Questions? Answers.
Flash public readings ~ Let's play
It’s been a little while since I’ve written here, not that anyone’s holding their breath. Still, I’m grateful for you, the readership, and deeply so for those who support with paid subscriptions. I’m glad y’all find this space worthwhile enough to have opened yet another message in an inbox that, were it physical, would surely be overflowing with coupons and “special offers.” The stuff a friend describes by way of “here, you throw this out.”
I usually end up deleting the first few paragraphs of whatever I’ve written; insert something about a rusty tap theory of prose in which the first sputterings are stained with iron oxide. But I’m practicing non self-censorship today. Not scratching the itch for perfect prose. Perfection’s a bit boring, maybe. So pardon the rust. We’re indulging in a little free-write, because it feels good, and there’s some sense of adventure in it. I have no idea where this is going.
Re: rust, It’s not that I haven’t been writing at all; I have, though what I’ve been doing more of is editing. Editing can be a drag, and I have to say that AI makes it so much easier. I don’t use AI to compose, but I’ll use it to get a big-picture view of something like a book chapter and help me understand where the flow gets bogged down or where the structure could use some tightening. It’s surprisingly good at that sort of thing.
So yeah, I’m working on a (non-fiction) book; I’ve mentioned it before but not often. For a while I was kind of superstitious about saying it, for fear that it would diffuse the charge I’m working up. On the other hand, it could also be a way of staying accountable: didn’t he say he was working on a book? So…where is it?
All to say: feel free to nudge, badger and heckle about “the book.” I have no excuses, I want this thing done and out into the world by whatever means. I’m giving myself three weeks to finish the rough draft: that’s it. Then the rest of the calendar year to complete the manuscript.
As you’ve probably gathered, it’s about divination. Part memoir, part manual. I’m sure I’ll post further excepts of it here. But, as much as I love divination, it’s not all that I’m interested in, and I’m starting (continuing) to feel like I’m either preaching to the choir or shouting at the waterfall on the damn subject like Intangible Asset No. 82. Maybe my vocal chords need a rest. Or just to take up a different tune for a minute.
Or maybe I need to try a different angle and post some actual, live readings—that could be fun. I just started following a divination-oriented Substack that does something like that (hello, Wood Snake), and it’s game I’d enjoy, too. In fact, why not, let’s play.
Here’s how it works. If you have a question you’d like answered and you don’t mind it happening publicly, email it to me at djed@kalamandala.com. You can include as much or little context as you like. I’ll do a cast and post the write-up in a separate post. I may not post all readings, but I’ll post some, so there’s a chance your question will become public. It will stay anonymous unless you prefer to be identified.
These are flash readings, without natal chart context, just question/answer. They’re a chance for me to keep my skills honed, particularly my Tājika praśna technique (the Perso-Arabic methods that filtered into India and became the main axes in horary jyotish), and to see how close I can get to the heart of the matter. I reserve the right to be brutally honest.
I’ll do these for $20 a pop for these (Venmo @axismundi or paypal).
Quick guidelines:
broad questions get broad answers (which lack depth)
specific questions get specific answers (which lack breadth)
the more charge the question has, the more vivid the answer. that’s to say, questions should have some life to them, you should feel like you’re putting some skin in the game. nothing too abstract or intellectual.
if may decline to answer if something doesn’t sit right about the question or i’m just not comfortable going there for whatever reason.
So: less talk about divination. More doing of the thing.
Meanwhile, life goes on, and I’m thankful.
Our number of puppies has decreased by approximately 87.5%, meaning we kept one, little Tsuki with her one blue eye, plus Mama (now Sylvana); the residual pack of three feels downright manageable after living with 9 canines all spring.
We pulled off our Beltane ritual, after lots of back-and-forth around what to do about the maypole in a time of rage against the patriarchy. Spoiler alert, we decided not to chop it down—and good thing, for it turns out that among the ancient Semites, pole-felling was actually a way of suppressing the feminine principle. Did you know Yahweh had a wife, Asherah? Not a good marriage, I’m thinking. Turns out the dude wasn’t all that cool to his mother, either, if you’re willing to entertain the gnostic accounts of what went down between him and Sophia. But all that’s another story for another time.
Meanwhile, I’ve been feeding my soul by reading about Rumi and the man who cracked him open and let the genius out, the sharp-tongued Shams of Tabriz. I recommend Brad Gooch’s book, Rumi’s Secret. It’s left me with a hankering to learn Persian to get closer to the poetry and the world from which it emerged. We’ll see what comes of that impulse. A more Venusian season is around the corner for me and I’m feeling a resurgence of poetry, music, language for beauty’s sake, for art’s sake. I don’t know what that’ll look like, exactly, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
Last but not least, a little whisper to those who’ve read to the end, I’m gearing up for a big trip. It’s a solo venture to Sardinia, an island I’ve been dreaming about for years now. Mysterious tugs. We’ll see what comes.
Don’t forget to send those questions!