AUTHOR'S NOTE: Self-styled "tarot debunkers" are convinced that those who book readings from professional diviners are only looking for substantiation that some outcome they covet will actually occur. In the naysayers' opinion, these obsessed seekers don't really care about the truth unless it agrees with their preconceptions, which they hope will result in a self-fulfilling … Continue reading Eyes Wide Open: A Meditation on “Confirmation Bias”
Tarot and Psychology
A “Meaning of Life” Example Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: To demonstrate the "Meaning of Life" spread I posted yesterday, here is a fictional reading based on real-life circumstances. A 47-year-old New Hampshire man was living in his mother's basement. She bought him a Playstation 5 for his birthday, but he jacked up the volume so high while playing that it annoyed her. … Continue reading A “Meaning of Life” Example 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
“Weaponizing” the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every day on local highways I encounter risk-taking "alpha" types (usually adult males) who have clearly "weaponized" their automobiles. They drive aggressively at high speed, weaving in and out of bumper-to-bumper traffic and squeezing into tight spots at 80 miles an hour; they're always quick to lean on the horn and brandish the … Continue reading “Weaponizing” the Tarot
“A Spiritual Death”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the most difficult challenges in professional tarot reading is grappling with the presence of the Death card in a spread when an anxious client is waiting expectantly for a constructive explanation. There is an inevitable fixation on its gloomy portent and our own mortality even when nothing of the sort is … Continue reading “A Spiritual Death”
“Auspicious to Proceed”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The predictive text supporting the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching is full of brief advice that occurs with regular frequency. Two of these insights are "Auspicious to proceed" and its counterpart "Ominous to proceed." There is nothing quite that formulaic in tarot divination, whose practitioners often pride themselves on avoiding such prescriptive … Continue reading “Auspicious to Proceed”
Randomizing and Shuffling: “Generating White Noise” and “Creating Order Out of Chaos”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In previous posts I've mentioned in passing that the purpose of the shuffle is not to randomize the cards but rather to subconsciously arrange them in the proper order to tell the story. Judging from the responses I received (or more tellingly, didn't receive) nobody really "got" what I was trying to say. … Continue reading Randomizing and Shuffling: “Generating White Noise” and “Creating Order Out of Chaos”
Synchronizing the “Inner” and the “Outer” Self: A Tarot Mandala
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not proposing this as a spread for divination but rather as a tool (a form of mandala) for meditation. It could, however, be used as a "birth-chart" for the moment of the pull and supplemented over time with additional cards that function like astrological transits to a natal horoscope. One possible way … Continue reading Synchronizing the “Inner” and the “Outer” Self: A Tarot Mandala
Off-Topic Tarot Readings: Crossing the Conceptual Divide
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm tackling the evasive defense (OK, it's a convenient excuse) that is often trotted out to justify why tarot readings yield advice that seems valid while not even remotely addressing the question we asked: "They're responding to a different issue that may be more important but that wasn't recognized by the querent." … Continue reading Off-Topic Tarot Readings: Crossing the Conceptual Divide
“Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I was employed as a Purchasing Manager for a utility power-plant, the Maintenance team used to say that there was no wizardry involved in keeping the facility's operating equipment running smoothly as long as they had the right parts and the right skills. This attitude led to the adage "Parts is parts" … Continue reading “Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 