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
Author: parsifalswheeldivination
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
The Redeemed Imposter (A Tarot Confession)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Imposter Syndrome" is a modern psychological debility (a particularized version of the traditional "inferiority complex?") that afflicts those - mostly females in corporate management positions according to some studies - who suspect (or have been led to assume) that they are presenting themselves as more proficient in some professional, technical or creative capacity … Continue reading The Redeemed Imposter (A Tarot Confession)
Enough is Enough! (No More Ads)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm breaking into my normal once-a-day posting routine to make an announcement regarding blog presentation. A couple of years ago when I dropped my paid WordPress subscription and agreed to tolerate third-party advertisements in my posts, I didn't think it would be too obnoxious. At first it wasn't, but then as my work … Continue reading Enough is Enough! (No More Ads)
A “Magical Evocation by Tarot” Example Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a reading based on the "Tarot Magic" spread I just created using introductory comments in Donald Tyson's book Tarot Magic (formerly titled Portable Magic) and Pat Zalewski's The Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn. (Since I'm sharing this post on a Thoth page, I decided to use the Thoth deck for … Continue reading A “Magical Evocation by Tarot” Example Reading
Portable Magic by Another Name
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just begun reading Donald Tyson's book, Tarot Magic, one that I've wanted to own for a long time under its original title, Portable Magic. Its premise is that tarot cards can stand in for the elaborate trappings of full-blown ceremonial magic, and we can just box up the deck and put it … Continue reading Portable Magic by Another Name
The “Eclipsed Priorities” Spread: Competing Agendas, Solutions and Consequences
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an elegant conflict-resolution spread that explores the overlapping consequences of optimistic and pessimistic trajectories converging in a tarot reading. It's a further experiment with using a "grim" deck to suggest the less-desirable scenario and an "upbeat" deck to convey the more-auspicious outlook. The design shows the two on an intersecting "collision … Continue reading The “Eclipsed Priorities” Spread: Competing Agendas, Solutions and Consequences
The Map and the Territory: Precision in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "The map is not the territory" is a celebrated statement by semanticist Alfred Korzybski that points out the cognitive disconnect between viewing a printed map and physically walking the land it represents. I've used it often to convey the idea that a tarot prediction is only an approximation of one possible future, and … Continue reading The Map and the Territory: Precision in Tarot Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 