminds us: "Ill a labyrinth of metaphorand word, inluition is lost. tJJmfore (pilhou t Ihdr effort tIltlS l be lea med the tru th aboul cue's self from him wlJOalone haws the truth.. . ya.me/I "

16 Per so nal co rrespondence 19th N ovembe r. 1996

24

SU RREALIST RACI N G FOREC AST CA RDS Please read inst ruct ions carefully GE NERA L Eve ryone ca n be successful wit h these cards. But, naturally, one man may be more success ful than ano ther , ow ing to his own "luck" and apt itude to chance. Th ose wit h "natur al ab ility" or "g a m b lin g facility " will be s hrewd eno ugh to d raw special conclusions. But remember,D o not fool ab out with th e cards. Get the system firmly and cle arly in your min d - so that it can be worked automatically. Any muddleheaded ness is a form of fear, where th ere is fear the re is failure. Courage is the criterion o f belief. To back one h orse and fanc y another mean s willing one thi ng and beli eving anothe r. Magic (faith) is simply a means o f unify ing Desire an d Belief. The sub conscious mind is employed to crea te your belief and unite it to a real desire. The cards will not co nfirm what is already known I Believe in the cards . For the o nly requireme nts are a rea] des ire to win, an d a min d free o f preconceived ideas. Acce pt th e system sugges ted by th e use of t h e cards . A superfici al attitude o r insi ncerity is a defin ite bias. It is not necessary to be a so -c alled "p sy c h ic" . We all have subc onsc ious mind s , w hose powers we can em plo y. A mind disturbe d or worried by other th ings - sta te o f health , e tc. , - does no t necessarily negate the system . This is the conscious mind . But try to co ncentrate o n th e desire to know .

D o no t work the syste m twice for onc race. Try not to have preconceived ide as about horses. An approx imate ly acc urate list of runners is esse ntial. Big race s such as the Derby ca n, therefore , be wo rked out some days ahead . It is no t necessary to choo se tw o selecti ons for one race. But it is necessary to predetermine whe ther you want two selection s o r

27

U N L UCKY AT

GA MB LI NG 1

If so why not experiment by buying a pack of Surrealist Forecast Cards? Designed by a famous m ystic artist and author, they were. originally .in tended as.a joke, but hefound that th~cked the winners in his .case, and in marly o thers. Can be used for any race, anywhere) any y ear, and the same pack will last for years. · These cards are not guaranteed, as they re-act differently in the case of each individual, but they do enable you to conduct an int er estin g and perhaps. profit able experiment with luck. Obviously, if they were infallible we shoul d be so rich that we wouldn't need t o advertise them. So-we make this very fair offer. .Buy a pack with full Instructions, for 5/-. If you find them -to be of no -use to y ou your money will be refunded without question or argument.

.' SURREALIST FORECAST CARDS. 261. Lauderdale Mansions, London, W.9

not. W ha t is pred et erm ined becomes law for the subconscious mind, and must be rigidly kept as law. It is fatal to tell. If you talk to ot he rs abo ut yo ur system , you will d issipate th e powers of th e subco nscio us. Keep careful records of yo ur bets, and you will not ice that cert ain fact ors are persisten t. You r records may give y ou useful po inters such as the cycl es of yo ur luck . O MENS may be poi nters, too , with regard to cycl es of luck. If small things go wrong at the begin ning of a day, it may be taken that the day is unlucky. Omens may be used to confirm the syste m. But do not becom e omen conscious. Omen s must be "presented", never searc hed for or lorced . It is a que stion of bein g quick-wit ted eno ugh to spo t an omen whe n it is present ed , Dreams are utterly useless as regards racing .

