AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a persistent myth among diviners who haven't carefully thought it through that tarot can't be used to answer "yes-or-no" questions with any degree of accuracy, and that such use is a miscarriage of its narrative prowess. To which I reply "Nonsense!" Like any form of inquiry, binary or otherwise, tarot can … Continue reading “Answer Me This If You Can . . .”
General Tarot
“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 . . .”
“Beer & Pretzels” Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the reading venues that professional readers often mention is parties. While I haven't done one since the early days of my practice almost 50 years ago, I honed my chops on 15-minute reading sessions during more recent psychic fairs, so I know the bare-bones drill. The kind of parties I usually … Continue reading “Beer & Pretzels” Tarot
A “90/10” Proposition
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've always maintained that my tarot reading style is roughly 60% analytical and 40% - or at least 30% - intuitive. But I just came across the opinion that effective divination is 90% common sense (which I personally arrive at by using deductive reasoning from a "gestalt" view of the whole spread), and … Continue reading A “90/10” Proposition
Mindset and the Quest for Control
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aleister Crowley once wrote in his commentary on the Wheel of Fortune (which at one time meant "a turn of one's luck for the better" but now seems to promise only "change, good or bad"): "(It) generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent." (In more colloquial terms, … Continue reading Mindset and the Quest for Control
Question Quibbles
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just begun reading Vincent Pitisci's first book, Genius of the Tarot: A Guide to Divination with the Tarot, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find that his thinking agrees on almost all points with similar opinions I've formed over 50 years of study and practice. At the time he wrote it (2013) he … Continue reading Question Quibbles
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
“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 . . .”
Walking the Talk
For the neophyte, learning to read the tarot cards is a charming diversion that, when diligently nurtured, can soon become a mesmerizing quest for the truth. It's a bit like rabbit-hunting; we're handed a dangerous weapon, a figurative "shotgun," and set off in pursuit of the quarry, which is elusive and can lead us, like … Continue reading Walking the Talk
“A Powerful Group Effort”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the problems with electronic reading devices is that they will run out of power if you forget to charge them. (I know, "Duh!") I like to read my tarot books on the Kindle while doing my morning treadmill jog, but yesterday the tablet died and I had to resort to the … Continue reading “A Powerful Group Effort”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 