AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whenever the Justice card appears in a client's reading, I usually talk about "receiving one's just desserts" according to the propriety of one's actions. I like to tell them that "the trick is to be found worthy and not wanting when the verdict is handed down." But there is another, potentially more sinister, … Continue reading “Just Desserts” vs “Justice Served” – The Two Faces of Justice
Month: April 2024
Symbolic Sacrifice and Ritual Cannibalism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This will surely offend some people, but I've never been especially thin-skinned, and I make no apologies for my non-religious attitude. Consider this an entry in my "tarot curmudgeon" series. I've always understood that early shamanistic cultures performed human sacrifice - and later, animal sacrifice - to summon their gods and thereby curry … Continue reading Symbolic Sacrifice and Ritual Cannibalism
One Against Nature: A Tarot Self-Critique
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Mystical and spiritual types like to assert that they use tarot solely to tap into their self-awareness and self-improvement potential in the service of personal enlightenment. Fair enough, but going at it completely cold with nothing but the cards to compare ourselves to - no model or set of criteria defining excellence and … Continue reading One Against Nature: A Tarot Self-Critique
The Lover Departs (or “Squeezing the Grape”)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across an unusual interpretation of the Tarot de Marseille "Lover" card that I find quite engaging. It inspired me to present a pair of amusing anecdotes that convey a serious message. (I've already covered this subject from the Chariot's perspective in much the same language; see my previous essay, linked … Continue reading The Lover Departs (or “Squeezing the Grape”)
Reversed Aces As “Scattered Focus”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I learned them, the Aces exhibit an undivided "singularity of purpose" that embodies the purest and most spiritual expression of the elemental energy associated with their suit. There is no whiff of mundane degradation about them; elementally, they are "as good as it gets" and in a reading they suggest tremendous untapped … Continue reading Reversed Aces As “Scattered Focus”
Emotional Bias in Cartomancy: A Case Study
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The adverse impact of intense emotional upset on the task of shuffling the cards is a topic that often surfaces in conversation. I've seen endless hand-wringing in online discussions over whether being distressed when consulting the cards should be viewed as a "show-stopper." Most people who bring it up are afraid that their … Continue reading Emotional Bias in Cartomancy: A Case Study
Divinatory Syncretism: Synthesizing vs. Particularizing*
*Syncretism: The union of different practices whose features may be synchronized to good effect. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before I get into my subject, I should acknowledge that I sympathize (that is, I agree in principle) with Ronald Decker's criticism of the Golden Dawn's application of "Chaldean" astrology (which I understand does not signify a geographic region … Continue reading Divinatory Syncretism: Synthesizing vs. Particularizing*
Inspirational and Cautionary “Catch-Phrases” for the Major Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There are several ways to split the 22 Major Arcana into rows; one of the most popular is the 7x3 layout of 21 cards with the Fool standing apart, an array I first encountered in Rachel Pollock's 78 Degrees of Wisdom (although it is much older). Here I'm organizing the rows into "duets" … Continue reading Inspirational and Cautionary “Catch-Phrases” for the Major Arcana
Deep, Distant, Dire or Ditched? – Competing Views on the Major Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every time I encounter a new observation about the significance of the Major Arcana I feel compelled to revisit the subject in order to re-examine my own position. When I was learning to read the tarot cards back in the early '70s the consensus was that the 22 Major Arcana were a "big … Continue reading Deep, Distant, Dire or Ditched? – Competing Views on the Major Arcana
Tarot Occupations
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay is not about careers in divination (although that is another interesting topic), but rather the typical occupations that are symbolized by the tarot cards. It's a subject I've been intending to address more thoroughly for quite some time, even though I don't consider myself uniquely qualified as a historian or sociologist … Continue reading Tarot Occupations
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 