AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've long felt that tarot reading is principally a storytelling art built on anecdotal assumptions rather than a deductively rigorous discipline. It is therefore not ideally suited to the analytical exploration of the human mind, neither the subjective navel-gazing kind nor the psychological profiling of other people. (Natal astrology already has that pretty … Continue reading The “Persona & Shadow” Two-Deck Personality Profile Spread
Quintessence Spreads
The “Essential Insights” Personal Well-Being Spread
Here is a unique "mind-body-spirit" wellness insight spread that looks at aspects of personal well-being in four ways: the functional ability to manage health maintenance on a routine, day-to-day basis; the adaptive ability or resilience to cope with any occasional "off" days; the kinds of self-help or external intervention that might be considered to enhance … Continue reading The “Essential Insights” Personal Well-Being Spread
Turkey-Day Football, 2022: Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions
UPDATE: The game was closer than expected: Bills 28, Lions 25. I didn't watch the game but reviewed the final statistics. As far as I can tell from the numbers, the Bills moved the ball more effectively than the Lions, especially on the ground, even though they suffered more sacks, penalties, punt turnovers and interceptions. … Continue reading Turkey-Day Football, 2022: Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions
The “Falling Into Conclusions” 3-Phase Process Development Spread
Here's some more fallout from my study of Etteilla; in his reading examples he talks about one card in a spread "falling into" another, and the meaning of both being modified by their interaction. This spread looks suspiciously like "Production Management 101," but I can see it being used for complex personal or group projects.
The “Crucible” Problem-Solving Spread: An Alchemical Approach
While thinking about using the Temperance card as a kind of "talisman" for my reading sessions (an adaptation of another of Alejandro Jodorowsky's ritualistic ideas), I decided to create a spread based loosely on alchemical principles, specifically Aleister Crowely's assumption that the vigorous interaction of Fire and Water release Air. The premise is that one's … Continue reading The “Crucible” Problem-Solving Spread: An Alchemical Approach
Trump Indictment: A Yes-or-No Reading in Two Parts
To test my archetypal "Yes-No-Maybe" template, I asked the question "Will Donald Trump be indicted for sedition due to allegedly encouraging insurrection in Washington DC on January 6, 2021?" This was before I learned that an indictment for Espionage Act violations may be even more likely because it is seen as an "open-and-shut" case (if … Continue reading Trump Indictment: A Yes-or-No Reading in Two Parts
The Three-Card Quintessence: A New Twist on an Old Idea
In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky points out that the second half of the Tarot de Marseille trump-card series - both in its whole numbers and in its factored integers - progresses by addition of the Roman numerals with no subtraction needed (e.g. while the Devil is 10 + 5 [or X+V] = 15, … Continue reading The Three-Card Quintessence: A New Twist on an Old Idea
“All The World’s A Stage:” A Three-Tiered Short-Term Development Spread
This spread illustrates my long-held opinion that the Major Arcana rarely show significant "big-deal"events in a short-term reading; they may create an environment conducive to such events but they seldom "pull the trigger" all by themselves. Instead, they provide an archetypal "stage-setting," "thematic backdrop" or "environmental prompt" for the situational drama delivered by the Minor … Continue reading “All The World’s A Stage:” A Three-Tiered Short-Term Development Spread
The “Jodo’s Judgement” Situational Breakout Spread
The “syncretic” approach to esoteric study and practice has fascinated me ever since I first encountered Aleister Crowley's exhaustive and rather intimidating catalog of mystically-linked assumptions in The Book of Thoth, and in his even more relentless source material, Sir James George Frazer’s Golden Bough. I often combine ideas from more than one metaphysical discipline … Continue reading The “Jodo’s Judgement” Situational Breakout Spread
The “Test of Strength” Developmental Insight Spread
As is probably obvious from my track record, I love to create spreads around cultural metaphors or analogies. This one is based on the "test of strength" games (aka "Strongman" or "High-Striker") that are popular at carnivals, in which the player uses a hammer to drive a metal striker up a vertical column with the … Continue reading The “Test of Strength” Developmental Insight Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 