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”
Qabalistic Theory
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
“Plateauing” – The Nature of the Fours
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In esoteric number theory, Four is the number of the Square that prefigures the six-sided cube it becomes when projected into three-dimensional space, and many people relate it directly to that polyhedron. But, although it is the fourth geometric expression after the Point, the Line and the Triangle, no volume is implied since … Continue reading “Plateauing” – The Nature of the Fours
Astral Access: Surface Tension and the Suspension of Disbelief
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The belief in communication with spirits is often based on the assumption of an invisible world that exists behind or above mundane reality, and these contacts are said to occur along frequencies or "channels" that can be accessed through the psychic faculties. This is the Astral Plane of the mystics and the Formative … Continue reading Astral Access: Surface Tension and the Suspension of Disbelief
The 5 of Wands: Strife, Striving or “Sham” Battle?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm departing briefly from my usual two-pronged comparison of a Thoth card to the Golden Dawn's original meaning by interjecting a few observations about the Waite-Smith version. Although Aleister Crowley conformed to the Order's description of "Lord of Strife" in his own title of "Strife" for the 5 of Wands, somewhere in … Continue reading The 5 of Wands: Strife, Striving or “Sham” Battle?
The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I liken tarot reading to "peeling an onion " because what we see in the cards at a surface level isn't always what is going on in the hidden depths of the situation, and we must "drill down" to find the reality. Here I'm turning that concept inside-out by proposing that the truth … Continue reading The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
Elemental Colors: An Artist’s Perspective
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The four classical elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) were assigned an elaborate color scheme in four "Scales" formulated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn using Qabalistic and magical principles, but a more fundamental arrangement going back to an earlier time asserted only that Fire is represented by Red, Water by … Continue reading Elemental Colors: An Artist’s Perspective
Mixed Elements Among the Minor Arcana: Recipes for Self-Realization
"The cosmic duty of the elements is to mix with each other in infinite combinations and proportions in order to knit manifest creation together."- Lon Milo DuQuette in Tarot Architect AUTHOR'S NOTE: This quote brought me back to my earlier essay about the four elements as "natural forces," an analysis that aligned with and expanded … Continue reading Mixed Elements Among the Minor Arcana: Recipes for Self-Realization
“The Great Tuning-Fork” Self-Realization Spread
"You will be calibrating the tuning-fork of your personal consciousness to the great turning-fork of universal consciousness." - Lon Milo DuQuette in Tarot Architect. AUTHOR'S NOTE: These are deep waters, and as the ancient nautical cartographers used to warn, "Here be dragons!" One of the most effective ways I've found to understand complex esoteric subjects … Continue reading “The Great Tuning-Fork” Self-Realization Spread
The Aces: A Point to Ponder
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was going to sub-title this essay "The Importance of Fixity," but you will get that message as you read through it and examine the graphic. Conventional wisdom in the esoteric tarot community is that the Ace represents the creative and formative catalyst or "spark" behind the intent to manifest shown by the … Continue reading The Aces: A Point to Ponder
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 