AUTHOR'S NOTE: The deck in the photograph is the Waite-Smith Centennial Edition in a Tin, which is copyrighted by U.S. Games Systems Inc. of Stamford, CT, used by permission and in accordance with the provisions of Fair Use. In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky characterizes the Magician as dwelling entirely in the present, and … Continue reading The Archetypal Celtic Cross
Elements
The “Crucible” Problem-Solving Spread: An Alchemical Approach
While thinking about using the Temperance card as a kind of "talisman" for my reading sessions (an adaptation of another of Alejandro Jodorowsky's ritualistic ideas), I decided to create a spread based loosely on alchemical principles, specifically Aleister Crowely's assumption that the vigorous interaction of Fire and Water release Air. The premise is that one's … Continue reading The “Crucible” Problem-Solving Spread: An Alchemical Approach
The “Keynote Series” Developmental Insight Spread
Here is a concept that uses three brief "mini-readings" (Past/Present/Future) to derive a fourth "keynote" spread showing a condensed developmental path for the situation. It applies Elemental Dignities to the "Present" line, which is read from the outside-in according to standard ED practice. (The center, or "principal," card is the focus; the others feed into … Continue reading The “Keynote Series” Developmental Insight Spread
The “Box of Chocolates” Life-Reading Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Those who have seen the Tom Hanks/Gary Sinise movie Forrest Gump will appreciate the reference in the title. This spread uses all 78 cards to create a six-card reading in one of thirteen situational and temporal settings as determined by the location of a pre-selected "Significator" card. The four general topic areas are … Continue reading The “Box of Chocolates” Life-Reading Spread
The “Gatekeeper and Keymaster” Best-Case Scenario Spread
The title of this spread comes from the two demonic characters ("Zuul" and "Vinz Clortho") played by Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis in the first Ghostbusters movie. The premise was rife with thinly-veiled sexual innuendo about the "gate" and the "key," but it seemed like a good basis for a tarot spread. The spread uses … Continue reading The “Gatekeeper and Keymaster” Best-Case Scenario Spread
Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
As an astrologer of long standing, I've always been fascinated by the internal or secondary structure in my tarot readings offered by the symbolic architecture of the astrological correspondences developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at the end of the 19th Century (see the chart below). Some of them work better than … Continue reading Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
Here is a 15-card spread that explores the notion that cards will complement one another according to the position they hold within the 78-card series, essentially creating pairs of "symbolic parallels." It is intended to show the querent's psychological orientation to the subject of the reading as it develops over time, from initial awareness to … Continue reading An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
Suit Dynamics: Rising and Falling Energies
Apart from the symbolic orientation typically used in tarot reading (left refers to "the past," right shows "the future," up reveals matters and down conceals them), there are directional suit dynamics to consider. When you think of it in those terms, the assignment of the function of Spirit alternately to the tarot suits of Fire … Continue reading Suit Dynamics: Rising and Falling Energies
Pleasure and Fun, On The Double
This morning I was thinking abut the old Doublemint gum jingle and how it might be applied to the elemental dignities between the Minor Arcana in two-card sets. "Double your pleasure, double your fun!" But I switched it up a bit to create four "opportunities:" "Double your pleasure, double your pain;Double your money, double your … Continue reading Pleasure and Fun, On The Double
Cups and Pentacles: Even More Subtle Distinctions
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Completist that I am, I figured I had better finish my thoughts on the nuances of interpretation that separate the elementally "friendly" minor suits of the tarot. The suits of Cups and Pentacles (or, in different systems, Coins or Disks) are entirely sympathetic to one another; one represents the element of Water and … Continue reading Cups and Pentacles: Even More Subtle Distinctions
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 