AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the last couple of years I've been toying with the increasingly popular theory that what we are looking at in a tarot prediction is not the foreseeable "Future" but just another face of the "Eternal Now" that has not yet presented itself to the querent's conscious awareness. In other words, every conceivable … Continue reading Tarot Prediction and the “Eternal Now”
Tarot and Psychology
The DIY “World-View” Self-Realization Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across an observation on one of the qabalistic pages that merits quoting for my purpose in developing this spread: "All along the way you make the definitions, the container, the parameters of your being." I realize that "You make your own reality" is a rather tattered bromide (and apparently a … Continue reading The DIY “World-View” Self-Realization Spread
A “Poser” for the Celtic Cross
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The term "poser" has a couple of meanings; it can refer to a question that is exceptionally difficult to answer, or to an individual who is "faking it" in some way. I recently read a fascinating essay in New Yorker magazine about the "imposter phenomenon" (not "syndrome" since, according to its creators, it … Continue reading A “Poser” for the Celtic Cross
The “Answer” Begs a “Question”
"Without a question, there is no answer possible" - Alejandro Jodorowsky AUTHOR'S NOTE: From time-to-time I revisit my long-standing preference for reading tarot cards without knowing the sitter's specific question in advance (something I've been doing since 1972). The above quote from The Way of Tarot has raised the subject once again and I couldn't … Continue reading The “Answer” Begs a “Question”
Releasing The “Daemon*”
*Daemon (n): originally a lesser divinity or spirit; the word is derived from the Proto-Indo-European daimon, meaning "provider, divider (of fortunes or destinies). AUTHOR'S NOTE: I vaguely remember an old animated cartoon that portrays one of the genre's iconic characters (I think it was Daffy Duck but it could have been Donald; others may recall … Continue reading Releasing The “Daemon*”
Divination or Fortune-Telling: A Matter of Degree, Not Pedigree
These days I fancy myself an ordinary "fortune-teller" rather than a starry-eyed purveyor of the psychological and spiritual insights that I've concluded are not particularly worthwhile pursuits for the tarot when compared to the robust capabilities of natal astrology. But I also agree with Alejandro Jodorowsky that a tarot reading - although it may be … Continue reading Divination or Fortune-Telling: A Matter of Degree, Not Pedigree
Divination As Self-Sabotage
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I'm unimpressed by much that passes for tarot wisdom on the YouTube channels, I believe I've found a kindred spirit in "Balthazar" at the Balthazar's Conjure site (https://www.balthazarconjure.com/). While most of his recent output is focused on practical magic and related occult disciplines rather than exclusively on divination, his historical content is … Continue reading Divination As Self-Sabotage
The “Persona & Shadow” Two-Deck Personality Profile Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've long felt that tarot reading is principally a storytelling art built on anecdotal assumptions rather than a deductively rigorous discipline. It is therefore not ideally suited to the analytical exploration of the human mind, neither the subjective navel-gazing kind nor the psychological profiling of other people. (Natal astrology already has that pretty … Continue reading The “Persona & Shadow” Two-Deck Personality Profile Spread
A “Higher Arc/Lower Arc” Developmental Forecast Spread
Typically, in reading situations where I don't know the sitter's specific question or topic of interest in advance, I begin the narrative on a practical note, looking for "action-and-event-oriented" situational-awareness details and developmental insights. If the querent doesn't connect with what I'm saying, I will change direction into a more psychological angle. Recently I wrote … Continue reading A “Higher Arc/Lower Arc” Developmental Forecast Spread
The Devil: Gateway to the Shadow
Alejandro Jodorowsky, in his decimal approach to the numbering of the Major Arcana (described in The Way of Tarot), notes that the "5" that is subsumed in "15," the number of the Devil, is connected as a "numerological counterpart" to the "5" of the Pope/Hierophant. Where the latter aspires to spiritual sublimation, the former seeks … Continue reading The Devil: Gateway to the Shadow
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 