"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
General Divination
Tarot Prediction: The Spread as “Frame of Opportunity”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently encountered the irrefutable argument that the aspects of life on which we focus with purposeful intent will expand in priority to fill our field of view, while those from which we withhold our attention will shrink in importance to the point of invisibility. In the realm of tarot prediction, this presupposes … Continue reading Tarot Prediction: The Spread as “Frame of Opportunity”
Astral Access: Surface Tension and the Suspension of Disbelief
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The belief in communication with spirits is often based on the assumption of an invisible world that exists behind or above mundane reality, and these contacts are said to occur along frequencies or "channels" that can be accessed through the psychic faculties. This is the Astral Plane of the mystics and the Formative … Continue reading Astral Access: Surface Tension and the Suspension of Disbelief
Love, Sex . . . and Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a well-established marketing ploy that assumes "Sex sells, and everyone's buying!" In the tarot-reader's world, the sales model is more like "Love sells, and sex is along for the ride!" Most diviners have extensive experience with the "love" question, usually phrased as "When will I find it?" Some querents are actively … Continue reading Love, Sex . . . and Tarot
“Why Divine?” – A Fortune-Teller’s Manifesto
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the past five decades I've come full circle in my attitude toward divination with the tarot cards. What originated as a philosophical preoccupation with occult theory became an intellectual pursuit centered on experiments in prediction, soon passed through a Jungian phase in parallel with psychological astrology, and finally settled into a non-deterministic … Continue reading “Why Divine?” – A Fortune-Teller’s Manifesto
Pursuing the “Imaginative Turn of Phrase” – An Astrological View
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his essay on the Knight of Swords in Tarot Master Class, Paul Fenton-Smith observed that this "quick-minded" Knight "is keen to practice an imaginative turn of phrase." This once again brought to mind my own predilection for nailing the "well-chosen metaphor" in my writing on divination. (Full Disclosure: I'm a Thoth Knight-of-Cups … Continue reading Pursuing the “Imaginative Turn of Phrase” – An Astrological View
“Beware the Devil Woman”
"Crystal ball on the tableShowing the future, the pastSame cat with them evil eyesAnd I knew it was a spell she cast She's just a devil womanWith evil on her mindBeware the devil womanShe's gonna get you from behind"- from Devil Woman by Cliff Richard AUTHOR'S NOTE: I confess to a bit of "trolling" with … Continue reading “Beware the Devil Woman”
“Waitin’ on Judgement Day” – Thoughts on Legacy
"It's just ol' Luke, and Luke's waitin' on the Judgement Day"- from The Weight by The Band For my 400th consecutive daily post and 2,407th entry in the last eight years, I decided to briefly ponder the subject of "legacy." I realize that in this era of "New Tarot" revisionism such considerations are felt to … Continue reading “Waitin’ on Judgement Day” – Thoughts on Legacy
The Message for the Querent: A “Quick-Read” Technique
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been re-reading 54 Devils by Cory Hutcheson, which is a brief treatise on playing-card cartomancy. (The standard deck of playing cards has 52 pip and court cards and two "jokers" for a total of 54). In it he describes a "quick-read" method by which the querent cuts the shuffled deck from right-to-left … Continue reading The Message for the Querent: A “Quick-Read” Technique
The Science of Tarot: Fact or Fantasy?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the armchair scientists among my followers, my knowledge of quantum mechanics derives from nothing more academic than my reading of the rather quirky Robert Anton Wilson (who was not much of a believer in occult reasoning). Just so you know before you correct me. One of the theories about "how tarot works" … Continue reading The Science of Tarot: Fact or Fantasy?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 