AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the fourfold elemental world of the occult tarot that is symbolized by Fire, Water, Air and Earth, there is a fundamental separation of the elements into two divisions of two elements each that share the same polarity (positive or negative), the same mode of operation (active or passive) and the same key … Continue reading Gender Parallels and Partitions in the Court Cards
Golden Dawn
The “Split-Decision” Opportunity Advancement Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that examines the comparative probability of success or failure for an opportunity that could go either way. Select a card to represent the "best-case" outlook and place it upright on the table. Then take the same card from a second identical or similar deck and set it reversed below … Continue reading The “Split-Decision” Opportunity Advancement Spread
Astrological Modalities and the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In astrology there are three modalities (aka quadruplicities*) of four signs each, Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable, with one set of three in each of the four quadrants of the "natural" (or Aries-rising) horoscope. In one model, the Cardinal signs at the beginning of the quadrants convey "initiation," the Fixed signs in the middle … Continue reading Astrological Modalities and the Minor Arcana
The Outer and Inner Dimensions of the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just rediscovered the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's description of the Queen of Swords as presenting a "good exterior" despite being inwardly "cruel, sly, deceitful, unreliable" and generally rotten to the core when ill-dignified in a reading. She would have us believe she is pure in all her ways while she … Continue reading The Outer and Inner Dimensions of the Minor Arcana
The 5 of Wands: Strife, Striving or “Sham” Battle?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm departing briefly from my usual two-pronged comparison of a Thoth card to the Golden Dawn's original meaning by interjecting a few observations about the Waite-Smith version. Although Aleister Crowley conformed to the Order's description of "Lord of Strife" in his own title of "Strife" for the 5 of Wands, somewhere in … Continue reading The 5 of Wands: Strife, Striving or “Sham” Battle?
The 10 of Wands: Oppression as the Wages of Negligence
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I once wrote that, with his nose buried in his bundle of sticks, the man in the Waite-Smith 10 of Wands could just as easily walk off a cliff as reach the village shown in the distance. From a practical divination perspective, he has too much on his plate and doesn't know where, … Continue reading The 10 of Wands: Oppression as the Wages of Negligence
The 2 of Swords: Peace Restored or Peace, Period?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As part of his apparent crusade to reduce the Golden Dawn's multiplex card titles to single words, Aleister Crowley truncated the name of the 2 of Swords from "Lord of Peace Restored" to simply "Peace," thereby redirecting the thrust of the Order's definition, which was intended to convey successful recovery from distress. "Strength … Continue reading The 2 of Swords: Peace Restored or Peace, Period?
The 10 of Cups: Satiety or Perfected Success?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whenever I consider the Thoth 10 of Cups in light of the Golden Dawn's original title, I'm amused by the fact that Aleister Crowley chose "Satiety" as his one-word condensation of the Order's "Lord of Perfected Success." The expression goes beyond mere sufficiency into a state of egregious excess, as in consuming far … Continue reading The 10 of Cups: Satiety or Perfected Success?
The 9 of Swords: Despair Is There But Where’s The Cruelty?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my opinion, neither the Thoth nor the Waite-Smith 9 of Swords does justice to the Golden Dawn's title of "Lord of Despair and Cruelty." While both capture the essence of despair, the overall effect looks more like "Despair after Cruelty" than an equal distribution of the two: the former describes a condition … Continue reading The 9 of Swords: Despair Is There But Where’s The Cruelty?
Tarot Architect: A Book Review
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I buy a new tarot book after casually researching it, I trust that the contents will provide insights to inspire my own writing. Although it has its merits in that regard due to fostering a couple of my recent essays, Lon Milo DuQuette's Tarot Architect didn't quite measure up overall. Knowing DuQuette's … Continue reading Tarot Architect: A Book Review
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 