AUTHOR'S NOTE: I liken tarot reading to "peeling an onion " because what we see in the cards at a surface level isn't always what is going on in the hidden depths of the situation, and we must "drill down" to find the reality. Here I'm turning that concept inside-out by proposing that the truth … Continue reading The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
Spirituality
Elemental Colors: An Artist’s Perspective
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The four classical elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) were assigned an elaborate color scheme in four "Scales" formulated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn using Qabalistic and magical principles, but a more fundamental arrangement going back to an earlier time asserted only that Fire is represented by Red, Water by … Continue reading Elemental Colors: An Artist’s Perspective
Mixed Elements Among the Minor Arcana: Recipes for Self-Realization
"The cosmic duty of the elements is to mix with each other in infinite combinations and proportions in order to knit manifest creation together."- Lon Milo DuQuette in Tarot Architect AUTHOR'S NOTE: This quote brought me back to my earlier essay about the four elements as "natural forces," an analysis that aligned with and expanded … Continue reading Mixed Elements Among the Minor Arcana: Recipes for Self-Realization
The Crucible of Desire: Mars and Venus on the Cube of Space
"Mars goes out and gets what Venus wants." - Attributed to astrologer Isabel Hickey AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of my favorite ways to translate tarot cards into a compelling narrative is to apply their planetary energies across the board, whether they are assigned through direct correspondence or extrapolated from sign rulership. Here I'm going just a … Continue reading The Crucible of Desire: Mars and Venus on the Cube of Space
Thoughts on the Cube of Space and the Cardinal Directions
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been ramping up my study of the esoteric "Cube of Space" while reading Lon Milo DuQuette's Tarot Architect. It's a conceptual model that I've never fully appreciated nor had any practical use for, but that is about to change. In doing so I compared DuQuette's illustration to that of Robert Wang in … Continue reading Thoughts on the Cube of Space and the Cardinal Directions
Honoring the Cards in Theory and Practice
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As part of the "homework" assigned to readers of his book, Tarot Architect, Lon Milo DuQuette advises them to "kiss" each of the cards as a curious but charming ritual blessing before laying it on the table. This is just a little too "precious" for my own intellectual sensibilities so I won't do … Continue reading Honoring the Cards in Theory and Practice
Qabalistic Saturn: A Step Down and a Step Up
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a life-long student of the Hermetic Qabalah, I confess to being immensely entertained by Lon Milo DuQuette's Tarot Architect and its iconoclastic treatment of the planetary mythology underlying the Hebrew Tree of Life. Of particular interest is his handling of Saturn. I'll paraphrase my quote about Pluto in a previous essay by … Continue reading Qabalistic Saturn: A Step Down and a Step Up
The Meditative Mind
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not long ago my wife of 46 years told me "You could be a hermit," an observation with which I concur because I live mostly in my head. She's still here so I guess she has made her peace with it. Although I'm devoutly non-religious (my favorite oxymoron), I'm constantly pondering spiritual matters … Continue reading The Meditative Mind
Entering the Zone
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A question frequently asked of professional tarot readers in the online community is "How do you psychically prepare and protect yourself before and during a reading? By some form of 'clearing' like meditation? Invocation? Prayer? Candles, incense and crystals?" The answers typically run the gamut of all of these with the addition of … Continue reading Entering the Zone
The Science of Tarot: Fact or Fantasy?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the armchair scientists among my followers, my knowledge of quantum mechanics derives from nothing more academic than my reading of the rather quirky Robert Anton Wilson (who was not much of a believer in occult reasoning). Just so you know before you correct me. One of the theories about "how tarot works" … Continue reading The Science of Tarot: Fact or Fantasy?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 