AUTHOR'S NOTE: Serving as a (welcome?) bit of relief from my relentless Lenormand commentary, here is an approach to situational awareness and response based on the idea that a particular activity described as a set of circumstances or facts can be foreseen to precipitate a "second act" of a countervailing nature (a divinatory parallel to … Continue reading Waiting For The “Drop” – A Situational Response Spectrum
Esoteric Tarot
“It Just Happened . . .”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Cynics and nihilists are fond of saying (with studied indifference) "Shit happens." Here I'm going to take a hard look at that assumption. In a rational Universe, it can be argued that things don't "just happen;" even if we unwittingly place ourselves in the path of a developing train-wreck (the "wrong place, wrong … Continue reading “It Just Happened . . .”
The Nines As “Ripening”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another outtake from Cory Hutcheson's 54 Devils, this time riffing on his observation that the 9 of Clubs implies a "ripening outcome" that is almost ready to drop its fruit. The tarot Nines have been described as representing the "fulfillment" of their suit; they have reached a state of completion that … Continue reading The Nines As “Ripening”
The “Twitch Factor”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: During a recent online conversation I mentioned the fact that, when provoked, the element of Earth in the sign of Virgo can be fidgety, rising one notch above in "twitchy" angst from Virgo's trademark anal fussiness. This got me thinking about how the elements of the Chaldean zodiac react with the Minor Arcana … Continue reading The “Twitch Factor”
The “Mandala of Revealing” Decision-Making Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another "mixed-media" spread that uses tarot cards and a single six-sided die as a "pointer." Instead of just posting the spread and following up with an example reading tomorrow, I combined the two in this post. (The images are from the Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn by Pat Zelewski and … Continue reading The “Mandala of Revealing” Decision-Making Spread
Rethinking the “Four Winds” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've come across examples of the "Four Winds" spread in more than one publication. Its premise is that the classical "winds" that blow from the four quarters of the Earth can be equated to the four aspects of the human psyche, Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional and Physical. (The inspiration for "rethinking" this spread came … Continue reading Rethinking the “Four Winds” Spread
Context as “Master Key”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I picked another random thought out of Vincent Pistisci's Genius of the Tarot that is worth contemplating. For most of us, the suit symbolism of the minor and court cards is the essential factor in determining their general "theme" (the specific images on the cards confer more precise anecdotal import). The "cameo" version … Continue reading Context as “Master Key”
The “Window of Opportunity”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here are a few more thoughts on "opportunity" as expressed by the cards of the tarot. Any discussion of the effective duration of a tarot reading (i.e. how long it is "good" for) carries the implication that there is a "window of opportunity" for action in the matter that will close sooner or … Continue reading The “Window of Opportunity”
Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In tarot reading, the Aces and the Princesses (Pages in the Waite-Smith deck, Knaves or Valets in the Tarot de Marseille) embody the idea of "beginnings" and of entering a new chapter, a quality they share with the Fool and Judgement of the Major Arcana. Here I'm translating this emphasis on the pursuit … Continue reading Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
Reversed Cards and the Golden Dawn
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every once in a while I encounter another self-anointed expert who insists that reversed-card meanings must not be used with the Thoth tarot and other Golden-Dawn-based decks, and that Elemental Dignity is the only permissible method for judging the fortunate or unfortunate complexion of the cards in a reading beyond their intrinsic stand-alone … Continue reading Reversed Cards and the Golden Dawn
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 