One of the most useful tools in the bag of an exorcist is a tailored tarot deck. An ordinary deck is too vague and will not have the contacts and contexts that you need to make a quick and accurate assessment of a situation and possible avenues for resolution.

When a situation presents itself to an exorcist, it can often be not what it seems, or can be magically shielded, in which case you need to get behind the shield and see exactly what is going on, why, by whom, and what help, if any, you can draw upon. You can use the deck to analyse outcomes to certain choices and the long-term consequences of certain actions. This is truly invaluable—being able to look at courses of action (what the short-term outcome is, and then what the long-term effect will also be) can potentially save a lot of suffering. Some short-term answers can have truly horrific longer-term consequences, so both paths must be carefully looked at.

When I use a deck, I look at the victim, his home, the being that is causing the trouble, where it came from, where does it need to go, and what will happen if I do not intervene? I will then look at the outcomes of a choice of certain actions so that I can decide which the best way to proceed is. I don’t rely completely on a deck, though. It is only one of a number of tools an exorcist can use and it is never a good idea to become too reliant on any one method of work.

The deck Pete and I have created comes from first-hand experience of having our backs up against the wall in dangerous situations, and realising what information we need and why. So the deck has no superfluous cards, no obscurities, no mystique, just a range of the beings you are likely to come into contact with, places, powers, catalysts, realms, and tools—all the things that are involved in the various fields of exorcism and nothing more.

The following chapter lists the cards and how to read them, their meanings/personalities, the realms, layouts, and tips for extracting information from the deck. It is up to you to get blank cards, make them, work with them, and get to know them.

When you create the cards, they do not need to be works of art, in fact, that can work against the deck—it is a tool, not a toy. A card should have only what it needs on it and no more. There is always the temptation to put fancy looking magical sigils, etc, on them when they are not needed (on some cards they are), and that will hamper the contact trying to come through. Making and using a deck like this is good training in how to simplify, focus, and undress true magic so that it becomes a working method instead of a fashion accessory.

Through working simply but powerfully with the deck, you will get to know about and then connect with the many beings that flow through this deck. They are not archetypes, they are real living beings that work with or against humanity in a variety of ways, and they are all beings that you will need to know how to interact with if you are going to stay safe in the role of an exorcist.

The Characters, who they are and what they do

Note: I call angels ‘he’ just because they often but not always appear as sort of feminine males, but that is probably my childhood programming—they do not have gender.

Keeper of the Abyss/Metatron: the keeper of the Abyss is your very best friend if you manage to bridge a working relationship with him. He is a massive being, beyond an archangel, and keeps order in the flow of life as it passes in and out of the physical world. He keeps the Abyss in balance and he is the filter through which a soul passes when flowing into manifestation. He is the manifestor of the thoughts of Divinity—through the keeper the thought becomes word, and the word becomes flesh.

The Keeper is the managing director of the boiler room, so you don’t run to him with every little problem, but he is one that you go to when things are beyond your comprehension and control.

The Keeper is also the one who gives you access to all the different levels of the Abyss: if he feels it is not right for you to go somewhere, then you are not going to get there, simple. But if you are carrying a being with the compassionate intention of putting it back where it belongs, then he will carry you to that threshold in the Abyss and make sure that you get out safely.

The Keeper is one of two major angelic beings that work directly with humanity. Power-wise, they are each equivalent to a hive of archangelic beings, just to put their size in perspective. But within their immense angelic power, they also have the breath of Divinity within them and are therefore of humanity also. This allows them to work with humanity without crisping people and gives them a human appearance so that they don’t give people heart attacks. This links to the legend of Metatron originating in the prophet Enoch, and the Sandalphon originating in the prophet Elijah.

The keeper does not appear to humans anywhere else but the Abyss—the Abyss is the material expression of Divinity and Metatron is right there, enabling that expression. This is why Metatron, in some rabbinic texts, is viewed as a lesser expression of YHWH.

In practical terms, he can take you anywhere in the Abyss from the highest points up to the threshold of Divinity, down to the depths of the Abyss where the most physical conditional expression of life exists. The Keeper will not take you above or below what you can cope with, but he will take you to the point of absolute stretch. His concern is not to kill you, but beyond that there is a lot of elbow room, so you can expect, in a heavy job, to have your ‘toes burned.’ You can come out of the Abyss with some serious injuries, so keep in mind that you are responsible for your own safety.

Sandalphon: the Sandalphon are cool dudes and they were saving my ass way before I knew who they were. The Sandalphon are beings that are the other side of The Keeper—the Sandalphon work in a similar way to the Keeper but they operate in the physical world. The difference between the two, from what I have experienced, is that the Sandalphon can go down the Abyss and to other places, but the Keeper doesn’t leave the Abyss.

The Sandalphon work with humanity in a protective way and they are particularly helpful to exorcists. They work within the desert, within death and down the Abyss to the realm of the demonic beings. They will give you ballast, they will create armour for you and will cover you with dust to make you look like a stone (which is very useful when surrounded by demons hungry for human energy). They will lend you strength, give you advice and they will also teach you about the mysteries of the Tree of Life. They are the corridor monitors of the Tree of Life and are therefore privy to all its ins and outs.

