Tarot is a boon companion to those cartomancy fans (or "fiends") who are unable to sleep through the night. Some get up and play with their cards until fatigue overtakes them. I dream up (in a semi-lucid fashion) new ideas for this blog; sometimes I get up and type feverishly before they escape me and … Continue reading The Insomniac’s Friend
Tarot Decks
The Druid Craft Tarot Deck Interview
A conversation on one of the tarot forums about whether the Druid Craft Tarot is "mean" prompted me to run it through my "Tell Me No Lies" personality-profile deck interview. https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsz2m38qfzgh9p1/Expanded%20New%20Deck%20Challenge%20Spread.pdf?raw=1 The top row is the Wands row, indicative of the deck’s vitality and spirit; the second row is the Cups row, showing the deck’s … Continue reading The Druid Craft Tarot Deck Interview
Cartomantic Consumerism: One Deck Too Far
A question came up on one of the tarot forums late last year that stopped me in my tracks, and after thinking carefully about it I haven't bought a new deck of any kind since (although I still lust for quite a few). "How many decks are too many?" My flippant answer at the time … Continue reading Cartomantic Consumerism: One Deck Too Far
Tarot of the Old Path Deck Interview
In doing my "courts and trumps" series of posts, I used one of my long-neglected decks, the Tarot of the Old Path. (I didn't realize it at the time, but there is a good reason those court cards all look so haughty!) I had always felt that the courts in this deck are kind of … Continue reading Tarot of the Old Path Deck Interview
The Chrysalis Tarot: A Deck Interview
The Chrysalis Tarot is an unconventional deck that fascinates me, although I truly can't say why. I've had it for a couple of years, take it out once in a while to admire it . . . and then put it away. Certainly its quiet luminosity strikes a strong sympathetic chord in my artist's heart … Continue reading The Chrysalis Tarot: A Deck Interview
The Legacy of the Golden Dawn
As I prepare to do a presentation at a regional tarot meeting tomorrow on the history of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, I've been organizing my thoughts on exactly what that organization has meant to the modern esoteric tarot. Obviously, much of the foundation comes from the system of correspondences created by Samuel … Continue reading The Legacy of the Golden Dawn
Most Important, Influential or Innovative Recent Tarot Decks
On one of the internet tarot forums I frequent, we were discussing the Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus deck , and the question arose about what recent decks we believe are the most significant from the standpoint of stretching the envelope - both in artistic quality and symbolic importance - for a standard 78-card tarot pack. … Continue reading Most Important, Influential or Innovative Recent Tarot Decks
The CBD Tarot de Marseille Deck Interview
Unfortunately, I missed my chance to pick up the self-published edition of Yoav Ben-Dov's brilliant Conver-based Tarot de Marseille while he was still alive. Fortunately, US Games has apparently acquired the license and has just released an admirable version of the CBD tarot at a reasonable price. I performed my "Personality Profile" deck interview spread … Continue reading The CBD Tarot de Marseille Deck Interview
Wish List for 2018
I've slowed down considerably in buying new tarot and oracle decks over the last couple of years. It's not that I don't lust after the latest-and-greatest releases touted by people I trust on the cartomancy forums, it's just that - short of superlative artwork or a magnificent companion book - there just isn't much to … Continue reading Wish List for 2018
The Star Tarot Deck Interview
Let's get the unpleasant stuff out of the way first. While Cathy McClelland's artwork is a wonder to behold, the manufacturing quality of the deck is rather poor. I had to order the Star Tarot from Amazon twice and both times some cards had damaged backs. Many had rolled sections or shallow nicks on the … Continue reading The Star Tarot Deck Interview
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 