AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here are a few more thoughts on "opportunity" as expressed by the cards of the tarot. Any discussion of the effective duration of a tarot reading (i.e. how long it is "good" for) carries the implication that there is a "window of opportunity" for action in the matter that will close sooner or … Continue reading The “Window of Opportunity”
Month: July 2023
The Lenormand “Phrase:” Deconstructing the Three-Card Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This post is a condensation of a couple of my previous essays on the subject of the Lenormand "line" spread of varying lengths. If the five-card or seven-card line presents a whole sentence with subject, verb, object and qualifiers (adjectives and adverbs), and the nine-card, 3x3 array furnishes an entire paragraph, the three-card … Continue reading The Lenormand “Phrase:” Deconstructing the Three-Card Reading
Pythagorean Number Theory and Lenormand
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I'm normally a literalist in my reading of the Lenormand cards, this is the sort of thing that excites my imagination. Here I'm playing around with Pythagorean number theory as it might be applied to Lenormand. They are both traditional systems of thought that seem to be entirely compatible. The single-digit 1-to-9 … Continue reading Pythagorean Number Theory and Lenormand
The Threes: Finding Scope in Opportunity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another riff on the topic of "opportunity" as expressed in the cards of the tarot. The Threes of the tarot have long been associated with the concepts of advancement and growth, but a parallel principle is that of opportunity, the premise being that any such development - while it may be … Continue reading The Threes: Finding Scope in Opportunity
“Chunky, Not Creamy” – A Lenormand Working Model
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I've been focusing mostly on tarot writing in recent months, my true love in cartomantic divination has become the 36-card Lenormand Grand Tableau. I think of it as the "Swiss-Army-knife" of cartomancy, a multi-tool that is able to cover a wide range of topics in a single pull. But when it is … Continue reading “Chunky, Not Creamy” – A Lenormand Working Model
Intersection in the Lenormand Grand Tableau
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a technique for reading the Lenormand Grand Tableau known as "intersection" that is used when examining the interaction between two "topic" cards. Typically it comes into play in a romantic scenario where there are two emotionally-engaged parties to the situation, but it may be used with any two topic cards. It … Continue reading Intersection in the Lenormand Grand Tableau
Maximum Mea Culpa: A Lenormand Lost-Item Update
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As sportscaster Howard Cosell might have said "How about that!" I'm calling this a "maximum mea culpa" episode because I was guilty of not trusting the cards and being too impatient with a prediction. To absolve myself, I'm going to have to choke down a big slice of crow pie, walk widdershins thrice … Continue reading Maximum Mea Culpa: A Lenormand Lost-Item Update
The Four Corners: A Post-Hegelian Dynamic
When I read the four corners of a Lenormand 3x3 spread as a sequence, I often see each turning point as a "plot shift" in the story-line. The upper-left corner states the premise of the reading and initiates a narrative flow; the upper-right corner builds on that projection while perhaps offering a counter-thrust; the lower-right … Continue reading The Four Corners: A Post-Hegelian Dynamic
Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In tarot reading, the Aces and the Princesses (Pages in the Waite-Smith deck, Knaves or Valets in the Tarot de Marseille) embody the idea of "beginnings" and of entering a new chapter, a quality they share with the Fool and Judgement of the Major Arcana. Here I'm translating this emphasis on the pursuit … Continue reading Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
Reversed Cards and the Golden Dawn
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every once in a while I encounter another self-anointed expert who insists that reversed-card meanings must not be used with the Thoth tarot and other Golden-Dawn-based decks, and that Elemental Dignity is the only permissible method for judging the fortunate or unfortunate complexion of the cards in a reading beyond their intrinsic stand-alone … Continue reading Reversed Cards and the Golden Dawn
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 