AUTHOR'S NOTE. In his 1967 study The Medium Is The Message: An Inventory of Effects, Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan proposed that the medium by which knowledge is transmitted can have an impact in shaping our understanding of the world that goes far beyond the information it conveys. A good case in point is the … Continue reading Mistaking the “Medium” for the “Message”
General Divination
“The Shadow Knows” (aka “How Tarot Works”)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Shadow was a supernatural detective show that ran on AM radio in the United States from 1937 to 1954. In its early years it featured the distinctive voice of Orson Welles intoning at the beginning of each episode: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" trailing … Continue reading “The Shadow Knows” (aka “How Tarot Works”)
“Your Own Best Friend, You Are”
"I'm a mog! Half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend!"- John Candy as "Barf" in the Mel Brook's comedy Spaceballs AUTHOR'S NOTE: Consider this a bit of skewed wisdom from "pseudo-Yoda the Tarot Guru." I was just reading a news feed that mentioned a growing "national loneliness crisis" as one of the main … Continue reading “Your Own Best Friend, You Are”
Got a Bad Case of “DDD?” – There’s Always a Way Out
"These are the days you wish your bed was already made"- from Manic Monday by The Bangles "I got stones in my passwayAnd my road seem dark as night"- from Stones in My Passway by Robert Johnson AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Discouraging daily draw," that is. Although I admit to seldom doing them unless a major event … Continue reading Got a Bad Case of “DDD?” – There’s Always a Way Out
Tarot Reading: Transformative Experience or Just Plain Fun?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Those who request a tarot reading are often called "seekers" (among other things), but what exactly are they seeking? The obvious reply is "answers" but their goals vary: many querents want to know what they should do in a challenging situation, others care more about what they will get out of it, and … Continue reading Tarot Reading: Transformative Experience or Just Plain Fun?
A Diviner’s Life: From the Mystical to the Meaningful
"Sold my soul to the callingSold my soul to the sweet melodyNow I'm gone, now I'm gone, now I'm gone"- from Fire by Barnes Courtney AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another installment in my lifelong divination saga that I've puckishly subtitled "I'm a student of human nature, so of course I'm a cynic." Here I'm waxing … Continue reading A Diviner’s Life: From the Mystical to the Meaningful
No Hidden AI Here, Now or Ever
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Due to the number of computer programs that are being developed to sniff out text and images that were gathered by and manipulated with LLMs, or "large language models," without being credited to the original writers or artists, I decided to state my own position on the subject, which is: "I may offer … Continue reading No Hidden AI Here, Now or Ever
Lurking Spirits and Subtle Modes of Divination
"Gideon is knocking in your hotel while you slumber"- from Prophets of Doom by Clutch AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a more thorough examination of a subject I've touched on several times in past essays, one that keeps coming up in conversations within the online tarot community due to an entrenched belief in reliable psychic disclosure … Continue reading Lurking Spirits and Subtle Modes of Divination
The Diviner’s Role: Oracle or Coach?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Back in the day when professional tarot reading was almost exclusively a face-to-face affair (unless - like Etteilla, the "father of modern cartomancy" - one occasionally resorted to "snail-mail" communication with clients), the reader served as a personal advisor who delivered first-hand consultation regarding a seeker's presumed future and what might be done … Continue reading The Diviner’s Role: Oracle or Coach?
The Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Tarot Reading
"Deal them down and deal them dirtyLife's a wheezing hurdy-gurdyDeal them up and deal them cleanMan is just a soft machine"-from Dame Fortune by the Holy Modal Rounders AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay gave me another opportunity to trot out the card-playing trope from the Holy Modal Rounder's song Dame Fortune, which alludes to the fact … Continue reading The Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Tarot Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 