The subject of how long a tarot prediction can be considered reliable is a fascinating one. This becomes especially interesting when an attempt is made to forecast circumstances and events an entire year into the future. In general I will use the Lenormand Grand Tableau for this purpose because its numerous "departments of life" can … Continue reading Metaphysical Entropy
Tarot Opinion
“Psychism with Props?”
While rereading Robert Wang's The Qabalistic Tarot, I came across the following statement that got me thinking about my own assumptions regarding the proper use of tarot for divination: "The Tarot is best used for divination about mundane matters. It is not particularly well-suited for furnishing answers of an important spiritual nature because it is … Continue reading “Psychism with Props?”
A Case for Positional Spreads
I'm more than a little bemused by people who say that using formal tarot spreads "inhibits their intuition." Seems to me they're too easily diverted from their goal by undue sensitivity to the mechanics of the art; a spread is nothing more than a convenient template that offers a reasonable place to start, like an … Continue reading A Case for Positional Spreads
The “Big Three”
As I frequent the more popular Facebook tarot pages, I notice a number of patterns beginning to emerge in posts by those new to divination. Almost every day, someone (or several "someones") asks one of the following questions, even though it may have been posed just the day (or the hour) before. There doesn't seem … Continue reading The “Big Three”
More Thoughts on the Trump Cards
Not long ago I posted a detailed essay on how I think the Major Arcana (aka "trump" cards) operate in divination. https://parsifalswheeldivination.com/2020/03/21/much-ado-about-nothing-the-problem-with-trump-cards-in-prediction/ Since that time I've had occasion to further consider their significance in readings that explore situational developments where external factors are likely to play a part. As before, I seldom see them as … Continue reading More Thoughts on the Trump Cards
Too Much and Not Enough?
William Wordsworth definitely had his finger on the pulse of what the World (or Universe) card used to mean before Arthur Edward Waite turned it into an icon of glorious fulfillment: "The world is too much with us; late and soon" In modern divinatory practice, it is almost invariably seen as an expression of satisfactory … Continue reading Too Much and Not Enough?
The Pragmatic Reading
I like to say that I "just read the cards," I don't try to discover or guess in advance what the sitter's motives, objectives or ambitions are because I really don't need to know. My practice of not wanting to hear the specific question at the start of a reading serves this approach quite well … Continue reading The Pragmatic Reading
Thoughts on Face-to-Face Reading
In this age of instantaneous electronic communication, there are tarot readers who may never experience the stimulation (and, yes, the trepidation) of reading the cards for other people in a face-to-face setting. Usually it's a lack of confidence rather than limited opportunity that keeps them chained to remote situations where they never get to test … Continue reading Thoughts on Face-to-Face Reading
“Painting Testimonial Pictures” – Problem Cards and Pataphysics
I think we can all agree that the tarot excels at throwing us curve-balls during the practice of prediction. Usually it's in the form of a card in a reading that just won't fit the puzzle no matter how we turn it. Often it's a major - or "trump" card - that lands in the … Continue reading “Painting Testimonial Pictures” – Problem Cards and Pataphysics
Of Smoke and Mirrors
. . . but not the kind you're thinking. The more popular Facebook tarot pages are constantly awash in the sentiment - prevalent among the overwhelming majority of neophytes - that spiritual energy ("good" or "bad") can cling to the cards in some unexplained fashion, encouraging the practices of mystically infusing them with the former … Continue reading Of Smoke and Mirrors
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 