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?
Golden Dawn
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
The 8 of Cups: Indolence or Abandoned Success?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It has always been my opinion that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was on the right track with the 8 of Cups as "Lord of Abandoned Success" (although the ambition being thwarted seems to fall within the purview of Wands, not Cups). The only reason I can see for Aleister Crowley … Continue reading The 8 of Cups: Indolence or Abandoned Success?
“Here An Angel, There an Angel, Everywhere An . . . “
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My mother-in-law, who was a devout Catholic, had a small figurine of an angel with spread wings in her living room. My wife had been reading children’s books to our two-year-old son, who glanced quickly at the angel and said “Look at the duck, quack-quack.” The title of this essay comes from my … Continue reading “Here An Angel, There an Angel, Everywhere An . . . “
The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I liken tarot reading to "peeling an onion " because what we see in the cards at a surface level isn't always what is going on in the hidden depths of the situation, and we must "drill down" to find the reality. Here I'm turning that concept inside-out by proposing that the truth … Continue reading The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
“Hair of the Dog” – Elemental Mixing in the Court Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the oddest puzzles facing the esoteric neophyte upon first exposure to the Golden Dawn's "Chaldean" wheel of astrological correspondences for the tarot is "Why on Earth don't the twelve zodiacal court cards line up precisely with the 30-degree span of their designated signs? Why the offset?" For some strange reason, they … Continue reading “Hair of the Dog” – Elemental Mixing in the Court Cards
Logical Mysticism and Pragmatic Action: Quantifying the Unknown
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's no secret that I prefer logical inquiry to unquestioning acceptance when confronted with the many romantic myths that shroud so much modern tarot practice in sheer fantasy. I've come to believe that there is an empirical explanation for the seemingly unfounded intuitive and psychic impressions attending the act of divination, we just … Continue reading Logical Mysticism and Pragmatic Action: Quantifying the Unknown
Elemental Colors: An Artist’s Perspective
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The four classical elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) were assigned an elaborate color scheme in four "Scales" formulated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn using Qabalistic and magical principles, but a more fundamental arrangement going back to an earlier time asserted only that Fire is represented by Red, Water by … Continue reading Elemental Colors: An Artist’s Perspective
Mixed Elements Among the Minor Arcana: Recipes for Self-Realization
"The cosmic duty of the elements is to mix with each other in infinite combinations and proportions in order to knit manifest creation together."- Lon Milo DuQuette in Tarot Architect AUTHOR'S NOTE: This quote brought me back to my earlier essay about the four elements as "natural forces," an analysis that aligned with and expanded … Continue reading Mixed Elements Among the Minor Arcana: Recipes for Self-Realization
The Crucible of Desire: Mars and Venus on the Cube of Space
"Mars goes out and gets what Venus wants." - Attributed to astrologer Isabel Hickey AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of my favorite ways to translate tarot cards into a compelling narrative is to apply their planetary energies across the board, whether they are assigned through direct correspondence or extrapolated from sign rulership. Here I'm going just a … Continue reading The Crucible of Desire: Mars and Venus on the Cube of Space
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 