Читать книгу Tarot and the Medici Patience. Grimoire - Petr Krylov - Страница 1

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But what, pray tell, is Stalking?

Life is a cascade of millions of choices and thousands of roads paved with experience.

Yet it’s also riddled with mountain ranges of rules and limitations. Rules and Laws weave the labyrinthine closed circle of life, from which it is nearly impossible to break free into the World of your dreams.

Millions of bipedal predators are ready to tear to shreds the life of any novice who dares to step into this World. And they chase him in circles through the panopticon of their own making, like a squirrel on a wheel, for his entire Life.2

The author admits there is a kernel of sense in the antisocial view held by the 'Thieves in Law,' who regard society as nothing more than a pen for sheep. Yet he denies that their Path is the only true and righteous one.

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Rice Who gazes at whom—is it the years that look into a person, or the person who gazes into the years?³

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Since time immemorial in the mountain regions, the silvered hair and wisdom of the elders were more prized than gold.

They knew the scarcely trodden paths and secret passes over the mountain ridges. Inaccessible and lethally inhospitable to all living things almost year-round, as sharp as the razor's edge of hatred, with bottomless chasms and gorges.

The experience and skill of the elders, their knowledge of the land in hard times—when disaster or foe descended upon peaceful folk—were the very guarantors of their people's survival.

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Rice The old Tree beneath the sky—still creaking, still creaking.⁴

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And they were reverently called 'aksakals.'

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Rice. Do you see the stalker? No?! Yet he is there! … and he is always there (author’s note).⁵6

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In those forested realms where, more often than not, the sun’s rays never reached the earth. Instead, they merely ricocheted from the myriad living souls stretching toward them.

The Chaos of life’s exuberance is apt to bewilder any uninitiated soul in its thickets. Drawing the traveler down into its depths, with little hope of return, until he is utterly exhausted.

Yet even there, there have always been those who, guided by signs visible only to them, confidently discover The Path amid life’s tangled confusion.

Fearlessly they would plunge into the heart of the taiga or jungle, as if into their own pockets. And back they would come to their loved ones, and those waiting for them—with spoils in hand.

They were known, with pride, as Hunters. With a capital ‘H’.

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Rice Now we’ll really gorge ourselves on fresh meat! Isn’t that right, master?⁷

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Rice Did anyone put in an order for a well-roasted traveler? For a false Order, the forfeit is a three-day mirage—complete with a traveler!⁸

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In the blazing shimmer of the desert, like a mirage, appears the silhouette of a figure striding along as though wound up.

And after a while, just long enough for the mind to barely register it as real, there stands beside you a traveler from the other side—radiating heat.

In the place he came from, even the lizards—if they hadn’t met their own untimely ends within two or three years—would die of astonishment just trying to calculate the odds of it all.

How did he survive, out there where, for hundreds of versts, there’s neither water nor shade?

How did he keep from losing his mind to the whisper of infinity brushing against eternity? Where did he come from and where is he headed—what is he searching for?

Whom has he saved, whom will he yet save—and whom might he punish?

They spoke of him, half in reverence and half in the frightened bewilderment of those who cannot understand, and later told their children his tale as legend—the Ranger.

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Rice Harken to the whisper of endless Eternity.⁹

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Rice It is not always possible to find The Path at once.¹⁰

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And behold—a bolt of lightning descends from the heavens, darting down in fits and starts of 100 or 150 meters each time, branching like The Tree of possible destinies.

Out of billions of possible descents, it finds the most faithful and the easiest. The ones that demand the least expenditure of energy, while offering the greatest number of ways forward.

And should anyone doubt that the lightning’s path was indeed optimal—let them stand beneath its stroke. And in the final instant of his life, he will feel that the lightning's power was not spent in vain along its journey. From its very inception to its very Death. Its force was preserved, and oftentimes even grew.

The lightning conducted its surplus of power from the heavens into the earth, and balance, once more, was restored.

All of this reveals that Stalking is by no means the exclusive domain of stalkers, but rather the most ancient art of survival and orientation—the understanding of The World, one's place within it, and the restoration of balance to The World.

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Rice Choice determines result.¹¹

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Rice Do you possess a talent for mutually beneficial cooperation? And what if I find one?¹²

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A Stalker is both the lightning of choice, the hunter of intent, the ranger of Spirit, and the elder of experience.

It is the universe itself attempting to gaze into the eyes of the universe and see therein its own reflection and understanding of itself.

If we were to briefly sketch the distinctive features of Stalking, the following points come to mind:

1. Stalking is a Magic whose history numbers in the thousands of years (over fifty, if you believe the legends), and stands among the oldest of techniques.

2. Unlike many celebrated varieties of Magic—such as hypnosis, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and so forth—Stalking is less an active, outward practice and more a passively inward technique.

The sense of Stalking often resides in an inner attunement with the World, or with certain of its elements.

This may occur on various levels of consciousness—from the physical to the causal—by all manner of means and methods.

With techniques drawn from the most diverse Schools and Paths.

3. Stalking is wondrously multifaceted and, in essence, comprises nothing less than the very foundations of Magic itself.

That is why it has never been especially advertised on its own as Science and Practice.

For, in the author’s deepest conviction, there exists no magic save for Stalking, in its myriad kinds and forms.

All modern varieties of magic known today are nothing more than assorted Schools that have merely slapped their own labels onto Stalking.

4. Stalking is, above all, the art of understanding the world, discerning its purposes and pursuits—and the talent for establishing a long and fruitful dialogue with the world.

As a unified part of him, one that directly enters him and consciously and willingly fulfills his goals and purposes.

Likewise, a cell in the body learns the art of establishing a dialogue with the entire organism. And that cell which has mastered this art becomes the nerve cell of The World—a Stalker.

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Rice Knowledge offers the chance for Understanding. Understanding grants the Power to rise above Ignorance.¹³

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ATTENTION!

This book is written as a self-instruction manual in Stalking.

Specifically, it delves into the programming of events using the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

To absorb and master the material—down to the very marrow of your spinal cord—it’s essential to complete the ‘homework’ after reading each chapter.

For greater effect, it is advised to record all your answers in a learning journal.

To transmute mere quantity of understanding into true quality, it is wise to periodically reread your own notes.

You are also encouraged to write your answers with generous margins, leaving ample room for future commentary.

It is also recommended to apply information structuring techniques in your answer journal. Such as: colored pens, bookmarks, stickers, and the like…

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ATTENTION!

Written answers to questions are approximately three times more effective than answers given only in thought.

Composing written answers in a single journal is about three times more effective than scattering them in various places.

Rereading your answer journal increases your understanding by about three times.

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It’s up to you to decide exactly how to do your homework…

…just as before.

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