One thing that can be said with certainty about divination is that predicting the future in a "yes-or-no" fashion using any of the currently popular methods of inquiry is at best a 50-50 proposition: one percentage point either way spells the difference between success and failure. In short, despite our fascination with the details of the … Continue reading Cheap Shots #26: The Slippery Slope
Tarot Opinion
Philosopher or Fortune-Teller?
In his excellent (although a bit "lite" for the seasoned esotericist) volume, The Tarot, History, Symbolism and Divination, Robert Place offers his definition of the best use for tarot: "From its origin, the Tarot has been designed as a set of symbols or tools that the unconscious can use to communicate with the conscious mind. Instead … Continue reading Philosopher or Fortune-Teller?
They Loves Me, They Loves Me Not*
*My grammatically absurd title is an intentional poke at the current practice of substituting a plural pronoun in situations demanding a singular one as a way to avoid gender specificity. While there may be a place for gender-neutral pronouns in the English language, this clumsy abomination most definitely ain't it; we clearly need a new … Continue reading They Loves Me, They Loves Me Not*
Tarot Taboos
One of the perennial topics debated on the tarot forums is whether we as readers have (or should have) any inviolable "taboos" regarding subjects we prefer not to touch in our practice. Typical examples include those involving the intentions of "third-party" individuals who are unaware of the querent's interest in them; predictions of death or … Continue reading Tarot Taboos
Cheap Shots #25: “If Wishes Were Horses . . .”
A philosophy professor of mine who was also a Protestant minister (and, for what it's worth, a heart transplant survivor – the very definition of “ on a wing and a prayer”), once told our class that, according to Pascal's Wager, “It's safer to believe in a God even if there isn't one, than to … Continue reading Cheap Shots #25: “If Wishes Were Horses . . .”
The Solitary Path
Back when I was an active member of American Mensa, I was what was known as an "Isolated M," which meant that I lived so far out in "God's Country" (aka "the Middle of Nowhere") that I derived zero benefit from my paid membership (to add insult to injury, they refused to send me a … Continue reading The Solitary Path
The Moon, Pisces and the High Priestess
Since we've been having an interesting discussion about the nature of the High Priestess, I thought I would refresh a debate we once had on the Aeclectic Tarot forum about its astrological assignment and that of the tarot Moon. First some background that will bring this into focus. Someone asked about the difference between the … Continue reading The Moon, Pisces and the High Priestess
File Under: “Why Bother?”
Here is a well-reasoned 2003 editorial by "Frater P.A.L." from the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, No. 4. Vol. 1 titled "Why Study the Divinatory Arts?" (Forgive me if I've posted this article before, either here or in the tarot forums, but I wanted to expand upon its subject matter with a few personal … Continue reading File Under: “Why Bother?”
A Pause to Consider
When I started this blog in July of 2017, I was looking for an alternative to my ongoing participation in on-line tarot forums and occasional publication in various tarot newsletters and journals, mainly as a personal outlet for the ideas I've been honing over more than four decades of studying and working with the cards. … Continue reading A Pause to Consider
“Cheap Shots” #24: A Herd By Any Other Name
Preponderance: A fancy word that simply means "lots more of one thing than another." A herd of mostly-brown horses. The consensus among my tarot forum-mates is split as to whether it's best to look for dominant "signatures" in a reading first - for example, many more cards of one suit, number, rank or orientation than … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #24: A Herd By Any Other Name
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 