AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a spread for the analysis of situations that offer three ways to confront the ethical choices facing the querent: a "High Road" of wisdom; a "Low Road" of folly; and a "Middle Way" of apathy. There are five factors on each path that are subject to optimization or abasement according to … Continue reading A Potential-Mapping Spread in Three Parts: High Road, Low Road and Middle Way
Tarot Readings
The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm merging astrological principles (natal planets and rising sign) with tarot cards and insights from the casebook of psycho-spiritual mind/body awareness to create a self-appraisal tool that is intended to identify any strengths and weaknesses in one's personality that may not stand out clearly from horoscopic delineation or cartomantic examination alone. While … Continue reading The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
The “Pendulum of Revealing” Positional Yes-or-No Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in my series of "Revealing" spreads: I've done a "Mandala," a "Pentacle" and an "Onion" of Revealing in the past. I'm using the pendulum motif for this one to answer the perennial yes-or-no question, with a nod toward "maybe" and any contrary trends that might occur as shown by … Continue reading The “Pendulum of Revealing” Positional Yes-or-No Spread
The “Split-Decision” Opportunity Advancement Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that examines the comparative probability of success or failure for an opportunity that could go either way. Select a card to represent the "best-case" outlook and place it upright on the table. Then take the same card from a second identical or similar deck and set it reversed below … Continue reading The “Split-Decision” Opportunity Advancement Spread
The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I liken tarot reading to "peeling an onion " because what we see in the cards at a surface level isn't always what is going on in the hidden depths of the situation, and we must "drill down" to find the reality. Here I'm turning that concept inside-out by proposing that the truth … Continue reading The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
Nightfall?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In light of the increasingly dire situation in the Middle East, I decided to ask my favorite sociopolitical deck, Brian Williams' PoMo (PostModern) Tarot, whether Iran is likely to attempt a nuclear incursion into Israel. I took my inspiration primarily from the images rather than from conventional definitions. PoMo Tarot, copyright of HarperCollins … Continue reading Nightfall?
“Waiting for Godot” – Court Cards in Long-Range Forecasts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of my sly assumptions when court cards appear in a tarot reading is that, rather than defaulting to psychological, ethical or spiritual conventions, they will quite often signify the direct involvement of another human being who has a stake in the querent's future "for good or ill." I say this mainly because … Continue reading “Waiting for Godot” – Court Cards in Long-Range Forecasts
Court Cards “On the Diamond”
"Roundin' third, he was headed for homeIt was a brown-eyed handsome man."- from "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" by Chuck Berry (who wasn't talking about the Knight of Swords or Pentacles but certainly could have been) AUTHOR'S NOTE: As always, my title is a "lure" to spark interest but the objective is nothing more than coming … Continue reading Court Cards “On the Diamond”
A “Body/Mind/Soul” Positional-Bias Matrix
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a compact tableau that proposes to identify the ideal positional alignment the seeker should maintain going into a looming "showdown with circumstances." It uses a pre-established set of "situational bias" cards that facilitates adopting a "forward," "reverse" or "neutral" posture toward one's approach to a potential conflict scenario or uncertain evolution. … Continue reading A “Body/Mind/Soul” Positional-Bias Matrix
Numerous Reversals as Trade-offs: Pyrrhic Victories and Strategic Retreats
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Encountering numerous reversed cards in a brief tarot reading can present a challenge that is difficult to resolve. In an otherwise favorable forecast they can mean willingly giving up just a little more than you get to achieve your goal (the "Pyrrhic victory"), while in a less fortunate augury the implication is that … Continue reading Numerous Reversals as Trade-offs: Pyrrhic Victories and Strategic Retreats
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 