In her generally excellent (but now slightly dated) 1984 book The Secrets of the Tarot: Origins, History and Symbolism, Barbara Walker describes the colors of the Hindu Gunas as white, red and black, and also relates those colors to the three primary faces of the Moon goddess: waxing New Moon is white; effulgent Full Moon … Continue reading The “Old Moon” and Divination
Esoteric Tarot
Patience Is Not A Virtue (When Persistence Won’t Do)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the risk of "beating a dead horse," I'm going to present a few more thoughts on my uneasy, rather tepid rapport with the (Rider) Waite-Smith (RWS) Tarot and my much more robust appreciation of Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot. I come down somewhere in the middle on "pip" decks like the Tarot de … Continue reading Patience Is Not A Virtue (When Persistence Won’t Do)
The “Mercury Reversed” Retrograde Period Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I split this spread off from yesterday's post for better visibility, saying three times "I promise not to repeat myself . . ." As discussed at length in my previous essay, I don't buy the popular notion that Mercury going retrograde as part of the evolving "sky pattern" is automatically a harbinger of … Continue reading The “Mercury Reversed” Retrograde Period Spread
RWS in the Cross-Hairs: A Critique
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not enamored of the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) tarot deck. I think it comes in a distant second to the Thoth Tarot's "masterful/magical/mystical/ mythical/metaphorical mojo;" after all, how could it compete with Aleister Crowley's enormous erudition and Frieda Harris's brilliant rendering. Don't hate me, but I'm afraid it's true. I do use it in … Continue reading RWS in the Cross-Hairs: A Critique
“Inner Navigation” with the Thoth Tarot
The purpose of this essay is to inquire "At what point does (or should) a serious tarot scholar become a diviner?" The best answer to that comes from Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth, at the beginning of Appendix A, "The Behaviour of the Tarot: Its Use in the Art of Divination," which I will quote … Continue reading “Inner Navigation” with the Thoth Tarot
The American Justice System Superimposed on the Astropsychological Tree of Life
Mainly for my own amusement, I spent some time superimposing elements of the American Justice System on the paths of my "re-imagined" version of the Hermetic (Kircher) Tree of Life. I started with the idea that Justice has to do with the "trial" in any judicial setting and Judgement speaks of the "verdict," and then … Continue reading The American Justice System Superimposed on the Astropsychological Tree of Life
The Astropsychology of the Tree of Life, Part 2: General Notes
Since the philosophical and hierarchical bases (beyond my First Principle that "Nothing is sacred") may not be perfectly clear for my comprehensive redistribution of the planets, signs and tarot trumps on the paths of the Hermetic Tree of Life , I decided to post my notes. My goals in reallocating the seven traditional planets to … Continue reading The Astropsychology of the Tree of Life, Part 2: General Notes
The “Higher Octave” Meditation
As a traditional natal and horary astrologer who typically uses only the seven planets of antiquity and their various modes of essential and accidental dignity, I don't assign zodiacal signs of exaltation to the modern (aka "trans-Saturnian) planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In fact, I barely use those planets in my work at all, but … Continue reading The “Higher Octave” Meditation
The Astropsychology of the Tree of Life
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's going to be another "two-fer" day for my readers since I decided to sneak this one into my usual "tarot brain-dump." It's not so much writing as thinking (way) outside the box. This is a liberal adaptation of the "standard" Hermetic (Kircher) Tree of Life that appears in most modern esoteric books. … Continue reading The Astropsychology of the Tree of Life
Foreground, Middle-Ground and Background Cards
Author's Note: For those of you who work with the esoteric tarot, this isn't a conventional explanation of the astrological decanates as they apply to the 36 minor cards (the Aces are a "special animal" in that regard) which mostly stop at sign and planet associations. I've expanded upon that model by looking more closely … Continue reading Foreground, Middle-Ground and Background Cards
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 