AUTHOR'S NOTE: During my studies I occasionally see a distinction being made between a narrative "storytelling" approach to explaining the cards in a reading, in which a series of scenes is presented much like the panels of a comic strip, and a less-anecdotal descriptive style that defines the broader relationship among the cards, often in … Continue reading Narrative or Descriptive Reading: A Cartomantic Divide
General Divination
Above, Below and In-Between
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "As above, so below" is a cornerstone of esoteric thought in the Hermetic tradition. According to this theory, life on Earth is a mirror or "microcosm" of the spiritual realm, or "macrocosm." Humans could therefore be viewed as approximate (and perhaps distorted) replicas of the perfect beings who inhabit the more numinous levels … Continue reading Above, Below and In-Between
Don’t Accept “Maybe . . .”
. . . when "Yes" or "No" will do. AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a strong bias in the cartomantic community against putting simple "yes-or-no" questions to the cards. Such efforts are seen as no better than a coin-flip, an odd-or-even roll of the dice or any other 50/50 divination method, and when they do invoke … Continue reading Don’t Accept “Maybe . . .”
“Exclamation-Point” Cards (!)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across the notion that some cards in a reading can add an exclamation point or "Aha!" emphasis to whatever message the rest of the cards are trying to convey, in effect imparting some certainty to the forecast. (Thank you Lisa Young-Sutton for the inspiration!) In Lenormand readings this honor falls … Continue reading “Exclamation-Point” Cards (!)
The Nature of Truth (As We Know It)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "What is the truth?" (at least in the matter at hand) is one of the "big questions" along with "What is the meaning of life?" (usually "my life" when asked by a querent) that are often put to the tarot and other modes of divination. (Of course, both questions are aimed at discovering … Continue reading The Nature of Truth (As We Know It)
Filling the Cup
AUTHOR'S NOTE: First a disclaimer. Although I'm unmoved by most pop-culture forms of psychological navel-gazing masquerading as spiritual enlightenment, I firmly believe that all legitimate attempts at fortune-telling embody an element of psychic sensitivity based on my own assumptions about "how divination works" (discussed ad nauseum in other posts). So I'm not an arch-enemy of … Continue reading Filling the Cup
“It Just Happened . . .”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Cynics and nihilists are fond of saying (with studied indifference) "Shit happens." Here I'm going to take a hard look at that assumption. In a rational Universe, it can be argued that things don't "just happen;" even if we unwittingly place ourselves in the path of a developing train-wreck (the "wrong place, wrong … Continue reading “It Just Happened . . .”
Flights of Vanity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This rant certainly won't endear me to the few video-content creators of my acquaintance, so I won't be sharing it widely. While there are a handful I respect for their professionalism, I imagine they could become expert at anything they attempt; the rest seem to subscribe to the notion that "It's so simple … Continue reading Flights of Vanity
Four Worlds: Clothing the Abstract
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Qabalistic Tree of Life (which takes its inspiration from the orthodox Hebrew Kabbalah) presents an ontological model of four levels (olams or "worlds") of increasing density as one descends the Tree: the Archetypal or Spiritual World (Atziluth) at the top is entirely numinous; the Creative or Intellectual World (Briah or Beriah) immediately … Continue reading Four Worlds: Clothing the Abstract
“A Cynic, a Skeptic and a Mystic Walk into a Bar . . .”
Who walks out? Me, most likely! Seriously, though, setting aside cynicism (which helps nobody) is there a place for rational skepticism in mystical practice? I'm a living example of that questioning mindset, believing implicitly in the esoteric wisdom that rewards serious metaphysical inquiry while holding a less charitable opinion of some of its modern proponents. … Continue reading “A Cynic, a Skeptic and a Mystic Walk into a Bar . . .”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 