If you are working to remove a dangerous demonic being, then work with the Sandalphon in all aspects of the job. They do not go ‘up’ the Abyss to angelic realms, but seem to stay in the operational areas of the desert which are to do with humanity and the physical world. They also work in death and are one of the major angelic beings that work in that realm.

To work with the Sandalphon, go into the void and call upon them as you step out of the void back into the physical world. Another option is to go through the void into the desert of the Abyss and call upon them there.

Angel of Death and Destruction: the angel of death and destruction is an interesting huge hive being that does have names, but the use of those names limits his expression. This is due to generations of magical binding of this hive, and using that bound angel to destroy nations. This is one of the problems when dealing with angelic beings: when do you use their names (which is a key) and when do you not? I have figured out over the years that an angel that has the power or potential to do destructive things, or things that are linked to sovereignty, is best dealt with without the use of its name.

This is because such skills are coveted by humanity and therefore it is very likely that some group of humans at some time in the last 10,000 years has figured out how to bind that being and misuse it. Some groups will have used this being to attack and kill, some groups will have bound its action to stop epidemics or disasters, which are all part of the natural flow of life. Therefore most names connected with that order of being are corrupt and connect the exorcist to that bound angelic manifestation.

The angel of death and destruction is a being that sweeps the land clean when the population has gotten out of control, or the land is out of balance. It cuts away overgrowth, degeneration, contamination, and corruption. We fear this angel because we do not want to die. But without death, the world becomes ‘overgrown’ and is slowly choked to death. If this angel is working unbound, it will take only what is necessary and will destroy that which needs rebuilding. It is a difficult truth to swallow, but the difficulty comes from the lack of understanding of what we are, who we are, and what happens after death.

The world works in a harmonic balance but we have become far too disconnected to understand that as a species. People are scared, and they blame God for disasters. Planes fall out of skies for human reasons. People die from tidal waves because they build close to the sea and do not listen to the ocean. People die because they are mortal, not because any god in a white frock and Birkenstocks has forgotten them.

Anyway…practicalities….

He is sometimes summoned by sorcerers to attack someone and rain down disaster upon them. If this happens, it is because the sorcerer has tapped into the bound aspect of this being and is trying to use him to kill someone. When this happens, the key to success is for the person attacked and the exorcist to do everything that they can, but to leave what they cannot do to the hands of Judgement. It would also be wise to offer service to take off the binding from the angel—it puts you in their good books….

So if this card appears in a reading, chances are your victim is on the wrong side of some very nasty magic and you both may need to do some visionary unbinding and rebalancing to save lives. I have seen people killed with this stuff, so it is not to be taken lightly. Such binding is bloody dangerous, but it can be sidestepped if you use the laws of Divinity—you have to appeal to Divinity to put them in motion, it’s not an automatic action. Which leads nicely into the next angelic being to work with.

Keeper of the scales/angel of judgement: this angelic being fascinates me and has taught me a great deal about myself and how humanity operates. As far as I am aware (and that is not too far) there is not a named version of this angel in the listed Monotheistic hierarchy. The simple reason for this, in my opinion, is that this angelic being (which does exist and will work with you), throws one of the major foundations of Monotheistic dogma out of the window: there is no reward and punishment, there is only balance and learning.

The angel of judgement is called upon whether when you are giving your life over to Divinity for service, or you/the victim are in overwhelming danger from angelic beings that have been bound into action by magic or magical patterns in the form of curses. Basically this angel balances the odds when a non-human being interferes with human business. It stops all action, weighs the good and bad, and then instigates situations that will bring about rebalancing. So if a victim has been badly attacked or cursed repeatedly and is dying, if called, the angel will block all current attacks, weigh the scales of the victim (and the attacker) and bring about situations which will rebalance scales and teach lessons.

The angel of Judgement is a being that holds the scales upon the tip of its sword and brings the scales into balance. So if you call upon this being, it will weigh up all that you have done and learned, and it will highlight what still needs learning. If you have done bad things and not really learned why it is bad, the angel will put you in circumstances where you have the opportunity to learn the lesson in this lifetime—that often means you will be on the receiving end of the ‘bad’ thing until you learn to not do it to others.

Interestingly, the angel will also balance out too much ‘good.’ Energy must be kept balanced, if too much is outputted, then the angel will stop it. This can manifest by being blocked from doing things or if you are bright enough, by the angel teaching you when to not take action/output energy. This in turn teaches someone when to step back and allow others to ‘do’ for themselves, and also to step back and let the inner flow of energy find its way naturally (and more powerfully) rather than being forced (and limited by human ability).

If this angel appears in a reading, it will indicate either the need to invoke this angel (ask the keeper at the Abyss to take you to him) or the fact that there is a need for balance, or that a rebalancing process is happening. It depends on the card’s positioning in the layout.

If this card appears in a reading repeatedly, then the message is not getting through and the victim is suffering unnecessarily, or there is a major rebalancing coming and needs to be actively engaged. Inaction when this card appears in an active position is not a healthy option.

