AUTHOR'S NOTE: Between the ages of 18 and 30, I lived through the 12-year period that saw the hippie zeitgeist reach its brief zenith and then fade. It was a heady time of boundless "New Age" enthusiasm for all things exotic in the realm of metaphysics, as well as the burgeoning of unique psychological and … Continue reading The Mystical Tide: Rising or Falling?
Tarot Opinion
Rambling On: A Metaphysical Journey in Ten Phases
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Unsurprisingly, as I sit here lulled by the Florida sun and surf, I've momentarily run out of profound ideas for my daily deliberation. So permit me to ramble on a bit with an updated riff on a couple of old autobiographical posts. Things have been moving again, albeit glacially, and it's time for … Continue reading Rambling On: A Metaphysical Journey in Ten Phases
“Excess Importance” and Zero-Sum Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While following an r/occult sub-reddit thread, I came across the concept of "excess importance." Here is the technical definition: "Excess importance is a concept from Vadim Zeland's Reality Transurfing that refers to overvaluing a person, object, or goal, which creates 'excess potential' (unbalanced energy). It manifests as desperation, fear, or obsession, often leading … Continue reading “Excess Importance” and Zero-Sum Tarot Reading
Subjective Bias and Objective Transparency in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've long been a critic of the purely intuitive approach to tarot reading because I think it encourages subjective bias in the narrative, and when in a less charitable mood I've called it "subconscious navel-gazing" with no immediate objective confirmation. It's understandable that, were we to rely entirely on free-association from the images … Continue reading Subjective Bias and Objective Transparency in Tarot Reading
The Bane of the Tarot Neophyte
"Coherence is the sole quality demanded of us."- Aleister Crowley in Magick AUTHOR'S NOTE: In The Eye in the Triangle, his biographical study of the life of Aleister Crowley, Israel Regardie referred to a quote from Crowley's Liber 185 that, with a little paraphrasing, has a direct bearing on the title of this post:"One may … Continue reading The Bane of the Tarot Neophyte
The Water of Cups and the Contortions of Love
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There seems to be a common misapprehension that the suit of Cups and the element of Water are predominantly about "love" rather than simply referring to the emotional aspects of a tarot reading in general. Asking about a prospective liaison doesn't guarantee receiving an answer in that vein if it isn't "in the … Continue reading The Water of Cups and the Contortions of Love
“Coming By It Honestly”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My Canadian forebears had a wealth of colorful Scottish and Irish folk sayings that I've treasured since the long-ago summers I spent in New Brunswick. Many of the best were preserved by my mother and my maternal grandparents over the decades before they passed. One was "He comes by it honestly" (i.e. "He … Continue reading “Coming By It Honestly”
Pattern-Recognition and Meaning-Making: Unlikely Twins of An Indifferent Mother
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The above title was adapted from the Dan Fogelberg-Tim Weisberg recording Twin Sons of Different Mothers, but the inspiration for this essay came from Joe Monteleone's Tarot Mysticism: The Psycho-Spiritual Technology of the Thoth Tarot. In his discussion of the second tarot trump (the Magus/Magician/Bateleur), Monteleone observed that this card symbolizes human consciousness … Continue reading Pattern-Recognition and Meaning-Making: Unlikely Twins of An Indifferent Mother
Zero = Two/Two = Zero: A Null Outcome Proposition
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm nibbling around the edges of Aleister Crowley's magickal formula, "0=2," which I've always assumed to be purely Qabalistic, but that I now realize is more analytically rigorous (and just a bit beyond my college-level calculus). Hermetically, I've understood zero (or "nothing") to be represented by the three "Veils of Negativity," but … Continue reading Zero = Two/Two = Zero: A Null Outcome Proposition
Sitting with Ourself: A Thoth Perspective
"If I had the chance, I'd ask the world to danceAnd I'd be dancing with myself"- from Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I began reading Joe Monteleone's Tarot Mysticism: The Psycho-Spiritual Technology of the Thoth Tarot, I came upon his premise that one of the three primary uses for the tarot … Continue reading Sitting with Ourself: A Thoth Perspective
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 