AUTHOR NOTE: I was answering a question on one of the occult forums regarding what kind of magic I’ve found most effective, and I came up with the following response.

Although I haven’t performed any ritual magic since the mid-1980s, I realized that I now pursue what might be called “purposeful divination” as a form of directed willpower. I set an intention, establish a focus for the energy (it might be a specific card or personal item), perform the operation, consider the advice (whether encouraging or cautionary) and take the course of action that seems best. At present my magical inclinations are simple, leaning mostly toward sympathetic magic as a tool for esoteric goal-setting. It’s a matter of aligning what I want physically with what I envision as attainable in spiritual terms, then bringing the higher to the lower by mentally synchronizing their vibratory rate.

I decided to perform a reading that speaks to this premise by casting myself in the role of a theoretical “man-on-a-mission.” Over the last few years I’ve been involved in a situation that has remained steady but uneventful, exhibiting constant potential but no development. I set up a scenario with my Significator (the Knight of Cup) paired with an “intention” card (the Queen of Cups implying “emotional gratification”) at the center of an array with six stacks of three cards each. (There is no urgency to this prediction, I’m just speculating.) Then I rolled a single six-sided die to reveal which sub-set would offer the clearest path forward.

I turned up a “1-spot,” pointing to the group at the top of the spread. After analyzing the cards as described below, I looked at the other five stacks and found that none of them came close to matching the precision of the randomly-selected set. (Card backs are from the privately-published Retro-Thoth Tarot, and card faces are from the Thoth Tarot, copyright of US Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT.)

The reversed Priestess suggests a veiled opening, only half-seen but still present as a foretaste of amity to come once proprieties are ironed out. Its correspondence to the Moon bodes well for the Water nature of the Knight and Queen of Cups. The portal is semi-closed but harbors an unspoken felicity that is being held in reserve.

The 10 of Swords clearly indicates a “sticking point” or “prickly situation.” The objection is logical, not emotional.

The reversed Sun conveys an implicit promise, also half-tendered and fraught with hesitation and misgiving, but nonetheless it remains “on the table.” I sometimes think of the reversal as “a cloud passing briefly across its face,” but it could also imply that “the Sun is setting” on the opportunity with no resolution in sight.

This looks like a “one-foot-in, one-foot-out” scenario to me. There is still subdued momentum but it runs into trouble with the 10 of Swords that punctures the emotional bubble of the Priestess with its pointed resistance. However, the Sun, even though reversed, won’t let the moment pass without offering a glimmer of optimism. The conclusion I reached is that there will be a continuation of existing circumstances with no final outcome at this time since the “low-hanging fruit” signified by the reversals is not yet ripe for plucking. Yet “hope springs eternal” (Alexander Pope) and “the truth will out” (William Shakespeare).

I decided to follow up with a pair of developmental readings on the subject. In the first effort, I performed three consecutive daily draws to examine what currently stands between me and my goal, then did a “numerical essence” calculation to sum it up. Next, I threw a situational-awareness line of five cards with “fixed” significator and “outcome” cards as a way of stating “intention,” and a numerical essence card to show long-term consequences. It’s notable that there are no Swords or Air cards in either sequence but plenty of Earth accompanied by a little Water and Fire, so it seems that practical factors outweigh rational considerations in this matter with feelings second and desires third.

The three-card series describes obstacles to success as: the “boundaries of convention” (Hierophant); high-minded values (3 of Wands, “Virtue”); and inertia (4 of Disks, “Power” held in check). The Hanged Man as “essence” card reiterates this sense of suspended action and deferred closure.

The 10 of Cups (“Satiety”) indicates that abundant emotional satisfaction is “in the cards” but it will take a radical shift in worldview and “the taking of a definite step” (Aeon/Judgement), propelled by an earnest outreach (Knight of Disks, the “man-on-a-mission”). The Hermit as “essence” card conveys the contemplative prudence of Virgo, which doubles down on the conservatism of the first three-card reading and the forced abeyance of the Hanged Man. It signifies isolation and stoic detachment for the foreseeable future.