Conor McGregor, the famous Irish MMA fighter, made headlines recently for an incident involving a mascot. While attending a ceremony in Russia, McGregor was invited to take part in a ceremonial puck drop before a hockey game. However, things took an unexpected turn when McGregor decided to show off his skill and strength by overpowering the mascot. The incident, which was caught on camera and quickly went viral, showed McGregor playfully engaging with the mascot at first. But as the camera continued to roll, it became apparent that McGregor was not content with merely participating in the ceremony. He began to physically dominate the mascot, performing various wrestling moves and even lifting the mascot off the ground.
It is not possible to know for certain that we are dealing with the ‘original’ colour scales of the HOGD because part of the training in the Order was to create one’s own deck, based on a template but using colours individually intuited. The creators of the Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn had to choose the scales they believe to be the most authentic, but you will find considerable variation in other Golden Dawn (and Golden Dawn-based) decks. For example, the Tabula Mundi Tarot uses a very different set of colour scales.
It was a powerhouse of an organisation and when it was dissolved it seeded the world with the brightest minds in occult studies, who went on to write the books and create the decks that form the core of esoteric practice today. With just one book, you will embark on an enlightening journey that will deepen your understanding of the cards, and enhance your connection to their powerful symbolism.
He began to physically dominate the mascot, performing various wrestling moves and even lifting the mascot off the ground. The whole ordeal seemed to be in good fun, with both McGregor and the mascot maintaining smiles throughout the encounter. However, some critics argue that McGregor's actions were unnecessary and potentially disrespectful to the mascot.
Review: The Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn Deck: 78 Cards for Divination, Meditation and High Magic
You are probably familiar with the most famous members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (HOGD): AE Waite, Pamela Colman Smith, and Aleister Crowley. You might also be familiar with literary members WB Yeats and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and those who went on to make their reputation in the world of esoteric Qabalah, such as Israel Regardie, Paul Foster Case, and Dion Fortune. It was a powerhouse of an organisation and when it was dissolved it seeded the world with the brightest minds in occult studies, who went on to write the books and create the decks that form the core of esoteric practice today. There are also less well-known members of the HOGD, such as one of the founders, William Wynn Wescott, whose work also forms the basis for a deck. The Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn follows his version to create a deck that returns to ‘classic Golden Dawn imagery’.
One of the first things you notice when you pick up The Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn is the colours and the patterns of colours that are used to illustrate the cards. The colours are striking, but not always what you might call appealing, and the same goes for colour combinations. There is also an unusual variation within suits. For example, in the suit of Wands, the Ace has a vibrant green background, but the 2, 3, and 4 have a deep red background, the 5, 6, 7 have yellow, and the 8, 9, and 10 have navy blue. The reason for this is that the Tarot of the Golden Dawn assigned a suite of colours for each card depending on which of the Qabalistic Four Worlds it belongs to, rather than designing the cards for visual appeal. Coloring the Classic Golden Dawn Tarot by Richard Dudschus and David Sledzinski offers a more detailed explanation of the Qabalistic basis for the system but if we want to keep it simple, we can say that the Four Worlds correspond to the Elements: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. These of course correspond to Tarot suits: Fire is Wands, Water is Cups, Air is Swords, and Earth is Pentacles or Disks.
Each scale is then named after the corresponding court card (this also relates to Qabalah and the Tree of Life). In the Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn, the court cards are, in descending order: Knight, Queen, King, and Princess (see HOGD’s Book T). So we have the Knight Scale being the first World (Fire), the Queen Scale being the second (Water), the King being the third (Air), and the Princess being the fourth (Earth). The Knight Scale gives us the ‘natural essence of colour’, the Queen Scale gives us ‘the colours we perceive from reflected light and are taken from nature’, the King Scale is a blend of the Knight and Queen scales, and the Princess Scale is a variety of combinations and shades of the colours that have come before.
It is not possible to know for certain that we are dealing with the ‘original’ colour scales of the HOGD because part of the training in the Order was to create one’s own deck, based on a template but using colours individually intuited. The creators of the Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn had to choose the scales they believe to be the most authentic, but you will find considerable variation in other Golden Dawn (and Golden Dawn-based) decks. For example, the Tabula Mundi Tarot uses a very different set of colour scales.
The colours are there to help your intuition access the higher meaning of the card, through meditation and contemplation, and to help with your magickal practice. I am not a ceremonial magician, so I won’t speak to that aspect of the deck, but it is clearly something the authors intended. This is probably explained in the book intended to accompany the deck, also called The Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn. And I suspect that it is here that a reader new to the Golden Dawn system might find more detailed background and explanation.
The deck itself comes with a stapled eight-page booklet which packs in quite a lot of information for its size. It gives very brief meanings of the cards, but more importantly it gives a very interesting set of suggestions for how to read the cards in a spread. For example, it tells us that if we draw three 10s it suggests ‘buying, selling, commercial transactions’. If we draw four 10s it means ‘anxiety and responsibility’. This reminds me very much of the Marseille style of reading.
There is also a page that explains whether a card is ‘strong’ or ‘weak’, according to the cards that appear on either side of it in a reading. This is determined by the Worlds, i.e. the element or suit, and whether or not they work well together. For example, a Wands card with Cups on either side would be in a debilitating position because Fire and Water do not work well together. The two adjacent cards can also be supportive, e.g. a Wands card with two Swords on either side, because Fire and Air work well together. But all is not lost if our Wands card has a Cup on one side and a Sword on the other – the Cup and Sword (Water and Air) are ‘contrary’, and cancel each other out, leaving our Wand in peace to do its job. The booklet also gives the Celtic Cross spread as ‘the most suitable for rapidly obtaining an answer to a definite question’. The Celtic Cross is considered by many to be a little too complicated for a daily reading, but I appreciated this reminder of the depth and insight it offers.
