In my experience, the numbered suit cards of the tarot provide the "meat" of any reading aimed at examining the eventualities of day-to-day existence. The Waite-Smith deck and its ilk even have prosaic scenes on their Minor Arcana that suggest - for better or worse, as we shall see - ready-made narrative vignettes. One of the best ways to … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – The Minor Arcana
Tarot Resources
Tarot 101, My Way – The Court Cards
The court cards of the tarot can be an elusive enigma for beginners. Nineteenth-century descriptions of the courts as defining the physical characteristics of people who may appear in a situation didn't help by encouraging the "tall, dark stranger" mode of fortune-telling prediction that has since fallen out of favor. The context of a particular question may not even admit the active … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – The Court Cards
Tarot 101, My Way – The Major Arcana and Esoteric Symbolism
There are a couple of different ways to approach sequencing of the Major Arcana, or "trump" cards. Modern thinking is that the series begins with the Fool, numbered zero, and ends with the World, designated XXI in Roman numerals. But it wasn't always that way. Some early decks had the Fool as an unnumbered card and various writers … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – The Major Arcana and Esoteric Symbolism
Tarot 101, My Way – An Overview
Some of my followers have encouraged me to offer online tarot lessons. While I have no interest in getting into an interactive training arrangement, I don't mind mentoring to the best of my ability. Last year I created some beginner's instructional material for a face-to-face course that never happened. I'm going to present that material here … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – An Overview
One Deck to Rule Them All
I've long believed that for every reader there is one tarot deck that fits like a glove: skin-tight and perfectly responsive to every nuance of interpretation. While we might protest that we can read effectively with any deck, there is almost certainly one that stands out from the pack. We can all recognize those that don't quite measure up; … Continue reading One Deck to Rule Them All
The “Bowling for Dollars” RWS Storyboard
This is the fourth and last of my "storyboard" studies of the RWS minor cards. The title comes from the old TV show "Bowling for Dollars" and plays off the bizarre impression created by the central image on the Ace of Pentacles. It is tempting to think of the suit of Pentacles (Coins or Disks in other decks) … Continue reading The “Bowling for Dollars” RWS Storyboard
Cardboard, Ink and Magic
The forum conversations used to go something like this: Question: Do tarot cards have "personalities?" Answer: Nope, they're just tools made of cardboard and ink. The human qualities they seem to exhibit are those we project onto them. The formal word for it is "anthropomorphizing" but, put more simply, it's a type of animism with roots in … Continue reading Cardboard, Ink and Magic
RWS, TdM and Lenormand Binning
I have now added searchable categories for my Waite-Smith, Tarot de Marseille and Lenormand-related posts and am beginning to populate them. These posts aren't as easy to chase down as the Thoth group because they are often tied to broader commentary, so it will take me some time to capture them. As before, use the … Continue reading RWS, TdM and Lenormand Binning
My Thoth Material: Of Gold and Gorillas
I've long considered the Thoth deck by Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris to be the "gold standard" and the "300-pound gorilla" of the tarot world, and my blog is graced (or littered, depending on your level of tolerance for Crowley) with numerous dedicated posts and incidental references to it. I decided to create a category … Continue reading My Thoth Material: Of Gold and Gorillas
The “Tower Moment”
There occasionally comes a time for many of us (hopefully not often) when our personal "house of cards" topples to the ground and hope temporarily vanishes, eclipsed by despair. West Coast blues master Charles Brown once memorialized the aftermath of this traumatic scenario in the dirge-like tune "Black Night." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-71jfEwX-xQ Tarot has a card that … Continue reading The “Tower Moment”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 