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
Situational Awareness Spreads
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
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
“Shapes of Things” – A Developmental Insight Spread*
* "Shapes of Things" is a 1966 "psychedelic" rock song by the Yardbirds (one of the very first) written by Jim McCarty, Keith Relf and Paul Samwell-Smith, with Jeff Beck contributing guitar and inspiration. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that can go in multiple directions depending on the nature of the cards pulled. Highly-influential … Continue reading “Shapes of Things” – A Developmental Insight Spread*
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
Planetary Energies and the Tarot: Seven Daily Meditations
AUTHORS NOTE: The seven days of the week all have a planet associated with them, and there are seven "planetary" trump cards in the tarot. Both the planetary energy-of-the-day and the related trump card create an environmental theme or situational backdrop against which the events of the 24-hour period play out. Thirty-six of the Minor … Continue reading Planetary Energies and the Tarot: Seven Daily Meditations
Tarot Reading for Businesses: A Conceptual Overview
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not long ago a new acquaintance, upon hearing that I read tarot cards, asked whether I do readings for business-related questions. I responded that I have yet to do so in a professional capacity but I certainly could, and I have in fact created quite a few experimental spreads for just that purpose. … Continue reading Tarot Reading for Businesses: A Conceptual Overview
Full-Immersion Tarot Reading: Engaging the Five Senses
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently encountered the idea that, when we set out to do a tarot reading, we should crank up our creative imagination by holding in our mind's eye and contemplating the notion that we can see, hear, touch, taste and smell the object of our divination. (You'll notice that the "sixth sense" of … Continue reading Full-Immersion Tarot Reading: Engaging the Five Senses
Aspiring to Perfection: Mining a Metaphor
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As part of my exploration of esoteric syncretism, here I'm paraphrasing a quote from Benebell Wen's I Ching, The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes to make it more relevant to tarot reading. The quote relates to invoking the "Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens" as a metaphor to aid … Continue reading Aspiring to Perfection: Mining a Metaphor
The “Reset Arc” – Daily Draw x 7
". . . every day resets itself, from sunrise to sunset to sunrise again."Benebell Wen, I Ching, the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes AUTHOR'S NOTE: The above quote should be the guiding principle behind every daily draw in tarot reading. But too many readers trust the one-card pull to satisfy this … Continue reading The “Reset Arc” – Daily Draw x 7
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 