AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not proposing this as a spread for divination but rather as a tool (a form of mandala) for meditation. It could, however, be used as a "birth-chart" for the moment of the pull and supplemented over time with additional cards that function like astrological transits to a natal horoscope. One possible way … Continue reading Synchronizing the “Inner” and the “Outer” Self: A Tarot Mandala
Esoteric Tarot
“Rule from Within:” A Tarot Paradigm
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While pursuing my study of the I Ching, I encountered the concept of "rule from within" that exploits the inner strength by which the Mind and the Will exercise control over one's external circumstances like a general in the midst of his army. This idea presented a perfect opportunity to discuss the significance … Continue reading “Rule from Within:” A Tarot Paradigm
Deeper Than You Realize: Reversals As Hidden Messages
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across the intriguing notion that it could be instructive, after performing a reading that allows for reversed cards, to go through the rest of the deck and find additional instances of reversal that didn't make it into the reading. (In other words, they didn't surface during the pull.) The assumption … Continue reading Deeper Than You Realize: Reversals As Hidden Messages
The “Hourglass of Opportunity” Three-Way Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an elegant spread that offers three possible paths to resolution: the left-hand path of intuitive insight, the right-hand path of rational judgment, and the central or "ideal" path that blends the two into a perfectly coordinated "middle way" between them. All three pass through a central "lens" (Key #2) that represents … Continue reading The “Hourglass of Opportunity” Three-Way Spread
“But Does It Work?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If dismay among junior members of the online tarot community is any indication, it's not uncommon for beginners to expect far more factual accuracy and predictive discernment from a tarot reading than it is reasonably able to deliver, causing many new readers to question its usefulness. Lack of observable success leads to disillusionment, … Continue reading “But Does It Work?”
Ascending and Descending Energies as Ruling and Yielding Principles in the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I pursue my study of the I Ching, I'm encountering numerous new ideas that demand scholarly attention while also creating a wealth of intriguing notions that I intend to fold into my ongoing exploration of the syncretism between the tarot and the Book of Changes. Here is the latest example. In general, … Continue reading Ascending and Descending Energies as Ruling and Yielding Principles in the Tarot
Planetary Energies and the Tarot: Seven Daily Meditations
AUTHORS NOTE: The seven days of the week all have a planet associated with them, and there are seven "planetary" trump cards in the tarot. Both the planetary energy-of-the-day and the related trump card create an environmental theme or situational backdrop against which the events of the 24-hour period play out. Thirty-six of the Minor … Continue reading Planetary Energies and the Tarot: Seven Daily Meditations
“Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I was employed as a Purchasing Manager for a utility power-plant, the Maintenance team used to say that there was no wizardry involved in keeping the facility's operating equipment running smoothly as long as they had the right parts and the right skills. This attitude led to the adage "Parts is parts" … Continue reading “Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
Aspiring to Perfection: Mining a Metaphor
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As part of my exploration of esoteric syncretism, here I'm paraphrasing a quote from Benebell Wen's I Ching, The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes to make it more relevant to tarot reading. The quote relates to invoking the "Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens" as a metaphor to aid … Continue reading Aspiring to Perfection: Mining a Metaphor
The Case for Esoteric Syncretism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley went to great lengths (15 pages) to relate a number of primitive cultural rites to his understanding of the Fool, with much of his inspiration coming from Sir James George Frazer's anthropological tome, The Golden Bough. This conceptual melding is known as syncretism, and as one … Continue reading The Case for Esoteric Syncretism
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 