Barakiel: the Barakiel are an amazing and powerful angelic hive being that have a wide-ranging effect on humanity: they champion the innocent, are teachers of deep mysteries and bridge between the power of the stars and the earth. They have the ability to filter magic off of humans and will come to the aid of innocent victims.

They are a great source of learning if you are in the middle of a major demonic/bound angel job and have exhausted all avenues you can think of. The only problem with their information download methods is that it can be very intense and it would be wise to consider slowly building a working relationship with them so that when you need help, you have a framework ready for them to operate through. Get a method of communication going with them in ‘peacetime’—that way you both work out what the volume setting should be so that when crunch time comes, you don’t get fried.

They have a strong connection with the stars, with alignments and with lightning powers. They would be good to work with, for example, if a person’s destiny has been cursed or blocked by interfering magic that uses the victim’s astrological chart as a frame for the curse, i.e., a magician can use the details of an astrological chart and then bind that fate.

They work through electricity, lightning, the angelic sound of the stars, and the star power itself.

I have worked with them by asking them to intervene in a very serious curse situation where the victim was innocent. They offered protection through vision and by way of a lighting sigil to be used. If this being appears in a reading, it will most likely be a prompt to work with them. Methods of working with this being are in Chapter 3.

Ariel: I came across this being many years ago and did not understand for the longest time what it was. The first time I found the Abyss, I was prompted to cross the Abyss and I knew that if I didn’t, then my wish to be of magical and spiritual service would stop right there at that moment. I also knew that the crossing could go wrong and I could quite easily die as a result of the vision.

After a terrifying crossing (where I also first met Metatron/The Keeper) I found a lion lying injured on the other side. It had a massive thorn in its paw and I knew I had to take it out. I remembered reading about this sort of myth in my childhood, so I realised this was an important step I was taking.

After getting over my fear of a roaring lion with big teeth, I pulled out the thorn which released a heavy flow of pus and blood. The flow made me weep because he had suffered so much and my tears cleaned the wound. The lion then stood and said that he would carry me on his back.

This lion being that sits on the Divinity side of the Abyss is an angel that is also a deity. It appears as Sekhmet, Tefnut, Durga, plus many other deity beings that are a connection between lions, justice, demon slaying, and healing.

This being is Ariel. Ariel is an angelic being that will work with you to fight demons, and also to heal injury and illness that is a product of magic. Ariel demands great courage and strength from you before this being will work with you. As is the case with most angels, they will only assist you in things that are truly beyond you—they will not do anything that you could remotely do for yourself, as such an action would weaken you and withdraw learning from you.

If this being appears in your reading, depending upon the position in the layout, it could signal that there is a need for this being which, in turn, means that the situation has a load of demons involved and is very dangerous.

It could alternatively mean, depending on the reading, that the victim is in need of powerful healing at a soul level and this would be the best angel to work with in that situation.

Angel of Air: I work with this angel by calling it out of the void. I purposely avoid using a name for this being as so many versions of this angel have been bound into magical service, usually for no good. It is an angel of swords, words, recitation, binding, cursing, and blessing.

It is most often worked with by stepping into it so that you can see magical bindings upon a victim, or it can be worked with in the void to dismantle and cut away curses and magical binding. A fragment of this angel is sometimes bound to a person as part of a nasty curse (a kabbalistic favourite) and will often appear as ropes of sigils or text/words, or as a platonic solid.

If it appears in a reading, it is usually an indication that the form of magic used to curse or attack someone is a form of magic that is in the family of Judeo/Islamic/Christian traditions. If it is, then it can also be worked with a cure.

Angel of Fire: the angel of fire is unnamed for the same reason as the angel of air: those two angels are the most used when it comes to western magical attacks and curses and can be approached and worked with the same way—unnamed, identified by the element, and summoned through the void (which wipes out any cultural expression).

The angel of fire operates through the immune system in the form of fevers and infections and literally by fires. It carries the magic of the ‘fire temple’ which is an Atlantean and more recently Persian/Mithraic magical form. It is a dangerous angelic being when bound and ordered to attack someone. It will cause untold damage to a person’s immune system, often irreversible, and can also cause dangerous fires.

If it appears in a reading, then it is an indication that this being has been used in an attack and needs to be removed. This is best done by working in the void with this being to take off any fire magic bound to the victim.

Bound Angel: this card is an unnamed angelic representation that covers the appearance of a magically/ritually bound angel in a possession/attack situation or an aggressive guardian situation. If this card appears, the reader can deduce that a bound angel has been used in the situation and its bound function can be ascertained by using the minor cards to describe the outcome of its function. The choice to unbind the angel is with the exorcist, but it should only be unbound if it is directly attacking the victim, or if guided to so by other contacts.

If the bound angel is one that has been placed in the desert of the Abyss and has no direct influence over the victim, then it may well be best left well alone. The majority of bound angels that are stuck in the desert are there for good reason: they have been bound into inactivity, not bound to action and there is a major difference.

Unknown Angel: I have thrown this card in because there are bloody loads of angels and most of them do not need listing in this work. It comes in useful where there is an angel involved either to help or is in a hostile position and along with the minor action cards it can be identified by its effect upon the victim. You don’t always need to know the angel if it is being hostile or helpful, you just need to know what to do with it and that is where the layout comes in.

