I was just on Pinterest looking at tips for topical reading (that is, divination based on the general "fortune-telling" subjects of love, money, work, health, etc), which I belatedly realized are just variations on the Lost Man Spread. A card is pre-selected as "Significator" to represent the topic of interest, but it is left in … Continue reading Any Way You Slice It
Experimental Methods
The “Skeleton in the Closet” Chain-of-Destiny Spread
I firmly believe that few momentous events in a human life occur in a vacuum, however random or unprecedented they may seem to be. On a personal, interpersonal or trans-personal level, there was almost always something in the past that set the individual up for the experience, whether it was a sin of commission or … Continue reading The “Skeleton in the Closet” Chain-of-Destiny Spread
A “Hidden Agenda” Developmental Insight Reading
I was recently asked by someone to perform a reading to answer whether a person they are involved with has a "hidden agenda." (This is not a romantic situation.) It so happens that I have a spread specifically for this scenario, and I don't often get a chance to use it. https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com/2018/08/01/the-hidden-agenda-developmental-insight-spread/ The querent suspects … Continue reading A “Hidden Agenda” Developmental Insight Reading
What Happened to Linda? – A Missing Person Case Closure
Linda Minery had been missing from Hillsboro, NH since April of this year, and was just found deceased inside a storage unit that she rented in that town. https://www.concordmonitor.com/Hillsboro-NH-missing-woman-s-body-found-in-storage-unit-27394864 Several things stand out from the reading I did on April 9: https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com/2019/04/09/what-happened-to-linda-a-missing-person-spread/ This was the instance that caused me to consider whether the stipulation in … Continue reading What Happened to Linda? – A Missing Person Case Closure
Who Killed Trish? – A “Whodunit” Rogues’ Gallery Reading
I ultimately decided to perform my "Rogues' Gallery" spread on the murder of 26-year-old New Hampshire native Trish Haynes, whose remains were found in a pond in Grafton, NH. (See my previous "missing-person" posts.) This spread uses the Death card as the Significator, the 16 court cards as the "rogues' gallery" of potential suspects, and … Continue reading Who Killed Trish? – A “Whodunit” Rogues’ Gallery Reading
A “Binary Dilemma” Example Reading
I was asked to do a reading to determine whether the casual acquaintances between a couple and two others can be expected to blossom into real friendship. This "yes-or-no" question presented a perfect opportunity to test-drive my new approach to binary inquiries. I selected the Conver Ben-Dov Tarot de Marseilles for this reading, and used … Continue reading A “Binary Dilemma” Example Reading
The Binary Dilemma
As much as we encourage them to frame their questions in a flexible manner that invites meaningful commentary from the cards rather than an open-and-shut, "yes-or-no" verdict, I would venture to say that the majority of people who request a reading from us aren't seeking a panoramic view of their future circumstances. They want a … Continue reading The Binary Dilemma
Symbolic Triptych: A Past/Present/Future Life-Reading Snapshot
This spread is an oddity for me in that it only has three cards. But I wanted to play around with geometric symbolism and someone asked me for a small-spread recommendation. The square represents stability in past circumstances (even if only in the sense that they aren't going to change) and perfectly symbolizes the "Foundation" … Continue reading Symbolic Triptych: A Past/Present/Future Life-Reading Snapshot
The “Tale of Two Arcs” Business Dynamic Spread
I enjoy playing with 3D effects in spreads. Sometimes I use layered positions to obtain that perspective, but here I'm opting for visual card size to show rising and falling developments in two contrasting arcs, one that peaks in the middle and the other that hits a mid-cycle trough. Any start-up business venture faces a … Continue reading The “Tale of Two Arcs” Business Dynamic Spread
Cutting Remarks
***NOTE*** This post won't be of much interest to you if you prefer to pull your cards from a "fan," or don't bother to cut the deck. There is an old practice, still popular among tarot mystics, that after shuffling a deck of tarot cards, the pack should be "cut into three piles with your … Continue reading Cutting Remarks
