AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the Golden Dawn system of astrological correspondences, every card except the ten planetary and elemental trumps has a counterpart on the opposite side of the Chaldean zodiac. I've explored these pairs in a previous post (linked below), but here I'm proposing that a reversed mate is the instigator for reactionary change and … Continue reading Friction and Lubrication: Chaldean Decans as “Built-in Clarifiers”
Golden Dawn
Knights and Streetcars: “Coming and Going”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My wife dismisses blues music as "whining man" music (as in "My baby done left me and I'm feelin' lowdown and mean." But there is a bawdy old "whining woman" blues song from the early 20th Century that complains: "Men are like streetcars/They keep coming and going." (A similar modern version would be … Continue reading Knights and Streetcars: “Coming and Going”
The Wheel and the Case for Cancer
One of my favorite academic pastimes is tinkering with the cherished set of esoteric correspondences that was handed down to us by the Hermetic Order of the Golden. Its chief architect, Samuel Liddell "MacGregor" Mathers, was by all accounts an accomplished scholar, occultist and metaphysical innovator but I don't think he was infallible, and some … Continue reading The Wheel and the Case for Cancer
Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
As an astrologer of long standing, I've always been fascinated by the internal or secondary structure in my tarot readings offered by the symbolic architecture of the astrological correspondences developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at the end of the 19th Century (see the chart below). Some of them work better than … Continue reading Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
A Utilitarian “Day-Trip” Event Planning Spread
While at a Maine beach yesterday I was thinking about how the tarot might be used for planning any kind of daily outing or event, covering circumstances such as weather, general comfort level, crowds and access (meaning "getting there and getting in"). It applies the 40 "elemental" minor cards and the astrological correspondences for the … Continue reading A Utilitarian “Day-Trip” Event Planning Spread
The Court Cards: A Paradigm Shift
There is a premise in Liber T, the tarot canon of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, that relates the court cards to the exercise of worldly "power" in its various forms. The Kings represent "Potential Power;" the Queens convey "Brooding Power;" the Knights (or Princes) wield "Power in Action;" and the Pages (or … Continue reading The Court Cards: A Paradigm Shift
Daily “Hermetic Meditation” #1
Casting around for something new to post, I decided to do a series of daily "Hermetic Meditations" using the various Golden-Dawn and Thoth-based decks I own. I have around a dozen of them now and will be rotating them in and out of the six-card pull regularly. The layout is the graphic for my "Pentagram … Continue reading Daily “Hermetic Meditation” #1
For What It’s Worth
In my book Tarot Hermetica, I made the following observation about the use of esoteric principles and practices in tarot reading: "Recent years have seen a groundswell of resistance to the theories of esoteric interpretation formulated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and its chief architect, Samuel Liddell “MacGregor” Mathers, at the end … Continue reading For What It’s Worth
“Spin of the Day” Card-Drawing Method
I had a minor brainstorm this morning. I have a board-game spinner that I bought to use with what I call my "multi-media" spreads. I discovered that it is an almost perfect fit for the Golden Dawn's Chaldean correspondence wheel that I employ in my work with the Thoth deck. Spinning the pointer will indicate … Continue reading “Spin of the Day” Card-Drawing Method
The “Chalice of Earth” Taurus Ingress Matrix
Once again, I decided to try getting more interpretive value out of the Golden Dawn's Chaldean correspondence wheel beyond its card-by-card significance. As an experiment I created matrices of the five cards that are "in play" at the ingress of the Sun into each of the zodiacal signs: the Ace and Princess that relate to … Continue reading The “Chalice of Earth” Taurus Ingress Matrix
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 