AUTHOR'S NOTE: As part of the "homework" assigned to readers of his book, Tarot Architect, Lon Milo DuQuette advises them to "kiss" each of the cards as a curious but charming ritual blessing before laying it on the table. This is just a little too "precious" for my own intellectual sensibilities so I won't do … Continue reading Honoring the Cards in Theory and Practice
Tarot Card Meanings
The Trans-Saturnian Planets and the Thoth Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A while ago I pegged the three modern planets of astrology - Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - to the Chaldean wheel of correspondences used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to align the Minor Arcana of the tarot with the 36 decanates (or "decans") of the zodiac. In doing this, I … Continue reading The Trans-Saturnian Planets and the Thoth Minor Arcana
The Unpredictable Swords: Mental Agility or Mental Chaos?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the Golden Dawn's system of elemental correspondences for the suits of the tarot, Swords are assigned to Air, suggesting admirable fluidity, flexibility and agility. This despite the fact that, as A.E. Waite observed in his Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Swords "generally are not symbolic of beneficent forces in human affairs" … Continue reading The Unpredictable Swords: Mental Agility or Mental Chaos?
Cut to Fit: Existential Advice in Four Elemental “Flavors”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One problem with tarot spreads based on the four classical elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth is that there is often a significant qualitative mismatch between the elemental position meanings and the nature of the cards that land in those positions, requiring vigorous mental gymnastics on the part of the reader to … Continue reading Cut to Fit: Existential Advice in Four Elemental “Flavors”
The Two and Nine of Cups: Love or Wishful Thinking
"Oh, we're half way thereOh-oh, livin' on a prayer"- from Livin' on a Prayer by Jon Bon Jovi AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tarot readers and their clients are usually delighted when the 2 of Cups appears in a prediction about romantic matters. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn titled this card "Lord of Love," and it … Continue reading The Two and Nine of Cups: Love or Wishful Thinking
Deja Vu, Take 2: Rear-View Mirrors of the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The title of this essay refers to the fact that I already posted on the subject of "deja vu all over again" in the Lenormand category. Here the target of the famous Yogi Berra quip is the Minor Arcana series of the Waite-Smith (aka "RWS") tarot. (Note that although I much prefer the … Continue reading Deja Vu, Take 2: Rear-View Mirrors of the Minor Arcana
Occult Tarot Fundamentals: Justice vs. Judgement
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
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 