AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the early 1980s, I departed the urban tarot scene for a couple of decades to study and practice privately in the country, and when I returned via the internet in 2011 a full-blown controversy was underway over masculine bias in the cards. The online community was awash in hand-wringing, finger-pointing and self-righteous … Continue reading Patriarchal and Matriarchal Bias in the Tarot
General Tarot
What Tarot Does Best: An Opinion
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been said that the tarot can be tasked with answering any question, but in my own predictive work it has proven to be better for some inquiries than for others. This compilation offers an overview of my experience in reading the cards since I returned to active practice in 2011. The categories … Continue reading What Tarot Does Best: An Opinion
Reversal as Disconnection: “How Far Should I Stick My Neck Out?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another take on the phenomenon of reversed cards in a tarot reading, this time inspired by the interpretation of a reversed court card from Paul Fenton-Smith's Tarot Master-Class. The male subject was described as being disconnected from expressing the characteristics of the upright orientation, and the impression was of being barred … Continue reading Reversal as Disconnection: “How Far Should I Stick My Neck Out?”
Reductionism as the Tarot Reader’s Duty
"Your goal as a reader is to clarify the client's situation, so reducing the possible meanings for each card on the table is a part of this process."- Paul Fenton-Smith in Tarot Master-Class AUTHOR'S NOTE: My belief has always been that the tarot cards are infinitely flexible and adaptable to any situation, given that each … Continue reading Reductionism as the Tarot Reader’s Duty
Portraits of Immaturity: Court-Card Reversal as “Backsliding”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was put on the scent of this topic while re-reading Paul Fenton-Smith's Tarot Master-Class. When addressing the subject of reversal in his court-card chapter, Fenton-Smith maintains the premise that the appearance of a reversed card in a reading means that something about the affairs of the previous upright card in the natural … Continue reading Portraits of Immaturity: Court-Card Reversal as “Backsliding”
“Watching the Grass Grow” – Elemental Humours and Temperaments in Divination
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've always been fascinated by the vision of human personality portrayed by natal (aka "birth-chart") astrology, and to a lesser extent by the cards of the tarot. But in recent years I've left behind the highly-nuanced character profiling of "New Age" psychological astrology and evolved (some might say devolved) into the simpler techniques … Continue reading “Watching the Grass Grow” – Elemental Humours and Temperaments in Divination
The Separation of Church and Fate: Taking Religion Out of Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry about the clumsy malapropism, it was the best I could come up with as a riff on the "separation of Church and State" in tarot terms. As everyone knows if they have even a smattering of knowledge about tarot history (or just the eyes to see), the traditional cards have a strong … Continue reading The Separation of Church and Fate: Taking Religion Out of Tarot
Mistaking the “Medium” for the “Message”
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”
Taking Time Off from Tarot – A Cure for Stale Readings?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: First a confession: I'm probably not the best person to recommend taking time off from the tarot since today's essay completes a 75-day streak of daily posts on this blog, and I previously had an unbroken 450-day run to my credit. Compulsive and occasionally addictive behavior dogs my family, and my personal vice … Continue reading Taking Time Off from Tarot – A Cure for Stale Readings?
“Do As I Say, Not As I Do” – Authoritarian Posturing in Spiritual Practice
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Having recognized (and suffered from) the glaring inadequacies of the second-rate teachers and administrators hired by my small rural high school back in the 1960s, I've never had much patience with authority figures. (With that attitude, just imagine how I fared in the US Army!) In the realm of spirituality, the recent documentary … Continue reading “Do As I Say, Not As I Do” – Authoritarian Posturing in Spiritual Practice
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 