AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although horary astrology is much better for it, I sometimes work with tarot as a means of finding lost items or people. I once applied the left-or-right gaze of the human figures on the cards to indicate a past or future bias in a querent's situation. Here I'm bringing it to bear, along … Continue reading A Tarot Compass and Range-Finder: Locating the Lost
Month: January 2025
“Neat Borders:” A Further Case for Tarot Spreads
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just reading a fascinating post in which a miscellany of famous authors expounded on why they (often vociferously) disliked a variety of important books by other esteemed writers (some of them very popular). I came across this gem from Charlotte Bronte, who was eviscerating Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: it … Continue reading “Neat Borders:” A Further Case for Tarot Spreads
Trump’s Next Four: A PoMo Perspective
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After listening to part of Donald Trump's inauguration speech (I dislike the man as much as ever but, as a Libertarian sympathizer, I'm not entirely opposed to his message), I decided to dig out my favorite sociopolitical deck, Brian Williams' PostModern (aka "PoMo") tarot to see what the next four years will spell … Continue reading Trump’s Next Four: A PoMo Perspective
FYI: Domain Name Change
For those of you who follow me or receive email updates, when I renewed my paid, ad-free WordPress subscription I received a free domain with a slightly different name: https://parsifalswheeldivination.org. I decided that, since this blog is not monetized, the ".org" suffix is preferable to ".com." The "wordpress" tag also went away. If you have … Continue reading FYI: Domain Name Change
A Four-Path Attitudinal Guidance Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm fond of spreads that diverge in opposite directions along several different paths to closure. This one is designed to aid the querent in deciding whether the matter at hand should be approached assertively (Wands/Fire); compassionately (Cups/Water); thoughtfully (Swords/Air) or pragmatically (Disks/Earth). It uses all 78 cards and can be read with reversals. … Continue reading A Four-Path Attitudinal Guidance Spread
“Bottom-Feeding” – The Fish-Hook Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There are times when it seems that our ability to come up with meaningful conclusions in a tarot reading has deserted us; perhaps the wisdom we seek has receded into the murky depths where we're not accustomed to going. The usual advice is to just dig deeper and more diligently for a better … Continue reading “Bottom-Feeding” – The Fish-Hook Spread
Aspiring to the Inside: A “Tarot Magic” Invocation Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I created my "Tarot Magic" spread based on Donald Tyson's book of the same name, I was planning to use it for evocation rituals that are focused on the realization of external objectives. However, upon reading further, I found that Tyson also covered the manifestation of internal conditions within the querent's immediate … Continue reading Aspiring to the Inside: A “Tarot Magic” Invocation Reading
Head Games: Are We Fooling Ourselves?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another installment in my long-running series about the functional dynamics of tarot reading and the arguable legitimacy of cartomantic fortune-telling. (File under "How tarot works.") I don't doubt that, unless they are unusually introspective, most seasoned tarot readers who are confident in their skill and experience have it in their heads … Continue reading Head Games: Are We Fooling Ourselves?
The Hierophant: Returning to Normal
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Of all the tarot trumps, the Hierophant (originally the Pope) feels most like a "square peg in a round hole" when brought up against modern expectations. It's a product of a bygone era and a different mindset, often requiring a great deal of mental calisthenics to puzzle out in practical reading situations. I'm … Continue reading The Hierophant: Returning to Normal
“Pie in the Sky:” A Segmented Look at the Correspondences
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn shoehorned twelve of the 22 tarot trumps, all 40 numbered minor cards and the 16 court cards into their "Chaldean" model of the zodiac, making just a few adjustments in the design to accommodate their vision. Only the seven planetary trumps and the three "Primal Element" … Continue reading “Pie in the Sky:” A Segmented Look at the Correspondences