METH OD OF OPE RAT ING Glance through (read mentally) the list of runn ers for the race to be worked. While yo u are reading, shuffle th e cards. Always shuf fle th e cards slowly and carefully. Now, whi le still shu ffli ng the cards, desire to know the winn er of the race . Say ment ally, "I wish to know th e winning horse o f the - race attoday." When you r wish ha s been clearl y ex pressed, and no t before , stop sh uffling . Do not cut the cards. Look at the top card wh ich is the selection . The botto m card is the "next best" if needed. ( A ft e r m em or is i n g th e portion wr it t e n in pe ncil , ple a se obliterat e .) 17 17 U nfor tuna tely the origmal owner of t he type~ui rt hac obliged Spar e Iully

29

In

thl " re..peer

I

T MI ND TO MIND AND HOW By a Sorcerer.

-.

,I,

(Rendered in an idiom other than for scientists.) Co nsistent with other dir ections o f abstract knowledge , the th resh old o f th e occ ult is the ma rk et-p lace fo r the charlatan. Coinage 15 som eti mes different - lies have a strange lo ngev ity and fec u n dity - truth beco mes buri ed. Abstracts such as 'm in d' , 'though t', 'intellect' naturally have no exac t definitions - to agree at all, we have had to resort to the Classics. Should I, as a God , fall in to this cesspit o f in exact itude? I too reve rt and rely on 'Delphic' me ans fo r m y answers - there a re as y e t no fina l co nclusio ns . But I assert that the most positive and exact evidenc e it is possible to repeat to oth ers reposes in that lo w e s t, most com mo n denomi nator of occulti sm - 'fortune- tell ing', Be patient

awhi le for you will be enlightened by what follows . T he means used and the way it happens are simple, the inverse o f scientific. I use a trad itional formu la , cr eated by instinctive gue ss a nd arbitrarily formed , no t evol ved by hypoth esis and experiment. The law of sorcery is its own law, using sympathetic symbols . This logomachy was subsequently deduced from actua l practice , us ing cards like an 'o racl e' , w ith the exponent as

~ ", .

inter pret er.

Thought may be looked on as a dyn amic , eve r-present like th e Eth er - we are inescapably in and of it. It is ne ither a wo rk incomplete nor com ple ting though always ch ang ing the shape and degree of our co nsciousness. Man is a vehicle of though t, and t hought governs the world . Sc ie n t ists cons tantly mistake the 'means' for the cause , brain , nerves , body et c., are the media of thought, and when thought itself is dyna mic in them we say it is 'th e mind', which, in itself may have some queer relationship w ith The Mind behind it all. If mi nd has any 'seat' it is in th e whole b o dy, rat h er th an a par t. Because thought is a subsequent impression of feeling (all things cohabiting all the time ) - identity is by identifying and the price is suffe ring (and much more thought).

i

-'-----v~-,J

31

So , id en tit y is an ob session , a co mposit e of perso nalit ies, all

to ta lity o f impressio ns fro m affect io ns whe n co nf irmed by our

counterfeiting ... a faveo late d ego, a resurg ing cataco mb whe re the ph antom -like de miu rguses seek in us their rea lity.

atavism . A ll we k now for certain are the great uncer taint ies and unkuoum commitments" of oursdvrs. O ur liv es are spen t in finding the solution , a reciproci ty o f para- ratio nal creativity? We are on ly

T he re are abstract 'Ids', symbols that are cognizanCfS of the mind, invete rate, in terpreted by some kind o f me taph o r. O ur actions and beliefs being liars to each other, our usua l language is useless for mystic communion . TIJe uexu s brtrveen callsr and rffrct is mrdianimity. There is a Grimorium of gr aph ic symbo logy and vague phon ic nua nces t h a t c onjoin all thought and is th e lan gua ge o f the psychic world. Mind is a continuan t and all con cepts are rela tab le to perceptions and contact . the refore rea l; the continuum of all aspects o f memory and learni ng is co nscio usness - the past again becom ing explicit, more or less. Our w ho le mentation is cogni sing our cognit ion : I do know not

fitt ed to co -relate our own level wh et her by inspiration or by an y other means.

