AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Golden Dawn's system of tarot timing relies on the zodiacal position of 68 of the cards within the "Chaldean" array of twelve astrological signs. In this essay I'm going to challenge the conventions that have been established for its use. The series of 36 minor cards begins in Aries on or about … Continue reading Decanic Intervals: A Unique Approach to Tarot Timing
Elements
A Comprehensive Wellness Assessment Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It is generally accepted in professional tarot circles that the cards should not be consulted for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes related to matters of health and wellness. However, in keeping with my belief that divination can be used to address any question as long as it is phrased with sufficient care, I see … Continue reading A Comprehensive Wellness Assessment Spread
The Gatekeepers of Tarot: The Priestess and Her Posse
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The High Priestess, the second "numbered" trump card of the tarot, is typically regarded as a guardian of secrets both cosmic and mundane. When she appears in a reading, something about the matter is not yet known, and perhaps the querent isn't prepared to receive the revelation or is being kept in the … Continue reading The Gatekeepers of Tarot: The Priestess and Her Posse
An “Upside/Downside” Situational Reading
"I've got a feeling, and I know I'm rightThat tomorrow will bring the darkest night.I've been around too long,I've got to get away."- from I've Been Around Too Long by Marmalade AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an example reading to test the spread I posted yesterday. I inquired about a situation that has been vexing me … Continue reading An “Upside/Downside” Situational Reading
Degrees of Balance: Unitary and Binary Numbers in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Pythagorean and Qabalistic systems of occult numeration that I use in my metaphysical work were formed around the first nine "whole" numbers or integers, One through Nine, while Ten was an outgrowth of their progressive development. (Zero represents an absence of quantity and Ten is the first "complex" multi-digit number that the … Continue reading Degrees of Balance: Unitary and Binary Numbers in Tarot Reading
Court-Card Conceits: Player, Dreamer, Schemer and Delver
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just reading Paul Fenton-Smith's character analysis for the court cards in Tarot Master-Class (a thorough portrayal that I find to rival that of Aleister Crowley for useful insights), and encountered his description of the Swords personality as a "skimmer" who is known to casually stroll through any topic without dipping too … Continue reading Court-Card Conceits: Player, Dreamer, Schemer and Delver
Gender Parallels and Partitions in the Court Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the fourfold elemental world of the occult tarot that is symbolized by Fire, Water, Air and Earth, there is a fundamental separation of the elements into two divisions of two elements each that share the same polarity (positive or negative), the same mode of operation (active or passive) and the same key … Continue reading Gender Parallels and Partitions in the Court Cards
The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm merging astrological principles (natal planets and rising sign) with tarot cards and insights from the casebook of psycho-spiritual mind/body awareness to create a self-appraisal tool that is intended to identify any strengths and weaknesses in one's personality that may not stand out clearly from horoscopic delineation or cartomantic examination alone. While … Continue reading The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
The “Pendulum of Revealing” Positional Yes-or-No Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in my series of "Revealing" spreads: I've done a "Mandala," a "Pentacle" and an "Onion" of Revealing in the past. I'm using the pendulum motif for this one to answer the perennial yes-or-no question, with a nod toward "maybe" and any contrary trends that might occur as shown by … Continue reading The “Pendulum of Revealing” Positional Yes-or-No Spread
Tarot As Social Herald: The Timing of Arrival or Departure
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While re-reading Paul Fenton-Smith's Tarot Master-Class, I rediscovered his observation that the reversed 10 of Pentacles can exhibit an exceptionally attenuated "trigger point" (on the order of 18 months from the time of the reading), portraying financial distress that is likely to be more consequential in broad societal terms than intensely personal at … Continue reading Tarot As Social Herald: The Timing of Arrival or Departure
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 