No, I’m not saying that I used to look into crystal balls & cast wicked spells. I wasn’t that intense. I will say, however, that I was once into magic & Astrology.
It started after I went on a school trip to Boston, Massachusetts. A selected group of students from my class were chosen to go on this school trip to learn about Paul Revere, the Boston Tea Party, & other history that shaped our nation. One of the things we were also learning about was the Salem Witch Trials, which interested me as a young teenager.
I was really excited to visit the witch museum in Salem; there was a magic shop right around the corner from the museum. This shop claimed to be a legitimate magic shop complete with potions, authentic Wizard & Witch wardrobe, crystal balls, talismans, & all the herbal ingredients needed to cast actual spells. During our class break time, I spent all of my break browsing around the shop. I was just a kid back then, so I was a little scared to get into casting spells & using potions, but I was still into learning about witchcraft & all that shizz, so I ended up only buying a necklace with a bead on it that’s supposed to ward off negative energy.
After going on that memorable school trip, I started reading up on witchcraft & astrology. For a very short time I was interested in becoming a fortune teller & opening up a little store, but I quickly decided against it because I didn’t want customers constantly harassing me about the winning lottery numbers, or how to cast a love spell on the hot guy at work so they could have an office fling in the copy room after hours. I just wanted to tell people that they would live long, happy, fulfilling lives…not wade through their tales of woe. Look, I’m not some wand-wielding therapist. Anyway, that was my awkward introduction into witchcraft, the occult, & astrology.
Jumping into this mysterious world, I was highly reluctant in telling my friends about my newly found interest. I didn’t want them to think I was going to start wearing all-black clothes, chanting around a pit of fire & worshiping dangerous deities. I kept this side of me hidden for the entire length of time it held my interest. I only began showing my interest in this subject when my friends started asking about reading horoscopes & whether or not anybody believed in them. I chimed in & explained whatever I knew about the topic. They were quite impressed with my new-found knowledge & continued to ask me questions on the subject, which prompted me to reveal that I was self-learning how to read tarot cards & give basic tarot card readings. That quickly piqued my friends’ interest, & one-by-one they all asked me to perform a card reading on them.
I stumbled through learning how to read tarot cards. The pack of cards I bought…from the airport bookstore no less…came with a very confusing yet summarized booklet of instructions. So, I bought a paperback instruction book. I read that book from cover-to-cover & relied on it heavily. It was essentially my “Wikipedia” on the subject. I was successfully able to perform a few casual readings. I didn’t dive into heavy topics like finance, health (i.e. when are you going to die), or legal issues. However, I once was able to read that a friend of mine had 2 sides to himself, like two personalities, to which he revealed reluctantly that he was hiding his clinically diagnosed bi-polar disorder. I think that was about as far as I could go as far as depth & detail. Most of my other readings involved revealing quarrels between two lovers, & other small-time items. I don’t think I was able to part dark clouds in the sky or anything like that.
I eventually turned my attention to magic & casting spells. I went to my local public library & checked out books on the subject. I quickly decided that that subject was not for me. First of all, in order to cast a spell (or make a potion), one would have to procure quite a list of hard to find ingredients, which I found out could become very expensive. I was still only a student with limited monetary means, so that became one obstacle I couldn’t overcome. Secondly, I also researched the negative side of spell casting, & the results freaked me out. A lot. Let’s just say that I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of “an eye for an eye”, or I didn’t want a spell to go wrong & then face the consequences. Hey, I’ve seen the 90s movie “The Craft” (starring Neve Campbell & Skeet Ulrich) a few times, & that movie provided a cautionary tale into what could happen if one became too greedy with power or messed with the wrong spirits.
After all that, I started losing interest in the whole world of the occult & even Astrology. I packed up my tarot cards & books, stored them away in the back of the closet & haven’t thought of them since…well, except for now, since I am writing about it. I recently found my tarot cards after cleaning out the storage closet. I was about to throw them away but have decided to keep them for old times sake. It remains a reminder of an unusual, explorative time in my life. I can’t say that I will dive back into the subject & take up card reading again, but it would be fun to open up the box of cards & look at them again…perhaps with fond memories. We will just have to wait & see. Cheers.
Today’s song of the day:
Rabbits & Foxes 