For those of us who use esoteric correspondences in reading the tarot, pulling cards for a reading is like ordering a "tarot salad" with special dressing This is especially true if there are several cards of a similar "flavor," whether elemental, astrological or numerical. Many writers have addressed what happens when you have an abundance … Continue reading The Tarot Salad Bar
Tarot Techniques
The Long Result of Time
Bear with me here, soon enough you'll see my quirky connection between Tennyson's poetry and the professional practice of tarot divination. Back in 1965, British science fiction author John Brunner wrote a novel dubbed The Long Result. He lifted the title from a couplet in Tennyson's long lyrical poem, Locksley Hall, which - even though … Continue reading The Long Result of Time
Reversals? Why Not?
I'm constantly encountering people who say "That deck has non-reversible backs. You can't do reversals with it." and "That's a Golden-Dawn-based deck, they didn't use reversals so you can't either." My unspoken response is "So? Rules were made to be broken." Another favorite excuse for not learning to use reversals effectively is "I don't need … Continue reading Reversals? Why Not?
Win, Lose or Punt?
To punt (Informal): To cease doing something; give up. ("Let's punt on this and try something else.") Predicting the scores for opposing teams in sporting events is a fascinating minor sidelight to our more ponderous cartomantic excursions, and - at least in my experience - one that seldom yields accurate results. I've come to believe … Continue reading Win, Lose or Punt?
The “Powers” of the Court Cards
In The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic, Israel Reagrdie published a version of the "tarot papers" of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, collectively titled Liber T, that has additional content - some inserted by Regardie, apparently from the Whare Ra Temple documents, some written by his publisher Christopher Hyatt, and some generated … Continue reading The “Powers” of the Court Cards
The Art of the Draw
There is a old phrase used in card-playing circles that has made its way into general usage as an expression of the fickleness of life: "the luck of the draw." It's a philosophical bookend to the related sentiment "Play the hand you're dealt." There is a fated quality to both that doesn't sit well with … Continue reading The Art of the Draw
Joe and Jill: A “Moral Dilemma” Example Reading
All images © U.S. Games Systems, Inc, Stamford, CT and Lo Scarabeo, Torino, Italy This is a hypothetical reading addressing a common real-world scenario that I worked up to demonstrate my "Moral Dilemma" spread. The principals in this reading are entirely fictional. I used the Night Sun Tarot to populate the "Left-Hand Path" (or "dark" … Continue reading Joe and Jill: A “Moral Dilemma” Example Reading
The Three-Card Carousel
"Round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows." I'm pinching those words from the old Ted Mack Amateur Hour TV show to illustrate one method of reading a three-card spread in tarot divination. There are differing opinions on this: some always read in a line from left-to-right, with the Past on the … Continue reading The Three-Card Carousel
Thrown Under the Bus: The Major Arcana and Fate
Although the title of this article is only half-serious, it points to a common perception about the appearance of several Major Arcana (aka “trump”) cards in a reading. Eden Gray summarized it neatly in her 1960 book, The Tarot Revealed: “If the majority of cards in the layout come from the Major Arcana, there is … Continue reading Thrown Under the Bus: The Major Arcana and Fate
A Study in Facing, Part 3: Pip Cards
The Minor Arcana, or "pip" cards, of the RWS deck are by far the most diverse population from a directional standpoint, since there are more cards that I would classify as "ambiguous." This includes cards with posture/gaze misalignment and cards with multiple figures that give no clear sense of facing or "visual flow." There are … Continue reading A Study in Facing, Part 3: Pip Cards
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 