AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that is designed to follow the progress of an initiative, enterprise or project from its inception to the "first milestone" of self-sustaining viability. (The "story arc" is structured so it can be repeated for later phases of a strategic game plan.) It includes a public (or "overt") arc and … Continue reading An “Overt-and-Covert” Situational Development Spread
Tarot Spreads
A “Life’s Big Questions” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a tarot spread that should be useful for exploring any profound existential issues confronting a seeker. In it, the analytical shares equal billing with the mystical (which is my customary approach to divination). The five-fold architecture of the layout is more philosophical than pragmatic in a "fortune-telling" sense. It is to … Continue reading A “Life’s Big Questions” Spread
The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm merging astrological principles (natal planets and rising sign) with tarot cards and insights from the casebook of psycho-spiritual mind/body awareness to create a self-appraisal tool that is intended to identify any strengths and weaknesses in one's personality that may not stand out clearly from horoscopic delineation or cartomantic examination alone. While … Continue reading The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
The “Pendulum of Revealing” Positional Yes-or-No Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in my series of "Revealing" spreads: I've done a "Mandala," a "Pentacle" and an "Onion" of Revealing in the past. I'm using the pendulum motif for this one to answer the perennial yes-or-no question, with a nod toward "maybe" and any contrary trends that might occur as shown by … Continue reading The “Pendulum of Revealing” Positional Yes-or-No Spread
The “Split-Decision” Opportunity Advancement Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that examines the comparative probability of success or failure for an opportunity that could go either way. Select a card to represent the "best-case" outlook and place it upright on the table. Then take the same card from a second identical or similar deck and set it reversed below … Continue reading The “Split-Decision” Opportunity Advancement Spread
Tarot Prediction: The Spread as “Frame of Opportunity”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently encountered the irrefutable argument that the aspects of life on which we focus with purposeful intent will expand in priority to fill our field of view, while those from which we withhold our attention will shrink in importance to the point of invisibility. In the realm of tarot prediction, this presupposes … Continue reading Tarot Prediction: The Spread as “Frame of Opportunity”
The “Ship-to-Ship” Interest-Signaling Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a relationship spread that uses the "ships that pass in the night" metaphor to explore how meaningful "signals" might be sent between the two parties to the encounter. The idea is that interest and intent will be expressed openly or obliquely by both individuals, accompanied by direct or indirect actions and … Continue reading The “Ship-to-Ship” Interest-Signaling Spread
The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I liken tarot reading to "peeling an onion " because what we see in the cards at a surface level isn't always what is going on in the hidden depths of the situation, and we must "drill down" to find the reality. Here I'm turning that concept inside-out by proposing that the truth … Continue reading The “Qabalistic Onion” Situational-Awareness Spread*
A Past-and-Present “Differential Life” Spread: Exploring The Gap Between “Then” and “Now”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In mathematics, science and engineering, a "delta" (symbolized by the Greek letter Δ) is used to identify a divergence, such as differential temperature or pressure (ΔT or ΔP) between environmental states or process streams, that allows monitoring of variable conditions. Here I'm using it in a slightly more esoteric way with similar intent. … Continue reading A Past-and-Present “Differential Life” Spread: Exploring The Gap Between “Then” and “Now”
Personalizing the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently posted on the subject of creating a unique, hand-made tarot deck for independent study and practice, noting that someone (like me) who has accumulated several decades of esoteric experience with traditional decks probably won't benefit much from doing so. But that does not mean one shouldn't try to "personalize" the chosen … Continue reading Personalizing the Tarot