This section of the cards is all the various beings that an exorcist comes up against in one form or another. They don’t need quite as much explaining as the angelic lot do, just a basic background so that you know what you are looking at.

Greater demons: Big nasty demons, on a level power-wise with archangels which equates to danger potentially on a massive scale. They only come into our realm where there is serious stuff going down. They operate either through large structures, i.e., organisations or through individuals who can wield a great deal of power. In general though, they are very rare. If this appears in a reading, double check the reading and if it continues to show up, then the chances are the victim is deeper in the shit than anyone probably realised. Make sure you get proper backup and a good working plan of action before you take these dudes on.

There are times when these beings come into our world, usually at a time of major change, and they do have a role to play. If that is what is happening, just try to stay out of the way as these are not beings to tussle with in any form. If you are dragged into a situation with them and it is not a possession, do not get into a situation of wants and needs with them. Just do your part and get out.

Lesser demons: Still nasty but slightly less dangerous—again, not often seen in our realm, but they are becoming more frequent, which is a bit worrying. They are very powerful, tend to operate through a human, usually are very intelligent, and often have a reason other than feeding for wearing a meat suite (human). If this shows up, prepare to do a full exorcism with appropriate back up. If this card turns up in a helping position, well, it does happen and these beings can be helpful, just very conditional. You need to be very balanced and able to sidestep any mind games they might play.

Parasite: These guys are very common and come in all shapes, sizes, and power settings. In general they do not belong in our world or in us, so it is just a matter of finding them, identifying them, and getting them out. If it turns up in a reading, then the message is probably clear. If it is in the future, that means that whatever path the victim is on, they are going towards a period of imbalance that will attract parasites. That can be changed by identifying what is taking the victim there and changing it.

Scapegoat: This is a complicated category as it can be an angelic being, a demon, a parasite, a human—whatever, really. It is a being that has been bound by magic and is carrying the fate of someone else. If this appears in a reading, it probably means that the victim is being attacked by someone who has a great deal of knowledge and who probably cannot be traced energetically because the scapegoat will be on the end of all magical interactions—they get the shit from the attacking action rather than the magician.

If this comes up, find the scapegoat and disconnect it from the sorcerer/magician who is using it. Look for chaining, binding, etc. It might be a thought form in which case you will need to dismantle it. If you don’t know where it belongs, ask the Abyss keeper.

Faery being: Great fun, they are like working with manic-depressive pickpockets. They can cause all sorts of problems for us, but often they do not realise the effect of their actions. Tread carefully and compassionately with these beings that are wonderful expressions of nature. This card covers all types of faery beings as it is unnecessary to list individual types. They can all be treated the same way and bribery works wonders with them.

Elemental: This card represents beings that are made up of an individual element and are usually found in the path of an exorcist in the form of a guardian. They usually do not display intelligence as we understand it, but they are powerful. Once you have figured out which elemental type it is, then put it back into the appropriate inner form, i.e., a rock or fire, and send it home.

Shapeshifter: These are a tricky form of inner predator and can change form or host at the drop of a hat. They are not parasites per say but they often display parasitical tendencies. Once you have figured out what it is—i.e., looks like an angelic being but doesn’t feel like it—then just grab it and take it to the Abyss Keeper. If this appears in a reading, you will have to figure out its various presentations and act accordingly. Usually by its presentations you can figure out what it is after.

Ghost: This represents a being that was once human but has now become a composite, usually with a parasite. It does not usually represent just a dead person, but represents a haunting of a composite. It can occasionally simply represent a dead person and you will have to assess by its action which type of ghost it is (composite or not).

Human inner contact: This card shows up when a human inner contact (not living) has either gotten involved in a situation or is trying to make contact to teach/assist.

A god: This is a male deity that can take many forms. If it has appeared in someone’s situation you need to get into a dialogue to find out what he wants.

A Goddess: This is a female deity that can take many forms. If it has appeared in someone’s situation you need to get into a dialogue to find out what she wants.

This section of the cards expresses the variety of humans that can come into a reading regarding a situation that needs an exorcist.

Priest: A male human who is active, who is trained within a magical or spiritual tradition, and who is in a role of service. He usually represents someone who can help, but if he appears as a protagonist, then usually he has a good reason (in his eyes) for his actions. Either way, he needs to be dealt with in a non-hostile way.

Priestess: A female human who is active, who is trained within a magical or spiritual tradition, and who is in a role of service. She usually represents someone who can help, but if she appears as a protagonist, then usually she has a good reason (in her eyes) for her actions. Either way, she need to be dealt with in a non-hostile way.

Sorcerer: A male magician/ritualist who is actively working magic for selfish and often dangerous ends. If this appears, it usually represents the person who is attacking, or who has brought an unhealthy situation into being. He is often clever and dangerous, and should be treated with extreme caution. If he is knowledgeable, he will know if you have become involved in the situation as an exorcist and will try to stop you. He sometimes uses groups to operate through, and is often very difficult to isolate energetically.

