AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an "elemental storyboard" test reading that uses the suit of Cups to represent the "base element" of Water. I'm tackling the age-old (and largely inscrutable) subject of "true love" (as in finding and keeping). I'm stating it coyly as "Under what circumstances will I (or won't I) find emotional fulfillment in … Continue reading A Suit-of-Cups “Elemental Storyboard” Test Reading
Life-reading Spreads
The “Need to Know” Barometer of Consequence Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the practice of horary astrology, one of the ironclad tenets is that the querent must have a legitimate need to know the information being sought. Idle-curiosity questions are frowned upon and generally ignored as inconsequential. Those who seek a tarot reading are usually much less fussy about it and often cast their … Continue reading The “Need to Know” Barometer of Consequence Spread
A “Meaning of Life” Example Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: To demonstrate the "Meaning of Life" spread I posted yesterday, here is a fictional reading based on real-life circumstances. A 47-year-old New Hampshire man was living in his mother's basement. She bought him a Playstation 5 for his birthday, but he jacked up the volume so high while playing that it annoyed her. … Continue reading A “Meaning of Life” Example Reading
Purpose, Potential and Performance: A “Meaning of Life” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the risk of impersonating a "self-help guru," I've created a spread for those who feel that life is bereft of meaning, and who want to stop drifting and "jump-start" their private reality. Craving a path to a better place through divination, they want to tap into subliminal glimpses of what the immediate … Continue reading Purpose, Potential and Performance: A “Meaning of Life” Spread
“Shapes of Things” – A Developmental Insight Spread*
* "Shapes of Things" is a 1966 "psychedelic" rock song by the Yardbirds (one of the very first) written by Jim McCarty, Keith Relf and Paul Samwell-Smith, with Jeff Beck contributing guitar and inspiration. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that can go in multiple directions depending on the nature of the cards pulled. Highly-influential … Continue reading “Shapes of Things” – A Developmental Insight Spread*
A “Near-Term Breakout” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that is intended for use when we feel becalmed or unmotivated and are looking for a definitive "breakout moment" sometime in the next month. You will need two decks for this spread, one for the fifteen "advice" cards in the top row and one for the "mode of action/inaction" … Continue reading A “Near-Term Breakout” Spread
General Life-Reading: A Convenient Fallback
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I often see consternation brewing among tarot neophytes over the fact that, although they want to "get serious" when it comes to divination with the cards, they are unsure how to proceed because they have no pressing questions to ask. Following is a summary of ways to offset that shortcoming through a "general … Continue reading General Life-Reading: A Convenient Fallback
Ascending and Descending Energies as Ruling and Yielding Principles in the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I pursue my study of the I Ching, I'm encountering numerous new ideas that demand scholarly attention while also creating a wealth of intriguing notions that I intend to fold into my ongoing exploration of the syncretism between the tarot and the Book of Changes. Here is the latest example. In general, … Continue reading Ascending and Descending Energies as Ruling and Yielding Principles in the Tarot
Planetary Energies and the Tarot: Seven Daily Meditations
AUTHORS NOTE: The seven days of the week all have a planet associated with them, and there are seven "planetary" trump cards in the tarot. Both the planetary energy-of-the-day and the related trump card create an environmental theme or situational backdrop against which the events of the 24-hour period play out. Thirty-six of the Minor … Continue reading Planetary Energies and the Tarot: Seven Daily Meditations
Aspiring to Perfection: Mining a Metaphor
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As part of my exploration of esoteric syncretism, here I'm paraphrasing a quote from Benebell Wen's I Ching, The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes to make it more relevant to tarot reading. The quote relates to invoking the "Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens" as a metaphor to aid … Continue reading Aspiring to Perfection: Mining a Metaphor
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 