AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about the Thoth deck many times in the past but lately, as I roam the online tarot community, I've encountered Thoth novices who have just discovered it and who, while fascinated by its esoteric depth, are nervous about having anything to do with its co-creator, Aleister Crowley. (They have yet to … Continue reading Thoughts on Thoth
Tarot Opinion
Harbingers of Change
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every tarot card, no matter how static-seeming, is a harbinger of some kind of change, good or bad and great or small. In combination, the cards convey a "state of becoming" in the form of tendencies and trends rather than one of merely "being." Otherwise there would be no reason to include all … Continue reading Harbingers of Change
Subconscious Bias in Remote Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a companion piece to my essay of yesterday. I've been spending some time on the r/seculartarot Reddit sub, where nobody believes in the power of divination. The difference between them and me is that I'm firmly convinced of French author Joseph Maxwell's premise that "coming events cast a shadow before them" … Continue reading Subconscious Bias in Remote Tarot Reading
“Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The more I read The Tarot of the Bohemians by Gerard Encausse ("Papus"), the more respect I have for his wisdom (at least until he wanders off into Theosophy and loses me). When - in his discussion of science - he says that "observation and experience are only instruments" of intuition (the cognitive … Continue reading “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
The Tarot Cosmology of Papus
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A couple of weeks ago I posted an essay in which I took issue with the Golden Dawn's arrangement of the Kings, Queens and Knights on the Chaldean wheel of the zodiac. Rather than the Queens being Cardinal (a dynamic and enterprising mode), I've always felt that they should be Fixed due to … Continue reading The Tarot Cosmology of Papus
“Ankle-Biters” – A Brief Meditation on Reversal
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While writing my essay on the occurrence of reversals in the Celtic Cross spread, I hit upon the idea that a reversed card (in its emulation of the Hanged Man's inverted perspective) enters the situation at "ankle height" rather than at shoulder level where we can handle it directly in the way we're … Continue reading “Ankle-Biters” – A Brief Meditation on Reversal
The Breeding Ground
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Having come from several years of involvement in Aeclectic Tarot, a stimulating online divination forum that closed in 2017, I've been somewhat disheartened by what I see as a much more diluted discussion platform in the Facebook pages I frequent. Although I have nothing against offering advice and assistance to novices, it seems … Continue reading The Breeding Ground
A “Tendency to Exist”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently read a fascinating passage at the end of Sallie Nichols' discussion of the World card in Tarot and the Archtypal Journey that compares and contrasts the views of reality held by physicist Erwin Schrodinger and psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. Nichols begins by examining the nature of subatomic particles (circa 1980), noting … Continue reading A “Tendency to Exist”
“Who’s Got the Button?” – Abusing the Privilege
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was away from the public tarot scene for an extended period near the end of the last century, and when I returned in the middle of the online reading frenzy I was amazed at how many people won't take "No" for an answer even when the Universe is telling them point-blank "I … Continue reading “Who’s Got the Button?” – Abusing the Privilege
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 