AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm re-reading Cory Hutcheson's 54 Devils, a short volume on divining with the playing cards. In it he portrays the Ace of Spades as a showing a solitary venture in which no assistance is forthcoming. I decided to expand this idea to all of the Aces as expressions of "going it alone." In … Continue reading The Aces: A Solitary Path
Pips
The Tarot Reading As “Mind-Map”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been juggling so many interesting essay topics lately that I had to look at the planets transiting my natal horoscope to see what's going on. As I might have guessed, it turns out that just as the Sun makes its ingress into dramatic Leo, transiting Mercury is also in Leo in the … Continue reading The Tarot Reading As “Mind-Map”
The Suit of Swords: A Matter of Execution
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I'm using it here, "execution"" means "the precise performance of a planned action." The other premise I apply to the Swords is that they put considerable thought into the act of planning, although few of the Minor Arcana seem to benefit from it. Maybe the "planning" aspect of a Sword should be … Continue reading The Suit of Swords: A Matter of Execution
“Patience Is A Virtue:” A Tarot Perspective
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It goes without saying that most of the cards of the tarot imply some kind of "movement," if only because nearly every reading is about personal growth or situational development. But there are a number of cards that embrace the idea of "patience" in the form of refraining from immediate action, or that … Continue reading “Patience Is A Virtue:” A Tarot Perspective
Gap Analysis: The Three-Card Reading and the Hidden Agenda
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not much of a fan of the three-card tarot reading because, as I've mentioned before, it leaves too much up to subjective guesswork in bridging the narrative gap between cards that may have nothing even remotely in common. In the three-card pull, utterly antagonistic cards are the intuitive reader's worst nightmare since … Continue reading Gap Analysis: The Three-Card Reading and the Hidden Agenda
The “Window of Opportunity”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here are a few more thoughts on "opportunity" as expressed by the cards of the tarot. Any discussion of the effective duration of a tarot reading (i.e. how long it is "good" for) carries the implication that there is a "window of opportunity" for action in the matter that will close sooner or … Continue reading The “Window of Opportunity”
The Threes: Finding Scope in Opportunity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another riff on the topic of "opportunity" as expressed in the cards of the tarot. The Threes of the tarot have long been associated with the concepts of advancement and growth, but a parallel principle is that of opportunity, the premise being that any such development - while it may be … Continue reading The Threes: Finding Scope in Opportunity
Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In tarot reading, the Aces and the Princesses (Pages in the Waite-Smith deck, Knaves or Valets in the Tarot de Marseille) embody the idea of "beginnings" and of entering a new chapter, a quality they share with the Fool and Judgement of the Major Arcana. Here I'm translating this emphasis on the pursuit … Continue reading Princesses and Aces: “Doubling-Down” on Opportunity
TdM Divination, Approximately
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
Justice By Extension
GRATUITOUS UPDATE: I just came across a "Kabbalistic" definition of "good vision" that I wanted to amend for this post: "20/20 vision is not the ability to see far but the ability to see clearly and accurately that which is right under your nose," a cautionary message for the 2 and 8 of Swords. We … Continue reading Justice By Extension
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 