AUTHOR'S NOTE: In "The Problem of the Fourth" (Part Five of A Psychological Approach to the Trinity), Carl Gustav Jung observed "There are three, but where is the fourth?" There are numerous tarot spreads that use a tripartite motif: past/present/ future; action/reaction/resolution; thesis/antithesis/synthesis; if/then/else; etc. But here I'm projecting that planar model into three dimensions … Continue reading Mastery of Circumstances: The Triangular Pyramid Spread
Tarot and Psychology
The Fount of All Wisdom?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It could be argued that any human activity - no matter how slight - that isn't fully automatic on one hand or totally arbitrary on the other has an implicit blueprint or model that expresses its ideal performance, even if this exemplar is only a personal benchmark that we keep in our own … Continue reading The Fount of All Wisdom?
Actions with Spirit: A Different Take on the “Cross” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For my header I've truncated the book title Actions with Spirits (Christopher Whitby, Garland Publishing, 1988), itself a condensation of the much longer moniker for a scholarly 1659 analysis of the "actions with spirits" (purportedly conversations with angels) undertaken by Dr. John Dee with scryers Edward Kelley and Barnabas Saul between 1581 and … Continue reading Actions with Spirit: A Different Take on the “Cross” Spread
Secular or Mystical: Alternate Paths in Divination
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I roam the internet seeking inspiration for my writing, I've become aware that the practice of divination has split into two camps, mainly along conceptual lines: one operates in the boundless realm of spontaneous conjecture while the other is more delimited in a focused and scrupulous way. There is a stark contrast … Continue reading Secular or Mystical: Alternate Paths in Divination
“Reeking of Self-Confidence” – An Astro-Tarot Reflection
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a question I've been chewing on for more than 30 years, and with the aid of divination I think I'm getting close to an answer. One day back in the '80s, a co-worker walked up to me with an enigmatic smile and said "You know, you reek of self-confidence." I laughed … Continue reading “Reeking of Self-Confidence” – An Astro-Tarot Reflection
The “Reasonable Man” Premise in Fortune-Telling
ANNOUNCEMENT: Post No. 2,200. Yay! AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm a former member of the r/seculartarot sub-reddit, where the term "fortune-telling" is a dirty word among the gatekeepers, who are Jung-besotted and staunchly anti-woo (for that, at least, I applaud them). But they are too enamored of their own pet theories to condone an intelligent dialogue about … Continue reading The “Reasonable Man” Premise in Fortune-Telling
The Diviner as Sage and the Curse of “Voodoo Metaphysics”
"And if I claim to be a wise man, well/That just means that I don't know." - from Carry On Wayward Son, by Kansas AUTHOR'S NOTE: I realize that I already used this quote casually in a recent essay, but I wanted to bring it front-and-center in this one as a reminder that even a … Continue reading The Diviner as Sage and the Curse of “Voodoo Metaphysics”
Does It or Doesn’t It?
( . . . or to be less opaque, does "shit happen" randomly or not?) AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you gag on a bit of good-natured barnyard naughtiness, you can give this one a pass. But scratch the surface and you’ll find a substantial, divination-based discussion of fate versus causality. Those who tout the legitimacy of … Continue reading Does It or Doesn’t It?
Playing to Strength, Caving to Weakness: Aspiration and Temptation in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that offers a "high road" and a "low road" for approaching the outcome of a reading; these are parallel routes, each with an itinerary that features either optimism for a successful arrival or pessimism over the risk of being detoured into failure. It could be useful when contemplating whether … Continue reading Playing to Strength, Caving to Weakness: Aspiration and Temptation in Tarot Reading
The Awakening: A Spiritual Transformation Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a tarot spread that uses the concepts of entrenched inertia (pip cards), personal make-over (court cards) and mystical transformation in the form of both transcendent opportunities and spiritual pitfalls (trump cards). It is one of my "mixed-media" spreads that employs both tarot cards and dice in its execution. Begin by separating … Continue reading The Awakening: A Spiritual Transformation Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 