As promised, I performed my "Candidate's Tarot Profile" spread on Bernie Sanders' 2020 run for President of the United States. The bottom line is that he might be electable if he can convince enough people that he really is on their side. As we shall see, this could be a tough nut to crack. Note … Continue reading Bernie Sanders’ 2020 “Candidate’s Profile” Reading
Tarot Resources
The “Roadkill Penguin” Decision-Making Spread
When I haven't created a new spread in a while, my imagination tends to go into overdrive (or maybe "haywire" is a better way to put it). The visual layout of this one reminds me of a hapless creature that has been run over by a steamroller - not the ideal outcome for a decision-making … Continue reading The “Roadkill Penguin” Decision-Making Spread
The Devil Is In The Details
Warning: If you're bored or baffled by esoteric number theory and the numerological approach to the tarot, skip this piece. It's one of my enduring passions, but then I'm a mystically-inclined former engineer. On one of the tarot forums we have been discussing the image of the arch-demon on the Waite-Smith Devil card. One of the first … Continue reading The Devil Is In The Details
Foreverquest
Back in the early "aughts," when I was still playing Everquest Online relentlessly (what can I say, I'm a throwback), my wife dubbed it "Foreverquest" (that was before her own fling with World of Warcraft). That epithet reminds me of the situation I find myself in whenever I decide it's time to chase down a … Continue reading Foreverquest
Morning Coffee and Caitlin
I do some of my best work over a morning cup of strong black French Roast coffee. Today I took the opportunity to finish reading the last few pages of Caitlin Matthews' book, Untold Tarot, in preparation for writing this review. The book is beautifully produced, with an intelligent structure and numerous full-color illustrations, and it is … Continue reading Morning Coffee and Caitlin
A New Wrinkle On An Old Face
As I've mentioned before, I'm presently reading Caitlin Matthews' new traditional tarot book, Untold Tarot. In it she talks about the subject of "significator" cards, and mentions that Etteilla was the first to designate a unique significator for his Book of Thoth deck, a blank card - or "carte blanche" - that he immodestly called … Continue reading A New Wrinkle On An Old Face
Stone Soup
I think it's time I start getting serious about bringing cartomantic (that is, playing-card) meanings into my approach to the numbered - or "pip" - cards when reading. The RWS minor cards with their built-in narrative vignettes are like "canned soup," the semi-scenic small cards of the Thoth deck are closer to "home-made soup" that you start with store-bought … Continue reading Stone Soup
Paper Tiger
Those of us who post regularly (critics might say interminably) in online blogs run the risk of self-parody, becoming mere "cardboard cut-outs" of our formerly ferocious literary personae. Conventional wisdom asserts that a blogger must publish frequently to maintain an interested and engaged following, but this can sometimes mean unintentionally plowing (or, if you're British, … Continue reading Paper Tiger
The Lagging Indicator
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
The Peaks-and-Valleys Project Management Spread
Whenever I'm at a loss for subject matter to inspire a new tarot spread, I often fall back on the topic of project management, a combined form of decision-making and problem-solving. Nearly everyone has been involved in creative projects of one kind or another, whether at work, at home or in social group settings. Every … Continue reading The Peaks-and-Valleys Project Management Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 