Certain di rect ion s of Knowledge should be arre sted , they give little wi thout great cos tingness . we have always ha d a plethora of means of de struction . Laws of Art and Logic are limited roles of patt erni ng and noth ing is deduced , except varia tion s from them . Th ere is no techn ique of spo ntaneity and inspiratio n.

Sc ienc e, like Logic and Psychology, is its o wn bogey and as neuroti c as its own creed; its fear of deviation from its arbitrary

sta n da rd s a nd categori es c o n firms a ll t he d efinitions of t he

o nly that I know, but how little I know o f my ow n om niscie nc e.

psychopat hic. .. Science also has to await its rare artist - to make an audacious guess for enli ght enm ent or mutation. For me , the

Th e conjugation of 'a priori ' and 'a posterio ri' create the anoetic. A li ttle k now ledg e is n ec e ssar y commo n sense , m u ch is

enchantment, not their known meanings.

d ange rous , as th e mot ive is a form o f g re e d . O ne aspect o f Knowled ge not only discloses ano th er but a whole ser ies of fresh problems. Invariab ly inspirati on is the only mecha nism scie nce has for the d iscl osure o f new fact s and suc h a form o f guessing is a c asual

inexplicable o f beauty, th e und ivulged of thin gs gives them the ir From the above evo lves a suggest ion , that the mind knows all, that th o ug ht , which permeat es a ll th ings , is th e conveyor and nexus, and that we become rapport and evocati ve by some cryptic symboli sm wh ich we must ori gin ate. H ere is a clue: how do two

its own arc ha ism. Wisdom appears a stasis, whi le Knowled ge is ever forming - never co mplete . W het he r with in or wit hout, no th ing is fully exp lici t; Nat ur e revea ls slo wly her tec h niq ues and me d ia while of her motives we know nothing, but o nly gu ess at them from our own wishes. T he tactual quality of re lating is by a sentiment the lat ent memory identifies and gives know ledge. Our tru th , the

frau dule nt tele p a this ts c o nvey message s to each oth er? By a legerdemain, so me subtl e sec ret code. Aod the means of psych ic co rrespo nde nce, tel epath y, premo nitio n and pred iction is by a like parallel. Merely to establish telepathy between two people by known thi ngs, mean s littl e outside of th e proof, so we extend to the unknown , i.e. predictioll , and by a si mple fo rm anyo ne may practi se an d prove for h imsel ]. t h e degre e of succe ss must necessarily relate to o ne's apt itude and abili ty. First , o b ta in a book o n ' fo rt u ne -te lling' by p lay ing-ca rd s, th is will give you th e ge ner al idea towa rds the making o f a far be tter pac k for your purp ose. Then procure a pack of or dina ry playi n g -c a rds and mark th e m top and botto m (c ard s h ave a reve rse ). Do not rely on th e book too much - onl y for general direction and met h od - all such bein g the tr ad itional remnants

32

33

process of 'm ind to mind' reco llecti on and transference.

Our ve ry existe nce estab lishe s a previou s hi story (th o ugh t, mind, body ), so all subsequences are differentiated derivatives of the 'a priori'.

If there is a 'pr imacy o f practical reason ' th en judgi ng by results - in man - it has becom e its own laughi ng po lte rge ist. W e are worse in prospect than in retr ospect; and nothi ng seems to exceed

o f a l ost art ; y ou mu st ev olv e y our ow n meanin g s, sym b ol s

and methods. That is vital. H ere are t h e sa lient po in ts to not e . Ind iv id u a l c a rd s are ind icators not events, (at least, not th e important o nes), an d thus we make separate cards mean the small commonplaces, emo tions

.

a..

_.- ' ----'---" ._ _ ._... -j~ &.

.RE.JI.£fSe:.....7.!Jja~.4trd.. __ ._. _•.,.......

