AUTHOR'S NOTE: The subject of birth cards sometimes comes up in online discussions. Many people use a numerological approach, adding together the numerals for the day, month and year, reducing "Theosophically," and coming up with a Major Arcanum as a symbolic avatar that can be used as a "significator" in tarot readings. Here I'm looking … Continue reading The Birth Card: A Matrixed Approach
Elements
The “Elemental Agenda” Clarifier
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As an "old-school" tarot reader with metaphysical roots in the early days of the New Age, I take a dim view of drawing additional cards to clarify an original pull merely to avoid struggling with what we at first don't understand, instead of trying to puzzle our way through it. But after arguing … Continue reading The “Elemental Agenda” Clarifier
“Say It Ain’t So” – The Sting of Swords*
*"Say it ain't so, Joe!" has been memorialized in legend as a small boy's reaction upon hearing that star outfielder "Shoeless Joe" Jackson allegedly admitted involvement in major league baseball's "Black Sox" bribery scandal of 1920 (according to court records, he didn't and was eventually exonerated). Although this quote is most likely apocryphal, the youngster … Continue reading “Say It Ain’t So” – The Sting of Swords*
The DIY “World-View” Self-Realization Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across an observation on one of the qabalistic pages that merits quoting for my purpose in developing this spread: "All along the way you make the definitions, the container, the parameters of your being." I realize that "You make your own reality" is a rather tattered bromide (and apparently a … Continue reading The DIY “World-View” Self-Realization Spread
Numerological Counterparts and the “Blueprint for Perfection”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Mirroring the principles of natal astrology, it could be said with some justification that the basic "blueprint for self-realization" resides in the planetary correspondences for the first four numbered trumps of the tarot: the Magician (1) as Mercury, the High Priestess (2) as the Moon, the Empress (3) as Venus, and the Emperor … Continue reading Numerological Counterparts and the “Blueprint for Perfection”
“Pictures, Words and Numbers, Cardman”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is an old movie from the early '90s titled Eddie and the Cruisers that portrays Michal Paré as Eddie Wilson, the leader of a 1960s-era rock band, sagely advising Tom Beringer (as Frank "Wordman" Ridgeway, the group's lyricist) on the nature of the business: "It's about words and music, Wordman, words and … Continue reading “Pictures, Words and Numbers, Cardman”
The Lovers and The Devil: “I Double-Dare Ya!”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the third in my series of essays examining the trump cards of the tarot as "numerological counterparts" that present "alike but different" versions of a common theme. This time I'm looking at two cards that express the number "6," those "strange bedfellows" the Lovers (VI) and the Devil (15=1+5=6). Esoterically, Six … Continue reading The Lovers and The Devil: “I Double-Dare Ya!”
“Midpoint Numerology” – A New Name for an Old Idea*
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As an astrologer I spent a lot of time in my early years exploring the importance of the "midpoint" between two planetary positions as another sensitive degree in the horoscope that can`become a "trigger" for predictive transits or directions. For the last decade I've been applying the same theory to tarot cards by … Continue reading “Midpoint Numerology” – A New Name for an Old Idea*
“Crisis at the Crossroads” – A Problem-Solving Spread
This spread uses elemental affinity and reversal to arrive at one of three possible outcomes for problem resolution: "Accept and Support;" "Try Everything" or "Do Nothing." In each case it creates a five-card reading with the "Crossroads" card as the "turning point" in the matter. Shuffle the deck to allow for reversals.
High Priestess and Justice: The Quest for Perfection
AUTHOR'S NOTE: During my studies I often come across the opinion that the High Priestess and Justice display two faces of perfection, one natural and the other imposed. Although I'm mainly a Thoth and Tarot de Marseille guy, here I'm using the numerological structure of the Waite-Smith Major Arcana, which places Justice in the eleventh … Continue reading High Priestess and Justice: The Quest for Perfection
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 