I've always considered the number Two in the Minor Arcana of the tarot to signify "centrifugal" oscillation like that of a swinging pendulum. It reaches the outermost limit of its travel before being pulled (very briefly) back to center by gravity, and then departs once again to the end of its tether in the opposite … Continue reading The Twos As “Accumulation and Incubation”
Tarot Card Meanings
The Hierophant: Theocratic Frontman or Harbinger of a Higher Purpose?
The Hierophant is another card of the Major Arcana with which I take issue, primarily because I'm highly skeptical of the arguments and orthodoxy of all religious faiths of the monotheistic, patriarchal (specifically Abrahamic) type. I don't believe spirituality can or should be put in a dogmatic "box" of any kind, it flows freely through … Continue reading The Hierophant: Theocratic Frontman or Harbinger of a Higher Purpose?
The King of Swords: A Study in Impartiality
Once upon a time I was doing a deep dive into the subject of the "facing" (aka "gaze" or "regard") of the human figures on the tarot cards. Facing is often seen as showing where the focus or attention of a card falls outside of its normal span of control, usually conveying an impulse to … Continue reading The King of Swords: A Study in Impartiality
The Eights: Concentrated Fulfillment or Adaptation and Adjustment?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay is a reprise of more than one prior post, but I recently came across Alejandro Jodorowsky's extremely favorable assessment of the number 8 in its role as tarot symbolism and felt compelled to restate my case. While some esoteric thinkers consider the number 8 to be the ultimate "perfection" of the … Continue reading The Eights: Concentrated Fulfillment or Adaptation and Adjustment?
Cheating the Hitman: Musings on Death (the Card)
"And when the hitman comesHe knows damn well he has been cheated" - from Twilight Zone by Golden Earring I was listening to the Golden Earring song this morning and thinking about its implications for the traditional Death card of the tarot, in which the skeleton seems to be harvesting human heads. The modern assumption … Continue reading Cheating the Hitman: Musings on Death (the Card)
The Nines: One Foot Out the Door
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My metaphysical view of the cards of the Minor Arcana has long been steeped in the numerical symbolism of the Hermetic Tree of Life, seasoned with a little Pythagorean number theory. But it can be refreshing to consider other perspectives, and in this example I'm addressing the opinions of Alejandro Jodorowsky in The … Continue reading The Nines: One Foot Out the Door
Court-Card Hierarchies: An Interesting Comparison
I've just rediscovered Alejandro Jodorowsky's unorthodox sequencing of the court cards and, although I still don't fully agree with him, I now find more sense in his thinking. I decided to compare his vision side-by-side with Waite's historical hierarchy and the Qabalistic premise of the Golden Dawn/Thoth model. All images are copyright of U.S. Games … Continue reading Court-Card Hierarchies: An Interesting Comparison
“Blondness” as Perfection?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's a lightweight bit of fluff with a serious undertone. While many statements in The Grand Etteilla compilation that I recently finished reading are outdated to the point of being irrelevant to the modern practice of divination (if not actually laughable), this one stands out as particularly ludicrous. It definitely falls into "Gimme … Continue reading “Blondness” as Perfection?
The Chameleon
"See chameleonLying there in the sunAll things to everyoneRun, run away"- Slade, Run, Run Away Once in a while the question comes up online about how the Magician should be interpreted when it appears as the "person of interest" in a reading about a possible romantic connection. The sense I get is that the inquirer … Continue reading The Chameleon
Reversal As “Unloading”
I recently experienced several reading situations that caused me to come up with yet another spin on the subject of reversed cards: the idea of "unloading" or being relieved of something - ideally a burden but actually a surplus of anything that has reached its "tipping point" or "critical mass," for good or ill. A … Continue reading Reversal As “Unloading”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 