The Sunday Newsletter (Day 16, 2022)

An alchemical surprise, a shower of sparks, and the San Francisco Oracle . . .

First—a short look ahead. I’ve just rediscovered some notes I made a few years ago, capturing several projects that apply information technology to Tarot research and theory. Interesting ideas! Look for a precis in next Sunday’s newsletter.

Second—a progress report. I promised to launch a separate newsletter, focusing on Tarot methodology, and it’s finally come into focus. Tarot | In Four Dimensions really will launch on 02/02/2022. Previews coming in the next week or so.

If you’d like a quick look at EP in ‘22, you can always check the Editorial Calendar. And for today—here are the latest dispatches from Serendip.

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Alchemy and College Prep

We have a new competitor in the “Out of Nowhere” division. I can’t remember how I came across this item, but it was definitely an unexpected search return:

My initial thoughts collided immediately.

• Are there 22 alchemical symbols? Why didn’t someone tell me!!

• Are there questions about alchemy on the SAT/ACT?

The answers are—no and no. Christine Sarikas (master’s degree in environmental biology) has combined several groups of symbols from different periods of alchemical practice to make a total of 22.

The “three primes” of Paracelsus (Mercury, Salt, Sulfur)

Four “classical elements” (Earth, Air, Fire, Water)

Seven “planetary metals” (Lead, Tin, Iron, Gold, Copper, Mercury, Silver)

Eight “mundane elements” (Antinomy, Arsenic, Bismuth, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Platinum, Potassium, Zinc)

As far as I know, there’s no official (or even typical) list of alchemical symbols, and although some symbols were in common use in particular schools or periods, many practitioners created their own styles of notation. So this is a selective list—and I have no idea whether Sarikas had Tarot in mind when she decided on that number.

But either way, it turned out to be a nice introduction for some basic concepts, which I’m assuming might be relevant (from an SAT perspective) to the history of chemistry. And in a similar vein, there’s an accurate, interesting essay about Aleister Crowley on the same site, vaguely related to literary symbolism.

I find it nice to think that curious students might encounter a few occult/esoteric topics in the “General Education” category of their college prep. And this item reminded me to revisit the history of alchemy in relation to symbolic notation and Tarot. If you too are in need of an alchemy refresher, there’s another nice treatment by Anne Marie Helmenstine (Ph.D., biomedical sciences) at ThoughtCo.

A Shower of Joy-Sparks

A lot of my writing about Tarot is hyper-serious. But I also have a flip side that’s more like hyper-whimsical. Possibly, I just like extremes, in either direction.

As proof of that hypothesis, new readers might want to take a look at my appreciation of The Housewive’s Tarot. For the moment, though, I want to introduce a deck that’s appealing in a completely different way.

Back story: I decided to use a Fool card in every January newsletter, as a reminder that the journey of a new year is beginning. And I found the Little Spark of Joy deck while looking for a Fool that seemed to capture the experience of making resolutions.

I used that card to accompany the Resolution Remix post—which if you haven’t read it is worth a look. But I enjoyed the whole deck, so thought I’d share more images.

In principle, this design is very far from my usual preferences—but it makes me smile!! And there are some interesting nuances in the portrayals.

As you probably know, Tarot printables (decks, workbooks, “cheat sheets,” spread layouts) are a thriving section at Etsy—and browsing through them can be a valuable exercise. Not only are there a varietiy of aesthetic approaches, there are also many purchaser comments that reflect different approaches to working with Tarot.

In fact, I think I’ll write a whole story about Etsy Tarot—including the aptly named “Rare Tarot” store (which offers some decks I will struggle to describe!) and the strangely charming “B-Word Tarot Trainer.”

But in the meantime, I’ve just messaged with wille, who owns A Little Spark of Joy. She tells me the deck design came from her collaboration with a Brazilian artist, Danyella Simoes. For more of wille’s effervescent approach to Tarot, visit here.

Retrospective: San Francisco in the 60s

I can’t put this in the Time Capsule series, because (a) I wasn’t there, and (b) I’m not lucky enough to own an issue of that ultimate hippie newspaper, The San Francisco Oracle. Much less the complete 12-issue (1966-1968) facsimile, which is on offer in paperback from $35-$85 and in hard cover for ten times those amounts.

One reviewer provided this summary of the paper’s significance:

“If the New Age Movement is a religion, these idealistic explorations into the personal experience and social implications of ‘mind expansion’ are part of its cannon. From the Aquarian Age to Native American shamanism, Eastern mysticism, communal living, utopian revolution, sexual liberation, ecological awareness and the socio-spiritual implications of LSD, The Oracle provides source documents of an eclectic spirituality and social philosophy that continue to exert a widespread – albeit subtle – influence on American society.” in The San Francisco Chronicle

You can get a free feel for the publication in these scans from the San Diego State University digital archives and this article from the SF neighborhood paper, Hoodline. If you are really interested in the topic, you can follow the trail of breadcrumbs I lay out below.

But here’s the immediate relevance: Tucked in among all those “New Age” topics listed above was a series of Tarot designs by Bryden Bullington, who went at the time only by his first name.

And the main point is . . . I read that one of Bryden’s Tarot designs depicted The Fool as Ganesha—a Hindu deity with many endearing attributes. Remover of obstacles, bringer of good fortune, patron of arts, sciences, intellect and wisdom.

Perhaps most important for the month of January: Ganesha is also the god of beginnings.

As he’s a great favorite of mine, I probably won’t be able to resist writing more about Ganesha in future. But (back to the point) I already wasn’t able to resist tracking down Bryden’s design. And here it is!

Well worth the research, I have to say.

If you’d like the breadcrumbs, I ferreted out the issue number (No. 10) from a not-so-brief history of the San Francisco Oracle, written by founder/mastermind Allen Cohen, and published in the anthology Insider Histories of the Vietnam Era Underground Press. (You can read most of Cohen’s account in the Google Books preview.) Then I found a scan of Issue 10 in the Internet Archive, paged through it—and voila.

One other item from The Oracle: this full page discussion of Tarot in general and The World in particular. I haven’t deciphered much of the text, but am not giving up.

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Looking over today’s newsletter, it seems to be full of things to smile about—which makes a nice change!

I’m not sure what will be in the Time Capsule this week, but we’ll find out on Tuesday.

Warm regards, C