I just finished Terry Pratchett’s Soul Music and it is now one of my favorite books. Death was as amazing as always, and other than proving himself to be a fantastic guitar player and motorcyclist, his caring side really came out. The Death of Rats’ constant presence, as well as Quoth the Raven’s, made the book, as well as Susan Sto Helit’s first appearance – I must say I liked her better in this one than in Hogfather. Dibbler also made quite a large appearance, scamming as always, and this was the first time I’ve seen him really as a major character. I definitely recommend this book to anyone. Next is Eric!
Author: Z. M. Wilmot
Self-published science fiction and horror author.
The Libel of Blood Editing!
It comes, fear not! I have been working on it and on Dark Aeons of late (as well as my other project), and finally things are moving again. The Libel of Blood is currently edited up through Chapter 21, ending with the words “There was nothing left for me.” The “Winds of Madness” is also being edited by an editor, and “Dark Prophecy” has been edited now once by me. Onward to victory!
Doctor Who Season 6
The first half of Season Six of Doctor Who ended today. If you haven’t seen it, DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS POST. I have some very strong opinions on it; namely, that Moffat is overstepping himself and trying to make the series too epic and convoluted. I really enjoyed the first three episodes of the season, with the Silence and the Siren. The fourth episode (Gaiman’s) I hated, and I was not a fan of the two following it. The Seventh episode was fun to watch, but lacked… a lot of things. When the Doctor gathers his army, it contains mostly people we don’t know (I wanted to see Jack come back, even though I knew he wouldn’t), which made the idea that he had friends all over less… profound. The Headless Monks were very cool, but didn’t really have much substance. There is no explanation as to who Madame Kovarian is, and why everyone hates the Doctor.
And on top of it all, River was Amy’s daughter. That was my least favorite scenario. It was horribly contrived, artificial-feeling, and with no real links to anything else. It came a little bit too out of the blue. And again, Moffat is doing one of his epic end of the universe as we know it things again – it’s only been two seasons with him. Season 5 was wonderful, but the first half of this season seems… contrived, forced, and needlessly complex. I can only hope that the second half – when the Silence return – is better.
The Wee Free Men
My latest conquest! The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Unlike his other Discworld books, this one was a children’s novel, and so went by much faster and had a rather different writing style (with far fewer footnotes). However, it was still very much fun, and even had cameos from Nanny Ogg and “Mistress” Weatherwax. It makes me want to start reading Pratchett’s witch books (other than Equal Rites, which has already been conquered). Most of the book doesn’t even mention the Disc (the whole thing takes place on he Chalk – I spent a while failing to figure out where this was on the world), and had some actually very interesting philosophical ideas about dreams. I shall be reading the next one most definitely, if not just for the awesomeness of the Nac Mac Feegle! Next on my list of reads I think will be a short break from Pratchett; I’m thinking Cthulhu’s Reign.
Hell Factory
As I’ve been working on editing TLOB (and another project that I’ll reveal to you all in a few days), I’ve also managed to strike down another short story! The latest horrifying tale is called “Hell Factory,” and is mostly a conceptual piece, with no real “plot.” It was a decent piece of work, I think, though it might be hard for some to swallow or appreciate But… I like it. So there. An excerpt below:
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The cherub of sleep fell up and away from me as the burning pain jolted me awake. I opened my bleeding eyes and slowly sat up. My few moments of rest had been blissfully divine, which made my awakening all the more painful. The metal cot – if indeed it could be called even that – I had been lying upon quickly heated to the temperature of an erupting volcano, and I yelped as I rolled off of it onto the rough, sharp obsidian of the floor.
I grimaced as the black stone of midnight scraped against my raw, smoking flesh, but did not make another sound. My yelp alone was enough to bring them down upon me.
Three piercing points of pure agony manifested themselves on my back, and I collapsed as the waves of torment shuddered through my body, speeding along my back and stopping to linger at my heart and my eyes. My vision went red and then black as a wave of blistering heat cracked my dehydrated eyeballs open. I could feel what little moisture remained in them pouring down my face like tears of pure pain.
“Grzlt mbrkl!” came the voice from behind me, with a voice like the devil’s claws slowly screeching their way across a chalkboard. By now I understood the command, but my memory failed me, as it always did. In this place nothing could be relied on except pain.