4 ~ .,.

a nd ab stracts - love , hate, fea r etc. , et c. People are represe nted by the Kings and Queens and children by two Knaves . The differ en t 'suits' must sy mbolise the differe nt kin ds o f eve nts , emotions, etc. Thu s S PA DES would rela te to si ckness , mourning , death , disap poin tme nt , fear, hatred etc . H EART S , Love . marriage , frie nds hip , ha ppiness , generosi ty etc . DI AM O NDS , Money, su cc ess, fame , hon our etc. C LUBS , busin ess , officiali sm, law, power, kn owled ge , etc. Fifty- two ca rds are more th an ade qua te to cover the small meani ngs. There are a nu mbe r of meanings th at do not fa ll u nder an y one suit in pa rticul ar , such as 'spe ed y', 'accide ntal', 'journeys' e tc ., and must be placed in any su it where t h er e is room . Put sim il ar m ea ni ngs o n oue car d suc h as 'co nclusio n' and 'deat h'. T he reverse o f a card me ans the same

. . .'..• _.¥... _ .....

th ing but more intense or extended, thus, 'slight sickness' reversed

~. ,

,.\,

~,

.. "

0-: .' .)

-,

'.

.

j

I I

would mean 'real sickn ess'. Also , a special ca rd is made wh ich inte nsifies any ot he r it falls against - reversed it means co ntinuou s o r regu lar. It is the combination o f ce rt ain ca rds tha t crea te th e mean ings o f the more im portan t eve nts and episodes of life. Th us, thi s comb inatio n of Spades - 'n ine, te n and Ace' when closely jux taposed , would mea n dea th fairly so o n. And in comb inatio n w ith cards either mean ing 'acci dental', 'sick ness', 'hate ', or 'self' wou ld mean dea th by accident s, sickness , murd er or suici de , an d

so o n , c o v e r i n g ev ery eve n t po ssib l e . The m a t h e m~ tical combinations from 52 cards are almo st lim itless for our purpose. W rit e your me an ings and prin ci pal co mb inations on the cards,

and when you have memorised th em, cha nge int o symbols, even if yo ur lmagination canno t evo lve mo re tha n sim ple geom et ric

! ~1 ,;, /1

.

I

It ~

I -

/;:....

i I

- ~/' -- -- -~

sig ns. This challge to sy mhols is very importall!' To save ov erloa ding th e cards with writ ing or sy mbols, wri te down in a small book th e rarer co mbi nat ions and meanings.

35

From books on fort une te lling study the different me thods of laying th e cards for reading , an d ultima tely a method wi ll evolve whic h suits you. My method is to lay them ou t in a line (or four lines of thirte e n ca rds ) a nd rea d fro m left to rig ht , bu t it is difficult and o nly adepts succeed . Then I shuffle the ca rds while looking into the ey es o f the inquire r. The pack is the n passed to h im wit h a request to shuf fle, and thin k ab out his desires, whe ther relati ng to persona l ambitions or o the rwise. T he cards are then laid out and read , speci al not e being made of th e ju xtap osi tions of the comb ina tio ns. When such are close together the eve nt will be soon.

However many co mbinatio ns you may have fo rmed , there w ill always be th ose o f unique and baffling mean ing, and this is where the ab ility o f the o pe rato r en te rs. Imagin ative methods will help , for examp le, with one card mea ning 'fear' an d th e ot he r 'hono ur', this co uld be read as 'faint -hearted but has th e necessary ab ility', as against 'fear for o ne's hon o ur' - unless this seems to be implied by other factors . Remember, there is always a rational and tru e interpreta tio n

if yo u can find it.

Your bel ief in the subjec t sho uld be as since re as for a ny o ther Ar t o r Scie nce , and an open mind at all times is bes t. As to the a ttit ud e o f t h e in q u ire rs , t he ir b elief is imm a t eria l, t he ir wi llingness to be unprejud iced is essential, any face tio usne ss is fatal. I ca n assert (by the experiments o f others) that any pers on o f in te lligen ce who carefull y foll ow s these suggestio ns, using his imaginat ion , an d with sufficient pract ice, will at len gth be able to accu rat el y p re di ct fu ture eve n t s w it h suffi c ien t d eta il a n d unamb iguit y. In about six mon ths a satisfacto ry pack o f cards can be created a nd anot her six months sho uld be allowe d to gain the necessary facility by actu al pract ice . I have no t on ly ha d perso ns accura te ly d es c ribed b ut even t he ir h idden m ar ks re vea le d . Educ ation has litt le to do wit h th is facul ty. The Witch wh o taugh t me was illite rate , with limited vocabulary and the usual FortuneTe lle r's argo t, ye t she was ab le to define and ex plain th e mo st complex and abstrac t th ings , much clea re r tha n I co uld with an almost com plete vocabulary. I ha ve never y e t w i tne sse d any

