You will often hear me say that, at least in my own work, divination is a subliminal process rooted in the unconscious (or, if you like, "Higher Self") that relies heavily on imagination, inspiration and ingenuity to tease practical messages from evocative symbolism that is typically shrouded in rather obscure "magical" imagery. In the best … Continue reading Bridging the Gap Between Magic and Meaning
General Tarot
A Star to Steer By
Old wine in new bottles . . . Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will no doubt have noticed that I tend to recycle certain ideas that have become almost axiomatic for me, and I trot them out whenever the occasion warrants it. There are a couple here but … Continue reading A Star to Steer By
A Baleful Thing?
Upon the recommendation of a fellow on-line "Tarot History" member, I've begun reading The Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis, a study of Medieval literature and its iconography. At the very beginning of the Introduction I encountered a passage that stopped me in my tracks. He was talking about how, when we come upon "hard places" … Continue reading A Baleful Thing?
The “Pernt” and the “Cherce”
I must be getting really desperate if I'm resorting to "Archie-Bunker-isms" for my post titles; for the culturally uninitiated, it reads "The Point and the Choice." What I'm referring to, of course, is the key point (goal, not location) in our approach to divining with the tarot cards and the choices we make in their … Continue reading The “Pernt” and the “Cherce”
The Star Effect (aka “The Bubble”)
In a brief essay about his aphorism "Every man and woman is a star," Aleister Crowley made the point that it's physically impossible to stand in someone else's shoes at the same instant in time and look at the world from exactly the same perspective; thus, each of us inhabits a private universe of which … Continue reading The Star Effect (aka “The Bubble”)
Chord Changes
File this one under "How Stuff Works." I'm a firm believer in the assumption that very little that is truly definitive in life happens by sheer coincidence, or in complete isolation; formative impulses and nascent events crowd the background of our personal drama, waiting to be propelled into prominence by invitation (ours or others) or … Continue reading Chord Changes
Decimal Counterparts: An Alternative Approach
If I recall correctly (which may or may not be the case), a few years ago I encountered - very briefly in the writing of Anthony Louis and then more exhaustively in that of James Wanless - the notion of decimal counterparts among the trump cards of the tarot. The assumption is that the two-digit … Continue reading Decimal Counterparts: An Alternative Approach
Recombinant Trumps: Hierophant and Star
The Hierophant and the Star are not cards that would normally be mentioned in the same breath. The former, as the mundane channel for divine inspiration, has its feet on the ground and its head in the clouds, while the latter is about as removed from earthly concerns as one can get while still remaining … Continue reading Recombinant Trumps: Hierophant and Star
The Cheerleader or the Coach
To me, the most important part of a tarot reading isn't the cards pulled or the accuracy of their interpretation, it's the dialogue that ensues between reader and sitter once the cards are on the table. Reading in a vacuum is like trying to play tennis blindfolded, with one hand tied behind your back: you … Continue reading The Cheerleader or the Coach
Jung vs. Tarot: Intuition or Inspiration?
Those of you who have been following this blog for a while know that I favor proficient knowledge-based reading leavened by impromptu flashes of illumination that typically invoke heightened sensitivity. Conversely, I have a distrust of total reliance on speculative guesswork (more commonly known as "intuition") when it comes to tarot interpretation. My suspicion is … Continue reading Jung vs. Tarot: Intuition or Inspiration?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 