Sorceress: A female magician/ritualist who is actively working magic for selfish and often dangerous ends. If this appears, it usually represents the person who is attacking, or who has brought an unhealthy situation into being. She is often clever and dangerous, and should be treated with extreme caution. If she is knowledgeable, she will know if you have become involved in the situation as an exorcist and will try to stop you. She sometimes use groups to operate through and is often very difficult to isolate energetically. Another word of caution is that if the sorceress is fertile, i.e., she is still ovulating, then she can be far more deadly than a sorcerer, as she can draw upon deep primal powers connected to menstrual blood. If this card appears, the victim may need protection by way of working with a female deity to counter/negate the feminine destructive power—like treats like.

Witch: In this deck, this represents a magical worker of either sex who uses nature beings, powers, and spirits to do magic for good or bad. They can operate on a ‘work for hire basis’ and often show up when tribal magic is being used. Tribal witches sometimes use scapegoats, so tread carefully and make sure you have a full understanding of what beings he or she is using and why. In a helpful situation, he or she will show as someone who has a deep understanding of nature magic and can be consulted as a resource or helper.

Exorcist: this represents a human who is nuts enough to take on magical service in the area of possessions, attacks, and hauntings. If this shows in a reading, then either it is showing the exorcist’s role in the problem, or it is advising that an exorcist should be consulted to solve the problem.

Teacher: the teacher is a human who holds knowledge about the situation and can offer learning, advice, and help that no one else has the ability to offer.

Family: this represents either the family as a unit, or an individual who is a member of the victim’s family. You would be surprised (or not, if you knew my family) how many family members are willing to instigate an attack on a fellow member. It can also represent a member of a magical lodge/temple.

Lover: the victim’s lover, past, present, or future—or someone who has a very close business partnership with the victim (where there is energy exchange).

Sleeper: a dead human who is sleeping in service to the tribe or land. These burials are pretty rare these days as so many of them have been dug up. If this shows, it can mean that a sleeper needs help, is emerging, or is in distress. It can also simply mean the sleeper is sleeping and needs sidestepping in the job. In such a case it will only show if you really need to know it is there so that you can avoid waking him or her up.

Human male: a man who falls outside all the other categories but is involved somehow in the situation. Further reading can usually identify who he is and what he wants. It can sometimes represent a sorcerer who has managed to shield his identity and thus projecting a blank id.

Human female: As above.

The Upper Abyss: this section of the Abyss is anywhere from the human level all the way up to Divinity without form. It usually represents angelic realms from individual angels up to the archangels, archons, and aeons. The other cards that fall with it will usually differentiate between the two; or alternatively if not sure, you can expand the readings to pinpoint exactly which part of the upper Abyss it represents.

The lower Abyss: this section of the Abyss is anywhere from the human level all the way down to Divinity in full physical form. It normally represents realms that include the ancestors, parasites, demons, and ancient deities. The other cards that fall with it will usually differentiate between the two, or alternatively if not sure, you can expand the readings to pinpoint exactly which part of the lower Abyss it represents. This card is basically a big arrow pointing down.

The Desert of the Abyss: this is the human realm of the Abyss and expresses the inner landscape of our lives and our world. It is a form of the tree of life and is often littered with bound angels, odd people, and ghosts. It is also our way to the Abyss, and falls in a reading when the help we need can be found in that realm.

The hall of elders: this is an inner realm where adepts, teachers, and magical workers who have pledged service to the world can be connected with. It is ‘up’ in the Abyss from our standpoint and is a place where we can go to learn, get advice, or a good telling off.

The desert of death: this is an area of the desert of the Abyss, usually as far away from the Abyss as you can get, which leads to the river of death. It is best approached by going into the underworld, and will show in a reading if the problem is stemming from an issue related to a dead person or an imminent death.

Void: the void from which all comes and to which all goes. It is a state of nothingness that is filled with potential. It is a good place to use as a threshold to other worlds as it prepares the spirit for the journey and is a place where things can be dropped or gained.

The underworld: the underworld is ‘down’ from our standpoint on the earth. It is where our ancestors lie, where the past landscape is, and is a ‘front door’ to many deeper inner places including demonic realms, death, ancient deities, and massive titans.

The faery realm: the faery realm sort of overlays our physical world and the inner landscape of our world. It can be accessed by our physical land (rocks, caves, trees, etc) and will show in readings if the veil between these worlds has been breached, or if a being needs to go back there. It can also come into a reading if the healing of the victim can be done in that realm.

The ancient landscape: this is a part of the underworld and is like the inner resonance of the land from a very long time ago— ancient spirits, creatures, and earlier forms of humanity can be reached in this realm. If a reading shows that a being needs to go back there, it means something has bridged time quite heavily, and that breach might need closing.

Inner temple: this shows the inner structure of a temple, the structure that was built before the outer structure was constructed. It can show the magical system of a place and indicate what is wrong with an outer temple.

Outer temple: the outer temple is literally just that, a temple, magical lodge, church, etc. This represents any physically constructed magical space.

Grove: this card represents a natural sacred place or power spot. It can also represent stone circles, barrows, vortexes, sacred caves, etc.

Burial ground: place where there are lots of dead bodies… clever, huh? Usually a sacred burial ground but can also be a body dump, burial mound, or single grave.

Home: the place where the victim usually resides.

