The Will and the Way: A Self-Advancement Spread

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that is designed to reveal the "way forward" in any situation involving a "willed" ambition or purpose. It offers both an "Open Way" that is obvious to everyone involved in the affair and a "Hidden Way" that has more clandestine dimensions and implications. Working with the Thoth deck as … Continue reading The Will and the Way: A Self-Advancement Spread

A Suit-of-Swords “Elemental Storyboard” Test Reading

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an "elemental storyboard" test reading that uses the suit of Swords to represent the "base element" of Air. It involves a hypothetical client who intends to leverage his intellectual property by compiling a group of previously-published essays into a formal book. (It's not me, I've already "been there, done that" . … Continue reading A Suit-of-Swords “Elemental Storyboard” Test Reading

A “Storyboard” Approach to Elemental Progression in Tarot Reading

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some time ago I created a set of "storyboards" for the Minor Arcana of the Waite-Smith tarot, from which I scripted a narrative "roller-coaster ride" that began with the Ace and ended with the Ten of each suit. Here I'm blending that idea with the concept of Elemental Dignities as they occur across … Continue reading A “Storyboard” Approach to Elemental Progression in Tarot Reading

The “Need to Know” Barometer of Consequence Spread

AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the practice of horary astrology, one of the ironclad tenets is that the querent must have a legitimate need to know the information being sought. Idle-curiosity questions are frowned upon and generally ignored as inconsequential. Those who seek a tarot reading are usually much less fussy about it and often cast their … Continue reading The “Need to Know” Barometer of Consequence Spread

A Tarot “Poke in the Eye:” Self-Serving Objectives and Loss of Focus

AUTHOR'S NOTE: It goes without saying that most people who seek a tarot reading are angling for a sign from the Universe that something they want to happen will come to pass. I doubt there are many who are looking for assurance that their vision isn't going to materialize as projected (unless their presentiment involves … Continue reading A Tarot “Poke in the Eye:” Self-Serving Objectives and Loss of Focus

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

Deeper Than You Realize: Reversals As Hidden Messages

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across the intriguing notion that it could be instructive, after performing a reading that allows for reversed cards, to go through the rest of the deck and find additional instances of reversal that didn't make it into the reading. (In other words, they didn't surface during the pull.) The assumption … Continue reading Deeper Than You Realize: Reversals As Hidden Messages

The “Hourglass of Opportunity” Three-Way Spread

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an elegant spread that offers three possible paths to resolution: the left-hand path of intuitive insight, the right-hand path of rational judgment, and the central or "ideal" path that blends the two into a perfectly coordinated "middle way" between them. All three pass through a central "lens" (Key #2) that represents … Continue reading The “Hourglass of Opportunity” Three-Way Spread