Although I understand why we do it, I've never been entirely satisfied with the fact that most methods of dealing the cards draw them from the top of the deck after the shuffle and cut similar to the way playing cards are dealt for games. Some readers circumvent this by pulling the cards from a … Continue reading The “Gambler’s Cross” Spread
Experimental Methods
The Fool’s Dilemma (or “Reversal to the Rescue”)
That pesky Fool just won't stay put. Modern tarot enthusiast are accustomed to seeing it at the head of the trump-card cycle as the null, Zero, but it hasn't always been that way. In decks that predated the esoteric tinkering of the 19th-Century "Occult Revival," the Fool usually remained unnumbered to permit its use as … Continue reading The Fool’s Dilemma (or “Reversal to the Rescue”)
Where Are James and Michelle? – An “Astro-Tarot Location” Example Reading
UPDATE 2: The bodies of James and Michelle Butler were found near Corpus Christi, TX, not far from where they were last seen. The impressions from the reading that they were dead was accurate, although the location indicator was not. The younger person identified in the second part of the reading was probably the perpetrator, … Continue reading Where Are James and Michelle? – An “Astro-Tarot Location” Example Reading
An Astro-Tarot Location Method
When dealing with lost items or missing persons, I often default to horary astrology because of its proven effectiveness. But I'm always looking for ways to augment that approach with tarot. I made a previous attempt to blend the location principles of horary astrology from John Frawley's book The Horary Textbook with a tarot layout … Continue reading An Astro-Tarot Location Method
The “Damned If I Know” Vague Answer Remedy
Things have been getting rather technical around here lately, so I thought I would indulge in a little useful fun. I'm not one to anthropomorphize my tarot decks (c'mon people, they're cardboard and ink!) but I sometimes think they act all too human, saying in essence: "Just give 'em the short answer and maybe they'll … Continue reading The “Damned If I Know” Vague Answer Remedy
A “Wish, Will and Way” Example Reading
I decided to test my 5-card approach to this method by asking the same question I've been chasing for the last few years: "As a professional diviner, how can I become more publicly successful and sought-after?" I chose for my inspiration the time-honored assumption that a skilled cartomancer is both sensitive and intuitive (Queen of … Continue reading A “Wish, Will and Way” Example Reading
The Wish, The Will and the Way
In tarot divination, there is a tendency to look at the Major Arcana (aka "trump") cards that turn up in a reading and say "That's all well and good as a philosophical abstraction, but what does it really mean for this particular person or situation at this point in time?" Their archetypal aim can be … Continue reading The Wish, The Will and the Way
Aleister Crowley: The “Measure of the Man”
Since Aleister Crowley's birthday was October 12, I thought I would run my new "Measure of a Man" (aka "homunculus") spread to see what it might say about him. Of course I used the Thoth deck for this, although the layout got a bit crowded. I didn't apply reversals because, in many ways, Crowley was … Continue reading Aleister Crowley: The “Measure of the Man”
The “Measure of a Man” Personality Profile Spread
Back in my early 20's, before I discovered Monty Python, I was a big fan of the Bonzo Dog Band, the British "novelty" act headed by the brilliant eccentric Vivien Stanshall. They were fond of sticking an occasional non-sequitur into the middle of their album tracks. In one, a band member piped up with "And … Continue reading The “Measure of a Man” Personality Profile Spread
Who Killed Lynne? – A Rogue’s-Gallery “Whodunit” Reading
Lynne Brennan, a 53-year-old Manchester, NH mother of three was found dead in her apartment on October 11, 2010; it was ruled a homicide but no-one has ever been charged with her murder, and no further details were released by police. https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-unsolved-case-file-lynne-brennan/23480932 I applied my "Rogue's Gallery" spread to this cold case to see what … Continue reading Who Killed Lynne? – A Rogue’s-Gallery “Whodunit” Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 