Work: the place where the victim usually works. (Duh….)

These cards give the details or outer expressions of the inner powers—these cards depict how powers manifest in our world and our lives. They work with the four elements and each element has seven cards that progress the power of an element and how it can manifest in the situations an exorcist or victim might find themselves in. I have avoided numbering them just to annoy all the numerology freaks and to avoid unnecessary deep ponderings over the numbers, meanings, and hidden messages. They are what they are and no more.

The element of Fire

Sacred flame: the flame at the centre of all being, at the centre of life, and the flame within. The core threshold of Divinity within Humanity, it can be used to access anywhere, to tune sacred spaces, and to light the way forward in extreme spiritual darkness.

Threshold of fire: the threshold of fire is a wall of fire that is the presence of an angelic being which can be used to pass from one realm to another. In vision it literally appears or is visualised as a wall of fire with no other attributes. Even though it is an angel, the lack of any other attributes renders it safe for use as a threshold. This is one of the basic functions of an angel, to allow something to pass from one realm to another (hence divinity must pass through an angel to manifest).

Healing: the healing power that flows as heat—it can often represent the need for hands-on healing, or the healing action of a fever.

Agitation: this card often comes up when the power levels are starting to rack up. When fire power starts to build, it can create an intense agitation or irritation in the victim or exorcist and is a clue that fire power is being used. It is important to recognise where this agitation comes from and to bring it under control. If it is given free rein it can become very destructive—usually once someone knows where the agitation comes from and that it is coming from magic, then it is easier to disengage from it and just observe. This card can also represent the agitation that builds up within a magical worker just before a download of power or a job of immense power.

Argument: this can appear when there is fire magic or a being that has fire as its central energy expression and it is poking the victim, trying to instigate disharmony. A fiery argument is supper to a parasite, so another option can be that it is a reaction by a being that is within someone. If it feels threatened it will become aggressive, which will initially manifest as heated arguments, usually over nothing.

Fever: literally, a fever—when someone is possessed, or on the receiving end of magic that uses fire as its energy/construction, then most people will react by getting a fever. The body reacts to the attack as if it was bacteria or a virus and the immune system can go into overdrive. If there is a known attack and the victim manifests a fever without any other physical symptoms (i.e., cough, discharge, etc) then it is a pretty good indication of fire magic.

Danger: literally, danger—if this appears in a reading then the danger is imminent and needs identifying as quickly as possible. If it appears in the action/advice position of the layout, then it means that a chosen course of action is dangerous.

Fire attack: this card shows an all-out magical attack using fire as the main fuel. It is common with magicians working in Atlantean, Mithras, Egyptian, Persian, Azteca, and Polynesian magic. It will need fire to dismantle it, usually working with an angelic being of fire.

The element of Water

Pool: the pool or bowl of water is an access point into the inner worlds, usually the underworld or other parts of the human world. It can also be a tool to ‘soak’ up impurities in a room and can be consecrated as a tool. When this card shows in a reading, it could indicate an access point if it falls in a position, or it could mean that the exorcist needs to use consecrated water (and salt) to cleanse somewhere or someone.

Compassion: when this card appears in a reading, it would be advisable to step back and look at the overall situation and ensure that you are being truly balanced in your approach—to put something where it belongs or where it needs to be, without emotion entering into the decision—is true compassion. True compassion can also mean walking away from a situation if it means that your input as exorcist is going to undermine the victim’s gained knowledge from bitter experience. It is easy to make it all better—it is much harder to do the right thing, particularly if it will appear that you are heartless or uncaring. Being able to act under those conditions takes true compassion.

Replenishment: this card is a warning that the victim is in serious need of energetic replenishment. Sometimes magical attacks can drain the vital life force from a human, leaving their spirits to look grey, thin, and shrivelled. That is an extremely dangerous state for a spirit to be in as it weakens its connection to the physical body. It can also leave the body vulnerable to cancer (many cancer patients look like this when viewed from an inner point of view). The replenishment must be in the form of healing energy, nothing fancy, but the exorcist can put hands upon the victim and go into stillness. The exorcist calls upon whatever is necessary for the healing of the victim to come through.

Vision: this is a loud hint that the major part of the work must be undertaken in vision.

Emotional collapse: this will appear when the emotive spirit of the victim has been breached and has been destroyed or is being fed off. It is important to attend to the victim by working with him in vision and also energetically feeding him. It is often the darkness before the dawn and if the victim is going through this, he will need someone to keep vigil with him and help him in the short term. It would be a good idea to help him rebuild emotionally, by working with him in vision with deities or land beings to reestablish a sense of wholeness with the land, the powers, and himself. This can only be done once the problem that caused it has been removed (i.e., attack, possession, parasite, etc).

Sexual Union: this will come up in a reading if the sexual activities of the victim have been hacked by a parasite or a being trying to use the energy to manifest itself. It will indicate that sexual energy is its main food source and its probable port of entry.

Emotional attack: this form of magical attack is the favourite of magicians/witches that use earth/nature magic. It is usually used to destabilise a relationship, isolate a person, or get her to leave a certain emotive situation. If the emotions are being attacked, then usually the attacker is emotively connected to the victim so you should not have to look too far.

