AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've known for some time that those who prefer classical decks like the Tarot de Marseille to the esoteric reveries of the post-Occult Revival don't subscribe to the conflation of Hebrew letters and trump cards in general, and particularly not to the model proposed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rather … Continue reading Rolling Back the Golden Dawn’s Syllabus
Tarot History
The Tarot of the Bohemians: First Thoughts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Now that I've finished Sallie Nichols' Tarot and the Archetypal Journey I'm setting off in an entirely different direction, having just begun reading The Tarot of the Bohemians (third edition) by Gerard Encausse (aka "Papus"), which will surely generate as many brief essays as the former work. I'm only part-way through the preface … Continue reading The Tarot of the Bohemians: First Thoughts
Revisiting the Tirage en Croix: “Hold the Woo!”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The excellent tirage en croix (aka "French Cross") spread originated in Continental Europe and it offers an ideal alternative to the modern three-card and five-card line. It is a straightforward predictive layout that I understand was developed by Swiss occultist Oswald Wirth. I recently came across a description of it on the r/tarot … Continue reading Revisiting the Tirage en Croix: “Hold the Woo!”
The Lover as Morality Play
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It struck me today that the image of the four characters on the Tarot de Marseille "Lover" card might be viewed as a composite of the first six cards that precede it in the series of trumps. If we lay out those cards according to the scene in the Lover, we have the … Continue reading The Lover as Morality Play
The “Golden Dawn Swap” – Strength and Justice
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about the relocation of Strength and Justice before, but not in terms that strayed so far from the beaten path as this essay does. I have no clue what (if any) use I will make of this, but it's an intriguing philosophical study. (The framework shown in the graphic could be … Continue reading The “Golden Dawn Swap” – Strength and Justice
Paired Trumps and Astrological Counterparts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn assigned astrological correspondences to all of the Major Arcana, a group comprised of twelve zodiacal trumps, seven planetary trumps and three "primary" elemental trumps (Air, Water and Fire). The zodiacal trumps were placed in the Chaldean zodiac such that each card has a diametrically-opposite counterpart of … Continue reading Paired Trumps and Astrological Counterparts
TdM Divination, Approximately
Several years ago I was informed by someone with good credentials that there is no centuries-old tradition for performing divination with the Tarot de Marseille cards and their Italian Renaissance predecessors, all of which were originally used only for the playing of card games. The popular "French Cross" or tirage en croix spread has little … Continue reading TdM Divination, Approximately
A Worthy Outlet?
One thing to which any blogger pays at least casual attention is daily site traffic. In my own case I haven't monetized this blog so I'm not hanging on every minuscule fraction of a penny that changes hands over my contribution to the community. But, although I have slightly more than 300 followers now (a … Continue reading A Worthy Outlet?
Revisiting Strength/Force: Honoring the Ego
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I first compared the Waite-Smith version of the Strength card to the traditional Tarot de Marseille "Force" or "Fortitude" image, it became obvious that Waite and Smith had taken some "liberties" with the earlier iconography. While reading Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Way of Tarot, I put my finger a little more precisely on … Continue reading Revisiting Strength/Force: Honoring the Ego
The Art and Science of Precise Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's no secret that I'm both an esoteric theorist and a conceptual minimalist in my approach to tarot card interpretation, although as a reader I consider myself first-and-foremost a creative storyteller with a flair for inspiration, imagination and ingenuity in my narrative output. The purpose of this essay is to explore ways to … Continue reading The Art and Science of Precise Tarot Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 