AUTHOR'S NOTE: The premise behind this exercise is that the querent has something he or she would like to eliminate from present and future circumstances - it might be a difficult person or an unpleasant condition. This conjuration applies the cleansing agent of Mars as embodied in the Tower and the four most relevant "Mars" … Continue reading The “Purge of Mars” – A Banishing Sigil
Metaphysical Syncretism
Archetypal Gates and Elemental Focus: A Ritual Matrix and Tarot Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Tarot Magic, Donald Tyson described a hierarchy of tarot trumps based on a Kabbalistic cosmology that places the Earth at the bottom as fixed and unmoving; the three "Primal Elements" (Water, Air and Fire in ascending order) as the first three increasingly-subtle "spheres" one encounters when rising from the Earth's surface; the … Continue reading Archetypal Gates and Elemental Focus: A Ritual Matrix and Tarot Spread
The “Star of Hope” Personal Initiative Sigil
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a layout that forms a sigil or "charm" intended to influence another person or situation that the querent wants to bend to his or her will. It uses a "significator" card at the center to represent the objective of the enchantment (for lack of a better word), and the seven classical … Continue reading The “Star of Hope” Personal Initiative Sigil
The “Zodiacal Strip” Monthly Astro-Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is not nearly as messy as it looks. Those who are familiar with astrology will be able to make good sense of it. Here is a different take on the 12-position astrological spread that I adapted from Donald Tyson's book, Tarot Magic. It uses the twelve zodiacal trump cards and the seven … Continue reading The “Zodiacal Strip” Monthly Astro-Tarot Reading
A Four-Path Attitudinal Guidance Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm fond of spreads that diverge in opposite directions along several different paths to closure. This one is designed to aid the querent in deciding whether the matter at hand should be approached assertively (Wands/Fire); compassionately (Cups/Water); thoughtfully (Swords/Air) or pragmatically (Disks/Earth). It uses all 78 cards and can be read with reversals. … Continue reading A Four-Path Attitudinal Guidance Spread
Aspiring to the Inside: A “Tarot Magic” Invocation Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I created my "Tarot Magic" spread based on Donald Tyson's book of the same name, I was planning to use it for evocation rituals that are focused on the realization of external objectives. However, upon reading further, I found that Tyson also covered the manifestation of internal conditions within the querent's immediate … Continue reading Aspiring to the Inside: A “Tarot Magic” Invocation Reading
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
“Spirits of Another Sort”
"But we are spirits of another sort." - Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream AUTHOR'S NOTE: The modern fascination with "noble spirits" willing to ally with humans in our quest for self-awareness seems to owe a good deal to Shakespeare's fanciful treatment of the subject, disregarding the uncharitable attitude often attributed to "faery-folk" who have … Continue reading “Spirits of Another Sort”
“You Have No Power Over Me” – Benefic and Malefic Tarot Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My title comes from the final exchange between Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) and the Goblin King (David Bowie) in the fantasy movie The Labyrinth, in which she informs him that she is no longer susceptible to his wiles. But the inspiration for what follows comes from The Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis (who knew … Continue reading “You Have No Power Over Me” – Benefic and Malefic Tarot Cards
Tarot Reading as Truthful Fiction
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just encountered the "five species of dream" derived from the Oneirocritica of 3rd-Century (CE) Graeco-Roman soothsayer (professional dream interpreter) Artemidorus, whose work was admired by Sigmund Freud. I've listed them below, but only the first three are germane to this essay. Veridical Kinds (Coinciding with reality)Somnium: Truths veiled in allegorical fiction.Visio: Direct, … Continue reading Tarot Reading as Truthful Fiction
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 