AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sometimes you just know something fishy is going on but you can't put your finger on it where to look for it. Here is a spread that mimics the Clue motif (we recently attended the stage performance in Boston); it uses the Golden Dawn's method of deciding on a "significator" card, then dealing … Continue reading Devil, Devil, Who’s Got the Devil?
Month: September 2024
Playing to Strength, Caving to Weakness: Aspiration and Temptation in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that offers a "high road" and a "low road" for approaching the outcome of a reading; these are parallel routes, each with an itinerary that features either optimism for a successful arrival or pessimism over the risk of being detoured into failure. It could be useful when contemplating whether … Continue reading Playing to Strength, Caving to Weakness: Aspiration and Temptation in Tarot Reading
Multiple Reversals as “Covert Operations”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written often about the myriad ways in which one can interpret reversed cards in a tarot reading; I now have over 200 general keywords in 15 major categories to describe it that go well beyond "blocked" or "delayed." One common assumption is that reversal suggests a covert influence entering the matter, usually … Continue reading Multiple Reversals as “Covert Operations”
The Awakening: A Spiritual Transformation Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a tarot spread that uses the concepts of entrenched inertia (pip cards), personal make-over (court cards) and mystical transformation in the form of both transcendent opportunities and spiritual pitfalls (trump cards). It is one of my "mixed-media" spreads that employs both tarot cards and dice in its execution. Begin by separating … Continue reading The Awakening: A Spiritual Transformation Spread
“No Blame” – A Useful First Principle in Divination
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a handful of what might be called "first principles" or "prime directives" in reading the tarot cards, broad concepts to which I mostly adhere. One premise, for which I am indebted to Dr. James Wanless, is that "There are no 'bad' cards, only opportunities" (in a forthcoming essay I make the … Continue reading “No Blame” – A Useful First Principle in Divination
Incentivizing the Shadow: A “Numerical Synthesis” Pros-and-Cons Spread with Resolution
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A while back I came to the realization that the so-called "quintessence" calculation is anything but when applied to a group of input cards that doesn't consist of the traditional four-card "cross." (Quintessence in tarot terms simply means "fifth expression," not "without equal"). I came up with alternative nomenclature for the numerical synthesis … Continue reading Incentivizing the Shadow: A “Numerical Synthesis” Pros-and-Cons Spread with Resolution
Sympathetic Magic: The Secular Side of Spellworking
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's fascinating how dreams can unearth old memories that are still germane to present conditions, figuratively "turning over rocks to see what crawls out from underneath." Last night in one such nocturnal interlude I was discussing with an unknown savant the assumption that object-oriented magic is best performed with "power items" that hold … Continue reading Sympathetic Magic: The Secular Side of Spellworking
A “Tipping Point” Decision-Making Gambit: To Placate, Punish or Persevere
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In many decision-making scenarios, the act of choosing will reach a "tipping point" at which we must resort to motivating or persuading another person (or entity) involved in the situation to either contribute to our efforts or step aside if we are to advance. We might have to appease or reward them in … Continue reading A “Tipping Point” Decision-Making Gambit: To Placate, Punish or Persevere
Thoughts, Feelings and Desires as Inputs to a Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been grappling with the subject of "confirmation bias" in divination ever since I encountered the term a couple of years ago. As I understand it, the cynical assumption is that seekers invest (some might say "infect") the reading with their subjective hopes and fears, then don "rose-colored glasses" and see in the … Continue reading Thoughts, Feelings and Desires as Inputs to a Tarot Reading
Guest Essay: “A Journey Through the Tarot” by Hannah Troyer
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I was recently approached about contributing to the promotion of a forthcoming tarot book by Hannah Troyer (currently digital, to be released in a printed edition on September 12, 2024). It was proposed that I might publish a guest article by Hannah so she can tell her own story, and I agreed. Here … Continue reading Guest Essay: “A Journey Through the Tarot” by Hannah Troyer
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 