An 84 (or 82, depending on which part of this article you believe) year-old man with dementia has gone missing in Tamworth, NH. https://www.wmur.com/article/search-for-missing-tamworth-man-is-suspended/23164418 I performed my "World of Hurt" missing-person spread to see if I can learn anything about his status; the deck is the Golden Universal. The first King to appear in the … Continue reading Where Is Dewey? – A Missing Person Reading
Tarot Techniques
For Good or Ill
Anyone who delves into the Golden Dawn's "Liber T" tarot study material will soon encounter a phrase that places the focus of a question squarely on its context. MacGregor Mathers, its principle author, frequently stated that the influence of a card would be experienced "for good or ill" by the querent in a reading. The idea is … Continue reading For Good or Ill
The Eights and Anxiety
As the result of an ongoing Facebook discussion, I've been solidifying my opinion of the tarot Eights as an expression of anxiety. This appears clearly in two of the RWS cards but is less obvious in the other two. Although I'm not well-versed in it, my understanding is that conventional numerology treats Eight as a "power" number, and in exoteric tarot … Continue reading The Eights and Anxiety
The End (By Any Other Name)
The "outcome" card has been a formal fixture in tarot spreads at least since the time of Arthur Edward Waite, and much earlier in cartomantic practice. The "Gypsy fortune-teller" was expected to deliver an answer, an informative guide to a specific destination and not just an uneventful trip report. Since the 1970s, divination has been crowded into the … Continue reading The End (By Any Other Name)
A “Boxcar Shuffle” Example Reading: Hurricane Florence
My daughter lives in Wilmington, NC, directly in the path of Hurricane Florence as I write this. I applied this spread to examine her situation over the next few days, using the Thoth deck with reversals. All images copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc, Stamford, CT The "emerging" story-line reads as follows: The Root of the Matter: … Continue reading A “Boxcar Shuffle” Example Reading: Hurricane Florence
The “Boxcar Shuffle” Mixed-Media Forecast Spread
Sometimes I get bored just shuffling, cutting and dealing the cards and want something a little more exotic. Here is a spread that starts with six randomly drawn cards laid face-down. A single six-sided die is used to create an "emerging" story-line by selecting the order in which these cards are revealed in each of … Continue reading The “Boxcar Shuffle” Mixed-Media Forecast Spread
The “Monkey in the Middle” Problem Clarification Spread
Every so often we all encounter situations where we're stumped by the meaning of a particular card in a particular reading. A common practice is to pull more cards to clarify the interpretation, but I prefer to take my cue from A.E. Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot and use the problem card as the "Significator" in a new … Continue reading The “Monkey in the Middle” Problem Clarification Spread
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Fours
The number Four expresses stability that is the result of entrenched inertia rather than the dynamic tension that steadies the Two; it is the initial fulfillment of the promise of the Ace, and presages the final state of completion in the Ten. Pythagoras observed that the power of the Ten lies within the Four because summing the numbers from One to Four (1+2+3+4) produces … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Fours
The “Alternate Reality” Timeline Spread
I don't use the 3-card "past/present/future" spread very much because I find it lacking in detail. Trying to stuff all of the relevant nuances of a moment in time into the narrow confines of a single card is like omitting the yeast when baking bread; it can be done but the results are usually quite … Continue reading The “Alternate Reality” Timeline Spread
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Threes
In esoteric number theory, the Three represents growth, progress and opportunity. Geometrically, it is symbolized by the triangle, the third point of which provides a new perspective by mediating between the other two; thus, "understanding" is also indicated. Another thought is that it implies "getting off the treadmill" implied by the cyclical motion of the Two and … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Threes
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 