While creating my "Magical Prescription" situational spread, I was struck by a new insight regarding the use of tarot to determine not only how, but also when and where circumstances or events might play out in a particular scenario. In the past, I've always considered the "when" to be a specific point in time and … Continue reading The “When” and “Where” of Prediction
Tarot Spreads
A “Magical Prescription” Situational-Management Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I've applied a little "arcane lore" to the creation of a new situational awareness-and-management spread. The four positions could be read as the sequential milestones of a "winning strategy:" "Awareness," "Intention," "Action" (as in "taking your best shot") and "Discretion" (or not showing your hand too soon or in the wrong company). … Continue reading A “Magical Prescription” Situational-Management Spread
“Actions with Spirits”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the title of a 16th-Century book by Dr. John Dee and the scryer Edward Kelly that is a seminal work of Enochian magic. Here I'm borrowing it to launch a discussion on using divination (principally the tarot) for contacting ancestors and other disembodied beings. Recently I've noticed an increase in interest … Continue reading “Actions with Spirits”
An “Ideal vs. Real” Credibility-Gap Spread
Here is a spread that attempts to come to grips with that age-old question: "What should I do with my life at this point in time?" It uses the archetypal qualities of the Major Arcana to "set the bar" for expectations, and a second full deck to show any gaps between the hypothetical "best case" … Continue reading An “Ideal vs. Real” Credibility-Gap Spread
The “Way of Wisdom” Mixed-Media Situational Development Spread
Here is a ten-card mixed-media (cards and dice) spread that can shift over time between action and inaction as the suggested "best" response to circumstances. Each of the five selected positions has a modifying card that can influence its expression (this is one of my few spreads that includes built-in auxiliary cards). The side-column that … Continue reading The “Way of Wisdom” Mixed-Media Situational Development Spread
An Expanded Past-Present-Future Spread with Psychological Inferences
Here is an enlarged Past-Present-Future layout that places the standard three-card array within a matrix of psychological inferences derived from elemental associations. This approach adds substance and nuance to the situational outlook in the form of behavioral or attitudinal patterns that are either aligned with or indisposed toward the developmental scenario. If there is supportive … Continue reading An Expanded Past-Present-Future Spread with Psychological Inferences
The “Persona & Shadow” Two-Deck Personality Profile Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've long felt that tarot reading is principally a storytelling art built on anecdotal assumptions rather than a deductively rigorous discipline. It is therefore not ideally suited to the analytical exploration of the human mind, neither the subjective navel-gazing kind nor the psychological profiling of other people. (Natal astrology already has that pretty … Continue reading The “Persona & Shadow” Two-Deck Personality Profile Spread
A Two-Tiered New Year’s Forecast Spread with Monthly Updates
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's time once more for New Year's predictions. Here is a spread that offers a little more "meat on the bone." I've used this approach before (notably in my annual "Wheel of the Year" readings), but here I'm providing additional storytelling guidance for its use. The premise is that the yearly forecast is … Continue reading A Two-Tiered New Year’s Forecast Spread with Monthly Updates
A “Conditional” Yes-or-No Outcome Spread
My experience has been that "yes-or-no" answers delivered by the tarot are seldom crystal-clear and often have "strings attached" that cloud the picture. I call such muddling factors "conditional qualifiers" and use what I describe as the "Yes, But/Maybe, If/No, Unless" paradigm to analyze their influence. In each case the caveat means that the seeker … Continue reading A “Conditional” Yes-or-No Outcome Spread
“You Can’t Get There from Here:” Targeted Spreads and the Prepared Deck
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently involved in an online discussion about the uncommon practices that readers employ on a regular basis. I took this to mean those techniques I've developed over the years that are outside the mainstream as defined by standard teaching methods and the tarot literature. The following is just a snapshot of … Continue reading “You Can’t Get There from Here:” Targeted Spreads and the Prepared Deck
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 