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
Esoteric Tarot
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
Jodo’s Hermit: Walk this Way
I've been slowly and patiently working my way through Alejandro Jodorowsky's Tarot de Marseille book, The Way of Tarot (a full analysis of which will have to wait for another time, assuming I get to the end of it). I came to it prepared to be disappointed, convinced by previous reviews that it veers too … Continue reading Jodo’s Hermit: Walk this Way
Down to the Crossroads
American delta blues singers of the last century were literally "bedeviled" by the idea of a crossroads, where it was believed one could go to bargain with Old Scratch at midnight. Having finally come to terms with the intricacies of Temperance, I decided to turn my attention to its astrological counterpart, the Lovers, which I … Continue reading Down to the Crossroads
A Cold Case Continuation: Where Is Bethany?
As mentioned in my last post, here is the second half of the reading on the fate of Tina and Bethany Sinclair. In this spread, I was looking for a Page to come up as the Significator for the 15-year-old girl. The Page of Pentacles appeared as the very first card in the draw, which … Continue reading A Cold Case Continuation: Where Is Bethany?
A Cold Case Update: Where Is Tina?
In February, 2001, Tina Sinclair and her daughter Bethany disappeared from their home in West Chesterfield, NH under suspicious circumstances. Speculation was that they were victims of domestic violence but no evidence to that effect was ever substantiated. As this link shows, investigators are still actively searching for them. http://www.wmur.com/article/divers-search-near-dam-in-sinclair-investigation/5191159 I did a previous reading … Continue reading A Cold Case Update: Where Is Tina?
