Here is an intricate "once-a-year" spread that is similar to the pagan Wheel of the Year layout, except that it follows a zodiacal sequence and uses a pair of six-sided dice to augment the monthly interpretations. This would be one to take a photo of and revisit at the beginning of each month. You might … Continue reading The Spirit of the Year: A Mandala of Growth and Opportunity
Tarot Spreads
The Fool’s Debut: A Pregnancy and Childbirth Diorama
Astrology has its "prenatal epoch" that explores the period between conception and birth. I decided to create my own tarot version of the same idea. Fool's Debut Diorama
The “Personal Archetypes” Individual Profile Spread
The next time you decide to ask the cards "How does X think/feel about me?" why not ask instead "Who is X, really?" This spread is intended to explore the "building blocks" of the individuality in four modes: Instinctual, Habitual, Rational and Spiritual. Use it on anyone you want to know "stuff" about (even yourself). Testimonial: … Continue reading The “Personal Archetypes” Individual Profile Spread
“By the Numbers” Crisis Management Spread
This is a spread that mimics the old Cracker Jacks slogan: it has "a surprise inside." The first card is dealt face-down, under the Significator, so you won't know until the end of the reading whether that surprise is pleasant or unpleasant. Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you, and the "good … Continue reading “By the Numbers” Crisis Management Spread
The Salmon of Doubt Uncertain Future Spread
Sometimes tarot spread creation can be just plain fun! Satirical writer Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) had a very British way with words that (along with Monty Python) has inspired many of my quirkier spread titles. Before he passed, he was working on a new novel called The Salmon of Doubt, which … Continue reading The Salmon of Doubt Uncertain Future Spread
The “Train to Nowhere” Missing Person Spread
I created this spread as a result of on-line discussions about "cold case" missing person investigations. The one and only time I've used it so far, a young lady in California turned up in Car #8, the Dead Letter Office. She was in fact discovered drowned in a local river. Not the kind of validation … Continue reading The “Train to Nowhere” Missing Person Spread
The Inner Magician Spread
I'm a member of a Voyager Tarot Study Group in central Massachusetts. One of the first exercises from the James Wanless course material that we took on was the "Constellation of Magic" reading associated with the Magician card. This reading has 25 "line items," each one relating a way in which the Magician's qualities can … Continue reading The Inner Magician Spread
The Beanstalk of Life
Over the last few years I've created 60-odd tarot spreads that were posted on the Aeclectic Tarot forum. My approach is usually complex and detailed, with thorough developer's notes. My goal is to eventually publish a workbook of these spreads. In the meantime, I'll offer a few of them here. This is one of the … Continue reading The Beanstalk of Life
Lunar Month Look-Ahead Spread
UPDATE: In a more recent essay I explored the idea that a mathematically-derived monthly “New Moon” card (similar to a “birth card” or a “year card”) might be a useful addition to this spread. This is calculated by summing the "day-month-year" digits for the date of the New Moon, reducing as necessary to a number … Continue reading Lunar Month Look-Ahead Spread
The Armchair Cynic’s Guide to the End of the World
Here is a bit of fun for the cheerfully cynical among you. End of the World Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 