AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just begun reading Donald Tyson's book, Tarot Magic, one that I've wanted to own for a long time under its original title, Portable Magic. Its premise is that tarot cards can stand in for the elaborate trappings of full-blown ceremonial magic, and we can just box up the deck and put it … Continue reading Portable Magic by Another Name
Golden Dawn
“Absence of Strain” – Managing Esoteric Correspondences
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In The Discarded Image (a seemingly bottomless source of inspiration for this blog), C.S. Lewis describes the insertion of astrological principles into Medieval literature and architecture as, in the best cases, being "woven into the plot," while in the less salutary examples the addition amounts to an "overload of philosophy." These observations offer … Continue reading “Absence of Strain” – Managing Esoteric Correspondences
Kabbalah and Tarot – A Collision of Concepts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently read a fascinating essay by Mark Horn on the Tarot History Facebook page that proposed Italian nobleman and scholar Giovanni Pico della Mirandola as the forefather of the esoteric connection between the tarot and the Hebrew Kabbalah via his association with philosopher Marsillio Ficino in the court of Lorenzo de Medici … Continue reading Kabbalah and Tarot – A Collision of Concepts
Bringing Home the Bacon!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just discovered a quote by an unnamed "Bacon" (it's unclear whether the writer meant Roger or Francis, but my money would be on the latter, who was a consummate linguist) that speaks loudly to my long-held opinion that the scenic (and often "folkloric") minor cards of the Waite-Smith tarot do no justice … Continue reading Bringing Home the Bacon!
The Thoth 3 of Wands: Virtue as “Efficacy”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading about the "hierarchies of angels" postulated by the 6th-Century (CE) "pseudo-Dyonisius" as discussed in The Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis, I came across the following quote regarding the second hierarchy of Powers and Virtues that started me thinking about the Thoth 3 of Wands and its title of "Virtue" ("Established Strength" … Continue reading The Thoth 3 of Wands: Virtue as “Efficacy”
The Twos and the Principle of the Triad
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In yesterday's post I used a quote from Plato's Timaeus that has a bearing on how I interpret the tarot Twos. In any reading involving two parties, there are generally three factions that must be accommodated: the two individuals or collective entities and the relationship between them, which will sometimes take on a … Continue reading The Twos and the Principle of the Triad
Qabalah, Cabala, Wherefore the Kabbalah?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Western occultists of the late 20th Century (or at least those with no prior background in Jewish mysticism) who spent time with the Hermetic Qabalah invariably encountered its progenitor, the Hebraic Kabbalah. This typically occurred (and probably still does) through exposure to the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) and the numerology of Gematria, … Continue reading Qabalah, Cabala, Wherefore the Kabbalah?
The “Power Grab” Spread: A Personal Power Profile
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As inquisitive beings we are always looking for insights that will aid us in understanding our inherent strengths and weaknesses. Although I don't use the "Tree of Life" spread often, here is a version that employs tarot cards to create a "power profile" showing the relative potency of eleven different aspects of our … Continue reading The “Power Grab” Spread: A Personal Power Profile
“Wishing Won’t Make It So” – The Scholarly vs The Colloquial Tarot
"Your dream. It fadesBut truth. It staysAnd with truth you must live onFrom deep insideYour heart. It criesI wish that dreams lived onBut wishing won't make it soI proved it long ago"- from Wishing Won't Make It So by the Everly Brothers AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a result of my constant study of esoteric topics and … Continue reading “Wishing Won’t Make It So” – The Scholarly vs The Colloquial Tarot
“So Many Different People To Be” – Personalizing the Court Cards*
"And when I look in my window/So many different people to be"- Donovan Leitch, from Season of the Witch AUTHOR'S NOTE: Correct interpretation of the court cards is a recurring topic of debate in the online tarot community and a thorn in the side of novice readers, who don't know whether to approach them as … Continue reading “So Many Different People To Be” – Personalizing the Court Cards*
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 