Dear Reader,

It has been clearly shown that the fabric of society is woven a bit thinner than we presumed. The truth is, the texture hasn’t been truly tested yet. While it may seem easy to allow despair into your life based on the unraveling of a societal safety net, it is important, now more than ever, to identify the driving-force inside of you and activate it to accomplish the change you seek. For this, I have a ritual. 

Tomorrow, I’ll be centering myself around what I seek to change within the next month. I will break it down into small steps, and plot it out on a calendar. I find that by visualizing these events, and placing them on a timeline, I begin to set my intentions and implement the framework to achieve these goals. I ask you to do the same for yourself. 

It is important to know that this incentivizes you to think of positive change. Meaning, nothing can ever be accomplished if you only think of what you don’t like, accomplishments are only made when you think of what you want. The guiding light of your subconscious can be more easily carried out when it has a destination. A destination being something that you can do. If you seek nothing, you also find nothing. Keep in mind the old adage from Nietzsche: “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” If we are to achieve a beautiful world, we must first imagine what this beautiful world looks like. If we dwell on a world filled with monsters, we may generate one filled with the monsters of ourselves. Focus on the positives and you’ll be surprised by how you are moved to achieve them. 

You have your intentions set, now it is time for some reflection, which strengthens these intentions and often provides the psychological toolset and vigor needed to achieve them. I recommend any sort of meditative ritual executed by yourself and yourself only. My go to is the I Ching, however you may also read tarot to yourself, practice breathwork or other physical meditations, work with a pendulum, the choice is yours. No matter what you choose, you are attempting to free yourself of your own individual perspective, and gain the perspective of something else, often times the inner self, allowing further connection with your desires and the methods by which to accomplish them. 

This is my ritual for you. Know that if you do this, I will be joining you as well, in positive intent and action. 

— J.R.

While I lived in NYC I encountered a modern day wizard. What does this mean? Well, from Devin’s website:

Wizards are helpful guides who bring magic, mystery, wisdom, and hope to the societies in which they serve. As a modern wizard, my life’s work is to help you—yes, specifically you!—create a slightly better reality.

Pretty interesting stuff. We jammed a number of times in the city, working on sleight-of-hand techniques and other elements that accompanies being a 21st century wizard. After following his work for years now, I can tell he is the real deal.

One thing I’ve been particularly fond of is his recent publication: Mystic Tokes. In this mini book, he offers guidance on ritualizing cannabis consumption for reaping some of the benefits of being in that altered state. While directly referencing cannabis, his concepts can apply many other places.

I highly recommend it, it was quite a fun read and I think some of the readers here would definitely get a kick out of it as well.

Four Suits doesn’t have an official scoring or anything, but if I were to score this, I’d give it 3 wizard hats.

— J.R.