AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not long ago a new acquaintance, upon hearing that I read tarot cards, asked whether I do readings for business-related questions. I responded that I have yet to do so in a professional capacity but I certainly could, and I have in fact created quite a few experimental spreads for just that purpose. … Continue reading Tarot Reading for Businesses: A Conceptual Overview
Professional Tarot
Assembling a Puzzle or Building a Bridge: Two Modes of Tarot Divination
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When using a tarot spread with defined position meanings, synthesizing the key points to form a single coherent narrative offers inevitable comparisons to assembling a jigsaw puzzle in which each card contributes one - and only one - irreplaceable "piece of the puzzle" as determined by its positional import. On the other hand, … Continue reading Assembling a Puzzle or Building a Bridge: Two Modes of Tarot Divination
Pressure-Points: Triggering a Reaction
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll flatter myself by saying that I do some of my best tarot writing (as well as tarot divination) via the use of storytelling tropes (and humor, but that's more incidental). I've settled on two analogies to bulk up the present, rather slender topic. The first is an electronic "touch screen" with its … Continue reading Pressure-Points: Triggering a Reaction
Major Arcana as Overarching Themes
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While they may imply the potential for "fireworks," I'm long past the point of treating trump cards in a reading as a guarantee that big things are afoot since that hasn't been my experience with them in over fifty years of practice. I now view them as showing the overarching theme or environmental … Continue reading Major Arcana as Overarching Themes
“The Fix is In!” – Invoking Tarot Energy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This tarot-based technique for magically imposing one's personal Will on circumstances is based on the concept of intention. If we "intend" something strongly enough we will ideally achieve its realization without "getting our hands dirty." As long as it isn't harmful to others (and if it is, the Wiccan "Three-fold Law" might kick … Continue reading “The Fix is In!” – Invoking Tarot Energy
Harvesting Truth, Large and Small
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sometimes, when confronting a particularly cryptic tarot reading, I feel like a luckless hunter-gatherer foraging for my supper. There is plenty of sustenance, both large and small, hiding in the bushes but much of it (and occasionally all of it) is impossible to capture. This is the conundrum posed by the presence of … Continue reading Harvesting Truth, Large and Small
Interstitial Tarot Reading: “Piercing the Veil”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a non-tarot-related Medium post I came across the word "interstitial" (a term that describes the transitional space connecting two related objects or ideas, much like a short hallway linking adjacent rooms). It brought to mind my previous comments about having to rely too heavily on intuitive guesswork in order to bridge the … Continue reading Interstitial Tarot Reading: “Piercing the Veil”
“Getting It Wrong”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tarot novices often ask more seasoned diviners (with almost palpable dread) "What should I do if I get a reading totally wrong for one of my sitters?" The puzzling thing for me is why they assume they must be infallible when that's an impossible feat in a practice as fluidly impressionistic as card-reading. … Continue reading “Getting It Wrong”
Deck Selection and Spread Dynamics
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not proposing that there are "scientific" answers to these questions but, humans being the insatiably curious and highly critical creatures that we are, I tend to think in those terms. "What is the best deck to use? What is the best spread?" I hear these questions all the time from beginners who … Continue reading Deck Selection and Spread Dynamics
Emotional Bias in Cartomancy: A Case Study
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The adverse impact of intense emotional upset on the task of shuffling the cards is a topic that often surfaces in conversation. I've seen endless hand-wringing in online discussions over whether being distressed when consulting the cards should be viewed as a "show-stopper." Most people who bring it up are afraid that their … Continue reading Emotional Bias in Cartomancy: A Case Study
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 