I've been thinking about the presence of interpretive contrasts and contradictions in almost every tarot reading, particularly when using spreads that include a "reactive" position such as the three-card "action/reaction/resolution" layout in which the second card provides an occasion for rebuttal against the original premise. Unless we are indulging in wishful thinking of the "It's … Continue reading “On the Other Hand . . . ” (A Study in Contrasts)
Tarot Card Meanings
The Reconciler
Over the past few weeks I've written at some length about the various ways to read a three-card tarot spread. One idea I didn't spend much time on is the aggregating power of the middle card: rather than merely being a transitional turning-point in the narrative or a "hinge" between the past and the future, … Continue reading The Reconciler
Numerological Counterparts and the “Blueprint for Perfection”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Mirroring the principles of natal astrology, it could be said with some justification that the basic "blueprint for self-realization" resides in the planetary correspondences for the first four numbered trumps of the tarot: the Magician (1) as Mercury, the High Priestess (2) as the Moon, the Empress (3) as Venus, and the Emperor … Continue reading Numerological Counterparts and the “Blueprint for Perfection”
Strength and The Star: A Case of “Brute Finesse?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since I'm working with the Waite-Smith deck and not my preferred Thoth in these "numerological counterpart" exercises, I'm treating Strength as the eighth trump and pairing it with the Star (17=1+7=8) because I've already written about Justice as "11" (or 1+1=2) and equated it with the High Priestess. My customary approach is to … Continue reading Strength and The Star: A Case of “Brute Finesse?”
The Lovers and The Devil: “I Double-Dare Ya!”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the third in my series of essays examining the trump cards of the tarot as "numerological counterparts" that present "alike but different" versions of a common theme. This time I'm looking at two cards that express the number "6," those "strange bedfellows" the Lovers (VI) and the Devil (15=1+5=6). Esoterically, Six … Continue reading The Lovers and The Devil: “I Double-Dare Ya!”
“This Changes Everything”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I sometimes think that history could not have played a more malicious prank on the earnest 21st-Century diviner than the Death card. Cherry Gilchrist is undoubtedly correct in asserting that many of the trump-card images as we know them originated as "triumphs" ("parade floats") in the processional queue of a Medieval pageant, and … Continue reading “This Changes Everything”
The Chariot and The Tower: “Risky Business”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the second essay in what may become a series where I take a structured look at "numerological counterparts" among the trump cards as "alike but different" expressions of a common theme. Here I'm tackling The Chariot (7) and its counterpart, The Tower (16=1+6=7). In approaching this subject, I recognized that both … Continue reading The Chariot and The Tower: “Risky Business”
High Priestess and Justice: The Quest for Perfection
AUTHOR'S NOTE: During my studies I often come across the opinion that the High Priestess and Justice display two faces of perfection, one natural and the other imposed. Although I'm mainly a Thoth and Tarot de Marseille guy, here I'm using the numerological structure of the Waite-Smith Major Arcana, which places Justice in the eleventh … Continue reading High Priestess and Justice: The Quest for Perfection
Why Healing?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Once again, while reading the tarot literature I've encountered the opinion that the Temperance card relates to "healing." I've unloaded on this notion in the past, but I've had a few more insights since then. The premise that there must be a "healing" card among the tarot trumps presumes that the other cards … Continue reading Why Healing?
“The Light’s On But Nobody’s Home”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a brief meditation on the Hanged Man. The title of the post comes from the halo around the head of the figure in the Waite-Smith version. Albano-Waite Tarot, copyright of U.S. Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT While reading The Way of Tarot, I came across Alejandro Jodorowsky's observation that the suspended … Continue reading “The Light’s On But Nobody’s Home”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 