As I learned them long ago, these are the brief esoteric meanings for the primary colors of the visible spectrum as they appear in the cards of the tarot: Red - Desire, Elemental Fire (Suit of Wands: Action, Ambition, Inspiration, Opportunism, Arousal, etc.)Blue - Feeling, Elemental Water (Suit of Cups: Intuition, Sensitivity, Kindness, Inclusiveness, Receptivity, … Continue reading A Short Essay on Esoteric Color Symbolism
Esoteric Tarot
The Nines: One Foot Out the Door
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My metaphysical view of the cards of the Minor Arcana has long been steeped in the numerical symbolism of the Hermetic Tree of Life, seasoned with a little Pythagorean number theory. But it can be refreshing to consider other perspectives, and in this example I'm addressing the opinions of Alejandro Jodorowsky in The … Continue reading The Nines: One Foot Out the Door
Court-Card Hierarchies: An Interesting Comparison
I've just rediscovered Alejandro Jodorowsky's unorthodox sequencing of the court cards and, although I still don't fully agree with him, I now find more sense in his thinking. I decided to compare his vision side-by-side with Waite's historical hierarchy and the Qabalistic premise of the Golden Dawn/Thoth model. All images are copyright of U.S. Games … Continue reading Court-Card Hierarchies: An Interesting Comparison
The Power of Ten in Four: The Court Cards and the Decimal Paradigm
Along with a few other tarot authors I've encountered, Alejandro Jodorowsky makes much of the fact that the court cards have no numbers on their faces and therefore shouldn't be given them for any purpose whatsoever. His specific argument is that the organic "base-10" structure of the Minor Arcana doesn't support the practice of assigning … Continue reading The Power of Ten in Four: The Court Cards and the Decimal Paradigm
The Three-Card Quintessence: A New Twist on an Old Idea
In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky points out that the second half of the Tarot de Marseille trump-card series - both in its whole numbers and in its factored integers - progresses by addition of the Roman numerals with no subtraction needed (e.g. while the Devil is 10 + 5 [or X+V] = 15, … Continue reading The Three-Card Quintessence: A New Twist on an Old Idea
The “Mandala of the Moment”
In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky envisions arranging all 78 cards of the Tarot de Marseille in a single emblematic pattern, a geometric "mandala" that can be visually absorbed at a glance, instantly embraced by the mind and easily understood in its entirely once the cards' basic meanings have been internalized. While pondering this … Continue reading The “Mandala of the Moment”
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
Off-Center and Off-Balance or Completely Off-the-Page?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've begun reading the second (1773) edition of Jean-Baptise Alliette's seminal book on divination, Etteilla or The Only Way to Read the Cards. In an example reading he mentions that failure of the card representing the querent to appear in the draw meant that she was not "at the center of her affairs." … Continue reading Off-Center and Off-Balance or Completely Off-the-Page?
The Suit of Swords As “Opportunity” – The Rest of the Story
I recently realized that I never completed my discussion of the Swords minor cards as conveying "opportunity" rather than always showing us their unpleasant side. My goal was to explore how we might handle these cards in a constructive way and not merely wind up suffering their "slings and arrows," whether outrageous or only irritating. … Continue reading The Suit of Swords As “Opportunity” – The Rest of the Story
A “Chaldean Vertical Slice” Situational Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although the Chaldean decans are a useful symbolic tool on a card-by-card basis, I'm always seeking ways to press the model into wider service. Here's another attempt that treats the attached Golden Dawn "wheels" as more than reference works. I decided to turn the diagrams of Chaldean decan and tarot card correspondences into … Continue reading A “Chaldean Vertical Slice” Situational Development Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 