Several years ago I was informed by someone with good credentials that there is no centuries-old tradition for performing divination with the Tarot de Marseille cards and their Italian Renaissance predecessors, all of which were originally used only for the playing of card games. The popular "French Cross" or tirage en croix spread has little … Continue reading TdM Divination, Approximately
Historical Tarot
A Worthy Outlet?
One thing to which any blogger pays at least casual attention is daily site traffic. In my own case I haven't monetized this blog so I'm not hanging on every minuscule fraction of a penny that changes hands over my contribution to the community. But, although I have slightly more than 300 followers now (a … Continue reading A Worthy Outlet?
Change As Stability
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just begun re-reading Isabel Kliegman's excellent Tarot and the Tree of Life and I've already encountered a meaty subject that is worth a brief essay. Although her focus is Kabbalistic, she uses the Waite-Smith Tarot (aka "RWS") to illustrate the text, which unfortunately introduces some of the prosaic non sequiturs characteristic of … Continue reading Change As Stability
“The Light’s On But Nobody’s Home”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a brief meditation on the Hanged Man. The title of the post comes from the halo around the head of the figure in the Waite-Smith version. Albano-Waite Tarot, copyright of U.S. Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT While reading The Way of Tarot, I came across Alejandro Jodorowsky's observation that the suspended … Continue reading “The Light’s On But Nobody’s Home”
The “Mandala of the Moment”
In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky envisions arranging all 78 cards of the Tarot de Marseille in a single emblematic pattern, a geometric "mandala" that can be visually absorbed at a glance, instantly embraced by the mind and easily understood in its entirely once the cards' basic meanings have been internalized. While pondering this … Continue reading The “Mandala of the Moment”
“Dreams and Mystification”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not a huge fan of this book but it does have its moments of lucidity. (Some may recall that Jodorowsky was a fiercely iconoclastic and surrealistic film-maker in the '70s [El Topo, The Holy Mountain, etc], which may explain his singular and often peculiar notions about the tarot.) As I begin re-reading … Continue reading “Dreams and Mystification”
“Blondness” as Perfection?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's a lightweight bit of fluff with a serious undertone. While many statements in The Grand Etteilla compilation that I recently finished reading are outdated to the point of being irrelevant to the modern practice of divination (if not actually laughable), this one stands out as particularly ludicrous. It definitely falls into "Gimme … Continue reading “Blondness” as Perfection?
A “Deep Dive” Card Selection Method and Multipurpose Spread
Here's another "new-to-me" idea, courtesy of The Grand Etteilla. In the book there is a five-card spread in which the reader creates the layout by initially pulling the fifth card from the top (Card #5), then the card five tiers below that one (Card #10), followed by the card five tiers below the tenth card … Continue reading A “Deep Dive” Card Selection Method and Multipurpose Spread
Living in “The Now”
I recently came across an interesting interpretation for the 6 of Pentacles (Coins, Disks, Diamonds, etc): it can reflect the querent's current physical surroundings, the "now" of mundane existence. Although there were no Qabalistic inferences, this suggests the structure of the Tree of Life, in which the sixth sephira holds a central position with more … Continue reading Living in “The Now”
The “Wages of War” Conflict-Resolution Spread
This conflict-resolution spread links tarot divination back to its Italian game-playing roots. The card-selection method presented here uses two decks to determine which card of a pair is to be read in each of five "conflict engagement" areas. It is based on the simple "trick-taking" game "War," in which one card bests another in a … Continue reading The “Wages of War” Conflict-Resolution Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 