This was an interesting exercise because I have been on an esoteric spiritual journey for over four decades, and count myself among the 37% of Americans who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious." I used the Radiant RWS for this reading. All images copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc, Stamford, CT Card #1 - "What I Know" (The Footing): … Continue reading A “Spiritual Release” Example Reading
Tarot Techniques
A “Spiritual Release” Spread
Many of us spend years seeking the most inspiring and rewarding personal path to spiritual enlightenment (or at least those of us do who refuse to swallow the "faith" pill). I envision both a philosophical and a mystical trajectory to this goal, depending on whether one is predominantly a "thinker" or a "feeler." For those who aren't sure, here is a layout to help … Continue reading A “Spiritual Release” Spread
But Is It Divine?
The root of the word divination is "divine," meaning "resembling God or a god in qualities such as power, beauty, or benevolence." I have encountered readers who are convinced that their every utterance is a direct communication from a Higher Power via their private psychic channel. My suspicion is that many of these people are converts … Continue reading But Is It Divine?
Stone Soup
I think it's time I start getting serious about bringing cartomantic (that is, playing-card) meanings into my approach to the numbered - or "pip" - cards when reading. The RWS minor cards with their built-in narrative vignettes are like "canned soup," the semi-scenic small cards of the Thoth deck are closer to "home-made soup" that you start with store-bought … Continue reading Stone Soup
2019 Super Bowl: Rams vs. Patriots
UPDATE #1: The Rams won the toss, so even though they deferred possession until the start of the second half, I'll stick with my model and predict a win for Los Angeles. UPDATE #2: The anemic scoring envisioned for the first half proved to be prophetic, and the half-time score was even lower than predicted. … Continue reading 2019 Super Bowl: Rams vs. Patriots
Context Is King
Although this has been a recurring minor theme in many of my previous posts, I thought I would expand on it a bit. In a lengthy thread on the Cartomancy Forum titled "Is There Such a Thing as Bad Cards?" author Andy Boroveshengra (of Lenormand fame but equally accomplished in tarot and traditional astrology) made … Continue reading Context Is King
Where There’s Smoke . . .
One objection that some tarot readers have to so-called "positional" spreads - those that typically bear a fixed positive or negative meaning for each card position in the layout - is that they can create an uncomfortable setting where a nominally good" card must be interpreted in a "bad" way according to its position and vice versa. The Celtic Cross is a perfect … Continue reading Where There’s Smoke . . .
“Two-Out-of-Three” Spread Tutorial Layouts
A Facebook conversation led to the recognition that it would be a good idea to post some example pictures of how the various card chains would play out. I posed a hypothetical question: "How will this business initiative work out?" and selected the 3 of Wands from the Albano-Waite deck (Deck #1) as my Significator. Since … Continue reading “Two-Out-of-Three” Spread Tutorial Layouts
The “Two Out of Three” Decision-Making Spread
I've always found the typical three-card draw to be rather uninspiring. My long-held opinion is that the reader has to inject entirely too much intuitive guesswork into the gaps between the cards to make a compelling narrative out of the sequence. A five-position spread is the minimum I prefer to work with in order to "just read … Continue reading The “Two Out of Three” Decision-Making Spread
The “Mystic Chalice” Trump Card Layout
I sometimes amuse myself by creating study tools for analyzing the interrelationship between the cards of the tarot, both in two dimensions and stacked in a three-dimensional overlay. This one uses an imaginative arrangement of the trump cards as its basis. I call it the "Mystic Chalice," but have to admit it does look a … Continue reading The “Mystic Chalice” Trump Card Layout
