AUTHOR'S NOTE: Despite the title, I promise I won't invoke the cinematic spirit of Kurt Russell in this essay; Carl Gustav Young will have to do. I've just begun reading Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot, and the introductory chapter brought me back to the topic of "first principles" in my practice of divination. Some of this … Continue reading Anticipatory Forecasting: “Escape from New Tarot”
General Astrology
Elements and Modes in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If there are any astrologers among my readers who were active during the era of New-Age metaphysical expansion, feel free to fact-check my historical observations. Having been there myself, this is how I remember it. Astrology uses a modal form of analysis: there are three quadriplicities (also known as modalities) - Cardinal, Fixed … Continue reading Elements and Modes in Tarot Reading
Locating Those Who Vanish – An Informed Opinion
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just discovered a thread on the r/tarot sub that questioned whether tarot can be used to locate missing people. The consensus ran strongly in the direction of "No," with one person saying that only law-enforcement professionals can find them and another stating that psychics never succeed. Both of these attitudes are misinformed, … Continue reading Locating Those Who Vanish – An Informed Opinion
“The Springtime of My Life:” The Second Coming of Inspiration
"Look aroundThe grass is highThe fields are ripeIt's the springtime of my life"(from A Hazy Shade of Winter by Simon and Garfunkle) AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just listening to The Bangles' power-pop version of the Paul Simon folk-rock song and picked up on this verse. At my advanced age (those who have been with me … Continue reading “The Springtime of My Life:” The Second Coming of Inspiration
Dexter and Sinister: The Straight and Crooked Paths
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In classical astrology, planetary motion was tracked in two directions: dexter (toward the right or counterclockwise through the signs) and sinister (toward the left or clockwise through the houses). On a monthly, annual or multi-year basis depending on their orbital speed, the planets traverse the signs in sequential order from Aries at the … Continue reading Dexter and Sinister: The Straight and Crooked Paths
Lenormand and Astrology: Strange Bedfellows?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I prefer to keep my Lenormand practice free of entanglement with other modes of divination: that means no mingling with tarot or astrology and no psychic conjecture based on free-association from the images. I'm more practical and literal than eclectic and improvisational in my interpretation, and my use of intuition in Lenormand reading … Continue reading Lenormand and Astrology: Strange Bedfellows?
Complexion vs. Character Mapping in Tarot and Astrology
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I joined Aeclectic Tarot in 2011 I met two traditional "seven-planet" astrologers whose opinions greatly affected my thinking on psychological profiling with the natal horoscope (and, by extension, with the tarot cards). I had been a "New-Age" psychological astrologer since 1972 but quickly realized that the "complexions" (aka qualitative humours or temperaments) … Continue reading Complexion vs. Character Mapping in Tarot and Astrology
Under the Moon
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a "lunar" person born on a Full Moon I've always felt its pull, and this month is no exception. Although I was inspired in beginning this essay by my reading of Medieval cultural history, as I was writing it I was at least subconsciously aware that the Moon will be full tomorrow. … Continue reading Under the Moon
Mercury Retrograde: A Brief Case Study
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a natal and predictive astrologer with 50+ years of experience I've always accepted the premise that, unless they evoke a response by contacting factors in the birth chart of the entity involved (most acutely by conjunction, square or opposition), transiting influences of any kind have little impact on individual lives and even … Continue reading Mercury Retrograde: A Brief Case Study
Modern Astrology and the “Pick-a-Chart” Quandary
AUTHOR'S NOTE: On one of the astrological sub-reddits, a member recently asked how it can be right for different house systems to yield inconsistent chart structures and planetary placements but still manage to "resonate" with our life circumstances even though there is little commonality in the competing definitions. This fluidity of horoscope factors doesn't seem … Continue reading Modern Astrology and the “Pick-a-Chart” Quandary
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 