AUTHOR'S NOTE: A couple of weeks ago I posted an essay in which I took issue with the Golden Dawn's arrangement of the Kings, Queens and Knights on the Chaldean wheel of the zodiac. Rather than the Queens being Cardinal (a dynamic and enterprising mode), I've always felt that they should be Fixed due to … Continue reading The Tarot Cosmology of Papus
General Tarot
Hope-Based Questions: “Be Careful What You Wish For”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just read an old blog post by Bjorn Meuris that struck a chord with me. In his advice for asking a proper question of the Lenormand cards (or any cards for that matter) he said "Don't ask for what you do not hope for to be confirmed" by casting your question in … Continue reading Hope-Based Questions: “Be Careful What You Wish For”
The Virtue of Extemporizing
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a recent r/tarot thread, someone advised beginners - once they've diligently jotted down their initial thoughts about each card - to "put this notebook away and don't look at it again. You've done the basic work of learning the meanings, and even if you think you don't remember, that knowledge is now … Continue reading The Virtue of Extemporizing
Schrodinger and the “Fabric of Reality”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I haven't touched on this subject recently, but my involvement in the Reddit sub r/seculartarot brought it back around. I once described divination in fanciful terms as "running my mental fingers through the warp-and-woof of the fabric of reality, trying to tease out threads of truth." More recently I encountered the ideas of … Continue reading Schrodinger and the “Fabric of Reality”
The Breeding Ground
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Having come from several years of involvement in Aeclectic Tarot, a stimulating online divination forum that closed in 2017, I've been somewhat disheartened by what I see as a much more diluted discussion platform in the Facebook pages I frequent. Although I have nothing against offering advice and assistance to novices, it seems … Continue reading The Breeding Ground
“Who’s Got the Button?” – Abusing the Privilege
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was away from the public tarot scene for an extended period near the end of the last century, and when I returned in the middle of the online reading frenzy I was amazed at how many people won't take "No" for an answer even when the Universe is telling them point-blank "I … Continue reading “Who’s Got the Button?” – Abusing the Privilege
The Tarot of the Bohemians: First Thoughts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Now that I've finished Sallie Nichols' Tarot and the Archetypal Journey I'm setting off in an entirely different direction, having just begun reading The Tarot of the Bohemians (third edition) by Gerard Encausse (aka "Papus"), which will surely generate as many brief essays as the former work. I'm only part-way through the preface … Continue reading The Tarot of the Bohemians: First Thoughts
“Teach It To Talk”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: These four words jumped out at me from Sallie Nichols' text in Tarot and the Archetypal Journey as a perfect summary of how we must engage with the tarot if we're going to get the most out of its metaphysical abstractions. Tarot is a language but it isn't necessarily one with which we're … Continue reading “Teach It To Talk”
The Predictive “Coddiwomple”*
*To travel purposely toward an as-yet unknown destination. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm indebted to my online friend Dianne DeMarco for this bit of whimsy. I can't think of a more accurate (or more peculiar) way to describe the act of diligently pursuing the advice of a tarot reading for the purpose of unlocking its uncertain promise. … Continue reading The Predictive “Coddiwomple”*
The True Power of Prediction (or “How’s the Weather?”)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: (tl;dr*) Tarot prediction is like "metaphysical weather forecasting." It can hint at the trending environment or atmosphere of future circumstances but not tell you the hour-by-hour conditions at the time of arrival. It's up to you to bring the metaphorical sunscreen or umbrella. In a certain segment of the tarot community there is … Continue reading The True Power of Prediction (or “How’s the Weather?”)
