I'm always looking for new learning approaches to improve my grasp of tarot card combinations. With a couple of million possible permutations of ten cards out of a total of 78, my regular use of the Celtic Cross isn't going to cover all of them any time soon, and working through them methodically from beginning-to-end … Continue reading Taking the Trumps for a Spin
Experimental Methods
Random Numbers: An Alternate Approach to Remote Reading
As I've mentioned before, when approached to do remote readings I prefer to have clients pull their own cards and e-mail me a list in the order drawn. Shuffling and cutting the cards myself for a distant sitter can introduce subconscious "reader's bias" and potentially hijack the focus of the reading. I believe that reading … Continue reading Random Numbers: An Alternate Approach to Remote Reading
Dark Horse Rising? – A “Stirring the Pot” Example Reading
As the subject of my test case for this spread, I chose the campaign of Amy Klobuchar for the Democratic Presidential nomination. As a "small-government" Libertarian sympathizer, I have no use for career politicians of any persuasion, Democrat or Republican (and particularly not Religious Right or Socialist), but I will at least listen to those … Continue reading Dark Horse Rising? – A “Stirring the Pot” Example Reading
“Stirring the Pot” – A Developmental Insight and Action Spread
Here is another split-deck decision-making spread. It formalizes the involvement of other people who may have a stake in the matter, whether to aid, obstruct or take advantage of the seeker. This is accomplished by separating the court cards from the deck and dealing them into specific positions reflecting the above possibilities. Human beings are … Continue reading “Stirring the Pot” – A Developmental Insight and Action Spread
“Mixed-Media” Reading
"Mixed-media" technique is a concept usually limited to the visual arts; a good example would be combining paste-up photo-collage and manual deposition of some kind (brush, pen, pencil, crayon, stick, etc.) to create an integrated and aesthetically pleasing image. (Before anyone asks, presentation technology often relies on "multi-media" delivery, a different animal.) I'll get to … Continue reading “Mixed-Media” Reading
The “Hopscotch” Multi-Tier Situational Awareness Spread
As is most likely apparent, I enjoy spreads that take unexpected twists and turns at some point in their journey from question to answer. This one uses reversed cards to change the direction of the flow from a typically linear, left-to-right model to a more complex, multi-tiered affair that can descend into situational ambiguity as … Continue reading The “Hopscotch” Multi-Tier Situational Awareness Spread
High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
Yesterday while performing a reading I was struck by the notion that certain cards literally stand out from the pack as "high-focus" since they are symbolically replete and subject to little or no modulation in their expression. My immediate examples were the Aces, which are undivided and uncomplicated in behavior and purpose; they make a … Continue reading High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
A Simple Event-Timing Example Reading
To test this spread, I decided to run it on our open question regarding when we can expect a final answer from the people who are interested in buying our property. I used the Waite-Smith Centennial Pocket Edition (for no other reason than that it fits on my small reading table), and swapped in the … Continue reading A Simple Event-Timing Example Reading
A Simple Event-Timing Spread
Accurately foretelling the time-frame for an anticipated event is the second of the "Three Great Challenges" facing any diviner. The primary focus of a predictive reading is obviously "whether" the event is going to happen at all; next comes "if yes, when?" The question of "where" is a distant third, usually overshadowed by secondary considerations … Continue reading A Simple Event-Timing Spread
A “Triple-Decker” Mind/Body/ Spirit Example Reading
I performed this spread to project my own circumstances over the next six months, using the Waite-Smith Centennial Pocket Edition with reversals. I deliberately chose a scenic deck for its "facing" possibilities, but the spread can be used with non-scenic decks like the Tarot de Marseille by using the odd-or-even directional model mentioned in the … Continue reading A “Triple-Decker” Mind/Body/ Spirit Example Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 