卜 Crack(s) & Reading(s)

三式 (sānshì, 'three rites') three Styles of divination:

• 奇門遁甲               Qimen Dunjia
• 大六壬                   Da Liu Ren &
• 太乙 or 太乙神數  Tai Yi Shen Shu.

奇門遁甲 盤

卜 a line on the surface of something along which it has split without breaking into separate parts, like the lines on the palm of the hand, an open book for the chirologist.

ביד כל אדם יחתום לדעת כל אנשי מעשהו׃

Job 37.7 "⁷ He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work." 

And then, along with the aperture, at the crack of dawn gem-moment, I saw the dark Gypsy anima° that claimed impact on the blood pressure but not on the gut, just like we一that previous tanned, strong and potent Romani queen and a highfalutin, Matamore*, Captain² Fracasse I一met on the curb of Cognac-born François I^er near the Champs-Elysées, when she seized my right wrist pretending to read palms, really demonstrating how strong her grip was on my pulses while she let her party一composed only of women of her tribe一advance: a quick striking encounter with a larger than time imprint, a true, lively image of the anima's grasp on this persona**.

° Borrowed from Latin anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle氣, life, soul ψυχή”), sometimes equivalent to animus (“mind”), both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”); see animus. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind”), Old English anda (“anger, envy, zeal”). Cf. onde.

Noun

anima (plural animas)

1. (chiefly philosophy) The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus. [from 10th c.]
   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, XXXVIII:

     [W]e cannot chuse but admire the exceeding vividness of the governing faculty or Anima of the Insect, which is able to dispose and regulate so the motive faculties, as to cause every peculiar organ, not onely to move or act so quick, but to do it also so regularly.

2. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) of a person that is in touch with the unconscious as opposed to the persona. [from 20th c.]
   • 1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:

     Dorothy is bodiless and sexless in Tintern Abbey because she is Wordsworth's Jungian anima, an internal aspect of self momentarily projected.

3. (Jungian psychology) The unconscious feminine aspect of a person. [from 20th c.]

The anima and animus are described in Carl Jung's school of analytical psychology as part of his theory of the collective unconscious. Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, each transcending the personal psyche. Jung's theory states that the anima and animus are the two primary anthropomorphic archetypes of the unconscious mind, as opposed to the theriomorphic and inferior function of the shadow archetypes. He believed they are the abstract symbol sets that formulate the archetype of the Self.

In C.G. Jung's theory, the anima makes up the totality of the unconscious feminine psychological qualities that a man possesses and the animus the masculine ones possessed by a woman. He did not believe they were an aggregate of father or mother, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, or teachers, though these aspects of the personal unconscious can influence a person's anima or animus.

C.G. Jung believed a male's sensitivity is often lesser or repressed and therefore considered the anima one of the most significant autonomous complexes. Carl G. Jung believed the anima and animus manifest themselves by appearing in dreams and influence a person's attitudes and interactions with the opposite sex. Carl Gustav Jung said that "the encounter with the shadow is the 'apprentice-piece' in the individual's development … that with the anima is the 'masterpiece'". C.G. Jung viewed the anima process as being one of the sources of creative ability. In his book The Invisible Partners, John A. Sanford said that the key to controlling one's anima/animus is to recognize it when it manifests and exercise our ability to discern the anima/animus from reality.

² Il Capitano (Italian for "The Captain") is one of the four stock characters of Commedia dell'arte. He most likely was never a "Captain" but rather appropriated the name for himself.

He is often a braggart and a swaggerer who can maintain his claims only by the benefit of the fact that none of the locals knows him. He is usually a Spaniard, given the fact that for most of the late Renaissance to well into the 17th century, parts of Italy were under Spanish domination. He was most likely inspired by the boisterous Iberic caudillos who told tall tales of their exploits either in the conquest of the Americas or in the wars with Germany.

Il Capitano often talks at length about made up conquests of both the militaristic and carnal nature in attempts to impress others, but often only ends up impressing himself. He gets easily carried away in his tales and doesn't realise when those around him don't buy his act. He would be the first to run away from any and all battles, and he has trouble talking to and being around men. He is also extremely opportunistic and greedy. If hired by Pantalone to protect his daughter from her many suitors, Capitano would set up a bidding war for his services or aid between the suitors and Pantalone while wooing her himself. If he is hired to fight the Turks, he will bluster about fighting them to his last drop of blood, but when the Turks seem to be winning, he will join them. When they are driven off, he will change sides again and boast about his loyalty and bravery.

* Like the Capitan, Matamore is one of the forms of the Miles gloriosus of Plautus, a swaggering soldier, boasting of feats he has not achieved and who is basically a coward.

Il Capitan Spavento, Maurice Sand in 'le Capitan Matamore' (1860) Yellow (coward) & Red (commune)

Gilles de Binche, from the carnival of Binche, an event that takes place each year in the Belgian town of Binche during the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday.

Gilles de Binche (called Binchois; also known as Gilles de Bins; c. 1400 – 20 September 1460) was a composer from the Low Countries, one of the earliest members of the Burgundian school and one of the three most famous composers of the early 15th century. While often ranked behind his contemporaries Guillaume Dufay and John Dunstable by contemporary scholars, his works were still cited, borrowed and used as source material after his death.

** Gil Blas (L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane) is a picaresque novel by Alain-René Lesage published between 1715 and 1735.

Gil Blas is born in misery to a stablehand and a chambermaid of Santillana in Cantabria and is educated by his uncle. He leaves Oviedo at the age of seventeen to attend the University of Salamanca. His bright future is suddenly interrupted when he is forced to help robbers along the route and is faced with jail. He becomes a valet and, over the course of several years, is able to observe many different classes of society, both lay and clerical. Because of his occupation, he meets many disreputable people and is able to adjust to many situations, thanks to his adaptability and quick wit.

He finally finds himself at the royal court as a favourite of the king and secretary to the prime minister. Working his way up through hard work and intelligence, Gil is able to retire to a castle to enjoy a fortune and a hard-earned honest life.