AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not much of a fan of the three-card tarot reading because, as I've mentioned before, it leaves too much up to subjective guesswork in bridging the narrative gap between cards that may have nothing even remotely in common. In the three-card pull, utterly antagonistic cards are the intuitive reader's worst nightmare since … Continue reading Gap Analysis: The Three-Card Reading and the Hidden Agenda
Courts
The “Window of Opportunity”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here are a few more thoughts on "opportunity" as expressed by the cards of the tarot. Any discussion of the effective duration of a tarot reading (i.e. how long it is "good" for) carries the implication that there is a "window of opportunity" for action in the matter that will close sooner or … Continue reading The “Window of Opportunity”
Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In tarot reading, the Aces and the Princesses (Pages in the Waite-Smith deck, Knaves or Valets in the Tarot de Marseille) embody the idea of "beginnings" and of entering a new chapter, a quality they share with the Fool and Judgement of the Major Arcana. Here I'm translating this emphasis on the pursuit … Continue reading Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
Justice By Extension
GRATUITOUS UPDATE: I just came across a "Kabbalistic" definition of "good vision" that I wanted to amend for this post: "20/20 vision is not the ability to see far but the ability to see clearly and accurately that which is right under your nose," a cautionary message for the 2 and 8 of Swords. We … Continue reading Justice By Extension
The Passion of the Pages
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In her book, Tarot and the Tree of Life, Isabel Kliegman mentions the "passion" of the Pages for the idealistic preoccupations of youth. The idea is that the Pages in general lack the wisdom and experience of age and thus react instinctively rather than in a rational way to the "spirit of the … Continue reading The Passion of the Pages
A “Magical Prescription” Situational-Management Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I've applied a little "arcane lore" to the creation of a new situational awareness-and-management spread. The four positions could be read as the sequential milestones of a "winning strategy:" "Awareness," "Intention," "Action" (as in "taking your best shot") and "Discretion" (or not showing your hand too soon or in the wrong company). … Continue reading A “Magical Prescription” Situational-Management Spread
The Pages: “Hesitation Blues”
"How long do I have to wait?Can I get it nowOr must I hesitate?"("Hesitation Blues," early 1900s, attributed to various songwriters) I just came across a description of the tarot Pages as "hesitation between doing and not doing" according to the nature of their suit (Alejandro Jodorowsky in The Way of Tarot). The implication is … Continue reading The Pages: “Hesitation Blues”
The Court Cards as “Decimal Equivalents”
I've been working with the concept of "Theosophical reduction" (adding together and reducing the digits of a composite number to produce a simple, one-factor sum) for so long that I've been more than a little skeptical of Alejandro Jodorowsky's notion of "decimal equivalency" between the double-digit and single-digit cards of the Major Arcana. His premise … Continue reading The Court Cards as “Decimal Equivalents”
The Overturned Cups: Half Full or Half Empty?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a wonderful metaphor that speaks directly to our attitude about life's occasional downturns and hints at whether we are naturally optimistic or pessimistic in our outlook: "Is the glass half full or half empty?" As a lifelong skeptic, my first thought when confronted with this conundrum is "What's in the glass?" … Continue reading The Overturned Cups: Half Full or Half Empty?
Knights as “Messengers”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I continue to pick apart Alejandro Jodorowsky's thinking while wading through The Way of Tarot a second time, I encountered another instance of differing opinion among the general tarot population. I should probably mention that the book is so crammed with ideas that each successive page threatens to crowd out what I … Continue reading Knights as “Messengers”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 