"This isn't right. This isn't even wrong."- Wolfgang Pauli AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll preface my remarks by noting that tarot's field of operation - the subconscious mind - can itself be a "slippery slope" that tilts away from where our conscious intentions want to go. We have no immediate control over its orientation and can only … Continue reading The Slippery Slope of “Truth According to Tarot”
General Divination
Immodest Claims: The Cult of “Thems That Think They Knows”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In their debut recording Bert and I . . . and Other Stories from Down East, rustic Maine humorists Robert Bryan and Marshall Dodge referred slyly to "thems that knows" in one of the monologues. I recall this quip whenever I encounter the tarot community's online ranks of zealous Jungian partisans who are … Continue reading Immodest Claims: The Cult of “Thems That Think They Knows”
Pre-Conditioning and Pre-Positioning: The Twin Roots of Cause-and-Effect
"There is always a 'cause' and a 'because' for every event. Nothing ever 'happens' without a cause, or rather a chain of causes. There is a continuity between all events precedent, consequent and subsequent. There is a relation existing between everything that has gone before, and everything that follows."- from The Kybalion by "Three Initiates" … Continue reading Pre-Conditioning and Pre-Positioning: The Twin Roots of Cause-and-Effect
Empowerment as “Mental Induction”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is no concept more widely endorsed in the divination community than that of peppering (aka empowering) a sitter with encouragement during the conduct of a tarot reading. We don't merely want to hand our clients relevant information about their future circumstances, we attempt to make them feel like they are (or will … Continue reading Empowerment as “Mental Induction”
My Life with the Qabalistic Tarot: A Field Guide
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been following a lengthy academic debate in the online occult community about whether non-Jews should be "allowed" to engage in esoteric practices based on the Hebraic body of Kabbalistic knowledge as filtered though the Hermetic working model. Little mention is made of the fact that the Kabbalah itself was heavily influenced by … Continue reading My Life with the Qabalistic Tarot: A Field Guide
The Diviner as Middleman – Sharing the Burden of Proof
Ted Striker (Robert Hayes): "Surely you can't be serious."Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen): "I am serious . . . and don't call me Shirley."- from the movie Airplane! AUTHOR'S NOTE: After many years away from it, I'm now re-reading The Kybalion, a learned text on esoteric philosophy. In one of the early lessons the author insists … Continue reading The Diviner as Middleman – Sharing the Burden of Proof
“Do You Believe in <Pick One>?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not entirely sure what motivates them beyond an opportunity for mindless chatting (which is never in short supply online), but I often see people asking in the global occult community "Do you believe in <tarot, astrology, magic, astral travel, mediumship, etc>?" Giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they experienced an … Continue reading “Do You Believe in <Pick One>?”
Inflection in Tarot Reading: Not “No,” Not “Yes,” But Maybe “Not Yet”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For post number 2,800, I decided to revisit the subject of subtlety in the art of prediction. My inspiration was a comment made by actress Rachel Dratch, the commencement speaker at the 2026 Dartmouth College graduation ceremony: ". . . sometimes a 'no' is just a 'not yet.' Maybe it’s just not the … Continue reading Inflection in Tarot Reading: Not “No,” Not “Yes,” But Maybe “Not Yet”
A Multi-Path Progression: Occult, Cartomantic and Numerological Number Theory
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been using a combination of Pythagorean and Qabalistic number theory with the minor (or "pip") cards over the entire span of my five-decade tarot journey, but more recently I came across a new model (which is not all that different from my old one) in playing-card divination. I thought it would be … Continue reading A Multi-Path Progression: Occult, Cartomantic and Numerological Number Theory
The “Liberating” Tarot and the “Locksmith’s” Portion
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Tarot Currents, Paul Hughes-Barlow recently observed that the true aim of tarot reading is not solely the telling of fortunes but rather the delivery of relief from suffering and liberation from a feeling of entrapment. In Paul's words: "The proper use of TARO is not simply to predict events. Its purpose is … Continue reading The “Liberating” Tarot and the “Locksmith’s” Portion
