AUTHOR'S NOTE: . . . and now back to our regular programming! As I learned them in the early 1970s, the Cardinal signs in natal astrology are considered to be "action-oriented," the Fixed signs are "security-oriented" and the Mutable signs are "people-oriented." When developing their set of astrological correspondences for the tarot, the Hermetic Order … Continue reading The “Crucible of Becoming” Self-Mastery Spread
Tarot and Psychology
The “Aperture of Awareness”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: More musings inspired by Sallie Nichols' Tarot and the Archetypal Journey. The Collective Unconscious has been characterized as uniting (at least in theory) all conceivable human potential in a comprehensive "architecture of becoming" composed of archetypal symbolism that exists apart from exterior reality. It intrudes upon our waking world only to the extent … Continue reading The “Aperture of Awareness”
“Impaled on Words”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading Tarot and the Archetypal Journey, Sallie Nichol's remarkable Jungian treatise on the tarot, I came across the vivid phrase "impaled on words" to denote the inability of prose to capture the elusive nature of the Fool, a failing that might be ascribed less urgently to the rest of the allegorical images. … Continue reading “Impaled on Words”
“Name Your Poison”
(For lovers of useless minutiae, June 8 is "Name Your Poison Day.") AUTHOR'S NOTE: Among modern tarot enthusiasts there exists a fundamental dispute regarding proper use of the cards that has been smoldering since the Jung-besotted 1970s. It typically surfaces in the divide between those who believe that a tarot deck should be employed solely … Continue reading “Name Your Poison”
The Symbols Behind the Curtain
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Question of the Day - What do you feed a starving archetype? I pulled another quote from Sallie Nichol's Tarot and the Archetypal Journey that inspired this essay. In discussing the Empress and the Emperor, she observes that we can become like "puppets in an archetypal drama, manipulated by giant figures operating above … Continue reading The Symbols Behind the Curtain
An “Evolving Consciousness” Self-Realization Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I no longer aspire to much in the way of psychological self-analysis and personal character development with the tarot after having plowed that field for 40+ years; divination is my main gig now. But I know that many people do, and I occasionally create spreads they may find useful. I've just begun reading … Continue reading An “Evolving Consciousness” Self-Realization Spread
“It Just Happened . . .”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Cynics and nihilists are fond of saying (with studied indifference) "Shit happens." Here I'm going to take a hard look at that assumption. In a rational Universe, it can be argued that things don't "just happen;" even if we unwittingly place ourselves in the path of a developing train-wreck (the "wrong place, wrong … Continue reading “It Just Happened . . .”
Mindset and the Quest for Control
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aleister Crowley once wrote in his commentary on the Wheel of Fortune (which at one time meant "a turn of one's luck for the better" but now seems to promise only "change, good or bad"): "(It) generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent." (In more colloquial terms, … Continue reading Mindset and the Quest for Control
The Tarot Reading As “Mind-Map”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been juggling so many interesting essay topics lately that I had to look at the planets transiting my natal horoscope to see what's going on. As I might have guessed, it turns out that just as the Sun makes its ingress into dramatic Leo, transiting Mercury is also in Leo in the … Continue reading The Tarot Reading As “Mind-Map”
Those Sexy Wands
Because the Wands are generally viewed as enthusiastic, energetic and passionate, many tarot writers accord them a sexual connotation. Here is my very brief take on the subject, which I might apply if I detect sexual implications in a reading (although it's rather far down my list of preferred interpretations for the suit of Wands). … Continue reading Those Sexy Wands
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 