As luck (or Fate) would have it, Mercury went retrograde on the 14th of January, 2022, giving me a perfect opportunity to test this spread. During much of the period, Venus is also retrograde but there were no Venus decan cards in the draw. It might be worthwhile to set up the "Archetypal Pattern" for … Continue reading A “Mercury Reversed” Example Reading
Month: January 2022
The “Mercury Reversed” Retrograde Period Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I split this spread off from yesterday's post for better visibility, saying three times "I promise not to repeat myself . . ." As discussed at length in my previous essay, I don't buy the popular notion that Mercury going retrograde as part of the evolving "sky pattern" is automatically a harbinger of … Continue reading The “Mercury Reversed” Retrograde Period Spread
Mercury Retrograde: Mystics and Statistics
Warren Zevon knew a thing or two about "mystics and statistics" (look it up). One of my favorite metaphysical whipping-boys is the almost universally-held opinion that the periodic transit of retrograde Mercury is unquestionably significant in our daily lives - all of us at the same time. As an astrologer of fifty years' standing, I … Continue reading Mercury Retrograde: Mystics and Statistics
Magical Places, Magical Times
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Too often we don't know the person behind the posting. Here are a few of the deeply-felt experiences that have brought me to where I am today as a mystical thinker, writer and practitioner of the esoteric arts. I've always had a powerful, almost euphoric connection to Nature, having been raised in a … Continue reading Magical Places, Magical Times
“Nothing Is Sacred”
There, I said it. I can't think of a single thing when it comes to the tarot that should be considered immutable and inviolable, except maybe its 78-card structure since I don't cotton to extra cards; no "Happy Squirrel" card for me since such "augmented" decks act more as oracle than tarot. The same is … Continue reading “Nothing Is Sacred”
The “Hidden Path” Situational Awareness Spread
I'm fascinated by reversals and am always looking for creative ways to take maximum advantage of their subtle influence. Here is a spread that uses reversal to further the "hidden" story-line. The reading will be from two to five cards depending on how many reversals appear, and the first reversed card will set the topical … Continue reading The “Hidden Path” Situational Awareness Spread
RWS in the Cross-Hairs: A Critique
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not enamored of the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) tarot deck. I think it comes in a distant second to the Thoth Tarot's "masterful/magical/mystical/ mythical/metaphorical mojo;" after all, how could it compete with Aleister Crowley's enormous erudition and Frieda Harris's brilliant rendering. Don't hate me, but I'm afraid it's true. I do use it in … Continue reading RWS in the Cross-Hairs: A Critique
“Inner Navigation” with the Thoth Tarot
The purpose of this essay is to inquire "At what point does (or should) a serious tarot scholar become a diviner?" The best answer to that comes from Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth, at the beginning of Appendix A, "The Behaviour of the Tarot: Its Use in the Art of Divination," which I will quote … Continue reading “Inner Navigation” with the Thoth Tarot
A Tarot Spread “4-Pack”
At the rate I'm creating new content, I may never catch up on my backlog of essay drafts because I try to post only once each day to avoid spamming my readers. Since tarot spread creation is a "fill-in" activity between my more involved literary efforts, they tend to languish in the queue, now more … Continue reading A Tarot Spread “4-Pack”
Sneaking Up on the Book of Thoth
In response to those tarot journeymen who are struggling mightily (and often unsuccessfully) with Aleister Crowley's daunting Book of Thoth (BoT) and complaining almost as fiercely, I'll stick my oar in the water here. As always, I do this at the risk of repeating myself, not for the first time nor the last. (I could, … Continue reading Sneaking Up on the Book of Thoth
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 