Typically, in reading situations where I don't know the sitter's specific question or topic of interest in advance, I begin the narrative on a practical note, looking for "action-and-event-oriented" situational-awareness details and developmental insights. If the querent doesn't connect with what I'm saying, I will change direction into a more psychological angle. Recently I wrote … Continue reading A “Higher Arc/Lower Arc” Developmental Forecast Spread
Tarot Spreads
“Blocked Energies” in a Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some mornings I wake up with an idea in my head for a blog post. This was just such a morning. One of the assumptions we often make as tarot readers is that the energy of a reading can be "blocked" in its usual mode of expression. This occurs most commonly as one … Continue reading “Blocked Energies” in a Tarot Reading
The “Future Present” Celtic Cross Reading
I recently did a Celtic Cross reading about potential changes in my experience of an ongoing matter a year or more from now. In doing so, I realized that the normal timeline of the "cross" section didn't make any sense. The top position of the six-card cross in my standard spread design represents the "Present," … Continue reading The “Future Present” Celtic Cross Reading
A “Point-Counterpoint” Situational Awareness Spread
Here is an evolved situational awareness spread that is designed around the diurnal path of the Sun, from emerging conscious awareness of "outer" developments (Dawn) to entirely subconscious perception of the "inner landscape" of the matter (Midnight), accompanied at each step by an "intuitive" adjustment that serves as "counterpoint" to the main thrust of the … Continue reading A “Point-Counterpoint” Situational Awareness Spread
The “Essential Insights” Personal Well-Being Spread
Here is a unique "mind-body-spirit" wellness insight spread that looks at aspects of personal well-being in four ways: the functional ability to manage health maintenance on a routine, day-to-day basis; the adaptive ability or resilience to cope with any occasional "off" days; the kinds of self-help or external intervention that might be considered to enhance … Continue reading The “Essential Insights” Personal Well-Being Spread
Waite’s Celtic Cross: A Critical Analysis
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Imagine that you're an experienced diviner at the beginning of the 20th Century when you first encounter Arthur Edward Waite's "Ancient Celtic Method of Divination" in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. What would a critical assessment of its advantages and shortcomings suggest to you? (The obviously hand-drawn image below is from the … Continue reading Waite’s Celtic Cross: A Critical Analysis
The “Falling Into Conclusions” 3-Phase Process Development Spread
Here's some more fallout from my study of Etteilla; in his reading examples he talks about one card in a spread "falling into" another, and the meaning of both being modified by their interaction. This spread looks suspiciously like "Production Management 101," but I can see it being used for complex personal or group projects.
A Single-Event Predictive Approach
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently answering a question on one of the tarot forums about the best way to cover pragmatic topics in a "predictive" type of tarot reading. I've always been partial to the "Five W's" of effective creative writing that were drilled into me in high school: "Who, What, Why, Where and When?" … Continue reading A Single-Event Predictive Approach
The Grand Etteilla: First Use
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you familiar with Etteilla, in this reading I "went by the book" in some cases (that is, The Grand Etteilla by Orsini, Lemarchand and d'Odoucet) but in many instances (after having read both that book and Alliette's own Etteilla or the Only Way to Draw the Cards), I decided to … Continue reading The Grand Etteilla: First Use
The Archetypal Celtic Cross
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The deck in the photograph is the Waite-Smith Centennial Edition in a Tin, which is copyrighted by U.S. Games Systems Inc. of Stamford, CT, used by permission and in accordance with the provisions of Fair Use. In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky characterizes the Magician as dwelling entirely in the present, and … Continue reading The Archetypal Celtic Cross
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 