AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm nibbling around the edges of Aleister Crowley's magickal formula, "0=2," which I've always assumed to be purely Qabalistic, but that I now realize is more analytically rigorous (and just a bit beyond my college-level calculus). Hermetically, I've understood zero (or "nothing") to be represented by the three "Veils of Negativity," but … Continue reading Zero = Two/Two = Zero: A Null Outcome Proposition
Qabalistic Theory
Qabalistic Mercury and the Tarot Trumps
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my theoretical reworking of the Golden Dawn's astrological correspondences for the Major Arcana a few years ago, I realigned Mercury with two of the four trumps - Temperance and the World - via sign rulership and left it in place with the Magician, which represents the archetypal personification of its energy. Here … Continue reading Qabalistic Mercury and the Tarot Trumps
Dynamic Tension: “Secret Paths” on the Tree of Life
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm currently reading T. Susan Chang's Tarot Correspondences: Ancient Secrets for Everyday Readers, and I'm at the point where she talks about the indirect connections between sephiroth on the Hermetic Tree of Life that aren't joined by established "paths" along with their associated trump cards. In baseball terminology, we could say that she … Continue reading Dynamic Tension: “Secret Paths” on the Tree of Life
Recasting Saturn: The Devil, the World and the Hermit
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the next installment in my series of follow-up essays examining the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's astrological notation for the Major Arcana of the tarot. The planet Saturn has traditionally shared equal billing with the element of Earth as the corresponding symbol for the World (Thoth Universe) card, which has … Continue reading Recasting Saturn: The Devil, the World and the Hermit
Swapping Correspondences for the Empress and the Lovers*
*Empress = Taurus (the most fertile of signs) and the Lovers = Venus (the Goddess of Love) In an earlier post (linked below), I explored "rethinking" the Golden Dawn's astrological assignments for the Major Arcana based on my five decades of practice with the esoteric tarot and astrology. This is the third in my series … Continue reading Swapping Correspondences for the Empress and the Lovers*
Lunar Logistics: The Message and the Messenger
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I continue to gain fresh insights from my reading of Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot. This time I'm comparing the lunar qualities of the High Priestess and the Moon. While it's been a while since I read the chapter, I recall that she made reference to the symbolic relationship between the two cards by … Continue reading Lunar Logistics: The Message and the Messenger
The Delusion of Perfection
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hate to say it, but far too many of the tarot readers I encounter online are convinced they've attained the pinnacle of tarot mastery and make sage pronouncements based on that assumption, when it's clear to this seasoned observer that they're still finding their way and may in fact be going in … Continue reading The Delusion of Perfection
“Ballpark” Tarot Timing: Finesse In Action
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've made several attempts to come up with a reliable method for timing future events with the tarot cards. So far, success has eluded me because every innovation has remained susceptible to producing irrational answers that don't accurately reflect the context of the question (e.g. short-turnaround situations too often receive grossly exaggerated long-term … Continue reading “Ballpark” Tarot Timing: Finesse In Action
The Reversed Seven of Wands: “Kneecapping the Enemy”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When upright, the 7 of Wands represents "Valour" or extraordinary courage in the face of daunting odds. This is clearly reflected in the Waite-Smith version, which shows a harried warrior being set upon by six adversaries who have crowded him into a corner. At that moment in time he has yet to give … Continue reading The Reversed Seven of Wands: “Kneecapping the Enemy”
The Aces: A State of Anticipation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It is generally accepted in esoteric tarot circles that the Aces don't represent "the first step in a new direction," but rather the anticipatory urge to take that step, and they must be set in motion before they will do us any good. As George Carlin once said in a different context, "Ya … Continue reading The Aces: A State of Anticipation
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 