Now we dive into a card-by-card examination of the Major Arcana, which I'm taking two at a time since they are brief "thumbnail sketches" (supported by links to my previous posts). Since my approach to the tarot is esoteric in the main but with a practical slant, I've decided to begin each sub-section with commentary on the … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Fool and The Magician
Esoteric Tarot
Who Killed Eric? – A “Whodunit” Reading
On September 19, 2009, the body of 33-year-old Eric Fitting of Fall River, MA was found in the woods off Route 124 in Sharon. NH. His death was ruled a homicide but no charges have ever been filed. https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-unsolved-case-file-eric-fitting/22617614 Two critical pieces of information are missing from media reports that make it difficult to assess … Continue reading Who Killed Eric? – A “Whodunit” Reading
“Head ‘Em Off At The Pass” – A Decision-Making Spread
Here is a complex. multi-input spread that is intended to be used at the "brainstorming" stage of any important initiative, either personal or professional. It takes its inspiration from the "fishbone" (or "Ishikawa") diagram used in root-cause analysis but instead focuses on developmental insights rather than forensic ones; my working title for the spread was "The Dancing Flounder," but then I … Continue reading “Head ‘Em Off At The Pass” – A Decision-Making Spread
A “Hidden Agenda” Example Reading
This is a test reading for the developmental insight spread I just posted this morning. The scenario addresses our ongoing initiative to sell our current residence; if you've been following this blog you will have seen previous posts on the subject. I used the Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus deck, with reversals. All images © 2015 M.M. Meleen The "index" card … Continue reading A “Hidden Agenda” Example Reading
The “Light and Shadow” RWS Storyboard
This is the third of my "storyboard" examinations of the Minor Arcana cards of the Waite-Smith (aka RWS) tarot. The suit of Swords is unquestionably the least encouraging of the set since any light it emits is muted and often fades into gloom, so the title of this post may be somewhat optimistic. Swords encompass the realm … Continue reading The “Light and Shadow” RWS Storyboard
The Sagittarian Conundrum
Sagittarius is described in the literature of astrology as a high-minded philosophical and religious sign (along with its associated 9th-House placement in the "natural" zodiac, although traditional astrologers tell us signs and houses have nothing to do with one another); it is the province of academics and clerics and the most abstract and "temperate" of … Continue reading The Sagittarian Conundrum
A Maxwell Primer
I frequently speak of British-born French tarot writer Joseph Maxwell in admiring terms, mainly for his numerological exploration of the Minor Arcana (despite the fact that my forum friends in France assure me that Ivor Powell's translation of Maxwell's book, The Tarot, is an inadequate one and the book is a difficult read even in … Continue reading A Maxwell Primer
Natura Abhorret Vacuum: The Fool and the Aces
This post started out as a riff on the postulate "horror vacui" attributed to Aristotle and later restated by Francois Rabelais as "Nature abhors a vacuum," and was going to be a cautionary tale about filling blog space with miscellaneous "stuff" when nothing new presents itself to the blogger's scrutiny (in this case, me and … Continue reading Natura Abhorret Vacuum: The Fool and the Aces
The Fool and Me
It never occurred to me that this 1974 hard-rock song from Robin Trower's Bridge of Sighs album, co-written and sung by the late, great James Dewar, most likely had its roots in the tarot; the timing was certainly right for a veiled New Age allusion. With lyrics that seem to play off the Fool's heedless … Continue reading The Fool and Me
Human Conflict: The Tarotscopic View
Human conflict is one of my favorite areas to explore with the tarot because it is such a target-rich environment. I don't do much with multi-party conflicts because they are much rarer than the one-on-one face-off, but here is the latest example of my current approach. Tarot is an excellent microscope through which to scrutinize … Continue reading Human Conflict: The Tarotscopic View
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 