AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is endless confusion among new tarot readers about the difference between the Justice and Judgement cards because both seem to be about the same thing. Here I will attempt to sort this out since it all comes down to the intent of the esoteric symbolism. One of my forum-mates on Aeclectic Tarot … Continue reading Occult Tarot Fundamentals: Justice vs. Judgement
Tarot Card Meanings
Leveraging Reversals
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the past few weeks I've offered a handful of spreads that include a fixed series of reversed cards in contradistinction to an equal number of upright cards. The idea is to identify an alternate path to the same objective that is less obvious in nature, symbolic of a detour into an unfamiliar … Continue reading Leveraging Reversals
The Hierophant: Returning to Normal
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Of all the tarot trumps, the Hierophant (originally the Pope) feels most like a "square peg in a round hole" when brought up against modern expectations. It's a product of a bygone era and a different mindset, often requiring a great deal of mental calisthenics to puzzle out in practical reading situations. I'm … Continue reading The Hierophant: Returning to Normal
Manipulative Tendencies: A “Dark Triad” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While roaming the internet I encountered a psychological concept I hadn't seen presented in quite the same way before. I don't believe tarot should be used independently for the kind of psychoanalytical probing this behavioral complex demands, but I propose that it can at least shed speculative light on the presence of such … Continue reading Manipulative Tendencies: A “Dark Triad” Spread
The Thoth 3 of Wands: Virtue as “Efficacy”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading about the "hierarchies of angels" postulated by the 6th-Century (CE) "pseudo-Dyonisius" as discussed in The Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis, I came across the following quote regarding the second hierarchy of Powers and Virtues that started me thinking about the Thoth 3 of Wands and its title of "Virtue" ("Established Strength" … Continue reading The Thoth 3 of Wands: Virtue as “Efficacy”
The Twos and the Principle of the Triad
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In yesterday's post I used a quote from Plato's Timaeus that has a bearing on how I interpret the tarot Twos. In any reading involving two parties, there are generally three factions that must be accommodated: the two individuals or collective entities and the relationship between them, which will sometimes take on a … Continue reading The Twos and the Principle of the Triad
Redeeming Reversed Cards Through Coping
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a recent reddit conversation about reversed cards, the OP asked "Can it be said that the aim is to do something that will turn the card upright again? But how does this work for cards such as the Devil rx or the Seven of Cups rx? I'd assume having them rx is … Continue reading Redeeming Reversed Cards Through Coping
The “Side-Eye” – Looking Askance at Card Meanings
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In one of my online tarot conversations I've once again fielded the perennial question about the need to use reversals in divination. My response was: "Many people insist that - depending on the context of the reading - they can squeeze contradictory intent out of the upright meaning of any favorable tarot card … Continue reading The “Side-Eye” – Looking Askance at Card Meanings
The 3 of Swords as “Patience”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is one I didn't see coming, and I wasn't quite sure where to go with it. But I think I got there in reasonable fashion. I was reading about the Taiji concept of "patience" recently and unearthed an interesting fact: the two pictographs (aka "radicals") that make up the Chinese logogram naixin, … Continue reading The 3 of Swords as “Patience”
The Eighth Nature: Beyond Patience
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay quickly became dense as I continue to draw inspiration from The Tao of Thoth, but it winds up with an exercise that you may find intriguing. Although there are seven tenets in Hermetic philosophy as presented in The Kybalion, an eighth metaphysical precept has been proposed that unifies them. One school … Continue reading The Eighth Nature: Beyond Patience
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 