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Portable Magic: Tarot Is the Only Tool You Need |
What if you could carry your alter and magical tools around with you in your pocket. That is what this book is about. Donald Tyson takes the symbolic elements of magic rituals and equates them to Tarot cards. A layout on the table represents the elements and directions usually found in an altar. Once the layout is accomplished, through visualization, you “enter” your temple to perform rituals, create charms and summon elementals.
Even though the concept is very simple to understand, the real mastery comes in understanding the astrological correspondences to the cards. By understanding the basic astrological concepts, you can hone your rituals and magic to very precise topics. I have always found astrology very cumbersome; however, the way Mr. Tyson explains it is very accessible. I believe that part of this understanding comes from the need to understand in order to focus the magic. Astrology becomes a tool to create, as opposed to a tool to predict.
The entire book is fed to the reader in very small, digestible chunks, which is important, since Mr. Tyson on wading into uncharted waters. He presents his theories with a plethora of explanations, justifications and suggestions. I am not a practitioner of magic; however, this book made me want to utilize the suggestions, if for nothing more than an exercise in creative visualization.
The basic ritual is short and easy to learn. I believe there are places for long involved rituals with pages of text and incantations; however, this offers a very effective, bare-bones ritual which includes everything the more involved rituals do. The addition of the Tarot cards as a visual aid is brilliant. I have always used Tarot cards as a source of meditation and visualization. This book takes this one step further and makes them the focus of the magical power. This makes the rituals both easier to remember and more meaningful
Portable Magic (ISBN 0-7387-0980-8) is a wonderful introduction to beginners and also a compact alternative to more seasoned practitioners. Mr. Tyson’s discussion of Tarot correspondences in the appendix is worth the price of the book, since it is one of the most compelling arguments for reordering the Major Arcana that I have heard in years. This is a quick read, but a book which will leave you with ideas with which to practice for years.
"Portable Magic: Tarot Is the Only Tool You Need",
by Donald Tyson
© Llewellyn Publications
Images used by kind permission from Llewellyn
Publications.