AUTHOR'S NOTE: In this spread, the card or cards that reflect the most cooperative elemental fit between the position and the card drawn will identify the most effective approach for dealing with a decision-making scenario.
Tarot Spreads
“Turning the Page”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's a rare diviner who doesn't occasionally encounter an almost entirely neutral tarot reading, one that is about as exciting as dishwater, and who doesn't have a good feel for how to shine a constructive light on the forecast. A common practice is to simply keep pulling cards until something more inspiring or … Continue reading “Turning the Page”
“The Wish, The Will and The Way” Self-Realization Spread
Here is a deceptively simple spread that permits the reader to examine four different approaches to a situation either singly or collectively: the Way of Action (forceful); the Way of Feeling (emotional); the Way of Thought (cerebral) and the Way of Prudence (practical). There are no specific "outcome" cards, just those that show the means … Continue reading “The Wish, The Will and The Way” Self-Realization Spread
The “Elemental Grab-Bag” Four-Mode Answer Spread
Here is another spread that uses a "prepared" deck with four elemental sub-packs, Fire, Water, Air and Earth. It applies "quintessence" cards to suggest external factors in the matter, but only if more than one column is being read as the answer to the question. A single-column interpretation is construed to mean that the matter … Continue reading The “Elemental Grab-Bag” Four-Mode Answer Spread
The “High/Low/Middle” Situational Outcome Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I did with Alejandro Jodorowsky's Way of Tarot, I will continue posting selected insights that I pick up from my re-reading of Isabel Kliegman's Tarot and the Tree of Life. Yesterday I rediscovered her Jungian take on the 8 of Cups with its image of a man who, having failed to find … Continue reading The “High/Low/Middle” Situational Outcome Spread
The Reconciler
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
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 