Upon entering the ranks of the professional diviner, we inevitably encounter the question "How much is enough?" Time, that is, or effort expended for value received.I was once advised that, in rural New England where I lived at the time, the going rate for a face-to-face tarot reading was a dollar a minute. This was … Continue reading Time Bites: The Value of a Minute
Tarot Opinion
“Tarot-Free” Tarot Decks (or “Damn the Symbolism, Full Speed Ahead!”)
I have a problem with self-proclaimed tarot decks that strip the usual symbolism from the cards and replace it with something radically different and wholly unlikely, whether it's animals or flowers or landscapes or similar charming but overly literal artwork that conveys something other than the customary narrative cues while often being utterly devoid of … Continue reading “Tarot-Free” Tarot Decks (or “Damn the Symbolism, Full Speed Ahead!”)
Bridging the Gap Between Magic and Meaning
You will often hear me say that, at least in my own work, divination is a subliminal process rooted in the unconscious (or, if you like, "Higher Self") that relies heavily on imagination, inspiration and ingenuity to tease practical messages from evocative symbolism that is typically shrouded in rather obscure "magical" imagery. In the best … Continue reading Bridging the Gap Between Magic and Meaning
Random Numbers: An Alternate Approach to Remote Reading
As I've mentioned before, when approached to do remote readings I prefer to have clients pull their own cards and e-mail me a list in the order drawn. Shuffling and cutting the cards myself for a distant sitter can introduce subconscious "reader's bias" and potentially hijack the focus of the reading. I believe that reading … Continue reading Random Numbers: An Alternate Approach to Remote Reading
Call Them “TINOs”
I was just reading a fascinating wiki article about Canadian cultural philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who coined the phrase "the medium is the message" while analyzing the impact of media sources like television on society, and who concluded that the delivery system is more revealing of modern collective values than the contents. In commenting on his … Continue reading Call Them “TINOs”
DAS: A Joyful Scourge
Around the end of every year there seems to be a flood of new-deck announcements and glossy (albeit online for most of us) catalogs from Lo Scarabeo, U.S. Games Systems and a few smaller publishing houses. These feed the pernicious addiction many of us share: "Deck Acquisition Syndrome." Every tarot forum I've participated in (I'm … Continue reading DAS: A Joyful Scourge
High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
Yesterday while performing a reading I was struck by the notion that certain cards literally stand out from the pack as "high-focus" since they are symbolically replete and subject to little or no modulation in their expression. My immediate examples were the Aces, which are undivided and uncomplicated in behavior and purpose; they make a … Continue reading High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
Why Waite? Why Now?
After a couple of recent conversations with what I can only think of as "traditional tarot snobs" (which is not necessarily a bad thing, it was just painfully obvious that I was talking to a wall), I decided to revisit my opinion of the Waite-Smith deck (if only because the traditionalists damn it so vehemently). … Continue reading Why Waite? Why Now?
A Small-Spread Overview
In my own practice, I consider any spread of five cards or fewer to be "small." I find anything in that range to be of little use in complex scenarios with numerous variables that often have their most telling influence from behind-the-scenes. A small layout leaves a lot unsaid "between the lines" (that is, in … Continue reading A Small-Spread Overview
“How Long, How Long”
In 1928, Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell recorded one of the first blues "standards," How Long Blues, with the lyrics: "Heard the whistle blowin', couldn't see no train Way down in my heart, I had an achin' pain How long, how long, baby how long" What, you're asking, does this random piece of music history … Continue reading “How Long, How Long”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 