A Facebook friend of mine just reminded me that Liber Theta, the College of Thelema's Thoth-based rewrite of the Golden Dawn's Liber T, includes what author Jim Eshelman calls "meditation patterns" for each pair of Major Arcana that are considered "astrological counterparts" to the Minor Arcanum for the associated decan of the Chaldean zodiac. There … Continue reading Meditation Patterns: The Emperor and the Aries Decans
Tarot Resources
Reversals and “Chaldean Mirrors”
I've been considering a different way to handle reversed cards that I call "Chaldean mirrors." The concept may not be new, but I haven't encountered it before. Most of the cards were associated with the “decans” of the Chaldean zodiac by the Golden Dawn's Macgregor Mathers, bringing the nature of the card together with the … Continue reading Reversals and “Chaldean Mirrors”
“No Way, No How?” – A Card-by-Card Event-Timing Table
UPDATE: I revised the table to reflect that certain cards in combination can indicate that the anticipated event won't happen without extra effort on the part of the querent. https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/53119a42-5ef5-4011-a985-1d8d93234f37#o9i6Ao7uhZ.copy Timing of events with the tarot is the proverbial "tough nut to crack." None of the various methods I've explored (and some of those I've … Continue reading “No Way, No How?” – A Card-by-Card Event-Timing Table
Favorite Things
I was recently talking to someone about "reading style." It's a subject worth examining in more detail. Although I can be a bit flippant in calling myself "half mad scientist and half mystic," what it boils down to is that my own mode of reading the cards partakes slightly more of the analytical than the … Continue reading Favorite Things
Don’t Memorize, Internalize!
Tarot neophytes are often mortified when they reach the inevitable conclusion that they have to memorize the complex and often non-intuitive meanings of 78 images before they can effectively read the cards. While I believe that acquiring a solid grounding in traditional lore is vital to full comprehension of the tarot, the very thought of … Continue reading Don’t Memorize, Internalize!
Students, Cynics and the Tarot Court
One of my favorite aphorisms is "I'm a student of human nature, so of course I'm a cynic." I believe that every individual has a private script (and usually a personal agenda) of some kind running at any given moment (they're basically starring in their own movie, although I don't think that's exactly what Aleister … Continue reading Students, Cynics and the Tarot Court
Musings on Another Year
I just renewed my WordPress subscription (or, more accurately, I allowed it be renewed) for another year. Thus begins my fourth year of running this blog, and I thought it would be a good time for a quick review. I've covered a lot of ground over the past 36 months, in 1,170 posts. Some of … Continue reading Musings on Another Year
Crowley’s Emotional Roller-Coaster
The Minor Arcana of the Thoth Tarot all have "esoteric" titles that for the most part hark back to their Golden Dawn roots. While these titles have academic connections to the Order's tarot curriculum or to Crowley's Thelemic elaborations, they often invoke visceral reactions in the viewer due to their evocative imagery and compelling color … Continue reading Crowley’s Emotional Roller-Coaster
Chickens, Eggs, Carts and Horses
I just had an interesting but perplexing conversion on one of the Facebook tarot pages regarding the provenance of the tarot material associated with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. There is apparently a widespread popular opinion that "Liber T," a compilation of the Order's tarot "knowledge papers," was actually written after Aleister Crowley's … Continue reading Chickens, Eggs, Carts and Horses
A 3-Card Yes-or-No Preponderance Matrix
One of the perennial debates among tarot enthusiasts is how to answer yes-or-no questions with the cards. Conventional wisdom is that the tarot can't resolve such matters effectively, and they should therefore be avoided. But I believe it can successfully address any subject if a proper methodology is applied. The one-card pull is usually too … Continue reading A 3-Card Yes-or-No Preponderance Matrix
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 