AUTHOR'S NOTE: (Hint: It's not hummus.) Acronyms are an economical convenience. As verbal shorthand, they can go straight for the jugular without mincing words. Take one of my current favorites among those in modern usage (or at least those that are suitable for polite company): "PITA," or "Pain in the Ass" (in earlier times often … Continue reading The “PITA” Spread
Experimental Methods
Trump Indictment: A Yes-or-No Reading in Two Parts
To test my archetypal "Yes-No-Maybe" template, I asked the question "Will Donald Trump be indicted for sedition due to allegedly encouraging insurrection in Washington DC on January 6, 2021?" This was before I learned that an indictment for Espionage Act violations may be even more likely because it is seen as an "open-and-shut" case (if … Continue reading Trump Indictment: A Yes-or-No Reading in Two Parts
An Archetypal “Yes-No-Maybe” Template
There is constant argument on the tarot forums and pages about whether the cards can or should be used to address "yes-or-no" questions. I strongly believe that any inquiry can be put to the tarot as long as we are perceptive and sensitive about how we interpret the verdict. Simply saying "The tarot is ineffective … Continue reading An Archetypal “Yes-No-Maybe” Template
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
“Riddle Me This” – An Astral Exploration Spread
I've seen more than a few online requests for advice and spread suggestions about communication with disembodied entities (spirit guides, ancestors, angelic powers, etc). My personal belief is that our access to such beings is channeled through the Astral Plane, with the inherent risk of self-deception and the psychological peril that traveling the Lunar path … Continue reading “Riddle Me This” – An Astral Exploration Spread
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
A “Deep Dive” Card Selection Method and Multipurpose Spread
Here's another "new-to-me" idea, courtesy of The Grand Etteilla. In the book there is a five-card spread in which the reader creates the layout by initially pulling the fifth card from the top (Card #5), then the card five tiers below that one (Card #10), followed by the card five tiers below the tenth card … Continue reading A “Deep Dive” Card Selection Method and Multipurpose Spread
The Ace of Cups as “Affirmation”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following observations by Mme. Le Marchand in The Grand Etteilla regarding the Ace of Cups are unique in my experience of tarot literature (although they do bear a resemblance to the cartomancy I've studied). It's interesting stuff for speculation and perhaps for use. This Ace is described as "confirming the prediction of … Continue reading The Ace of Cups as “Affirmation”
Death: The “Bad Neighbor”
UPDATE: As expected, this pushed a lot of buttons in the online tarot world. Almost everyone missed the point that it is a radical rethinking (in this one narrow instance) of tarot divination in which I'm not interested so much in what will happen and its consequences as in actively using the cards as a … Continue reading Death: The “Bad Neighbor”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 