Apart from the symbolic orientation typically used in tarot reading (left refers to "the past," right shows "the future," up reveals matters and down conceals them), there are directional suit dynamics to consider. When you think of it in those terms, the assignment of the function of Spirit alternately to the tarot suits of Fire … Continue reading Suit Dynamics: Rising and Falling Energies
Tarot Card Meanings
The Fives and Sevens: Transition and Improvement
In modern tarot practice, the Fives and Sevens are generally interpreted as difficult cards. But Paul Marteau, writing about the Tarot de Marseille in 1949, gave me a different perspective. It became apparent as I read his book that Marteau was heavily influenced by the numerological thinking of fellow Frenchman Joseph Maxwell in the latter's … Continue reading The Fives and Sevens: Transition and Improvement
“. . . Hanged If I Know”
If I had to choose the Tarot de Marseille trump cards that exhibit the greatest divergence of interpretation between tarot traditionalists and their modern counterparts, Le Pendu (the Hanged Man) would be near the top of the list The historical impressions are uniformly harsh: here is a traitor who is being severely punished for his … Continue reading “. . . Hanged If I Know”
A Tarot de Marseille “Energy Translation” Tableau
Here I align the seminal "root power" of the Ace and the linear binary projection of the Two with the "agency" of the court cards and the situational "ways and means" symbolized by the remaining pips to produce a developmental tableau that enlivens Tarot de Marseille delineation. Rather than following the esoteric assumption that only … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille “Energy Translation” Tableau
The “Condensing and Concentrating” Cups
In his 1949 Tarot de Marseille book, Paul Marteau made frequent use of the term "condensing" when discussing the action of the suit of Cups on the emotional "vapors" (my word, not his) of the human psyche. The Cups are obviously vessels for holding liquid, and my fanciful take on Marteau's idea is that they … Continue reading The “Condensing and Concentrating” Cups
The Fun Factor
Let's be honest. As solemn as we can be about our sacred mission of helping people with our divining skills, reading the tarot cards for others can be just plain fun! Ideally, my sitters will get enjoyment as well as useful insights out of the experience, so I hope the pleasure is mutual (unless they're … Continue reading The Fun Factor
Cups and Pentacles: Even More Subtle Distinctions
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Completist that I am, I figured I had better finish my thoughts on the nuances of interpretation that separate the elementally "friendly" minor suits of the tarot. The suits of Cups and Pentacles (or, in different systems, Coins or Disks) are entirely sympathetic to one another; one represents the element of Water and … Continue reading Cups and Pentacles: Even More Subtle Distinctions
Wands and Swords: Subtle Distinctions
In my recent thinking about the minor-card suits of the tarot, I recognized that there is some functional convergence (if not quite overlap) between the characteristic energies of the Wands and the Swords: as Fire and Air, both are elementally masculine, active and positive, and both strive for self-expression in a direct and unsentimental way. … Continue reading Wands and Swords: Subtle Distinctions
The Threes as “Feedback Loop”
In my reading I came across the assertion that the Two in tarot always represents an incipient action arising from the potential embodied in the Ace of its suit. (It shows the "first step" or initial outbound impulse that the static, self-absorbed Ace has only been pondering up to that point.) The imputed binary state … Continue reading The Threes as “Feedback Loop”
Islands in the Sea: The “Gateless” Suit of Pentacles
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is one of the more intriguing and challenging mental tasks I've undertaken in a while: rethinking the numbered cards of Pentacles in line with Barbara Walker's discussion in The Secrets of the Tarot: History, Origins and Symbolism. I've long felt that the quaint, folkloric descriptions that have grown up around the Minor … Continue reading Islands in the Sea: The “Gateless” Suit of Pentacles
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 