AUTHOR'S NOTE: After taking a long detour into the psionic research of Dr. Dean Radin as applied to divination, I've returned to reading Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot. I just encountered a three-card example reading in the book that I felt deserved a more carefully-considered analysis. The reading was for an aggressive Aries male who was … Continue reading The Numerical Essence Card as “Vaulting Over Limitations”
Situational Awareness Spreads
The One-Card Draw as Thematic Stage-Setter
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my opinion, the one-card pull as a daily reading practice is relatively useless except as a way to show the environmental backdrop or atmosphere of the forthcoming 24-hour period. It is static and therefore can't effectively display potential developments in the situation unless we imagine (aka "intuit") them. However, I'm proposing another … Continue reading The One-Card Draw as Thematic Stage-Setter
“Which Way Will It Go?” – A Situational Vector Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When confronted with a situation that can take one of several different paths as it plays out, seekers typically look to "get a leg up" on which way it's going to develop so they can establish a suitable position. Here is a spread that uses a "prepared" tarot deck that is segmented according … Continue reading “Which Way Will It Go?” – A Situational Vector Spread
Intention and Reaction: Putting Tarot to Work
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Poking a little further into the practice of setting a conscious intention when shuffling and pulling the cards, here is a spread with two parallel five-card lines, one with purposely-chosen cards to convey the querent's stated goals regarding the topic of interest and the other with a randomly-drawn series to show the reaction … Continue reading Intention and Reaction: Putting Tarot to Work
Uncomfortable Questions and Hidden Variables: Tarot and Lenormand on the Witness Stand
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although the inspiration for this essay came from reading about the design of scientific experiments in quantum physics, I identified parallels between that model and my style of cartomantic interpretation. The opinion of the experimental researcher was that mainstream physicists are typically unwilling to contemplate uncomfortable questions or probe hidden variables if those … Continue reading Uncomfortable Questions and Hidden Variables: Tarot and Lenormand on the Witness Stand
The “Quantum Theory” of Tarot Reading
“All around me golden sunflakes/Settle on the ground.”- from Granchester Meadows by Pink Floyd AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just reading a fascinating description of the behavior of visible light from a quantum physics perspective. Luminosity has been portrayed by scientists as quasi-particulate in that it is transmitted and received in "packets" of massless particles called … Continue reading The “Quantum Theory” of Tarot Reading
“Banishing the Clerics” Reading – Tarot Looks at the Iran Crisis
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Following up on my previous post, I did a reading on the crisis in Iran that applies the "n x 9/n2 - 5" numerological-reduction model shown therein. I used my favorite sociopolitical deck, Brian Williams' PoMo (Post-Modern) Tarot, to explore what will become of the Islamic regime over the next month in the … Continue reading “Banishing the Clerics” Reading – Tarot Looks at the Iran Crisis
Purposeful Divination
AUTHOR NOTE: I was answering a question on one of the occult forums regarding what kind of magic I've found most effective, and I came up with the following response. Although I haven't performed any ritual magic since the mid-1980s, I realized that I now pursue what might be called "purposeful divination" as a form … Continue reading Purposeful Divination
“One Ringy-Dingy” – A Tarot “Patch-Through” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Those who (like me) are "older than dirt" will remember Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In with Lily Tomlin as "Ernestine" the telephone switchboard operator and her iconic line "One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy" as she patched a call through and waited for the receiving party to pick-up. In this spread I've used the "patch-cord" motif … Continue reading “One Ringy-Dingy” – A Tarot “Patch-Through” Spread
The Conditional Future: A “Retrocausation” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his book Real Magic, Dean Radin introduced me to the idea of "time running backward" and its corollary, "retrocausation," in which the future reaches back into the present and shapes current circumstances to align with its long-range outlook. I covered this in my previous essay "Predisposition in Tarot Reading," and here I'm … Continue reading The Conditional Future: A “Retrocausation” Spread