The three points of pain came again in the same place. My body was not inured to the pain; no matter how much punishment it endured, every stroke of the lash or stab of the trident was worse than the one before. I collapsed onto the jagged obsidian and let my mind go, screaming and thrashing in a vain attempt to relieve myself of the pain. But my mind was clear; that was the real horror. There were no defenses to hide behind, no way to block out the torment; there was nothing between myself and the pain.
With my convulsions there came no release, and then the hellwhips descended, their flaming lengths arcing across my body, delicately wrapping themselves around me and then roughly twisting away, tearing off hunks of burning flesh as they did so.
They eventually stopped, and with it stopped much of the pain. One cannot appreciate torture fully if one is constantly in anguish; brief moments of reprieve make the return of torment all the more terrible.
As I lay sprawled in a pool of my own burning blood on the obsidian floor of Hell, my wounds began to heal and my eyes reformed in their sockets, and soon I was whole again, covered with a new layer of tender and raw skin.
Wishing to avoid more pain, I scrambled to my feet, cutting open my hands, knees, and feet in the process. “Chzrt rkltq!” I obeyed, turning about and walking away from my white-hot metal sleeping bench, past the grotesquely obese black imp that had been tormenting me. Its glowing red pitchfork was lowered menacingly, and its impish eyes flimmered evilly. A flicker of red in its hideously elongated mouth, lined with razor sharp, glimmering white fangs, told of the serpentine tongues that lurked within.
My speed earned me a jab in the shin with the pitchfork, and I nearly collapsed again with the pain. I remained upright, though, and the imp giggled and jabbed me again. The second stab was enough to send me down to the floor again, and the punishing hellwhips descended again as the imp laughed, snorted, and giggled madly at my pain.
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Now that that’s done, I only have another two or three stories left in Dark Aeons! “Afflatus Divine” is about halfway done, and it’s my next short story project. Following that, I’ll be working on “Forest of Blood,” loosely based on a Call of Cthulhu scenario I ran with limited success. There may also be another very short piece entitled “Ascenscion” thrown in there as well! However, my primary focus over the next week will be on TLOB. Let’s hope I finish editing it soon!
EsoTarot Blog
I was thinking – after getting my Internet back, finally, after a royal fiasco on the part of Comcast and DigSafe, I decided that too much of this blog was getting clogged up with Tarot Challenge posts – which most of you probably don’t care about. So I decided, in my infinite wisdom, to create a separate blog to cover all of my esoteric interests – visit EsoTarot if you’re interested! The Tarot Challenge will continue there, as well as my soon-to-begin Astrology Challenge! I transferred most of my Tarot-related posts there, so you may see some repeats. This blog will now be reserved for everything else. Enjoy!
Guards! Guards!
My latest literary conquest was Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards! (I’m on Pratchett roll, here). I have to say (as with most of his books), that it was very well done. The Patrician – ruler of Ankh-Morpork – came across very favorably and (along with the Librarian) is now one of my favorite characters. This book (to me, at least) introduced me to the concept of L-Space (Libraries bend the laws of physics, you know), as well as provided me with many memorable quotes. The four characters of the Night’s Watch worked very well together; alcoholic-turned-hero(esque) Samuel Vimes, the cowardly, fat Sergeant Colon, the ugly, dimwitted Nobby, and the literal-minded man-raised-by-Dwarfs Carrot Ironfoundersson. I also now have an extreme love of Swamp Dragons. Next on my list: Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men. I’ve started it and have been pleasantly surprised so far!
Princess of Disks
Princess of Disks: The Strong, Pregnant Woman
The Princess (Page in the Rider-Waite tradition) of Disks is the card representing the personality that arises from the Earthy part of Earth. It symbolizes the kind of person who represents the Earth of Earth; the most stubborn, materialistic, practical person you’ve ever met. She also represents the end of the cycle, and the start of the new; while the Knight of Wands represents the person who goes out and creates things in the world, the Princess of Disks is the person who gives Birth to the Knight. She is the soon-to-be-mother; the pregnant woman. She represents the Potential of life, and Ultimate Womanhood. She is the force that stands behind the force of Creation, who Carries the Future with her. She is also Strong and Beautiful, in both human and Earthy terms, making her also Sublime. She is on the Brink of Transformation. She represents the ability of the Earth to give birth to new life (while the Queen of Disks represents the Earth’s ability to care for this life).
She is also extremely Stubborn and Thoughtful, able to survive by applying her Practicality, and doing anything to protect the future that she holds in her womb. She will not take needless risks, and can move mountains to get her way, and will not let anything stand between her and what she needs.
