Over the past few weeks I've written at some length about the various ways to read a three-card tarot spread. One idea I didn't spend much time on is the aggregating power of the middle card: rather than merely being a transitional turning-point in the narrative or a "hinge" between the past and the future, … Continue reading The Reconciler
Tarot Spreads
The DIY “World-View” Self-Realization Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across an observation on one of the qabalistic pages that merits quoting for my purpose in developing this spread: "All along the way you make the definitions, the container, the parameters of your being." I realize that "You make your own reality" is a rather tattered bromide (and apparently a … Continue reading The DIY “World-View” Self-Realization Spread
Strength and The Star: A Case of “Brute Finesse?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since I'm working with the Waite-Smith deck and not my preferred Thoth in these "numerological counterpart" exercises, I'm treating Strength as the eighth trump and pairing it with the Star (17=1+7=8) because I've already written about Justice as "11" (or 1+1=2) and equated it with the High Priestess. My customary approach is to … Continue reading Strength and The Star: A Case of “Brute Finesse?”
The “Flatline & Spiral” Attitude Adjustment Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread for readers who have trouble making sense of vague or seemingly irrelevant answers from a three-card draw. It requests a "second opinion" from the cards when the outcome of the initial pull does not square with the relative significance of the situation. This is an instance of the "shape" … Continue reading The “Flatline & Spiral” Attitude Adjustment Spread
A “Poser” for the Celtic Cross
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The term "poser" has a couple of meanings; it can refer to a question that is exceptionally difficult to answer, or to an individual who is "faking it" in some way. I recently read a fascinating essay in New Yorker magazine about the "imposter phenomenon" (not "syndrome" since, according to its creators, it … Continue reading A “Poser” for the Celtic Cross
“Crisis at the Crossroads” – A Problem-Solving Spread
This spread uses elemental affinity and reversal to arrive at one of three possible outcomes for problem resolution: "Accept and Support;" "Try Everything" or "Do Nothing." In each case it creates a five-card reading with the "Crossroads" card as the "turning point" in the matter. Shuffle the deck to allow for reversals.
Departing the “Goldilocks Zone” A Multi-Path Situational Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a teenage science-fiction fan in the mid-60s I was fascinated by rocketry and the theory of space-flight in general. Here is a spread that uses some of that terminology to show three potential paths that a situational-development reading might take: short-range, long-range or open-ended. It will take some study for the user … Continue reading Departing the “Goldilocks Zone” A Multi-Path Situational Development Spread
Tarot and Transits: Energizing the Chaldean Decans
"These are the daysWhen you wish your bed was already made"from Manic Monday by The Bangles AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sounds like The Bangles needed a tarot-reader or an astrologer, not a housekeeper and a day-planner. Or maybe both. I'm here to help. In the past I spent a good deal of time correlating all of the … Continue reading Tarot and Transits: Energizing the Chaldean Decans
“This Is The Way:” A “Middle-Ground” Approach to Life-Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm always looking for new ways to bring elemental attributes into tarot spread creation. This experimental layout uses both elemental attunement and midpoint numerology to arrive at an adjusted conclusion that does not end with a lopsided "best case" or "worst case" outlook but rather a compromise position that should ideally be more … Continue reading “This Is The Way:” A “Middle-Ground” Approach to Life-Reading
A “Fork in the Road” Supplemental Outcome Spread
As a rule, I have no use for "clarifying" cards since I think they can encourage laziness in not trying very hard to get our head around the original pull if we don't like it or can't immediately understand it. (My motto in this regard is "More is not necessarily better.") But sometimes I will … Continue reading A “Fork in the Road” Supplemental Outcome Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 