The element of Earth

Rock: the rock is a storage place, a resting place, and a place of transformation. Large chunks of rock are great at storing beings, particularly land beings that have become destructive. Rocks can hold people, dragons, demons, parasites, etc. The only problem with storing beings in rocks is that someone else can come along and let them out. Rocks are also good for putting strange energies into: they are then put out onto the land where they recycle the energy.

Nourishment: an appearance of this card indicates that the victim’s body has become depleted of physical nourishment and should be attended to immediately. It can also represent a gift of food (usually a power food like honey, wine, etc) to a being.

Payment: this card represents a payment given or needed in an interaction with a being. It will usually appear when there are faery beings involved or human inner contacts, which are the beings most likely to ask for payment.

Pattern: the use of a pattern in magic is very common and can be a great tool to use for either access to a realm or inner temple, or to give protection by acting as an interface for a being. Metatron’s cube is a very good example of this as it can be used for protection against demonic beings and bound angels. The cube is a complex expression of Divinity (the 13 spheres) and an initiate’s relationship with Divinity that develops as the human walks the pathways (lines) that connect the spheres.

There are many sigils and patterns that can have a powerful protective quality and it would serve an exorcist well to have a good grounding in pattern development. It is best to do it alone, freehand, and with inner guidance as opposed to reading some of the theoretical bullshit that is out there.

Construction: the construction of an inner structure can be done to contain something, hide someone, or to repair a damaged inner temple. If that card appears, then it is time to roll the sleeves up and get to it.

Obstruction/overgrowth: depending on what context this appears in, it can mean that a positive destroying power has been bound or suppressed, hence the overgrowth, or it can mean that a similar process is happening in the human body of the victim. If this is the case then the inner cause needs to be found and dealt with quickly as it can possibly lead to cancer (worst scenario…which I am adept at) or getting very fat. This happens to a lot of adepts who learn to override a natural protective shutdown that blocks people out of the inner worlds who do unhealthy or very stupid things. It is also known as humanity’s magical ‘self cull’ mechanism. This is usually stemming from either ‘abundance’ magic or just plain greed for substance or energy/power. It can also happen when the inner body is being repeatedly depleted by attacks/curses/heavy inner burdens and the endocrine system tried to replenish the body by getting energy from food (which is a very poor source of inner energy). In my opinion, this is what happened to Dion Fortune—her work of inner service was such a major burden that her body began to buckle under the weight quite early on. Because it was not attended to, it fatally weakened her.

Greed: this can refer to a human, an inner being, or the energy needs of an inner construct. Either way it will indicate selfish imbalanced energetic wants rather than needs, and action must be taken energetically to cut the umbilical cord that is feeding such greed. If the greed is in the victim, then chances are no matter how hard you work, they will probably get themselves right back in the same situation pretty soon by not being able to control or find balance between want and actual need.

The element of Air

Breath/word: air is the power of the first utterance and when it appears in a reading, it can indicate that going back to the very primal expression of Divinity through breath/sound will form a foundation for the resolution of the problem at hand.

Recitation: a lot of magical binding and cursing is done through recitation, and if this card appears, it would indicate a probable structure of the attack. In a possession, it can indicate that the use of recitation will unseat the unwanted guest, or clear a space.

Learning: sometimes we need the inner hint to get us off our asses and this card is one of those hints. It is saying, ‘this is a learning process, either simply from experience or by nature of the studying you will have to undergo to complete the job successfully.’ If this does appear, it means that the knowledge needed for the job is within your reach, you just need to figure out what it is, where it is, and then write it down so that you don’t forget it!! See, speaking from experience, drawing a blank in front of a tooth-gnashing demon is not a good idea—they tend not to be accommodating if you ask them to pause for a moment while you go check something.

Fight: this means you are going to get your hands dirty or that you are stepping into the middle of an unseen battle. This can either mean hidden agendas/details that the victim didn’t tell you about, or it can also mean that there are much bigger forces that are playing out through the victim/s and the picture could be much bigger than you realised.

Pinning: this one is simple. If it appears, it means that someone or something is pinned, or needs pinning. It can be read in context of the layout and other cards but usually it is pretty straightforward.

Revenge: now there is a deeply spiritual concept. The revenge card makes an appearance when some human somewhere wants their pound of flesh and they will do anything to get it. When you see this, you know that somewhere there is someone with a major axe to grind and could possibly be willing to do anything to get her revenge. The problem with this is that if someone is magically developed enough to create magical havoc, then she is probably intelligent, which means that they are not attacking out of stupidity—she is probably becoming or is mentally ill. This can very dangerous and you need to make sure that you have all your bases covered.

Ritual attack: pretty basic and straight forward. If this card appears, then the problem stems from a ritual attack of some sort, and you will need to track back and find out what was done, why, when, and to whom.

Situational cards

This small section deals with the basic situations and do not really need much, if any, explanation. They just make the readings easier and more straight forward. This can be really helpful when you are trying to isolate a situation and get quick information out of a reading, and there is a bound angel that has been programmed to rip your soul out (yummy). Make a simple card for each title.

