AUTHOR'S NOTE: More insights from Tarot Reading Explained by James Ricklef. This essay is a rehash of several previous posts on the subject, but I think the common tendency of tarot readers to exaggerate the impact of trump cards in a reading bears further scrutiny, and I received reinforcement for this assumption from my re-reading … Continue reading The “Thematic Threads” of the Major Arcana
Month: April 2026
An “AI Reckoning”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In online discussion groups I frequently encounter ill-tempered sniping over whether specific written content is an original creation or whether it was assembled via internet "scraping" by generative AI. Because of my admittedly literate writing style, I've been waiting for the day when I'm accused of such derivative chicanery. To see where I … Continue reading An “AI Reckoning”
Lunar Month Look-Ahead, April-May, 2026
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I haven't done one of these in quite a while. These readings are normally based on the titles for the eight lunar sub-phases from astrologer Dane Rudhyar's Lunation Cycle, but this time I'm using astronomical notation. Each sub-phase lasts approximately 3.5 days. There are no other position meanings, it is mainly a timing … Continue reading Lunar Month Look-Ahead, April-May, 2026
Illuminating the Path: A Hopeful Light in the Darkness or Dim Prospects Ahead?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Querents often sit for a tarot reading when they are completely in the dark about what to do next in their current situation. At its best a forecast will illuminate the path ahead and give the sitter something to shoot for in the way of self-directed effort. But all too often the vista … Continue reading Illuminating the Path: A Hopeful Light in the Darkness or Dim Prospects Ahead?
The Reversed Hanged Man: Transcending Forced Idleness
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just encountered another instance of the reversed Hanged Man in a tarot reading, and decided to revisit my past assumptions about it. There are three ways to approach it: practical, psychological and spiritual. In divination I usually consider its practical implications first and its psychological impact next, while spiritual consequences are not … Continue reading The Reversed Hanged Man: Transcending Forced Idleness
The Twos: “Walking a Knife’s Edge”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As the root of the binary series 2, 4 and 8, the number Two was described by French author Joseph Maxwell as representing "harmony and equilibrium;" however, compromise may also be required, and compensatory or reciprocal action that "plays both ends against the middle," enabling a poised stance that would do a tightrope-walker … Continue reading The Twos: “Walking a Knife’s Edge”
The “Tie-Breaker”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I still see far too many novice readers using tarot spreads with an even number of cards. Unless the focus is strictly on the four elements, the problem with this approach is that it will frequently contain two equal groups of cards of an opposing nature, fortunate on one side and unfortunate on … Continue reading The “Tie-Breaker”
The Emperor’s Deputies: Kings as “14” and “4”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As promised, here is the second iteration of the court cards as numerological counterparts to the trump cards according to "transcendence" of the second digit in their numeration, this time covering the Kings (Thoth Knights). "Transcendence" is Jame's Ricklef's word for Alejandro Jodorowsky's "decimal equivalency" that is also used by James Wanless in … Continue reading The Emperor’s Deputies: Kings as “14” and “4”
The Fives and Sevens as “Discord”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written in the past about the relationship between the tarot Fives, Sixes and Sevens (linked below), but my recent introduction to the art of playing-card divination brought a fresh perspective to my take on the subject. In standard cartomancy, the Fives and Sevens are eight of the most dissonant "pip" cards in … Continue reading The Fives and Sevens as “Discord”
The Left-Hand Path: A Dream Analysis
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As we all know, dreams can be extremely symbolic, especially at their most impressionistic. I had such an episode last night. I set out to attend a mystical retreat on a mountain-top. But there were no roads leading there so I had to bushwhack through thick forest, occasionally scrambling hand-over-hand up the slope. … Continue reading The Left-Hand Path: A Dream Analysis
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 