I figured I had better strike while the iron is hot on this thought. While considering the nature of divination in my previous post, it occurred to me that the "outcome" card in a tarot reading - the outward evidence of a predicted conclusion - may actually be what the science of economics calls a … Continue reading The Lagging Indicator
Tarot Opinion
Happy Hour
I often wonder what people expect when they sit for a tarot reading. Is it encouragement (aka "empowerment") regarding their chosen course of action? Is it affirmation of their assumptions or suspicions? Is it entertainment? Is it a glimpse of future events or circumstances? Is it a psychological snapshot of themselves or another person? Is … Continue reading Happy Hour
My Favorite Things
A subject that is usually approached piecemeal in the tarot forums is "What is your favorite card?" More pragmatic readers (and maybe those who don't want to think too hard) almost invariably reply "all of them," since every card makes a unique contribution to any reading it appears in and, depending on the context and … Continue reading My Favorite Things
The Gift
When I hear a skilled diviner described as having "the gift," I usually think of it in its more complete form as "the gift of second sight," or precognition, regarding future events and circumstances. This technical definition - which comes from a Gaelic phrase translated as "two sights" - is commonly lumped in with similar … Continue reading The Gift
Reading Without Borders
I admit to enjoying the challenge and satisfaction of reading cards in a completely open-ended fashion (not exactly in a vacuum; let's call it a "rarefied atmosphere"). Like Google, the cards "know everything." Approached properly (that is, with sensitivity and diligence), they will invariably speak the truth in one form or another, although not always … Continue reading Reading Without Borders
The Seeker and the Spirit
Spiritually, I tend to define myself by what I'm not: that is, not religious in any conventional, monotheistic sense. Not Christian, Jewish or Muslim (although my ancestry is almost certainly Middle Eastern by way of southern Germany), not Hindu and not Buddhist (although Buddhism definitely has its appeal). After reading Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, … Continue reading The Seeker and the Spirit
A Matter of Trust
When I returned to professional tarot reading in 2014, my second client was a young man who clearly had some preconceptions about how his session should proceed. His wife had bought the reading for his birthday from the proprietor of the shop where I operated, but the owner is an oracle-card reader who is less … Continue reading A Matter of Trust
A Proper Gander
When I was in the US Army in Germany in the late '60s, I was co-editor of an anti-establishment underground newspaper called Proper Gander. The title was a puckish take on the government "propaganda" to be found in the military's official news organs, the Stars and Stripes and the Overseas Weekly. Needless to say, we … Continue reading A Proper Gander
Welcome to the Jumble*
(* With apologies to Guns N' Roses for pinching their song title "Welcome to the Jungle") As I mentioned in a previous post, every spread of ten cards that uses all 78 cards in the deck as its starting point offers over 4 quintillion (in the US that's 4 followed by 18 zeros; 4 trillion … Continue reading Welcome to the Jumble*
The Sticking Point
sticking point (noun): "a point, detail, or circumstance causing or likely to cause a stalemate or impasse." For those with enough cartomantic experience to instantly spot what is working in a reading and what isn't, there is often one card (and frequently more than one) that stands out by defying meaningful connection to the matter … Continue reading The Sticking Point
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 