AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been loosely using the term "quintessence" to describe the numerical conflation of any quantity of tarot cards in a spread, but traditionalists have criticized that assumption as being inconsistent with the historical meaning of the word as the symbolic fifth iteration (or "quinary essence") of a four-card "tirage on croix" (French Cross) … Continue reading Inside the Box: Quaternary vs. Quinary Synthesis*
Quintessence Spreads
“Pass-Through” Processing – An Energy Translation Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I've mentioned before, there are several ways to read a three-card line. My favorite is to approach it as a developing scenario that evolves from Point A to Point C, with "processing" of the energy-in-transit to occur at Point B, thus grooming the outcome to achieve its maximum potential. I will sometimes … Continue reading “Pass-Through” Processing – An Energy Translation Spread
A “Meaning of Life” Example Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: To demonstrate the "Meaning of Life" spread I posted yesterday, here is a fictional reading based on real-life circumstances. A 47-year-old New Hampshire man was living in his mother's basement. She bought him a Playstation 5 for his birthday, but he jacked up the volume so high while playing that it annoyed her. … Continue reading A “Meaning of Life” Example Reading
Purpose, Potential and Performance: A “Meaning of Life” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the risk of impersonating a "self-help guru," I've created a spread for those who feel that life is bereft of meaning, and who want to stop drifting and "jump-start" their private reality. Craving a path to a better place through divination, they want to tap into subliminal glimpses of what the immediate … Continue reading Purpose, Potential and Performance: A “Meaning of Life” Spread
The Root, the Stem and the Fruit: A Developmental Insight Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another of my "breakout" spreads that explores ways to approach and ideally resolve a known problem. The "root" of the title is the central card of the layout that describes the dilemma; the "stem" is the three-card developmental array that leads from the center; and the "fruit" is the calculated quintessence … Continue reading The Root, the Stem and the Fruit: A Developmental Insight Spread
Ascending and Descending Energies as Ruling and Yielding Principles in the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I pursue my study of the I Ching, I'm encountering numerous new ideas that demand scholarly attention while also creating a wealth of intriguing notions that I intend to fold into my ongoing exploration of the syncretism between the tarot and the Book of Changes. Here is the latest example. In general, … Continue reading Ascending and Descending Energies as Ruling and Yielding Principles in the Tarot
“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
Trump Cards and Isomorphs
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I avoided discussing this technique in my previous post on reconstituting the trump cards, but I've been mulling over ways to make it work. Once again, I will use the Tower as my main example and also provide a couple of others. (If you're unfamiliar with isomorphs, I linked my "primer" on the … Continue reading Trump Cards and Isomorphs
Two Approaches to Tarot Triangulation: The Quintessence and the Midpoint
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a technique used in navigation and surveying called "triangulation," the technical definition for which, in its simplest form, is "the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points." While navigation encompasses distance as well as direction and position and surveying only defines … Continue reading Two Approaches to Tarot Triangulation: The Quintessence and the Midpoint
Dice, Cards and the Quintessence Calculation: A Three-Phase Tarot Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dice and cards (particularly the numbered "pip" cards of a standard poker deck) share a long history as gaming devices. Their joint role in divination is less storied (except perhaps in the fortune-telling manual, Triompho di Fortuna, published in 1526 by Sigismondo Fanti of Venice), but I have been using them together for … Continue reading Dice, Cards and the Quintessence Calculation: A Three-Phase Tarot Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 