The Rider-Waite art shows a young man looking at a Pentacle in his hands, as if considering what he can do with it. Similar signs of potential and growth surround him in the green grass and trees in the distance, as well as sublime mountains in the background. The Thoth illustration shows a woman with horns (signifying fertility) looking down at her swollen stomach (indicating pregnancy), while cradling a flowering Disk with a Yin-Yang (symbol of balance and completion) in one hand. In her other is a spear, pointed at the ground, and it looks as if it has just been used. Power flows out from it, and she stands upon what is either a rock or a slain beast. She will use her spear to defend her unborn child, and will let nothing get in her way. Behind her, trees grow larger like the child in her womb does.
In a reading, this card asks you to examine the role that people with this personality play in your life. Do you know anyone who has lots of potential, and seems to hold the key to the future? Who is strong, beautiful, and doesn’t take any nonsense from others? Reversed, this personality’s energy is twisted or hidden somehow; their potential could be hidden somehow, or perhaps this potential is not a positive thing for the future.
Court Card Equivalencies
I was just reading Pyraeus‘ articles on Court Cards, and quickly noticed that the website equates Princes from the Thoth deck with Kings from the Rider-Waite. I was struck by this, as making that connection had never occurred to me, and as I thought about it, some of it made sense – and some of it did not. Certainly I had noticed that many of the Knight Cards across the two decks shared similar meanings – and even names – but I still felt like something was not quite right about the match-ups. After some pondering, I came to the conclusion that the two court card systems are really so completely different as to not really allow for good comparison. The Rider-Waite court cards – to me, at least – seemed to focus on the Wisdom of the Kings, the Competence of the Queens, the Activity of the Knights, and the Enthusiasm of the Pages. The Thoth system emphasizes the Kabbalistic and elemental system of the court cards, taking different aspects of each element to assign personalities to the cards. The Rider-Waite cards, then, to me always seemed to represents different aspects of their suit, but in a vastly different way when compared to the way the Thoth deck does it.
As such, for my Tarot Challenge, I will continue to do it as I have been (I only have one more Court Card left, anyway), but say now that the two systems really cannot be compared in any way.
Prince of Disks
Prince of Disks: The Ponderous, Unstoppable Problem-Solver
The Prince of Disks (Knight in the Rider-Waite tradition) is the card representing the personality that arises from the Airy part of Earth. He is the abstract and principled aspects of practicality and steadiness. As such, he is a little bit of a contradiction; he represents the two sides of the dichotomy of Air and Earth coming together in one being.
As such, the Prince of Disks excels in Practical Knowledge, and Lacks Emotions. He is prone to slow, Ponderous movement and is also Meditative. He has both the mental force of Swords and the physical force of Disks, and so quickly can become Unstoppable. He thinks things through before doing them, and so is Thoughtful, and also Ingenious, able to apply to apply his ideas to the real world and Solve Problems. He is Trustworthy, Solid, and Dependable. He is actually very Energetic, but only when he becomes driven to be so, a process which takes a long time; he is Slow to Anger, but when angry is Fierce. He is also Slow to Change is Mind and a Slow Learner, but he still does learn, and Grows slowly and steadily. He is a hard and Steady Worker, and a Competent Manager; he can apply his ideas to reality when he needs to, though he does not excel at it like the Princess of Swords does.
The Rider-Waite art shows a knight, halted and carefully inspecting a Pentacle held in his hand. This card mirrors closely the Thoth deck’s Knight of Wands, and indeed even shares the same name, and has many of the same meanings. His horse represents the idea of powerful movement, and his heavy armour some degree of caution. The Thoth illustration shows a naked man holding a disk riding s chariot pulled by a fearsome-looking oxen of some kind. The chariot (and the ox) looks very heavy, and its motion is the very definition of what this card stands for; slow to get going, but impossible to stop and very difficult to change direction once it gets going. He is surrounded by symbols of plants; emphasizing the diea of slow but steady growth, as well as stability and dependability (the stable build of the chariot also reinforces these ideals).
In a reading, this card asks you to examine the role that people with this personality play in your life. Do you know anyone who thinks slowly, but once set on a task will complete it at any cost, and woe to any that try to change his mind? Anyone who can solve any problem given enough time? Reversed, this card’s energies are hidden or blocked; perhaps they are not quite unstoppable, or they may put on a show of bravado about how they can do anything and no one can stop them, but back down at the first sign of strong opposition.
Z. M. Wilmot 