The title of this spread comes from the two demonic characters ("Zuul" and "Vinz Clortho") played by Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis in the first Ghostbusters movie. The premise was rife with thinly-veiled sexual innuendo about the "gate" and the "key," but it seemed like a good basis for a tarot spread. The spread uses … Continue reading The “Gatekeeper and Keymaster” Best-Case Scenario Spread
Tarot Spreads
The “Test of Strength” Developmental Insight Spread
As is probably obvious from my track record, I love to create spreads around cultural metaphors or analogies. This one is based on the "test of strength" games (aka "Strongman" or "High-Striker") that are popular at carnivals, in which the player uses a hammer to drive a metal striker up a vertical column with the … Continue reading The “Test of Strength” Developmental Insight Spread
Supporters and Detractors: A “Human Factors” Developmental Spread
The rationale behind this spread is fairly self-explanatory. None of us "live, and move and have our being" in a total vacuum. Even if other people have no direct or apparent involvement in the circumstances of the reading, we may still have cautionary feelings about them from a "what if" perspective that can color our … Continue reading Supporters and Detractors: A “Human Factors” Developmental Spread
The “Pursuit of Happiness” Spread
"You hold me up and you let me flyGivin' me a sweet kind spirit to swing by"from "Jazzman" by Pure Prairie League No particular reason for this quote other than that it captures the joyous "spirit of tarot" I'm trying to invoke here. As diviners we spend a lot of time looking for potential challenges … Continue reading The “Pursuit of Happiness” Spread
“Where, Oh Where, Is My . . .”
. . . little dog, gold necklace, missing brother, true love?" There has been a recent uptick in questions on the social-media pages about the use of the tarot to locate anything that has gone missing or has yet to be found. The first thing to point out in this regard is that, while tarot … Continue reading “Where, Oh Where, Is My . . .”
An Experiment with Dominoes and Cards
Here is a two-phase spread that uses a normal shuffle and face-down deal of tarot or oracle cards to "set the stage" for the three-card reading and a random draw of dominoes to choose which cards to read. This turned out to be more complex than using dice for the selection step since any number … Continue reading An Experiment with Dominoes and Cards
An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
Here is a 15-card spread that explores the notion that cards will complement one another according to the position they hold within the 78-card series, essentially creating pairs of "symbolic parallels." It is intended to show the querent's psychological orientation to the subject of the reading as it develops over time, from initial awareness to … Continue reading An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
The “Double-Entry” Situational Bottom-Line Spread
I had intended to make this spread emulate a double-entry book-keeping ledger with a "credit" (profitable) side and a "debit" (less-rewarding) side, in which the "bottom line" would be a "zero-sum" proposition using the "quintessence" method. But the only way I could get a numerical zero out of it was to use the reversed version … Continue reading The “Double-Entry” Situational Bottom-Line Spread
“Up the Down Staircase” – The Reversed Quintessence Card
A number of years ago, a young woman who went by the online name of "Amanda" on the now-defunct Aeclectic Tarot forum gave me the idea of subtracting the face value of any reversed cards in a spread when doing the "quintessence" calculation, which can result in a negative total and therefore a reversed "quint" … Continue reading “Up the Down Staircase” – The Reversed Quintessence Card
The Case for the “Rescue Person” (A Crisis-Intervention Spread)
The modern phenomenon of the "rescue dog" (or cat, rabbit, hamster, pig, horse, etc) is well-known. These are domestic animals that are captive strays or that are being abandoned by their owners, who don't want or for some reason can't keep them. Older or infirm pets are frequently on the road to euthanization and rescue … Continue reading The Case for the “Rescue Person” (A Crisis-Intervention Spread)
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 