While vacationing at a beach in Florida and needing something to take my mind (and my eyes) off the abundant evidence that this vulgar age of conspicuous consumption has had an adverse impact on the semi-clad human physique (present company included; thankfully there are no ocean-side mirrors), I decided to dip back into the writing … Continue reading Portents, Predictions and Probability
General Tarot
Any Convenient Excuse
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I can't seem to escape gathering a fresh crop of intriguing notions every time I open Alejandro Jodorowsly's The Way of Tarot (at least on this, my second time through; the first adventure into his thinking felt more like an overwhelming tsunami of oddities). Somewhat like Aleister Crowley (although both would likely deny … Continue reading Any Convenient Excuse
A Matter of Presentation
Questions are often posed in online tarot discussion groups regarding the various ways that readings can be presented to clients. I thought I would take some time to enumerate them along with what I perceive to be their strengths and weaknesses. Face-to-Face Reading: This is the ancestor of all delivery methods and in my estimation … Continue reading A Matter of Presentation
The Further Adventures of “Gaze and Regard”
I've written in the past on the topic of "facing, gaze or regard" between two adjacent tarot cards that include human or human-like beings in their iconography, and what their juxtaposition in a spread means for the narrative when they are either facing toward or away from one another. (Simply put, one suggests "seeing eye-to-eye" … Continue reading The Further Adventures of “Gaze and Regard”
“Not A Very Nice Man?”
Whenever I present the observation that by all accounts occultist Aleister Crowley was "not a very nice man," I pause and wonder whether I should look in the mirror. Going back over five years of almost daily posts in this blog, I realize that the "curmudgeon content" in my writing is fairly high, which can … Continue reading “Not A Very Nice Man?”
Divination As Self-Sabotage
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I'm unimpressed by much that passes for tarot wisdom on the YouTube channels, I believe I've found a kindred spirit in "Balthazar" at the Balthazar's Conjure site (https://www.balthazarconjure.com/). While most of his recent output is focused on practical magic and related occult disciplines rather than exclusively on divination, his historical content is … Continue reading Divination As Self-Sabotage
The Art and Science of Precise Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's no secret that I'm both an esoteric theorist and a conceptual minimalist in my approach to tarot card interpretation, although as a reader I consider myself first-and-foremost a creative storyteller with a flair for inspiration, imagination and ingenuity in my narrative output. The purpose of this essay is to explore ways to … Continue reading The Art and Science of Precise Tarot Reading
Swords and Wands As “Present” and “Future”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's another unusual twist from Alejandro Jodorowsky. Although I certainly don't love everything he's written since so much of it is mystically obtuse (when it isn't merely peculiar), he does come up with some thought-provoking notions. In comparing the Ace of Swords to the Ace of Wands in The Way of Tarot, Jodorowsky … Continue reading Swords and Wands As “Present” and “Future”
Tarot Taken Twice
Long before I read the chapter titled "The Tarot Two by Two" in Alejandro Jodorowsky's book The Way of Tarot (in which he examines the cards as pairs, couples and duets), I was advising beginners that - rather than trying to learn the meaning of individual cards in an interpretive vacuum - it's best to … Continue reading Tarot Taken Twice
“You Can’t Get There from Here:” Targeted Spreads and the Prepared Deck
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently involved in an online discussion about the uncommon practices that readers employ on a regular basis. I took this to mean those techniques I've developed over the years that are outside the mainstream as defined by standard teaching methods and the tarot literature. The following is just a snapshot of … Continue reading “You Can’t Get There from Here:” Targeted Spreads and the Prepared Deck
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 