It has always seemed to me that the Hanged Man gets a bad rap. After all, patience is a virtue and in my experience the “sacrifice” almost universally applied to interpretation of this card often means relinquishing time or initiative rather than irretrievable loss of anything more concrete. Inaction can even be the most prudent … Continue reading Hangin’ Out
Tarot Opinion
The Art and Science of Divination: An Opinion
Aleister Crowley stated it succinctly and perversely in the front-piece to “A Description of the Cards of the Tarot” from The Equinox, Volume 1, Number 8: “All divination resembles an attempt by a man born blind to obtain sight by getting blind drunk.” In his 1907 motto for the Astrum Argenteum, while also taking an … Continue reading The Art and Science of Divination: An Opinion
“Let Me Face It”
I once had a friend whose English pronunciation was a bit on the ragged side. He added an "s" to many singular nouns (those of you from a certain part of the world will relate) and instead of the common idiom "Let's face it," he always said "Let me face it." Looks like a ready-made … Continue reading “Let Me Face It”
What’s Your Style?
This question is more about personality than professional demeanor. What is the best "face" to present to clients when reading in-person? Sunny and breezy? Casual and friendly? Confident and focused? Sympathetic and upbeat? Clever and glib? Solemn and serious? Wise and scholarly? Perhaps a pinch of each? Personally, I'm about as far from the description … Continue reading What’s Your Style?
“Cheap Shots” #10: Who Are the Pros?
Since I first connected with other tarot enthusiasts on-line back in 2011, I've met numerous talented readers who have honed their craft to the point that they have successfully entered the ranks of professional diviners. In fact, these contacts encouraged me to return to public reading after many years away. On the other hand, I … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #10: Who Are the Pros?
Changing Gears: Recovering from a Weak Start
(These observations apply to face-to-face reading; on-line reading is frequently performed in a vacuum with no opportunity to "check-and-adjust" the narrative through interactive feedback from the seeker.) Those of us who read for others sometimes sense that we're about to "fail open" like an electrical circuit breaker when the responses we're receiving from our sitter … Continue reading Changing Gears: Recovering from a Weak Start
“Cheap Shots” #9: Where’s the Beef?
Many of us remember the old Wendy's TV commercials in which actress Clara Peller grumpily complained "Where's the beef?" when handed a competitor's burger. There is a parallel phenomenon in tarot divination that takes two different paths but eventually arrives at the same place. On-line reading exchanges offer a perfect vantage point for observing this … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #9: Where’s the Beef?
Astrology is Your Friend
Those who prefer an entirely intuitive, visual approach to reading tarot cards are in the habit of pushing back vehemently against the use of any kind of knowledge-based occult symbolism or esoteric correspondences in their practice. In some cases a certain dismissive elitism is behind this resistance, in others it's simply a matter of being … Continue reading Astrology is Your Friend
Not Your Daddy’s Clergyman After All
I spent decades wrestling with ways to translate Temperance into practical interpretive terms, never once realizing that the Hierophant posed just as big a puzzle for me. I was content thinking of the latter as showing traditional values and conventional wisdom of a practical sort, primarily due to its correspondence to the conservative fixed sign, … Continue reading Not Your Daddy’s Clergyman After All
The “Inner Life” of Tarot
There is a punch line from an old and very non-PC joke, (for which I apologize without revealing any more) and a response from John Lennon's book In His Own Write, that together neatly summarize all we think we know about the inner workings of a tarot reading. Q: “How do it know?” A: “You … Continue reading The “Inner Life” of Tarot
