AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the oddest puzzles facing the esoteric neophyte upon first exposure to the Golden Dawn's "Chaldean" wheel of astrological correspondences for the tarot is "Why on Earth don't the twelve zodiacal court cards line up precisely with the 30-degree span of their designated signs? Why the offset?" For some strange reason, they … Continue reading “Hair of the Dog” – Elemental Mixing in the Court Cards
Tarot Resources
“The Great Tuning-Fork” Self-Realization Spread
"You will be calibrating the tuning-fork of your personal consciousness to the great turning-fork of universal consciousness." - Lon Milo DuQuette in Tarot Architect. AUTHOR'S NOTE: These are deep waters, and as the ancient nautical cartographers used to warn, "Here be dragons!" One of the most effective ways I've found to understand complex esoteric subjects … Continue reading “The Great Tuning-Fork” Self-Realization Spread
A Matter of Symbolism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not so long ago (before purely psychic free-association became fashionable among "pop-tarot" practitioners), tarot reading was a matter of deciphering complex images to come up with a narrative that was assumed to explain mundane conditions. The diviner's art lay in the translation of decidedly arcane symbolism into more commonplace language for the purpose … Continue reading A Matter of Symbolism
The Speed of Dark
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just reading a post of quotes from comedian and TV personality Stephen Wright and came across this humorous philosophical puzzler: "What's the speed of dark?" In the past I've done some work with a Jungian psychologist on use of the tarot to explore both the persona and the shadow side of … Continue reading The Speed of Dark
“Pie in the Sky:” A Segmented Look at the Correspondences
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn shoehorned twelve of the 22 tarot trumps, all 40 numbered minor cards and the 16 court cards into their "Chaldean" model of the zodiac, making just a few adjustments in the design to accommodate their vision. Only the seven planetary trumps and the three "Primal Element" … Continue reading “Pie in the Sky:” A Segmented Look at the Correspondences
Tarot del Toro New-Deck Profile
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This recent deck acquisition has an interesting back-story. I was gifted the Lord of the Rings Tarot that was created by the same artist (Tomas Hijo) but I already own it, so I took the second one back to the store to exchange it and was pleased to find another Hijo work purely … Continue reading Tarot del Toro New-Deck Profile
Tarot Keywords: Cataloguing the Commonplace
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been learning that many Medieval writers padded their work in a variety of ways to increase its length. One of their favorite ploys was digression, by virtue of which they never had to get to the conclusion in a timely manner. But the one that caught my eye was cataloguing or assembling … Continue reading Tarot Keywords: Cataloguing the Commonplace
Crunch Time for Source Material
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any writer who attempts to post a blog essay every day (which I've now done for 290 consecutive days) has to walk a fine line between imparting useful knowledge and entertaining readers enough to keep them coming back. It's more important for those who are trying to earn money from their online publishing … Continue reading Crunch Time for Source Material
“Spirits of Another Sort”
"But we are spirits of another sort." - Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream AUTHOR'S NOTE: The modern fascination with "noble spirits" willing to ally with humans in our quest for self-awareness seems to owe a good deal to Shakespeare's fanciful treatment of the subject, disregarding the uncharitable attitude often attributed to "faery-folk" who have … Continue reading “Spirits of Another Sort”
The Thoth 3 of Wands: Virtue as “Efficacy”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading about the "hierarchies of angels" postulated by the 6th-Century (CE) "pseudo-Dyonisius" as discussed in The Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis, I came across the following quote regarding the second hierarchy of Powers and Virtues that started me thinking about the Thoth 3 of Wands and its title of "Virtue" ("Established Strength" … Continue reading The Thoth 3 of Wands: Virtue as “Efficacy”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 