AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm applying my "Tell Me No Lies" Personality Profile spread to the recently-purchased tarot deck shown above. (This is my version of the "new-deck interview.") This spread is designed to explore the quasi-psychological profile of a deck in twelve cards, conveying its immediate impact on the viewer ("first impressions") along with its … Continue reading “Boadicea’s Tarot of Earthly Delights” Personality Profile
Tarot Decks
Personal Deck Creation: Another Instance of “Why Bother?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since the beginning of the 1970s when I first encountered the Hermetic Qabalah and its offshoot, the occult tarot, I've known that the high-water-mark of achievement with the latter is considered to be the hand-drawn creation of a personal deck. The goal is to embark on a metaphysical odyssey by getting inside one's … Continue reading Personal Deck Creation: Another Instance of “Why Bother?”
Attack of the Killer TINOs!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently had an eye-opening experience regarding the current state of disarray in modern tarot design. (I almost wrote "state-of-the-art" but that would have been giving it far too much credit.) I joined the Hermit's Cave Facebook page hoping to find intelligent conversation about the tarot, but what I encountered was an endless … Continue reading Attack of the Killer TINOs!
A Matter of Symbolism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not so long ago (before purely psychic free-association became fashionable among "pop-tarot" practitioners), tarot reading was a matter of deciphering complex images to come up with a narrative that was assumed to explain mundane conditions. The diviner's art lay in the translation of decidedly arcane symbolism into more commonplace language for the purpose … Continue reading A Matter of Symbolism
The 10 of Cups: “Pushing a String”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sometimes we can tie ourselves up in knots when trying too diligently to impose esoteric symbolism on the tarot cards. I recently came across an opinion that the 10 of Cups - which is associated with Mars in Pisces in the Golden Dawn's system of "Chaldean" astrological correspondences - must refer to the … Continue reading The 10 of Cups: “Pushing a String”
500 Views . . . and Nothing to See: The Tarot Wasteland
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not long ago I joined a couple of online deck-collecting groups, and in short order my eyes were assaulted by swarms of substandard tarot decks that I would never buy in a million years (not nearly 500 of course, I was just trying to get your attention; let's round it off to 100). … Continue reading 500 Views . . . and Nothing to See: The Tarot Wasteland
Tarot del Toro New-Deck Profile
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This recent deck acquisition has an interesting back-story. I was gifted the Lord of the Rings Tarot that was created by the same artist (Tomas Hijo) but I already own it, so I took the second one back to the store to exchange it and was pleased to find another Hijo work purely … Continue reading Tarot del Toro New-Deck Profile
Tarot of Oxalia: A Preview
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently agreed to help promote the campaign for the forthcoming Tarot of Oxalia, which according to the Kickstarter site is "inspired by Greek mythology and sci-fi to evoke creative thinking, possibility, and a sense of well-being." Symbolically, it is a Waite-Smith clone but with more vivid, impressionistic artwork. My first thought on … Continue reading Tarot of Oxalia: A Preview
Lord of the Rings Tarot (2022 Version): A Deck Profile
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a lifelong fan of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and an equally enthusiastic devotee of tarot divination, I'm always interested in new tarot decks based on the LotR universe. Although there have been playing-card packs and card games in that genre, as far as I know - until recently - we … Continue reading Lord of the Rings Tarot (2022 Version): A Deck Profile
Deck Selection and Spread Dynamics
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not proposing that there are "scientific" answers to these questions but, humans being the insatiably curious and highly critical creatures that we are, I tend to think in those terms. "What is the best deck to use? What is the best spread?" I hear these questions all the time from beginners who … Continue reading Deck Selection and Spread Dynamics
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 