AUTHOR'S NOTE: After listening to part of Donald Trump's inauguration speech (I dislike the man as much as ever but, as a Libertarian sympathizer, I'm not entirely opposed to his message), I decided to dig out my favorite sociopolitical deck, Brian Williams' PostModern (aka "PoMo") tarot to see what the next four years will spell … Continue reading Trump’s Next Four: A PoMo Perspective
Decision-making Spreads
The “Response-Spectrum Tableau” – A Tarot, Lenormand and Dice Decision-Making Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a mixed-media spread that combines tarot cards with Lenormand cards and dice to come up with a tableau that offers a range of inputs for making an important decision. Begin by shuffling a Lenormand deck while concentrating on the topic of interest, then deal five cards face-down from left-to-right in the … Continue reading The “Response-Spectrum Tableau” – A Tarot, Lenormand and Dice Decision-Making Spread
The Integrated Way: Moral Judgement in Tarot (A Self-Development Spread)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While I prefer to "just read the cards" and typically shy away from offering moral advice in my tarot readings, use of the cards for self-analysis and self-development invites its consideration in making value-based decisions about one's life. The cards themselves are neutral on that score, so it's a context-specific call the querent … Continue reading The Integrated Way: Moral Judgement in Tarot (A Self-Development Spread)
The View from Shore: A Directional “Put-in” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, a brief word of explanation: the title does not contain a misprint of "input." In this spread the action begins with the "putting," not the "receiving." The underlying concept takes some effort (and more than a few glib nautical metaphors) to spell out but the spread itself is of a simple alternate-path … Continue reading The View from Shore: A Directional “Put-in” Spread
Sink or Swim? – An I Ching Approach to the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've encountered many productive parallels between the oracular character of the Chinese Book of Changes and that of the Western tarot cards, but this one seems particularly useful. (In this context I've consulted both the classic Wilhelm/Baynes English translation and Benebell Wen's recent book, I Ching, The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the … Continue reading Sink or Swim? – An I Ching Approach to the Tarot
“Home-Court Advantage” in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A staple of tarot reading is the "dual-path" spread that is intended to highlight the more auspicious of two choices for the querent's consideration. They come in many shapes and sizes (typically parallel rows or columns, and sometimes "forked" arrays) but are usually brief. Ideally, each path will be neutral before the cards … Continue reading “Home-Court Advantage” in Tarot Reading
Playing to Strength, Caving to Weakness: Aspiration and Temptation in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that offers a "high road" and a "low road" for approaching the outcome of a reading; these are parallel routes, each with an itinerary that features either optimism for a successful arrival or pessimism over the risk of being detoured into failure. It could be useful when contemplating whether … Continue reading Playing to Strength, Caving to Weakness: Aspiration and Temptation in Tarot Reading
Incentivizing the Shadow: A “Numerical Synthesis” Pros-and-Cons Spread with Resolution
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A while back I came to the realization that the so-called "quintessence" calculation is anything but when applied to a group of input cards that doesn't consist of the traditional four-card "cross." (Quintessence in tarot terms simply means "fifth expression," not "without equal"). I came up with alternative nomenclature for the numerical synthesis … Continue reading Incentivizing the Shadow: A “Numerical Synthesis” Pros-and-Cons Spread with Resolution
A “Tipping Point” Decision-Making Gambit: To Placate, Punish or Persevere
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In many decision-making scenarios, the act of choosing will reach a "tipping point" at which we must resort to motivating or persuading another person (or entity) involved in the situation to either contribute to our efforts or step aside if we are to advance. We might have to appease or reward them in … Continue reading A “Tipping Point” Decision-Making Gambit: To Placate, Punish or Persevere
“Pulling the Trigger” – An Allocated-Action Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the First Operation of the Golden Dawn's "Opening of the Key" method there is a step by which the diviner attempts to "intuit" (aka "guess") the reasons behind the querent's request for a reading based on which of four elemental sub-packs the Significator card appears in after the shuffle and cut. The … Continue reading “Pulling the Trigger” – An Allocated-Action Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 