As I've mentioned before, I'm presently reading Caitlin Matthews' new traditional tarot book, Untold Tarot. In it she talks about the subject of "significator" cards, and mentions that Etteilla was the first to designate a unique significator for his Book of Thoth deck, a blank card - or "carte blanche" - that he immodestly called … Continue reading A New Wrinkle On An Old Face
Experimental Methods
A “Spiritual Release” Example Reading
This was an interesting exercise because I have been on an esoteric spiritual journey for over four decades, and count myself among the 37% of Americans who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious." I used the Radiant RWS for this reading. All images copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc, Stamford, CT Card #1 - "What I Know" (The Footing): … Continue reading A “Spiritual Release” Example Reading
A “Spiritual Release” Spread
Many of us spend years seeking the most inspiring and rewarding personal path to spiritual enlightenment (or at least those of us do who refuse to swallow the "faith" pill). I envision both a philosophical and a mystical trajectory to this goal, depending on whether one is predominantly a "thinker" or a "feeler." For those who aren't sure, here is a layout to help … Continue reading A “Spiritual Release” Spread
Lost Book: A Lenormand Lost & Found Reading
This example reading for my Lenormand lost & found approach is instructive for what it doesn't show me. I lost a book in our recent move. It wasn't a valuable book, just part of a two-volume set that leaves its partner orphaned on the bookshelf. We have been through all our shipping boxes now, and no book. … Continue reading Lost Book: A Lenormand Lost & Found Reading
Lenormand Lost & Found
I have been working with the “location” guidance in astrologer John Frawley's Horary Textbook to come up with similar attributes for the cards of the Lenormand deck to be used in “lost object” readings. The following ideas are provisional and subject to change as I develop them further; because this is unmapped territory, in many cases I'm going with … Continue reading Lenormand Lost & Found
2019 Super Bowl: Rams vs. Patriots
UPDATE #1: The Rams won the toss, so even though they deferred possession until the start of the second half, I'll stick with my model and predict a win for Los Angeles. UPDATE #2: The anemic scoring envisioned for the first half proved to be prophetic, and the half-time score was even lower than predicted. … Continue reading 2019 Super Bowl: Rams vs. Patriots
“Two-Out-of-Three” Spread Tutorial Layouts
A Facebook conversation led to the recognition that it would be a good idea to post some example pictures of how the various card chains would play out. I posed a hypothetical question: "How will this business initiative work out?" and selected the 3 of Wands from the Albano-Waite deck (Deck #1) as my Significator. Since … Continue reading “Two-Out-of-Three” Spread Tutorial Layouts
The “Two Out of Three” Decision-Making Spread
I've always found the typical three-card draw to be rather uninspiring. My long-held opinion is that the reader has to inject entirely too much intuitive guesswork into the gaps between the cards to make a compelling narrative out of the sequence. A five-position spread is the minimum I prefer to work with in order to "just read … Continue reading The “Two Out of Three” Decision-Making Spread
The “Mystic Chalice” Trump Card Layout
I sometimes amuse myself by creating study tools for analyzing the interrelationship between the cards of the tarot, both in two dimensions and stacked in a three-dimensional overlay. This one uses an imaginative arrangement of the trump cards as its basis. I call it the "Mystic Chalice," but have to admit it does look a … Continue reading The “Mystic Chalice” Trump Card Layout
National Football Conference Championship: Saints vs. Rams
Update: The NFC championship game is over and the Rams won. The two things about this reading that were accurate were that the decision did come down to the final seconds, and the Rams did reassert themselves at the 11th hour by forcing a sudden-death overtime. Interestingly, my prediction for the Chiefs-Patriots game hints that … Continue reading National Football Conference Championship: Saints vs. Rams