I ultimately decided to perform my "Rogues' Gallery" spread on the murder of 26-year-old New Hampshire native Trish Haynes, whose remains were found in a pond in Grafton, NH. (See my previous "missing-person" posts.) This spread uses the Death card as the Significator, the 16 court cards as the "rogues' gallery" of potential suspects, and … Continue reading Who Killed Trish? – A “Whodunit” Rogues’ Gallery Reading
Tarot Techniques
A “Binary Dilemma” Example Reading
I was asked to do a reading to determine whether the casual acquaintances between a couple and two others can be expected to blossom into real friendship. This "yes-or-no" question presented a perfect opportunity to test-drive my new approach to binary inquiries. I selected the Conver Ben-Dov Tarot de Marseilles for this reading, and used … Continue reading A “Binary Dilemma” Example Reading
Where Is Trish? – A Missing-Person Case Closure
I have updated my post regarding the whereabouts of Trish Haynes to show that her remains have been recovered from a pond in Grafton, NH. The "missing-person" aspects of this case have now been resolved, and it has become a homicide investigation. I haven't decided whether to perform my "Whodunit?" Rogues' Gallery Spread on her … Continue reading Where Is Trish? – A Missing-Person Case Closure
The Binary Dilemma
As much as we encourage them to frame their questions in a flexible manner that invites meaningful commentary from the cards rather than an open-and-shut, "yes-or-no" verdict, I would venture to say that the majority of people who request a reading from us aren't seeking a panoramic view of their future circumstances. They want a … Continue reading The Binary Dilemma
Symbolic Triptych: A Past/Present/Future Life-Reading Snapshot
This spread is an oddity for me in that it only has three cards. But I wanted to play around with geometric symbolism and someone asked me for a small-spread recommendation. The square represents stability in past circumstances (even if only in the sense that they aren't going to change) and perfectly symbolizes the "Foundation" … Continue reading Symbolic Triptych: A Past/Present/Future Life-Reading Snapshot
Cut the Cake
My wife makes a very elegant four-layer chocolate/coconut/custard cake with different fillings between the layers. It's like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates; "You never know what you're gonna get," but it's always delightful (yes, even the jelly fillings). It's a perfect analogy for how I view the cards of the tarot. I like to say … Continue reading Cut the Cake
The “Tale of Two Arcs” Business Dynamic Spread
I enjoy playing with 3D effects in spreads. Sometimes I use layered positions to obtain that perspective, but here I'm opting for visual card size to show rising and falling developments in two contrasting arcs, one that peaks in the middle and the other that hits a mid-cycle trough. Any start-up business venture faces a … Continue reading The “Tale of Two Arcs” Business Dynamic Spread
Cutting Remarks
***NOTE*** This post won't be of much interest to you if you prefer to pull your cards from a "fan," or don't bother to cut the deck. There is an old practice, still popular among tarot mystics, that after shuffling a deck of tarot cards, the pack should be "cut into three piles with your … Continue reading Cutting Remarks
The “Round It Goes” Decision-Making Spread
There has been some on-line discussion lately about the Random Number Generators that tarot software apps use to select the cards for a reading. I was resistant to the idea for a long time because it seemed too disconnected from the tactile "feel" of the cards to produce valid results. But eventually I realized that … Continue reading The “Round It Goes” Decision-Making Spread
Rare, Medium or Well-Done: A Timing-Card Experiment
Having made a stab at identifying specific "yes, no or maybe" cards, I decided to try my hand at assigning "fast, slow or moderate" speediness to all of the tarot cards for use in answering timing questions. Although practical success with it has proven spotty, the general consensus is that Fire cards are the most … Continue reading Rare, Medium or Well-Done: A Timing-Card Experiment
