AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across a fascinating observation in Robert Anton Wilson's Prometheus Rising that could revolutionize my "gestalt" approach to analyzing a tarot spread. (I think about this stuff a lot, and it can take me to some strange places.) "Intuition 'is a way of thinking between and around data-points on the perceptual … Continue reading Intuition Steps Into the Gap
Experimental Methods
The Past/Present/Future Tarot Reading in Euclidean Space
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his book Prometheus Rising, Robert Anton Wilson discusses three-dimensional "Euclidean space," observing that every human experience displays not only a perceived* temporal shift from the Past to the Future (conventionally graphed as left-to-right) and a non-temporal "chaotic-to-concrete" organizing principle that devolves from top-to-bottom (my Qabalistic take, not his), but also a psychological … Continue reading The Past/Present/Future Tarot Reading in Euclidean Space
Room with a View: Sublimating the Major Arcana*
*Sublimate: to refine or purify; to elevate AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been saying for several years that the Major Arcana (aka trump cards) are more about background themes than significant events. In my own practice over the last five decades I just haven't seen them amount to much when they appear in a routine fortune-telling scenario. … Continue reading Room with a View: Sublimating the Major Arcana*
The “Elastic” Tarot Reading: Stretching the Narrative
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This innovation is a real "stretch" (and perhaps even a dead-end) but I'm always seeking unique approaches to spread use. This one is just more "out there" than most, although the goal of overcoming an insurmountable roadblock is legitimate. Tarot readers who prefer to use positional spreads (for the record, I'm one of … Continue reading The “Elastic” Tarot Reading: Stretching the Narrative
Jumping Hurdles: A “Race to the Finish” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This spread was inspired by my reading of Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot and her "Six Controversies" (aka "Six Points") spread that examines "points of contention or strife in the seeker's situation." In my own model I'm using the idea of "hurdles" as represented by figurative potholes or boulders that place obstacles in the … Continue reading Jumping Hurdles: A “Race to the Finish” Spread
The Primary/Secondary “Tarot Ledger” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A comment on one of my Medium posts led me to the idea that it would be productive to bin the cards pulled for a spread into "Primary Scope/Direct Answer" and "Secondary Scope/Rest of the Story" sub-categories, resembling a double-entry financial ledger. So here goes! I began by shuffling the deck to allow … Continue reading The Primary/Secondary “Tarot Ledger” Spread
The “Seed” Card and Directional “Pointer” – A Multi-Path Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another unique way to use the single "focus" (aka Signficator) card to open a tarot reading. Additional Insights: I'm now home after the trip to Italy described in the example reading below. All of the anxiety I anticipated was reserved for the vehicular mayhem we experienced in Florence (Firenze), the one … Continue reading The “Seed” Card and Directional “Pointer” – A Multi-Path Spread
Blended Trends: Card-Wrangling with Dice
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been getting a bit bombastic lately, so here is a "palate-cleanser." I often employ both tarot cards and dice in what I call mixed-media readings. While I use the odd-and-even faces of the dice mainly as binary "pointers" in multi-path spreads to indicate which of two or more series of cards should … Continue reading Blended Trends: Card-Wrangling with Dice
The “Cross-and-Square of Becoming” – A Force-and-Form Situational Awareness Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE:: This spread was inspired by the discussion of the Chinese Lo Shu Square in Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot, but I've taken it in a different direction. The objective is to first read the "force-and-form" axes from top-to-bottom and left-to-right, respectively to see how the situation will develop when unaffected by "big-picture" environmental concerns. … Continue reading The “Cross-and-Square of Becoming” – A Force-and-Form Situational Awareness Spread
NFL Football: Patriots at Seahawks, September 9, 2026
UPDATE: It looks like the Seahawks found the pulse of all those reversed trump cards after all. The only thing I can say about this reading - other than that I'm getting better at "hedging" - is that the final point spread was within range of the predicted single touchdown, although on the wrong side. … Continue reading NFL Football: Patriots at Seahawks, September 9, 2026
