As I've mentioned before (I know, more than once!), we moved into a newly-constructed home last December and are now working (well, struggling) to get a lawn going. But the tide seems to be turning (I refuse to succumb to that old Bobby Fuller lament, "I fought the lawn and the lawn won"), and now … Continue reading An Elemental Dignity “Short Form” Example Reading
Experimental Methods
An Elemental Dignity “Short-Form” Decision-Making Spread
Not every choice in life is gut-wrenching, although it may still be vexing when it comes to making a snap decision: "Should I go with X to the pub or with Y to the show?" In such cases a simple spread with a touch of subtlety is all that is needed when a straightforward yes-or-no … Continue reading An Elemental Dignity “Short-Form” Decision-Making Spread
The “Onion of Revealing” Situational Well-being Spread
It does look a bit like an onion, doesn't it? But the idea behind the title is that situational well-being in any state of affairs can have both an "inner" and an "outer" dimension, with the reader's task being to peel back the layers to get at the heart of the matter. Something that seems … Continue reading The “Onion of Revealing” Situational Well-being Spread
The “Build It As You Go” 3-Card Vignette
My aversion to very small spreads is well-known; in most cases, even three cards don't do much for me. However, I often find ways to extract meaningful subsets from larger patterns, especially if there are compelling indicators bringing them to my attention. The "cross" section of the Celtic Cross spread with its "past-present-future" triplicity is … Continue reading The “Build It As You Go” 3-Card Vignette
The “Mole’s-Eye View” Event-Horizon Spread
I'm not a fan of spreads that have no specific meaning for each card (also known as non-positional spreads). Speaking strictly for myself, I think they can leave the reader groping for relevance and potentially taking far too long to come to closure on a reading if the goal is to be diligent about providing … Continue reading The “Mole’s-Eye View” Event-Horizon Spread
A “Simple Yes-or-No Spread” Update
I don't do many yes-or-no readings because I think the tarot is more effective at telling stories. But today we had a contractor scheduled to come and hydro-seed our new lawn, and they hadn't arrived yet as of 10:00 AM. Because contractors in our area can be notoriously hard to pin down to a commitment, … Continue reading A “Simple Yes-or-No Spread” Update
Utility, Overkill or Elegance: A Spread Designer’s Dilemma
"Once upon a time there were three bears . . . oops, I mean tarot spreads that lived in a binder on my bookshelf. There was a great big 'father' spread, a middle-sized 'mother' spread and a tiny 'baby' spread. One was too large and hard and one was too small and easy but the … Continue reading Utility, Overkill or Elegance: A Spread Designer’s Dilemma
The “Two Paths You Can Go By” Decision-Making Spread
Popular culture is often a goldmine of spread ideas and titles. In this case, the line "Yes, there are two paths you can go by" from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" was tailor-made for a decision-making spread. After completing my "pips" cycle of essays, I decided to create a spread specifically for "pips-only" use. This … Continue reading The “Two Paths You Can Go By” Decision-Making Spread
A Tarot de Marseille “Pips” Overview: The Ambitious and Combative Batons
Although the Tarot de Marseille suit of Batons (our modern Wands) has similarities to the Swords in that both are considered "hard" suits, there are flourishes of a more nuanced individuality in the pip cards that the Swords pips lack. Alone among the suits, the Batons have a very limited "inner landscape;" their agenda involves … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille “Pips” Overview: The Ambitious and Combative Batons
A Tarot de Marseille Thumbnail: 4 of Coins
The 4 of Coins is fascinating in that it is the only one of the Coins pip cards to display a fabricated artifact (other than the coins themselves, which in fact could be seen as fruit or seeds). There is a shield with an abstract central blossom on it separating the two sets of coins … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille Thumbnail: 4 of Coins
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 