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example, divinatory systems used in Neo-Paganism may include the Tarot, runes,
astrology, palmistry, etc. In Traditional Tantra, both palmistry and astrology are
popularly used. The astrology practiced by Tantrics is not the same as is practiced in the
West. Westerners usually follow tropical astrology while Tantrics follow sidereal
astrology and include concepts usually not considered important in the West. As a result,
western astrology tends to focus on the personality while Tantric astrology focuses on
predictions, dates, etc. Even the basic design of the horoscope chart is different. In the
West we have the familiar circle divided into sections. In Tantra, the most frequently
used designs are rectangles divided into subsections. Curiously, one such design remains
in use by practitioners of astrological geomancy in the West.
One of the popular practices of Neo-Paganism in the West is doing healings: for self, for
others, for the Earth. The same is true of Traditional Tantra. It has an enormous medical
system using herbs and spiritual energy (collectively known as ayurveda). The methods
of working with energy are often copied in western Neo-Paganism, and include
breathwork, visualization, raising the energy (technically called laya yoga, but more
commonly known as kundalini yoga), an understanding of the spiritual and physical
bodies of humans, and much more. Rituals and techniques to send healing energy
remotely are quite well known and practiced. For a full set of lessons on this from a
Traditional Tantra point of view, there is currently nothing better than the lessons found
in A Chakra & Kundalini Workbook, also by Dr. Mumford.
Another aspect of modern Neo-Paganism is the belief in, and use of, magic. A wide
variety of practices are used. In India, Tantrics are known for their magical abilities. The
primary methods include herbal magic, chanting, and the use of special symbols.
In short, virtually every aspect of Neo-Paganism can be found in Traditional Tantra.
SOMETHING'S BEEN MISSING
Those of you familiar with my writings know that I come from both a ceremonial magick
and Neo-Pagan background. So there was, for me, something missing in Traditional
Tantra.
One of the amazing things about ceremonial magick is its use of numerology. This is
most commonly found in the form of Gematria, a system which takes Hebrew letters and
converts them to numbers. Words with the same numeration can be seen as having an
important relationship to each other. In this way you can find hidden meanings in
spiritual texts, most traditionally, the Hebrew bible. However, this has been expanded to
other languages and texts by ceremonial magicians.
Traditional Tantra does have a means of working with words and finding hidden
concepts by giving words multiple meanings. Philologists refer to this as the use of
„intentional language‰ while Tantrics call it Sandhya Bhasha ("Twilight Language").
However, I had never seen anything along the likes of Gematria.
That is, I never saw anything like it until I read The Eastern Mysteries by David Allen
Hulse. In it he writes, „...in the copious writings of both Blavatsky and Crowley we are
unable to find the correct numerical key to the Sanskrit alphabet. However, 20th-century
scholarship has uncovered and translated the texts which contain these codes without
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