What are the things for which you're grateful at the moment? This is always an important question to ask as there are so many things we have to be grateful for that we constantly overlook. 

I have a new deck of Tarot cards that I've been working with lately. This is a joy, to go down the mystical road to Christ with the cards and their ancient history. 

Recently, I've also shifted into a more "creative" phase (I get short bursts of these from time to time) and am enjoying that as well. 

And our technology...where would we be without it? Some might argue that world would be a better place, but there's so much good that comes through communication. 

May Christ continue to bless us. 

In Christ,

Steve

From the Aquarian Catholic Spiritual Community to you, may the pure love of the Divine shine down on you this and forevermore. 

May the love of Christ blaze within our hearts. 

May God guide us to the deep, true, and abiding theosis. 

In Christ,

​Steve

From Wikipedia: 

-​The Wisdom of Solomon, Chapter 6, Verses 12-16

Simultaneously, I've been reading through the book of Genesis as well in the Jewish Study Bible. One thing is clear: the "genesis" is essentially a reference to all the known world's people in addition to the world itself. 

One of the interesting things to see was the lineage of Cain and the lineage of Seth having extremely similar names, both ending with someone named "Lamech." The difference is that in Seth's lineage, Lamech is the father of Noah. 

There are several possibilities of why the names are similar, and my own perspective is that Cain was probably originally seen as the ancestor of Noah with Seth being a later invention OR a different variation on the story of Adam and Eve's children altogether that was edited into the overall narrative. 

Cain being Noah's ancestor then means humanity is descended from the first murderer as opposed to a neutral, seemingly righteous person. 

On the other hand, since Noah's supposed to be the "new Adam" and the reboot of humanity as a whole, I'm not sure why the difference in lineage would be absolutely essential. 

Things to ponder on!

In Christ,

​Steve

Yesterday, I finished reading the Gospel of Luke. The main aspect of Luke that stands out is the Nativity Story, which is not found with the same detail elsewhere. 

Overall, I'm not sure what I felt about Luke. Decidedly, much off what was written was perplexing or even downright uninspiring; after finishing the Gospel, I was walking my dog, trying to figure out where I stood on various issues and relative to the Gospel. 

Without the Gospel situated in a proper context of Tradition and Mysticism, it's almost uninspiring. I thought to myself, "Why in the world would anyone hear this and be so moved by it?" In and of itself, there's something obviously missing.

The first missing aspect is this: we just don't hear much of what Jesus is teaching. So, this indicates that things Jesus passed on to the Apostles and the other disciples aren't entirely written down, and it would be safe to say those things were not even mostly written down. 

So what is the purpose of the Gospel? It's a justification, an argument, a system of rhetoric to support certain teachings attributed to Jesus. It's a way of saying, "These things happened; this is why the teachings we pass on are important."

Another purpose of the Gospel is to show us what it's like to be connected to the Higher Self and the Divine, to walk against cultural currents and to try to explain things to people when you're operating on a different level than they are. 

It is an absolutely ​grave mistake to try to understand the Gospel outside of a tradition of interpretation. Everything falls apart quickly. Without the mystical context, everything becomes a story of history that doesn't make that much sense. 

More to come.

In Christ,

​Steve

Our prayer should involve at least some sort of visualization. 

A common and perhaps effective means by which to do this is to visualize the Soul Star above one's head and direct the prayers to this Soul Star. This will naturally connect with and contact the Divine. 

Prayer shouldn't merely be the recitation of words but also the lifting of the mind to God. This is almost more important than the particular words we use, though the words can carry power in and of themselves. 

Let us pray more deeply.

In Christ,

​Steve

Thanks to Father Sergio drawing my attention to the existence of the Raccolta, I acquired a copy after many months of deliberation.

The Raccolta contains an incredible number of prayers for the Christian devotee, but perhaps most charmingly, many of the prayers are written both in English and in Latin. I've shared some on here recently and will continue to do so. 

Why pray in another language? There's something beautiful about praying in Latin (or Hebrew and Greek and so on). Many Evangelicals appreciate the language of the King James Version of the Bible because the words have a regal, authoritative sound. 

Latin and Greek do something similar for me, though I would associate Greek with being somewhat more mystically inclined. 

Nonetheless, I do suggest to people to at least learn basic pronunciation for something like Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, especially if they're coming from the Christian tradition. There's a power in the language, and part of the Latin bypasses our ordinary linguistic processes and connects with us on a deeper level.

In Christ,

​Steve

This brief set of verses takes place at an interesting point: most of Genesis 14 centers around a war narrative of various kings and armies going to battle, of Abram going to battle and regaining the people stolen from him and such. King Melchizedek, a priest-king, appears just before another figure, the King of Sodom, and interrupts the narrative. 

The name "Melchizedek" sounds like "King of Righteousness" in Hebrew. 

Salem here probably refers to Jerusalem, and it's possible this story is meant to mark an ancient precedent for Jerusalem being the holy city God. 

"God Most High" is "El Elyon" in Hebrew. "Elyon" is often added to the names of deities in this era, and it's probably a way of denoting majesty. 

Interesting from the Christian perspective is that the ordination rites in the Apostolic Succession feature a phrase along the lines of, "Thou art forever a priest after the order of Melchizedek." 

Also interesting is that Melchizedek brings forth bread and wine, possibly a precedent to later rituals involving bread and wine, including the Shabbat and the Holy Eucharist. 

Abraham giving a tenth of what he owned seems to lay a precedent for tithing. 

In Christ,

​Steve

As a typical and easy prayer to recite, the Three Hail Marys comes highly recommended. 

Times for sheer devotion include the morning and around sunset, as per traditions that have developed in Europe. 

But the Three Hail Marys can be offered for basically any petition, any prayer, any problem. 

It's quick, easy, and effective practice that comes highly recommended from me. 

There's an immense amount of wisdom contained within the Tarot, and a number of means of reading Tarot cards exist. 
The language of the Tarot is something internal that must be learned; it can only be understood through practice. One learns the individual meanings of cards, though the best reading comes from a knowledge of traditionally associated meanings (of which there are all kinds of variations) and use of one's own intuition. 

The process can also not be forced. It's best to allow each of the cards to absorb into one's mind, bypassing the conscious mind's attempt to slay meaning and to allow the inner self to grasp the archetypal meanings of the cards. 

Curiously, I had an argument with someone long ago about the transmission of complete pieces of knowledge through imagery and ritual. His assertion was that one can only do that through the conscious mind, while I (correctly) asserted that the mind absorbs far more than we realized.

No doubt, one may learn things from a conscious perspective; that's obvious and not in question. But we learn much more than from this means. That doesn't mean the transmission of knowledge can't be abused- it can be. 

Guard your thoughts, guard your mind. Always maintain the utmost of integrity and ethical standards. 

In Christ, 

​Steve