Possession, Haunting, Curse and Communication

Communication is probably the only title that needs any explanation. Sometimes what can appear as a haunting or attempted possession is actually an inner contact, angel, or ancestor trying to communicate something to the victim. If this card appears, then step back and take a second look at what is happening, and see if it could possibly just be a bodged communication attempt.

I have had this experience, many years ago, when an inner contact tried to speak to me and I thought it was trying to take me into death (I was a youngster and not ready for such fun). In the end the contact found someone else who could listen and relay the information to me. Needless to say I felt like an idiot.

Layouts

The information that you need in such circumstances needs to be straightforward and to the point. In the middle of a serious attack or possession emergency, you do not have time to ponder deep philosophical hints—you need to know what, when, how, and why.

The layouts reflect this need for simplicity, and if you are used to using tarot in a more abstract way, it may take some adjusting to. Saying that, the skills acquired over years of deeper tarot readings can really come in useful for more obscure answers which can sometimes come up. This happens when the situation is not quite as straightforward as it seems and certain magical situations can be very complex indeed. One has to take into account the spiritual journey of the victim and be acutely aware that the situation he faces can be part of that path; you need to be able to help without short circuiting his magical/spiritual development.

This is another reason why the role of an exorcist does not usually come into someone’s life until she is older—she needs a series of magical/spiritual crises and revelations before she can intervene in the life situation of another person. I always wanted to be an exorcist when I was a young-un, and I did work in that role in a number of ways: I thought I knew it all and I was very evangelistic about what I knew. Now I don’t have a bloody clue, but I can still manage to be evangelistic about it if I try really hard….

The first layout that is used is a simple diagnostic and can give quite a lot of information about the situation. It goes as follows:

4	5	6
3	1/2	10
9	8	7

1–This is the victim and will often show how his body is reacting.

2–This crosses the victim and represents the being. It will show you what type of being it is.

3–What happened in the past that brought about the situation.

4–Where has the being come from, what realm, what race of being.

5–The greatest thing the victim has to overcome. Can often show the body’s immune or emotional struggle.

6–Beings that will help.

7–Warnings, what to be mindful of, or not to trust.

8–Things that are hidden from the situation, usually purposely by the attacker, sometimes hidden by circumstance.

9–Advice—a hint on where to put your attention or work method suggestion.

10–The future.

One of the ways to work with the deck and layout is to first look at the situation and write down the reading. Then from the information you have, choose some options for courses of action and read to see what the outcome would be if you took that course of action. Then choose the one with the best outcome. Sounds straightforward? Ha! If only life were that simple.

Once you have narrowed down a couple of options, then it would be a good idea to either use this deck or an ordinary deck and look at the long term outcome of the action for the victim. The reason to do this is sometimes an action can seem straight forward, but it can have negative affects longer down the line, so it is important to track the affects of your actions over a few years, just to be sure. I use a tree of life layout among others, but anything that you are used to will work.

The other thing that you need to check before you swoop into action is how the action is going to affect the health of the victim. I also check this in the first round of investigations using a health layout (see appendix).

Look at the health of the victim while she is under attack, and it will give you warning areas to watch out for or hidden health needs that you need to keep an eye on while you work. Then you can track the body reactions to certain courses of action by looking with the health layout to see what the health reaction will be, which will also be a deciding factor in choosing what method of work to use.

Once you have narrowed down how you are going to approach the work, you can track the progress through readings. Be aware, though, that certain orders of beings can interfere with readings and if they don’t look or feel right, it may be that they are being messed with. A way around this is to simply ask to be shown the real truth as you are shuffling and asking a question—it can be that simple and straightforward.

It is always best, though, not to do the readings near or even in the same building as the victim. Do it in your work area and be aware that the reading can pull a contact with the being into your space—any sort of divination when a hostile being is involved carries risks. Make sure you seal your space before the readings, cover the surface you are reading on with a ritually marked cloth and cleanse your space, your deck, and your hands after finishing the readings. I put my deck in a bowl of dry salt and wash my hands with salt, soap, and water after the readings. I also smudge them regularly with various disgusting smelling incense mixes that are guaranteed to send everything out of the area, including all humans!

When you are not using the deck, it should be placed where it cannot be casually handled or messed with. It can potentially link to any hostile being you are working with and any sensitive person or child can become entangled just by handling such a deck. The decks themselves also have a very short shelf life, hence the lack or artistic input into them. They are simple working tools and they can get burned out very quickly so you might want to make a couple of decks at a time and burn a working deck after it has been used for a few months. You will feel when it is time to destroy them—they will be sticky, dirty to touch, and will give you a headache every time you go near them. Make sure you burn them so that no unsuspecting person can come along and find them.

The more you work with the deck, the more they will personalise to you, and you may feel the need to add other cards/beings/actions. This is good and means that you are developing your own working style. Use the deck as a starting point and let it grow with you. The more situations you use the deck for, the more chances there are for it to expose any inadequacies the deck may have and the beings that do connect through the deck can guide you to other beings that may be willing to work closely with you.

Eventually you will have a full deck that is specific to you and your working methods and that will include every being that you have encountered. It can take years to develop such a deck and it does become an invaluable tool for your work.