“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – A Needs-Analysis Spread

The premise behind this spread is that what we want may not be what we need, but what we need may not be something we deserve (the "karmic" perspective), while what we get may be something entirely different. The title is based on the bombastic Rolling Stones song. Tarot de Marseille author Paul Marteau believed … Continue reading “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – A Needs-Analysis Spread

The “Six Chambers of Chance” Answer Roulette Spread

Here is a spread based loosely on the casino game of roulette (with a thinly-veiled allusion to a more threatening form of roulette that may be a superior analogy depending on the seriousness of any potential consequences). It uses a range of three pre-selected "answer" cards and all 78 cards of the deck in the … Continue reading The “Six Chambers of Chance” Answer Roulette Spread

A 3×3+3 Goal-Oriented Life Purpose Spread

A question commonly asked by those who consult a tarot reader is "What is my life's purpose?" - often with the implicit (and more urgent) undertone "What should it be that it isn't right now?" coming from those who are completely at a loss. The typical fortune-telling spread is inadequate to address such broad inquires … Continue reading A 3×3+3 Goal-Oriented Life Purpose Spread

The “Knowledge & Wisdom Ledger” – A Contrast and Complement Spread

I'm experimenting with elemental correspondences again. Here is a spread that examines how knowledge can become wisdom in the four main areas of life; it uses opposing positions in the attached Chaldean decan charts to show the contrasting or complementary energy for a drawn card. I had to do something different with the planetary trumps … Continue reading The “Knowledge & Wisdom Ledger” – A Contrast and Complement Spread

A “Yin-and-Yang” Holistic Well-Being Spread

I'm always seeking ethically sound (not to mention legal) ways to approach health questions, and lean toward a holistic - or "whole-health" - model rather than trying to literally "play doctor" in a narrow diagnostic way. I know next to nothing about Chinese medicine, but thought I would apply my recent contemplation of the Tajii … Continue reading A “Yin-and-Yang” Holistic Well-Being Spread

The Power of Yes and No

I continue to draw valuable insights from The Tao of Thoth. Most recently, the author described "negation" as often being a more appropriate response to circumstances than "affirmation." The observation seems to be rooted in the martial-arts principle that negating (refusing) an opponent's aggressive opening can be a more productive counter-move than directly exerting the … Continue reading The Power of Yes and No

The “Anatomy of Affirmation” Self-Actualization Spread and Example Reading

I created a self-actualization spread for rational/emotional self-work that uses a pre-selected trump card as its focus, and the idea of contrasting "hard" (rational) and "soft" (emotional) approaches with Elemental Dignities as the main determinant. I also included a tenth card under the middle "Full Face" position and called it "The Back of the Head" … Continue reading The “Anatomy of Affirmation” Self-Actualization Spread and Example Reading