The classification of court cards is what I consider to be ‘the old-fashioned way’. Here Wands represent people with fair hair, Cups with light brown hair, etc, and each one signifies a specific age range. I personally find this system to be too prescriptive to be helpful. If I were to use this system in a reading for a woman asking about her work situation and I draw the Knight of Wands, the card has to be someone other than her because the card is male; it has to be a man under the age of forty who is very fair with blue eyes. It is much more flexible and, I would argue, realistic, to see the youthful and energetic approach of a Knight in my querent, or in a relevant colleague.
More problematic is adopting this Eurocentric system wholesale and without qualification. The descriptions remind me very much of the booklet in my first RWS, where the assumption is that everyone is white except for the sallow or ’swarthy’ Disks – I’m not sure that I would use that term today. The issue of historical accuracy will always arise when we are reviving decks from a hundred years ago, but we have to be critical about accepting everything unchallenged. If a historical text is to succeed and be useful today, it has to be open to adaptation.
The cards give us a lot of information to work with. On the Minor Arcana, we are given the astrological correspondences. Each court card gives us the element associated with it, plus the element associated with its suit. For example, the Queen of Disks is Water (all Queens) of Earth (all Disks) and the symbols for these two elements appear at the top of the card. The Majors are numbered in the usual way and show the Hebrew letter assigned to each card and its ruling planet or zodiac sign. One difference I notice from another Golden Dawn deck that I have, and also from the Thoth Tarot, is that The Fool, The Hanged Man, and Judgement are assigned planets instead of elements. And they are assigned modern planets, i.e. the authors of the deck have not stuck to the traditional Chaldean system that works with the Sun, Moon, and planets from Mercury to Saturn. Here, The Fool is assigned to Uranus, The Hanged Man to Neptune, and Judgement to Pluto. These associations work well on their own, but personally I feel that they don’t relate as well to the Hebrew letters as the elements do.
The deck is a good weight and easy to shuffle. The cards measure 10.4 x 8cm, and they come in a tuck box. The authors must be pleased with the colours – they are so vibrant that they are in some cases almost tactile. I’ve used the deck a few times and found it to be excellent to read with. For this review, I asked “What issues do you want to help us with?” It gave us The Chariot, the Seven of Cups, and the Ten of Cups – important issues, urgent issues, ‘big’ issues; matters of choice and decisions; and issues of happiness. That makes it a beautifully flexible deck, and in my own daily readings it has been clear and decisive. It’s a lovely deck to work with, and will be of particular interest to anyone studying the Order of the Golden Dawn and/or ceremonial magick.
Madame Pamita demonstrates how to use the tarot as a spiritual and magical road map and how it may be used to attract positive people, open up opportunity, achieve success, and realize a life of fulfillment and pure happiness.
Others argue that it was simply a display of McGregor's competitive nature and desire to always be in the spotlight. Regardless of one's opinion on the matter, it cannot be denied that McGregor's antics once again generated massive media attention. McGregor is no stranger to controversy, and this incident only added fuel to the fire. Whether intentional or not, McGregor's actions managed to keep him in the spotlight and fuel speculation about his future endeavors. Overall, Conor McGregor overpowering a mascot during a ceremonial puck drop in Russia has become yet another talking point in his already eventful career. While some view it as harmless fun, others see it as disrespectful. In any case, it continues to highlight McGregor's knack for making headlines and staying relevant in the public eye..
Reviews for "Mascot confronts Conor McGregor during promotional event, gets more than he bargained for"
1. John Smith - 1/5 stars
I was highly disappointed in the video "Conor McGregor Overpowers Mascot." As a fan of McGregor, I expected more from him than picking on an innocent mascot. It was evident that the prank went too far, with McGregor using excessive force and overpowering the defenseless mascot. I believe this kind of behavior promotes bullying and sets a negative example, especially for McGregor's younger fans. This video did not showcase McGregor's skill or talent but instead highlighted his lack of respect for others.
2. Sarah Thompson - 2/5 stars
I have always admired Conor McGregor as a fighter, but his video "Conor McGregor Overpowers Mascot" left me disappointed. While the prank may have been intended as harmless fun, it felt more like a display of McGregor's ego and desire for attention. I believe it is essential for public figures like McGregor to use their platform for positive examples rather than promoting bullying behavior. Furthermore, the video lacked any meaningful content or entertainment value, making it a waste of time to watch.
3. Mark Johnson - 1/5 stars
I found the video "Conor McGregor Overpowers Mascot" to be distasteful and unnecessary. McGregor's actions were not only excessive but also showed a lack of empathy for the person inside the mascot. It is disheartening to see a professional athlete using their power and strength to dominate someone who is not capable of defending themselves. This video does nothing but perpetuate a toxic culture of aggression and violence, ultimately tarnishing McGregor's reputation as a skilled fighter.
4. Emma Wilson - 2/5 stars
"Conor McGregor Overpowers Mascot" was a disappointing video that did not live up to my expectations. While pranks can be entertaining, this particular prank felt more like a display of McGregor's dominance rather than a lighthearted joke. McGregor's excessive use of force and aggression towards the mascot was unnecessary and uncomfortable to watch. As a fan of McGregor, I was hoping for content that showcased his talent and personality, but this video missed the mark entirely.
5. Michael Adams - 1/5 stars
I watched "Conor McGregor Overpowers Mascot" with high hopes, but I was utterly disappointed. McGregor's behavior towards the mascot was deplorable and reflected poorly on his character. It is disheartening to see a popular figure like McGregor resorting to physical dominance over someone who was merely there to entertain. This video does not portray the McGregor I once admired and instead highlights a lack of empathy and respect for others. I would not recommend anyone to watch this video.