In considering the limited role of intuition in reading the Lenormand cards, I hit upon the term "improvisational" as the best way to describe my method of putting together card combinations. Taken one at a time, Lenormand cards are quite literal in meaning. They are descriptive, not suggestive in the way tarot cards can often … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #11: Prescriptive vs. Improvisational
Cheap Shots
“Cheap Shots” #10: Who Are the Pros?
Since I first connected with other tarot enthusiasts on-line back in 2011, I've met numerous talented readers who have honed their craft to the point that they have successfully entered the ranks of professional diviners. In fact, these contacts encouraged me to return to public reading after many years away. On the other hand, I … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #10: Who Are the Pros?
“Cheap Shots” #9: Where’s the Beef?
Many of us remember the old Wendy's TV commercials in which actress Clara Peller grumpily complained "Where's the beef?" when handed a competitor's burger. There is a parallel phenomenon in tarot divination that takes two different paths but eventually arrives at the same place. On-line reading exchanges offer a perfect vantage point for observing this … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #9: Where’s the Beef?
“Cheap Shots” #8 (Do You Believe in Magic?)
There's even a song about it (although I rather ruthlessly culled the verses I wanted for my purpose). "I'll tell you about the magic, and it'll free your soul If you believe in magic, come along with me Believe in the magic that can set you free Ohh, talking 'bout magic Do you believe like … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #8 (Do You Believe in Magic?)
“Cheap Shots” #7 (“Unsheeping”)
I've come to view the "Christian myth" as a kind of allegory, a morality play that depicts an ethically sound and admirable way to live, rather than any kind of historical truth. Nothing wrong at all with its moral tenets, everything wrong with the patriarchal priesthood that has erected a self-serving power structure around it. … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #7 (“Unsheeping”)
“Cheap Shots” #6
Now don't get your back up here, but . . . Who comes up with these crazy notions? First it's "You should leave each and every card in a spread face-down until you're ready to read it," apparently so you don't contaminate your fragile intuitive apparatus with undigested premature details or derail your narrative train-of-thought … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #6
“Cheap Shots” #5
"Just the facts, Ma'am." In this post-modern era of do-it-yourself psychological profiling, I firmly believe that what the practice of tarot needs is more Sgt. Joe Friday and less Dr. Phil, less "woo" and more interpretive "glue" binding our card-by-card analyses together with a minimum of intuitive guesswork between the lines. We probably have British … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #5
“Cheap Shots” #4
Sometimes a deck - even one you've owned and used for years - seems to betray you and starts "speaking in tongues." I'm not one who believes that tarot decks have personalities, only idiosyncrasies introduced by the creator's unique perspective, so I think the fault, if it can be called that, lies with the reader's … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #4
“Cheap Shots” #3
New Age? What "New Age?" I've been haunting the byways of the New Age phenomenon since shortly after its beginning - that's me as an art student in Central Park in 1967, the day I marched down 5th Avenue with the Hare Krishna people in their saffron robes and shaved pates, chanting "Hare Krishna, Hare … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #3
“Cheap Shots” #2: Intuit This!
"I don't need no steenkin' books! My intuition sees all." (Alternatively, "I talk to angels.") Frankly, as a story-teller, if all I gave my Muse to work with was my presumptive groping after what I vaguely supposed the people in the cards might be up to within the context of the reading, she would run … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #2: Intuit This!
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 