AUTHOR'S NOTE: A few years ago I read that the numbers Three, Six and Nine represent the "Three Perfections" of Greek philosophy as espoused by Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. I finally pinned down where the idea came from, and it isn't a direct quote from any of them. While an argument can be found in … Continue reading The “Three Perfections” in the Suit of Swords
Tarot Card Meanings
The Devil and the Vulgar Pursuits of Earth
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the opinion of Aleister Crowley, about the best that can be said of the Devil card is that it represents "creative energy in its most material form." He goes on to relate it to the zodiacal exaltation of Mars in Capricorn ("the fiery material energy of creation") and even more vividly to … Continue reading The Devil and the Vulgar Pursuits of Earth
The Tarot Fives as “Difficult People”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I first want to mention that in some systems of numerological thought Five is the number of humanity (five senses, five extremities, five fingers, five toes, etc). For this reason I'm relating it to "people" for the purpose of this essay. The difficult disposition of the title can appear in these individuals as … Continue reading The Tarot Fives as “Difficult People”
Elemental Dignities: A Belated Awakening
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I had been using the Golden Dawn's "Elemental Dignities" (EDs) casually since 1972 and thought I had a firm grasp of the fundamentals, something about their application still bothered me. My doubts were exacerbated almost ten years ago when I spent quite a bit of time and effort dissecting the Order's tarot … Continue reading Elemental Dignities: A Belated Awakening
Tapping the Power: A Self-Realization Matrix
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a third adaptation of Benebell Wen's Lo Shu Square, this time applied loosely to her feng shui tarot model. I've created my own theme and position meanings for this purpose and did not adopt her spread design. (See her book Holistic Tarot for background details.) Another inspiration was the Lenormand 9-card … Continue reading Tapping the Power: A Self-Realization Matrix
Rehabilitating Bad Cards (aka “Putting Lipstick on a Pig”)
"As the saying goes “You can put lipstick on a sow but it’s still a sow,” or similarly and more bluntly, “You can’t polish a turd.”- from my 2019 essay When "Bad Is Bad" AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the last few weeks I've encountered two posts in the online tarot community where novice diviners were agonizing … Continue reading Rehabilitating Bad Cards (aka “Putting Lipstick on a Pig”)
Tarot-Card Rank as a Measure of “Reach”
Author's Note: In her book Tarot and the Tree of Life, Isabel Kliegman spent some time describing the implications of accidental ennoblement as symbolized by common suit, element, number, polarity or rank displayed by several cards in a reading. This commonality (known as "dignity") gave the affected cards an edge in effectiveness over their unaffiliated … Continue reading Tarot-Card Rank as a Measure of “Reach”
A Three-Card “Yes-or-No” Spread with Extra Detail (à la Eden Gray)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In her 1971 book, Mastering the Tarot, Eden Gray presented a three-card "yes-or-no" predictive model that had the four Aces as its key feature. (Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot pointed me at it and I do in fact own a copy.) I've adapted Gray's approach in developing this spread, but I won't offer a … Continue reading A Three-Card “Yes-or-No” Spread with Extra Detail (à la Eden Gray)
The “Crossing Card” – An Alternate View
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It has been common knowledge when working with the Celtic Cross spread that the horizontal card sitting atop the first vertical one - "crossing" it - always indicates an obstacle to the flow of events or circumstances, but that premise falls apart when a positive card is pulled for the crossing position. This … Continue reading The “Crossing Card” – An Alternate View
The “Peaks-and-Valleys” Landscape: A Five-Card Reading Matrix
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The most common way to read a tarot line spread is as an unbroken flow of cards from left-to-right (and typically from past to future) with occasional "bumps in the road" caused by less-fortunate or reversed cards. In my own practice, I first examine the whole layout, looking for peaks and valleys of … Continue reading The “Peaks-and-Valleys” Landscape: A Five-Card Reading Matrix
