I'm always looking for opportunities to test and validate my self-created spreads, and today I had an opportunity to do so with my "Inconvenient Truths" Personal Encounter Spread. We have friends who are going through an acrimonious divorce, and were looking for some hint of how things might go. I used Robert Place's Tarot of the … Continue reading A “Personal Encounter” Test Reading
Month: October 2017
Zeroing In
There are times when the 78 cards in a tarot deck seem like a case of "information overload," even when pulling only a small number for a particular spread. Although I realize it's part of the broader question about how tarot works, I sometimes think "What am I missing here that's hidden in the rest … Continue reading Zeroing In
The PoMo Tarot Deck Interview
If Brian Williams' Post-Modern Tarot deck from 1994 had a motto, it would be "Nobody likes a smart-ass." Williams managed to put his finger squarely on the pulse of bored, self-indulgent, late-20th-century American culture, and then tweaked its collective nose hard. I've had it since 1994 but seldom used it until recently, when I had a … Continue reading The PoMo Tarot Deck Interview
Cheap Shots #19: Dr. Doolittle on Rulerships
While putting together my table of active and passive affinities, I got to thinking about the sometimes schizophrenic relationship between the seven traditional planets and the sign(s) of their rulership. Not that there isn't an internal logic to all of the correspondences (as we shall see), but some apparent anomalies do crop up. For the … Continue reading Cheap Shots #19: Dr. Doolittle on Rulerships
Table of Affinities and Correspondences
One technique often used by tarot readers when analyzing a spread is that of preponderance - determining whether there is an abundance (or conversely, an absence) of any fundamental aspect of interpretation. This approach can show where too much (or not enough) attention is being paid to certain particulars of the matter, possibly to the … Continue reading Table of Affinities and Correspondences
The “Water Under the Bridge” Relationship Dynamics Spread
This spread is modeled on a spread created by Odete Lopez Mazza, as shown in the book Baralho Petite Lenormard-Metodo Alemao, and my own Troll Under the Bridge spread. I was struck by how much Mazza's layout resembles a suspension bridge with towers and an arched span, complete with water running underneath. I renamed and … Continue reading The “Water Under the Bridge” Relationship Dynamics Spread
“We Have Seen the Enemy, and He Is . . .”
I deliberately left Walt Kelly's "Pogo" observation open-ended here. I performed a test reading with my new "Mystic Traveler" spread, asking "What's up with my tarot-reading gig?" I've been an intermittent ("on-call") reader at a local New Age shop for the last year, and was led to believe that I would be at the top … Continue reading “We Have Seen the Enemy, and He Is . . .”
The “Mystic Traveler’s Guide to the Future”
This spread is an attempt to put more situational “meat on the bones” of a fixed-duration reading (daily, weekly, monthly, etc). It is best used in situations where you have at least a hint of where you want to go during the period in question. Two decks are required for this spread; one should be … Continue reading The “Mystic Traveler’s Guide to the Future”
The World Spirit, Second Edition, Deck Interview
This sprawling RWS-based deck is one that I like to use for mundane (that is, non-psychological) questions. It has a rustic, earthy richness that makes it a good autumn and winter deck. I put my "Tell Me No Lies" Deck Personality Profile spread to it, hoping to learn something new about its inner nature. All … Continue reading The World Spirit, Second Edition, Deck Interview
The Extrovert’s Tale
Although it looks like a road-kill turtle, this layout gives a pretty good indication of how the suppressed extrovert within me can find a way out. As shown by the Swords cards in the key positions of Spirit and Senses, I live quite happily - if self-critically - in my own head. But the majority … Continue reading The Extrovert’s Tale
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 