AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've long believed that the prototypical "average person" often harbors a private agenda that exemplifies the "social user" stigma of the title. They may not even be aware of their antisocial inclinations, but those close to them certainly are. As a group, social users aspire to either dominate others and thereby gain a … Continue reading Social Neutrality: Neither “Using” Nor “Being Used”
Tarot Miscellany
The Major Arcana as “Dining Experience”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In 2022 I satirized Douglas Adams' already-satirical novel, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (see the link below), in which a talking cow (aptly named "Dish of the Day") offers up choice cuts of itself to discerning diners, carved from its living flesh "on the hoof" as it were. My own … Continue reading The Major Arcana as “Dining Experience”
“Crimson King” Under the Tarotscope
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't know why I never tackled In the Court of the Crimson King before, it's tailor-made for the "tarotscope" treatment of text-and-card correlation because it's chock-full of Medieval imagery. Lyricist Pete Sinfield said in 1971: “Crimson King is about oppressors and manipulators" and the king of the title seems to be the … Continue reading “Crimson King” Under the Tarotscope
“Waitin’ on Judgement Day” – Thoughts on Legacy
"It's just ol' Luke, and Luke's waitin' on the Judgement Day"- from The Weight by The Band For my 400th consecutive daily post and 2,407th entry in the last eight years, I decided to briefly ponder the subject of "legacy." I realize that in this era of "New Tarot" revisionism such considerations are felt to … Continue reading “Waitin’ on Judgement Day” – Thoughts on Legacy
Obviously A Map . . . But Of What?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The panorama of 78 tarot cards is often described as a "map." Some say that it portrays the dimensions of the objective Universe, others consider it a "roadmap of life" into which we can dip to extract the itinerary for a particular leg of the journey (stay tuned, there may be a new … Continue reading Obviously A Map . . . But Of What?
“The Springtime of My Life:” The Second Coming of Inspiration
"Look aroundThe grass is highThe fields are ripeIt's the springtime of my life"(from A Hazy Shade of Winter by Simon and Garfunkle) AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just listening to The Bangles' power-pop version of the Paul Simon folk-rock song and picked up on this verse. At my advanced age (those who have been with me … Continue reading “The Springtime of My Life:” The Second Coming of Inspiration
Imbibing Fire: A Self-Advancement Ritual
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've owned a crystal ball for several years with the goal of "scrying in the astral vision" but I've despaired of ever getting the light-to-dark ratio in the room just right so I can see something other than reflections or, alternatively, utter darkness in the sphere. However, I think I've found a different … Continue reading Imbibing Fire: A Self-Advancement Ritual
Updated “Tarot Euphemisms” for the RWS Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several years ago I began collecting one-line "euphemisms" (imaginative circumlocutions) based on the cultural, social, historical and literary metaphors and analogies that I've come to use consistently with the Waite-Smith (and occasionally Thoth) minor cards when reading in public. Most of these are fanciful notions that popped into my head in the form … Continue reading Updated “Tarot Euphemisms” for the RWS Minor Arcana
Further Thoughts on Rational Journaling
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several times over the last five decades, I've started and stopped recording my tarot observations and reading results in a journal because I tend to overthink and consequently overwrite, then I never go back to look at any of it. Here is another way to tackle it. It's one of tarot teaching's accepted … Continue reading Further Thoughts on Rational Journaling
2,001: A Tarot Odyssey
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The adventure of the title began in 2017 when I started this blog and reached a zenith with post #2,000 at the conclusion of my "tarot alchemy" series two days ago. Yesterday, post #2,001 - although little different from the 242 consecutive daily essays that preceded it - opened what I intend to … Continue reading 2,001: A Tarot Odyssey