AUTHOR'S NOTE: In previous posts I've explored different ways to tell "the rest of the story" when the cards pulled for the original spread don't produce a meaningful outcome. Here is another one. (I almost never rely on clarifiers, preferring a supplemental reading that picks up where the first one left off.) The spread uses … Continue reading The “Exploded” Tarot Reading: Expanding the Narrative
Tarot Spreads
Balancing the Equation: A “Two Sides to Every Story” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The prior experiences a seeker brings to a tarot session are often exceedingly complex. Promises of favorable conditions are turning out "too good to be true" while those that warned of misfortune now appear to be "not half as bad as they seemed;" in the most challenging cases the two are mingled This … Continue reading Balancing the Equation: A “Two Sides to Every Story” Spread
A Three-Factor “Mind/Body/Spirit” Relationship Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For this reading I'm using my Celtic triskelion "Mind/Body/Spirit" spread to examine a hypothetical relationship situation. The guidance has changed slightly from my last post using this design. Choose a card to represent either the querent or the situation itself. Leave it in the deck. Shuffle the deck while concentrating on the question, … Continue reading A Three-Factor “Mind/Body/Spirit” Relationship Reading
A Three-Factor “Mind/Body/Spirit” Well-Being Assessment
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This spread uses the location in one of three sub-packs of a pre-identified Significator card representing the querent or the issue itself. The structure is based on the three aspects of the Celtic "mind-body-spirit" triskelion. It is intended to be applied when a client feels uneasy about the matter at hand but can't … Continue reading A Three-Factor “Mind/Body/Spirit” Well-Being Assessment
The Numerical Essence Card as “Vaulting Over Limitations”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After taking a long detour into the psionic research of Dr. Dean Radin as applied to divination, I've returned to reading Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot. I just encountered a three-card example reading in the book that I felt deserved a more carefully-considered analysis. The reading was for an aggressive Aries male who was … Continue reading The Numerical Essence Card as “Vaulting Over Limitations”
The One-Card Draw as Thematic Stage-Setter
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my opinion, the one-card pull as a daily reading practice is relatively useless except as a way to show the environmental backdrop or atmosphere of the forthcoming 24-hour period. It is static and therefore can't effectively display potential developments in the situation unless we imagine (aka "intuit") them. However, I'm proposing another … Continue reading The One-Card Draw as Thematic Stage-Setter
“Which Way Will It Go?” – A Situational Vector Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When confronted with a situation that can take one of several different paths as it plays out, seekers typically look to "get a leg up" on which way it's going to develop so they can establish a suitable position. Here is a spread that uses a "prepared" tarot deck that is segmented according … Continue reading “Which Way Will It Go?” – A Situational Vector Spread
Intention and Reaction: Putting Tarot to Work
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Poking a little further into the practice of setting a conscious intention when shuffling and pulling the cards, here is a spread with two parallel five-card lines, one with purposely-chosen cards to convey the querent's stated goals regarding the topic of interest and the other with a randomly-drawn series to show the reaction … Continue reading Intention and Reaction: Putting Tarot to Work
Uncomfortable Questions and Hidden Variables: Tarot and Lenormand on the Witness Stand
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although the inspiration for this essay came from reading about the design of scientific experiments in quantum physics, I identified parallels between that model and my style of cartomantic interpretation. The opinion of the experimental researcher was that mainstream physicists are typically unwilling to contemplate uncomfortable questions or probe hidden variables if those … Continue reading Uncomfortable Questions and Hidden Variables: Tarot and Lenormand on the Witness Stand
The “Quantum Theory” of Tarot Reading
“All around me golden sunflakes/Settle on the ground.”- from Granchester Meadows by Pink Floyd AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just reading a fascinating description of the behavior of visible light from a quantum physics perspective. Luminosity has been portrayed by scientists as quasi-particulate in that it is transmitted and received in "packets" of massless particles called … Continue reading The “Quantum Theory” of Tarot Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 