To test my new weekly/daily forecast spread, I used my Retro Thoth deck to perform a seven-day reading for the current week beginning Monday, February 21, 2022. I permitted reversals, but in this spread they merely represent a less evident expression of the upright influence. I'm getting good mileage out of the minor and court … Continue reading A “Weekly Tone/Daily Tone” Example Reading
Life-reading Spreads
A Creative Approach to Weekly and Daily Draws
A common practice recommended to tarot beginners is to randomly pull one card each day and contemplate its meaning over the course of that day, with the goal of gradually mastering the complex art of interpretation. Unfortunately, this approach to learning can continue long after its initial usefulness fades; the "daily draw" becomes institutionalized and … Continue reading A Creative Approach to Weekly and Daily Draws
Lunar Month Look-Ahead for February – March, 2022
I just applied my "Threepenny Opera" three-deck selection method to my Lunar Look-ahead reading for the February-March cycle that began with the New Moon on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. I use astrologer Dane Rudhyar's 8-phase "Lunation Cycle" model for this layout (with a nod to Marc Robertson’s Cosmopsychology: Engine of Destiny); each phase is roughly … Continue reading Lunar Month Look-Ahead for February – March, 2022
The “Mercury Reversed” Retrograde Period Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I split this spread off from yesterday's post for better visibility, saying three times "I promise not to repeat myself . . ." As discussed at length in my previous essay, I don't buy the popular notion that Mercury going retrograde as part of the evolving "sky pattern" is automatically a harbinger of … Continue reading The “Mercury Reversed” Retrograde Period Spread
My 2022 “Beef Stew” Annual Forecast Reading
This is my first use of the annual forecast spread I just created using a "beef stew" metaphor: "broth" (trump card as the background "tone" of the upcoming year); "meat/gristle" (court cards as who I should become and avoid becoming); and "veggies/sludge" (minor cards as what I should do or avoid doing - you know, … Continue reading My 2022 “Beef Stew” Annual Forecast Reading
“You’ll Fall Right In . . .” (b/w “The Beef Stew Annual Forecast Spread”)
A discussion I've been following on the "r/tarot" reddit board brought up the point that the tarot can be overused (or improperly used) in the search for personal awareness and advancement. It is a fascinating thread for what it reveals about the extremes some people will go to in overthinking their daily lives rather than … Continue reading “You’ll Fall Right In . . .” (b/w “The Beef Stew Annual Forecast Spread”)
A Tale of Five Pips
As promised, here is my first serious attempt at divination with the playing cards. I used the Goldfield Nevada 1864 giant playing card deck, and I also augmented the five-card spread with the Night Sky playing cards to see if there is interpretive syncretism with any astrological fixed stars that may appear in the constellations. … Continue reading A Tale of Five Pips
A Further Refinement: Lunar Month Look-Ahead for July-August
All images copyright U.S. Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT The New Moon for July, 2020 occurred on the 20th of the month, 7/20/2020. After I pulled these cards for my monthly "Lunar Month Look-Ahead," I was thinking about numerologically-derived "birth cards" and "year cards," and was struck by the idea that a monthly "New Moon" … Continue reading A Further Refinement: Lunar Month Look-Ahead for July-August
2020 Summer Solstice Grand Tableau
Every six months on the solstice I do a Grand Tableau reading to look at potential circumstances over the next two quarters. This one for the 2020 Summer Solstice is especially interesting because it allowed me to use a technique I very seldom need to apply: that of transposition as described in Caitlin Mathhews' book … Continue reading 2020 Summer Solstice Grand Tableau
The “Virtual Slots” Multimedia Daily-Draw Spread
Someone on Facebook used the analogy that three randomly drawn cards placed in a line resemble the "windows" of an old-time slot machine that roll up when you pull the lever. This inspired me to create a spread that operates in a similar manner using dice.
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 