Sometimes I get bored just shuffling, cutting and dealing the cards and want something a little more exotic. Here is a spread that starts with six randomly drawn cards laid face-down. A single six-sided die is used to create an "emerging" story-line by selecting the order in which these cards are revealed in each of … Continue reading The “Boxcar Shuffle” Mixed-Media Forecast Spread
Month: September 2018
The “Monkey in the Middle” Problem Clarification Spread
Every so often we all encounter situations where we're stumped by the meaning of a particular card in a particular reading. A common practice is to pull more cards to clarify the interpretation, but I prefer to take my cue from A.E. Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot and use the problem card as the "Significator" in a new … Continue reading The “Monkey in the Middle” Problem Clarification Spread
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Fours
The number Four expresses stability that is the result of entrenched inertia rather than the dynamic tension that steadies the Two; it is the initial fulfillment of the promise of the Ace, and presages the final state of completion in the Ten. Pythagoras observed that the power of the Ten lies within the Four because summing the numbers from One to Four (1+2+3+4) produces … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Fours
Tar and Feathers? – Republican Prospects in 2018
It is generally acknowledged on both sides of the political aisle that the Republican Party is facing major disaster potential in the 2018 mid-term elections. I decided to test my new Dilemma Assessment spread on this situation. I selected the Thoth Tower as the focus card ("The Dilemma") and used the RWS Centennial Edition for the reading. All … Continue reading Tar and Feathers? – Republican Prospects in 2018
The “Dire Straits” Dilemma Assessment Spread
One of the thorniest questions facing a diviner is whether or not it is prudent and ethical to attempt predicting events or situations that could have a major adverse impact on the life of a person or other entity. The wiser heads among us almost unanimously advise against making forecasts that involve death or diagnosis of serious illness, … Continue reading The “Dire Straits” Dilemma Assessment Spread
Ulalume and Thoth: A Perfect Pair
Edgar Allan Poe's somber, stately poem, To -- -- --. Ulalume: A Ballad may represent the peak (or pit, depending on your opinion of Poe) of tarot symbolism above all his other works. It embraces the Moon foremost, but also the Star, the Tower and the Devil, as well as many of the harsher Thoth Minor Arcana … Continue reading Ulalume and Thoth: A Perfect Pair
Who Killed Melissa? – A “Whodunit” Reading
UPDATE: A 74-year-old former Massachusetts man has been arrested for this crime. He now resides in Alabama, so the only aspect of the reading that was remotely accurate is that the perpetrator is somewhere in the "Southeast." Here is a current news release: https://www.wmur.com/article/marvin-skip-mcclendon-waives-extradition/39860825 Original Post: In 1988, 11-year-old Melissa Tremblay of Salem, NH was … Continue reading Who Killed Melissa? – A “Whodunit” Reading
The “Alternate Reality” Timeline Spread
I don't use the 3-card "past/present/future" spread very much because I find it lacking in detail. Trying to stuff all of the relevant nuances of a moment in time into the narrow confines of a single card is like omitting the yeast when baking bread; it can be done but the results are usually quite … Continue reading The “Alternate Reality” Timeline Spread
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Threes
In esoteric number theory, the Three represents growth, progress and opportunity. Geometrically, it is symbolized by the triangle, the third point of which provides a new perspective by mediating between the other two; thus, "understanding" is also indicated. Another thought is that it implies "getting off the treadmill" implied by the cyclical motion of the Two and … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Threes
Invictus and the Tarot Triptych
In honor of William Ernest Henley's poem Invictus, which started me down this road with the line "My head is bloody, but unbowed" and its perfect complement in the Waite-Smith Tarot's 9 of Wands, I decided to render the entire poem in tarot cards. Although the text is structured in four-line stanzas, the three-card triptych made for … Continue reading Invictus and the Tarot Triptych
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 