We are on the verge of a major household move to the other side of the State, so I thought I would use that event as a test case for my "Turning Point" spread. I used the Golden Universal deck with reversals, and the RWS Centennial Edition for the one duplicate trump card that came up … Continue reading A “Turning-Point” Example Reading
Tarot Techniques
The “Turning Point” Life’s Journey Spread
Most of us have had the experience of reaching a major turning point in our lives (a death, a divorce or break-up, the loss of a job, a relocation or other new beginning, etc.), with no idea what lies ahead. This spread is intended to explore that uncertain future from a "destiny" perspective - spiritual, … Continue reading The “Turning Point” Life’s Journey Spread
The “Just Folks” Personality Profile Spread
I don't do much personality profiling with the tarot because I think it works best as an action-and-event-oriented approach to divination (the "situational awareness and developmental insight" thing I'm always on about). But when I do it, I tend to be comprehensive. Here is a spread that is aimed at examining the multiple personae that an … Continue reading The “Just Folks” Personality Profile Spread
“According to Dignity”
I've carried on at some length in previous posts about the concept of Elemental Dignity, which is a method of inflecting the meaning of a card according to the elemental influence of its neighboring cards in a spread (that is, the level of agreement or disagreement between the qualities of the classical elements [Fire, Water, Air and Earth] assigned to the … Continue reading “According to Dignity”
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Nines
The number Nine marks the end of the series of simple numbers; the Ten is more of a postscript, the "jumping-off place" for a return to Unity (Ten reduces numerologically to One: 1+0 = 1). As such it is considered the completion and fulfillment of the promise of the Ace of each suit. Zoroaster said it … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Nines
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Eights
I've said almost everything I have to say about the Eights in two previous posts, "The Eights and Anxiety" and "The Sevens and Eights" (links below). The one thing that bears repeating is Joseph Maxwell's idea that the simple even numbers Four and Eight are characteristically balanced owing to their roots in the binary Two, although the … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Eights
Where Is Dewey? – A Missing Person Reading
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
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)