36

o cc u lt p he no m e n a wh e re mo n ey wa s in vo lve d wh e t h e r for ex pe nse s or an yth ing else (I pr eclude the odd sy mboli c silver co in). T he ch ief difficulty in forecas ting is th is. In man y lives noth ing much hap pens except for per haps an odd episo de (for eight yea rs this was true of myself, altho ugh previou sly I had ha d an overfull life ). Thus, not every o ne is a good 'subje c t' un less o ne ca tch es them at th e eventful period. The best func tion o f pred ic tion is possibly in bein g able to warn p e o p le o f thei r w e a k n e sse s and of e vent s whi ch may b e prejudicial to them . I was tellin g a friend's fortun e, and could 'see' that he wo uld die with in a few months. Naturally, I did not tell h im so, but what I d id advise h im was to at o nce put h is affairs in orde r an d t h at in a fe w mo nt hs t here wou ld be a ve ry g rea t c hange in his affairs, o f whic h not much could be said . M eantime, the re was great h app iness for him , though he was to guard aga inst acci den t . H e was hap py for the few month s tha t h e live d . I b el ieve that forecasti ng is best used as I h ave used it , to gain wisdom and insight an d not for monetary ga in, and that by such experim ents prove the possibili ties of spiritual powers for a more

hum ane wo rld . Finall y, scien tists will never solve or prove any th ing relating to

foretellin g t h e fut ure ; it is a w ork fo r 'a rt ists'. Sc ie nc e m ay sub se qu entl y prove more full y wha t th e ar tis ts have already discovered . N o te we ll. a ll t h e indi cat ions es se n t ial for th e p sy chi c Knowledge necessary to develo p th is particu lar abil ity are g iven in Thr Logo,"achy.

37

JIlustratio ns P.4

Self-Portrait, 19 37

P.8

AOS at wo rk in his studio flat at Becket House, 1927

P.I0

Four cards from the Arena of Anon , [n.d.]

P.14

Horses For Slaughter, 194 8

P.16

AOS with the editors of TheLondon Myste')' Magazine, at the Mansion Hou se tavern ex hibition , Kenning ton Park Road, 195 2

P. 18

Three cards from the Arena of Anon , [n.d.]

p.20

Early mag ical manuscript fragment, [c. 19 10 ]. The signs from Agri p pa may be found in the vertical co lumn , cen tre.

P.26

Surrealist Raci ng Forecast C ards, wit h original envelo pe , 1936

P.28

Surrealist Racing Forecast Cards advertiseme nt, 19 37

P.30

Forecas ting card from a Sorcerer's pack [ fo r Mind to Mind and

Hom, 0.1951 ]. For th is and the follow ing illustration , AOS ha s no ted o n the back of the des ig n that "[or convenience, the reverse oj the Card is given upright" . r.3 4

Forecasting card from a Sorcerer's pack [fo r Mind 10 Mind and

Hom , 0. 195 1].

Th is boo k was published by FULCU R Limited on October 3 1st 199 7. Of this edition there are five copies bound in red morocco -backed hoards and slipcase for private distribution; and fo rt y. five numbered cop ies bound in black cloth and slipcase. The se limited ed ition s con tain an origina l card fro m Spare's 19 36 Surrea list Racing Forecast deck . Typesett ing and production by Hayley Tong. Des ign by Robert Ansell- Base!ek vidiVJt.

38

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