A long time ago

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Aug 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Talisman	17 Aug 2001
Once upon a time, there was a thread on these posts abouts the "Dark Materials" trilogy by Philip Pulman. To sum up, here are some brief quotes to bring it back: "She said that all the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity. . . .the followers of wisdom have always tried to open minds; the Authority and his churches have always tried to keep them closed. . . .And most of the time, wisdom has had to work in secret, whispering her words, moving like a spy through the humble places of the world while the courts and palaces are occupied by her enemies . . ." Anyway, the posters compared the trilogy to the tarot. The trilogy, written for children, is "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife," and "The Amber Spyglass." The three novels are grand reading. Sorry. Just trying to fill in a bit of what was apparently lost. Talisman

truthsayer	18 Aug 2001
talisman, we must be on the same wave length! i've been thinking about reviving the HDM's thread myself. i'm reading "the amber spyglass" now. as far as i'm concerned the jury is still out on who'd i'd elect for any card. however, i am pretty certain at this point that lord asriel must be satan and lyra is the fool. there are no stereotypal characters. there is no clear good vs. evil. i'm half-way thru the 3rd book and even tho the writing, characters and storyline is inviting, the only characters i know i root for are lyra and will. many of the adults in the novels have serious character problems and need to be in psychotherapy. as far as an award for the couple w/ the worst parenting skills i've ever read in scifi, it would definitely go to asriel and mrs. coulter. someone really should have turned them both in to children's protective services ages ago. ye gads!!!!!!! i'm glad i never run into anyone like them when i was working as a counselor. <<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>

purplelady	20 Aug 2001
talisman,I'm glad you found your way back to these forums! I had been wondering where you've been ;-) .

Talisman	20 Aug 2001
'Lo all, truth, hi! purplelady, thanks -- in light. I've just finished reading the trilogy, so I'll add this note. A character in the books, a pre-teen girl named Lila, has a contraption called an "alethiometer", with dials you can spin and symbols around the border. She would go into a sort of trance and spin the dials, noting the symbols they stopped at and the order in which they stopped, and then create amazing readings from this. Others, in the course of the trilogy, attempted the same thing, but they lacked Lila's intuition, and had to refer to libraries of books to interpret the symbols, with uncertain results after huge expenditures of time. I never gave a ton of thought to who would be who in a tarot deck, but, reading, I always thought of the alethiometer as a tarot deck. Talisman If you stick a fork into the back of your computer and jiggle it around it still doesn't seem to improve things. Wrong fork?

arizonagirl	20 Aug 2001
Talisman - are you REALLY 77? :o

Kiama	21 Aug 2001
Arizonagirl: I second that, but much louder, and in a higher pitch! Crikey, Talisman! You were 60 when I was born! Wow! I wish my grandparents (Bout same age as you) were as cool.... But the thing I find most amazing is that no matter the age difference, two people can like the same things (Tarot, writing...etc.) It's things like the Tarot that draw so many diverse age ranges and belief systems together within people.... Kiama *Still in shock*

arizonagirl	21 Aug 2001
Is the reason he's not replying because he's being coy? Shy maybe? He's probably 22.

Talisman	23 Aug 2001
'Lo all, When you asked if I was really 77, I couldn't figure out what it meant. Some kinda code that went over my head? Of course, my age! Don't know why I typed that, or why I typed my name without the initial cap letter, so now I have to log in twice, 'cause the first time's always wrong. No, I am 60. As in years old. Ancient. Since I had started getting senile about the time I entered the first grade -- I'd already forgotten how to wave bye-bye -- I'm in a heck'of'a shape now. Talisman A person is only as old as they are chronologically. Anyway, I'm old at heart.

arizonagirl	23 Aug 2001
'old at heart' - I like that. Implies all kinds of things your heart has experienced. Let's see. . . To be young in spirit and old at heart. Good motto. PS I'm 54.

Talisman	23 Aug 2001
arizonagirl, Alas, I am not only old in heart, today I am old in spirit too. But, I am really not 22. Here's a clue. If you are a tolepainter, I'll betcha you have at least one of my sister's books in your painting library. She's famous, teaches all over the world, and paints a mean teddy bear. And Merry Christmas! stuff. Keep it a secret. Talisman

arizonagirl	24 Aug 2001
Talisman - the name Debbie Mitchell always comes to mind when bears are mentioned.

purplelady	24 Aug 2001
My interest in these books has been sparked (not that I have time to try and read More books!)but when I went to the library and typed in Philip Pulman ,nothing came up , at 2 libraries! Possibly I spelled the name wrong at the time...........but I found nothing in the fiction and sci-fi sections either ?

arizonagirl	24 Aug 2001
PurpleLady - there are 2 L's in Pullman. Look in the Young Adult section.

mazzy	14 Aug 2003
Sorry, bringing up this thread that no one has been to it in ages, but it's the only one I really found in a search for 'Pullman'. I thought you might be interested to know I'm making a 'His Dark Materials' tarot deck http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16621

The A long time ago thread was originally posted on 17 Aug 2001 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.