Opening the Gates to the Four Quarters

I finished my normal school part-time job yesterday.  I'm now on summer vacation.  Yes!!!

I have mostly been involved with research on Casting the Circle or Opening the Four Gates. 

Taoist readers of this blog will want to look at Divine Incantations to the Protective Gods of the Five Directions from 574 CE, translated by Livia Kohn.  Directional lore, Feng shui, is definitely part of the ideology of Taijiquan and Qigong. 

This past week, I have enjoyed reading about the "Northern" pagan paths. I read two books by Galina Drasskova: 

"Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites and Celebrations from the Norse, German and Anglo-Saxon Traditions."

"Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner: A Book of Prayer, Devotional Practice, and the Nine Worlds of the Spirit." 

The mythology about the Cosmic Tree, Yggdrasil, was particularly interesting.