Today is the feast day of St. John the Evangelist. St. John was the youngest of the twelve apostles and the brother of Peter and James. He is said to be the author of the fourth Gospel. Unlike other apostles, John lived into his old age when he had the time and introspection to write about the events that he had witnessed. Because his spirit soars upward in his text, especially when he speaks of Christian love, he is symbolized by the eagle, and his symbol appears on the upper right corner of the World card in the tarot. Once when John was in the company of Emperor Domitian, the emperor ordered him to drink a cup of poisoned wine. When John picked up the cup, the poison departed in the form of a snake and he drank it unharmed. In fact, John lived a long life and died of natural causes. A cup with a snake emerging from it also became his symbol. This symbol was used by alchemists as an illustration of their great work, and they were attempting to transform poisonous mercury into a healing elixir. By praying to St. John, we can obtain the wisdom to transform the destructive aspects of ourselves into our greatest allies. This is the true wisdom of any magical operation.