Book Excerpt | Michael Orlando

Experiencing Heart Vision

What can not be known remains unknowable, yet I see with the eye of the sun as if it came to rest on my forehead, throwing light in the dark corners of things, casting the shadows of men into uncharted lands.—Normandi Ellis, Awakening Osiris: A New Translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead[1]

Advancement on any path takes place through efforts made along it. Perhaps ultimately this progress is of more value than reaching the actual goal itself. Yet an inherent contradiction ever taunts those on the quest toward greater understanding. For as awareness expands, vistas of unknowing open ever wider before us. One way these dimly-lit dimensions can be explored effectively is by both focused contemplation and illuminated intuitive knowing sparked through the art of divination.

By definition, a mosaic is made by setting small, colored pieces of stone, tile, or glass into a surface to form a picture or decorative design. The fascinating etymology of this art term is associated with the Greek word mouseios, relating to the inspirational Muses of that ancient culture, as well as to Moses, the biblical intermediary between man and the heavens. Surely, the realms of the artist and this biblical celestial liaison intersect in reliance upon intuition. Revealing the unseen through pictures, one of the potential benefits of contemplative self-reading is the development of and confidence in this seemingly ephemeral capacity.

If we define divination as accessing hidden information—card reading being just one of its many forms—intuition is the ability to achieve such without immediately apparent methods. Sufi teacher Irina Tweedie[1] quoted her spiritual master as stating, “Knowledge comes through the heart. From the heart to the mind.”[2] While intellectual wisdom can be distorted by appearances, well-balanced intuition, referred to here as heart vision, sees into the essence or inner reality—that which is typically undetected, discounted, or not fully perceived by the five senses. Mystic and spiritual teacher, Reshad Feild[3] describes the aim of this expanded perception: “If we can see the world as it really is, we can see the perfect patterns behind it….We can see this if we are awake.”[4] When intuition is used in divination selflessly to benefit others, it can be an uplifting experience. The 10th-century Persian Sufi writer Abū Bakr al-Kalābādhī notes, “[Ecstasy] is the hearing and sight of the heart.”[5] Unfortunately, 20th-century fabricators of sensationalist fiction and film have promoted the image of the card reader skilled at both predicting specific, future happenings whilst delivering a sinister cackle on cue. Instead, those reading the cards are challenged to accept and trust the illumination received with objectivity and confidence.

We all experience instances of heart vision. Everyday life is filled with those moments when we simply know, with unshakable conviction, that the right conclusion has been uncovered. At the essence of each of these, a series of profound connections or micro-decisions are made leading to deeper wisdom—toward more fully grasping that which is outwardly unknown. Orin channeled by Sanaya Roman explains:

Intuition is the ability to know without words, to sense the truth without explanations. Intuition operates beyond time and space; it is a link to your higher self. Intuition is not bound by the physical body. It operates knowing that past, present and future are simultaneous, happening in the “now” moment. It is the voice of your innermost self, your soul, which is always looking out for you.[6]

The work of the card reader is not to be definitively correct in the limiting definition of that term. For most of us, much of life is navigating through vast grey zones of vague implication. Author on Paganism and Druidry, Nimue Brown notes:

Uncertainty is incredibly liberating…We are surrounded by mystery. Life and consciousness are mysteries. Death is a mystery. As soon as we try to fit the many mysteries into tidy little stories, we strip the numinous from them. Facing the enormity of all that we do not know, is a far more exciting proposition.[7] Divination does not take the mystery or uncertainty out of life. It gives you more room to explore the possibilities that the inevitable mysteries and uncertainties create. If we let it, sitting down with a Tarot pack, or a Rune set can be an act of facing the enormities of life. Open hearted, open minded, waiting to see if the universe wants to share something, and then figuring out what to do with whatever is shared. It is a strange, creative process, but an enriching one.[8]

The process of effective card reading works by drawing light toward such areas of uncertainty. And while every session cannot yield stunning examples of intuitive brilliance, each can result in a sliver of finely-colored glass to be applied to a greater mosaic of fuller understanding and practical options. Visionary artist Gary Lund explains how oracular cards “offer a focus point we respond to—to open us to greater possibilities, to clarify the present moment we find ourselves in. Stillness within movement.”[9]

The heart as the organ of inner-knowing plays a crucial role in a reading. Opening our hearts to receive intuited wisdom or revealed knowledge is highly demanding. For it necessitates technical prowess gained through that which there are no substitutes—real practice, life experience, and self-reflection.

Feats of stunning intuition can impress. Yet they are largely worthless unless received with some form of useful guidance to assist in positive transformation. Real divination is not a party game. As implied by the word itself—from the Latin divinus (“of god”)—at the essence of this practice is an attempt to reveal hidden realities. As such, one’s motivations for undertaking it should ideally be of a respectful nature. Humbleness is required in this art. How could it be otherwise if we view the process as a way to the inner path? Founder of The Clan of Tubal Cain, Robert Cochrane (Roy Bowers)[10] notes, "All mystical thought is based upon one major premise: the realization of truth as opposed to illusion. The student of the 'mysteries' is essentially a searcher after truth, or as the ancient traditions described it, 'Wisdom.'"[11]

[1] Irina Tweedie (born Irina Tamara Karpow) was born in Russia and died in 1999.

[2] Irina Tweedie, Daughter of Fire: A Diary of a Spiritual Training with a Sufi Master (Grass Valley, 1986) offers a detailed autobiographical account of the 20th-century, Russian-born mystic’s spiritual training in India. In Sufi Teachings: The Smiling Forehead (London, 1996), Hazrat Inayat Khan defines the heart as “…the depth of the mind, the mind being the surface of the heart.”

[3] Reshad Feild (born Richard Timothy Feild) was born in Hascombe, England in 1934 and died in Devon, England in 2016.

[4] Reshad Feild, The Alchemy of the Heart (Dorset, 1990).

[5] Abū Bakr al-Kalābādhī, The Doctrine of the Sufis (Lahore, 1966).

[6] Sanaya Roman, Personal Power through Awareness: A Guidebook for Sensitive People (Novato, 1986).

[7] Nimue Brown, Spirituality without Structure: The Power of Finding Your Own Path (Winchester, 2013).

[8] Nimue Brown, correspondence with author, September 2016.

[9] Gary Lund, interview by Michael Orlando Yaccarino, “Moving Stillness: A Moment with Visionary Artist Gary Lund,” Tarosophist International, 2010, vol. 1, issue 6:5.

[10] Robert Cochrane (born Roy Bowers) was born in London, England in 1931 and died in Slough, Berkshire, England in 1966).

[11] Cochrane's (Bowers') ardent quest for Truth and Wisdom may be explored in the following book: Shani Oates, ed., The Star Crossed Serpent III: ‘The Taper That Lights the Way’ (Oxford, 2016).