AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another installment in my long-running "beating-a-dead-horse" criticism of online tarot as my impatience with its superficiality continues to simmer. I've reached a new low in my opinion of the self-indulgent shallowness exhibited by so much of what I see going on, and have retreated to my hermitage to contemplate it. I … Continue reading Online Tarot: Fishing for Meaning But Catching Only Noise
Tarot Opinion
The Emperor and Jus Ad Bellum: Moral Rectitude or Just a Shot of Arrogance?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across a term I had never seen before, in this case regarding the Emperor card of the tarot. Jus ad bellum means being justified in one's reasons for taking on a fight. (It sounds like "the ends justify the means" to me.) It is usually applied when presenting an argument … Continue reading The Emperor and Jus Ad Bellum: Moral Rectitude or Just a Shot of Arrogance?
Death Reversed: Resetting the Agenda
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When upright, the Death card of the tarot is usually understood to mean that something of great importance to the querent will come to an end to make way for something new. It echoes the Coffin, one of the "stop" cards in Lenormand reading, that always indicates a terminal event after which a … Continue reading Death Reversed: Resetting the Agenda
Keeping It Real: Intimations of the Truth
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While observing conversations in the online tarot community, I've noticed that attempts to interpret the cards pulled by other members veer far off-course into mystical and psychological abstractions that don't really address the question posed by the inquirer, who is invariably an inexperienced beginner looking for guidance from more seasoned readers. Part of … Continue reading Keeping It Real: Intimations of the Truth
“Igniting Consciousness” – The Tarot Reader’s Mission
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently plowed my way through a lengthy post on the r/Tarot sub-reddit in which the author discussed the true purpose of tarot reading, ending with the opinion that it's all about igniting the seeker's consciousness via an act of motivation. I like this focus much better than the typical goal of "empowerment," … Continue reading “Igniting Consciousness” – The Tarot Reader’s Mission
You Tell Me!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the directives of the Golden Dawn's "Opening of the Key" (OotK) method and its five-step progression is to abandon the reading if the cards pulled fail to accurately identify the seeker's unspoken reason for pursuing the divination. This is the "tell the Querent why he has come" stipulation that must receive … Continue reading You Tell Me!
Vetting the Significator
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the past 15 year I've largely eliminated the use of a "significator" card to represent the client in my public readings after recognizing that it adds little or nothing to the story shown by the rest of the spread. But I've recently experienced an epiphany regarding the subject. When performing the initial … Continue reading Vetting the Significator
The Reversed Aces: “Flirtin’ with Disaster”
"Got our sights set straight aheadBut ain't sure what we're after"- from Flirtin' with Disaster by Molly Hatchet AUTHOR'S NOTE: When an Ace appears upright in a tarot reading, most readers of my acquaintance see it as an encouraging sign of latent potential or opportunity writ large. All that remains is to figure out the … Continue reading The Reversed Aces: “Flirtin’ with Disaster”
Faking It in the Key of “T”
"Lovely bloke, but posing."- Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones commenting in 1986 on Elton John's lack of rock & roll authenticity. AUTHOR'S NOTE: In music there is what is known as a "fake book" that typically provides melody and chords but no written-out "parts" for each player. It is defined as "the minimal information … Continue reading Faking It in the Key of “T”
The Realist Bids Farewell to the Romantic (or “Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You”)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently cautioned against performing the kind of investigative tarot-reading that operates in the same algorithmic space as probabilistic number-crunching (specifically for odds-making in sports betting). The critic's presumptuous attitude was that I'm tarnishing my credentials as a diviner (which I assume means my standing as an enlightened mystic). I'm not so … Continue reading The Realist Bids Farewell to the Romantic (or “Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You”)
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 