AUTHOR'S NOTE: A couple of weeks ago I posted an essay in which I took issue with the Golden Dawn's arrangement of the Kings, Queens and Knights on the Chaldean wheel of the zodiac. Rather than the Queens being Cardinal (a dynamic and enterprising mode), I've always felt that they should be Fixed due to … Continue reading The Tarot Cosmology of Papus
General Astrology
Something Borrowed, Something New
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In reading about the mythological history of the stars and their constellations, I came across the supposition that, in primitive cultures, the concept of a personal "guiding star" predated by millennia that of an individual "guardian angel." Everyone was aligned with a dominant stellar (or more likely planetary) force that governed their destiny … Continue reading Something Borrowed, Something New
“Name Your Poison”
(For lovers of useless minutiae, June 8 is "Name Your Poison Day.") AUTHOR'S NOTE: Among modern tarot enthusiasts there exists a fundamental dispute regarding proper use of the cards that has been smoldering since the Jung-besotted 1970s. It typically surfaces in the divide between those who believe that a tarot deck should be employed solely … Continue reading “Name Your Poison”
The “Twitch Factor”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: During a recent online conversation I mentioned the fact that, when provoked, the element of Earth in the sign of Virgo can be fidgety, rising one notch above in "twitchy" angst from Virgo's trademark anal fussiness. This got me thinking about how the elements of the Chaldean zodiac react with the Minor Arcana … Continue reading The “Twitch Factor”
A Sky Tutorial: Planets in Parallel
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This dramatic photograph from the evening of February 21, 2023 shows the alignment of the Waxing Crescent Moon, Venus (the brighter of the two planets) and Jupiter over Port Orange, Florida. The Moon was at approximately 25 degrees of Pisces in celestial longitude and 5 degrees of South celestial declination moving North, Venus … Continue reading A Sky Tutorial: Planets in Parallel
A Question of Houses
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is apparently an ongoing controversy among the upper echelon of professional astrologers regarding which system of house division came first, the "quadrant" system later popularized by Placidus de Titis or the Whole Sign system. In the time-based method of Placidus, the Ascendant is coincident with the 1st House cusp and the intermediary … Continue reading A Question of Houses
Tarot and the Nature of Desire
The tarot reader is often tasked with divining "what someone wants" in a situation. In natal astrology the answer is much simpler: Venus and Mars rule the realm of basic human appetites and their interaction goes to the heart of the matter. Boston astrologer Isabel Hickey once said "Mars goes out and gets what Venus … Continue reading Tarot and the Nature of Desire
Rectification: Adjusting an Unknown Birth Time for a Natal Horoscope
I occasionally see people asking online how they can come up with a reliable birth chart when they have no time of birth, precise or otherwise. A legitimate time is crucial to establishing the astrological "framework" (house divisions and associated planetary placements) for the horoscope. While it is often possible to obtain an officially "timed" … Continue reading Rectification: Adjusting an Unknown Birth Time for a Natal Horoscope
Mercury Retrograde: Mystics and Statistics
Warren Zevon knew a thing or two about "mystics and statistics" (look it up). One of my favorite metaphysical whipping-boys is the almost universally-held opinion that the periodic transit of retrograde Mercury is unquestionably significant in our daily lives - all of us at the same time. As an astrologer of fifty years' standing, I … Continue reading Mercury Retrograde: Mystics and Statistics
The “Keys to the Kingdom”
Somewhere in the dim and distant past I encountered the idea that astrology represents the "gold key" to unlocking visions of the future through divination, in that it is objective and rational (that is, based on visible phenomena), while the more subjective and intuitive tarot provides the "silver key." I can no longer find the … Continue reading The “Keys to the Kingdom”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 