We See the Aliens When They Cease to Be Alien

SETI is a worldwide science project searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. They listen for radio signals, but that's jumping to conclusions. Radio communication is a recent thing on earth, applied for no more than a hundred years or so. Who says we'll even stick to it ourselves, much longer?


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We See the Aliens When They Cease to Be Alien

To Be Aware of Being

I'm watching episodes of Through the Wormhole, reminding me of the cosmological speculations that have been a kind of background radiation in my brain since I was a tiny kid. I'm sure we all have them. This time, the subject is life and its origin.


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To Be Aware of Being

Big Bang Is No Answer

Big Bang is presented as a theory about the origin of the universe, but it has no answer to that question. It may explain the emergence of the world, but not from where it came and what was before it. So, we still have no clue.


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Big Bang Is No Answer

Mama, Just Killed a Man

Writing at some depth about the Queen anthem Bohemian Rhapsody would take a book, so here I will have to settle for just touching at the subject. A few thoughts on the lyrics. They're just as impressive as the music.


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Mama, Just Killed a Man

Mental Narcissist

I watched all the episodes of the first four seasons of The Mentalist, the police procedural TV series. It's catchy. But it's not about a mentalist. It's about a raving narcissist.


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Mental Narcissist

We Need to Listen to Kevin

It's a terribly disturbing story, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and the film gives no moment of relief. A ghastly nightmare, but the dream is incomplete. It fosters the myth of the innocent parent. That's not believable even in fiction.


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We Need to Listen to Kevin

Where Were They?

The London Olympics opening ceremony was quite spectacular, of course, but the four hours left me wondering: where was everybody? Not much of a line-up, considering what Great Britain has got in store.


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Where Were They?

The Imaginative Imagery of the Tarot

I just published a book about Tarot card divination, which has been practiced for around 500 years. So, there are many historical aspects to it. Also, the Tarot imagery is full of intriguing allegories and symbols, saying a lot about our culture and its past.

Therefore, the subject is fascinating to many more people than those who want to try the tarot for divination. But you should all try it, at least once.

Here's my preface to the book:

I was introduced to the Tarot cards in my early twenties, by a friend who was quite learned about all kinds of divination methods. It was love at first sight. The charming illustrations on each of the cards, full of symbolism and intriguing mystery, were a feast for my eyes and got my imagination roaming behind them.

The Tarot works by images, as do we humans to a great extent. Words make us wonder, numbers puzzle us, but images make immediate impressions on our minds, at lightning speed. They dance with our dreams, play with our memories, and blend with our perception of the world we live in. We are creatures of imagination. As the word suggests, that’s mainly done by images, swirling in our minds.

So, reading the Tarot cards is processing the images in our imagination. We get it to the extent we allow ourselves to think in pictures, and that comes naturally to us all.

The Fool card,
from the Tarot Major Arcana.

That’s why I dared to choose the ambiguous subtitle for this book. “Imaginative reading” suggests mere fantasy. Maybe so. Lots of people would claim that’s all it is. But fantasy is no trifle. It’s how we relate to the world and its many enigmas. It gives us ideas by which we are able to discover the secrets of the universe. It unfolds reality.

I can’t think of any other human capacity that takes us farther than fantasy has done through the past thousands of years, and continues to do. It’s the fuel of creativity, and what surpasses the ability to create?

Therefore, whether we put trust in the divinations or not, reading the Tarot cards through our imagination inspires us to reconsider what we are, where we are, and the constantly elusive answer to the question why. Perhaps the wondrous way our mind relates to what is called reality will present some dazzling revelations along the way – or at the very least some thought provoking surprises.

Although I’ve played with the Tarot on numerous occasions through the years, I never thought of writing a book about it. Going from pictures to letters seems like retreating. But then it hit me that this was exactly what I felt like talking about: Reading the Tarot is taking in the images and letting them show themselves, unbound by words and reason. Our imagination will do the rest, and the result has its very own profundity. A picture is worth a thousand words.

So, in the following I will try to tickle the imagination of the reader into going on the spiritual quest induced by imagery. See the Tarot pictures come alive and make other pictures emerge from your mind to meet and transform them. It’s like going to the movies. It’s what we do.

If you haven’t indulged in it before, you may find that the world will never look the same again.

Click here to see the book at Amazon.

Two and a Half Ceases to Compute

I watched through the ninth season of Two and a Half Men, which starts by uncle Charlie being replaced by IT billionaire Walden. It's not working. The money keeps it running, but surely not for long.


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Two and a Half Ceases to Compute

To Boldly Go...

The space probe Voyager 1 has traveled since 1977, soon reaching the end of our solar system and entering outer space. That's not a void, but a constant storm of cosmic rays, from which the sun's magnetic field protects us. Whatever it really is, space is not empty.


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To Boldly Go...

Facebook Makes No Difference

Facebook is an anomaly. Scientists have discovered that the most influential ones on it are not the young “hip” ones, but those in their thirties and above. Imagine. So, we should no longer hope to die before we get old.


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Facebook Makes No Difference

Game of Words

I'm far from the only one enjoying the TV-series Game of Thrones, waiting impatiently for season 3 to commence. I bet that this excellent fantasy drama would have pleased even its foremost inspiration: William Shakespeare. In the midst of all the spectacular scenes, its foremost quality is that of words, words, words.


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Game of Words

Counter Acting

The arts contain numerous paradoxes. That's particularly true for the art of acting. Those who master it know to play on the opposite of what is called for, thereby enhancing it, as if real acting is counter acting.


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Counter Acting

Vanity Cards Are Not in Vain

I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory, an enjoyable sitcom, when I noticed something odd passing by in a second on the credits. You see it above. A subliminal message, perhaps? I had to investigate.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Vanity Cards Are Not in Vain

Chinese Divination

The last few months I've been busy producing new websites, on the theme of ancient methods of divination. One of the oldest is the Chinese classic I Ching (The Book of Change), with its 64 hexagrams and their accompanying texts giving clues to the future. Try it out – you'll be surprised.

I found a splendid script on the Internet, so I could make an actual online version of the I Ching, where you can try it out without needing any additional equipment than your computer or your smartphone. Here it is:

I Ching Online

There, you also find links to additional information about the I Ching – its background, hexagrams and trigrams, basic principles, and so on.

I Ching is a Chinese classic (also spelled Yi jing) dating back to at least 1,000 BC. It consists of 64 chapters, each devoted to one of the 64 hexagrams. These are made up of six lines that are either solid or split in two, symbolizing yin and yang, the ancient polarities of Chinese cosmology, well-known worldwide through the circular image enclosed here.

Each hexagram represents a concept that becomes the answer to the question asked in divination. There's an explanatory text to each. Also, additional statements are made when one of the lines is marked. It may sound complicated, but it's quite easy once you try it.

What's particular about the I Ching is that its divination is done by words: the name of the hexagram as well as the words of the accompanying text. We are creatures of words, so they tend to tell us a lot. Already the name of the hexagram usually gives an enlightening clue to the question at hand. And more often than not, the text is so accurate to the situation it's eerie.

I urge you to try it out. You'll not be disappointed. At the very least, it gives you a chance to contemplate your question in a new light. And please come back to this blog if you feel like commenting the experience.