When I joined the Aeclectic Tarot forum in 2011, I landed in the middle of an ongoing debate about certain practices - both traditional and modern - that didn't seem to have a reasonable or logical basis. Many questions were cyclical, coming around every few months as new members joined, and none of them were … Continue reading Multi-deck Readings
Tarot Techniques
Bad Stuff
Shortly after I returned to professional practice a couple of years ago, I had a client who sat down at the table and said briskly "Don't tell me any bad stuff!" I assured her that even the less agreeable insights that may arise in a tarot reading can be worked with creatively and constructively to … Continue reading Bad Stuff
Wait For The Ricochet
There is a 1970s hard-rock song by Deep Purple called Child in Time, replete with Ian Gillan's visceral moans and screams (remember "Primal Scream Therapy?"), with a verse that has me thinking about "outcome" cards. "Sweet child in time You'll see the line The line that's drawn between Good and bad See the blind man … Continue reading Wait For The Ricochet
The Literal Tarot
It sometimes seems to me that trying to learn tarot as a neophyte in the 21st Century is like stepping into quicksand with cement overshoes, especially when talking to those ad-hoc mentors who see intuition as the only reliable arrow in a reader's interpretive quiver. The idea that there is any kind of intellectual bedrock … Continue reading The Literal Tarot
The Chrysalis Tarot: A Deck Interview
The Chrysalis Tarot is an unconventional deck that fascinates me, although I truly can't say why. I've had it for a couple of years, take it out once in a while to admire it . . . and then put it away. Certainly its quiet luminosity strikes a strong sympathetic chord in my artist's heart … Continue reading The Chrysalis Tarot: A Deck Interview
Where Is Patrick? – A Missing-Person Spread
This is the kind of "cold-case" situation I've decided to concentrate on. This young New Hampshire college student went missing in 1987, possibly in connection with a drug deal. http://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-unsolved-case-file-disappearance-of-patrick-merrill/19673486. I used my "Train To Nowhere" missing-person spread and the Tarot of Dreams, with reversals. I chose the Page of Swords as the Significator, https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com/2017/07/31/the-train-to-nowhere-missing-persons-spread/ … Continue reading Where Is Patrick? – A Missing-Person Spread
A “Chaldean Mirror” Example Reading
I decided to test my "Chaldean Mirror" spread with a weekly rather than a daily focus. I found out Monday that I did in fact break a rib last week, so I wanted to explore what the upcoming week looks like for my physical condition. I used the Liber T, Tarot of Stars Eternal for … Continue reading A “Chaldean Mirror” Example Reading
The “Chaldean Mirror” Daily Meditation Spread
Having given up on single-card daily draws years ago as relatively meaningless for most "real-world" purposes, I'm constantly tinkering with more advanced ways to increase the mileage I get from daily, weekly and monthly self-readings. Here is my latest effort. It uses the Golden Dawn's Chaldean wheels of astrological correspondences (developed by and offered free … Continue reading The “Chaldean Mirror” Daily Meditation Spread
The Pangloss Syndrome
Because I try to post something new almost every day, I'm delighted by how often random forum conversations serve up grist for my philosophical mill. Today I was talking to katrinka/fennario (Stella Waldvogel) on one of the cartomancy forums about the book Tarot on Earth by Tom Benjamin, who apparently subscribes to the belief that, … Continue reading The Pangloss Syndrome
A “Tarot and Trauma” Vignette
Early last week while working on a construction project at home, I fell off a 4-foot step-stool while dismounting with tools in my hand when it tipped on the carpet. I landed on my feet and was immediately thrown off-balance (hold that thought, it's significant here), briskly back-pedaling my way into the corner of a … Continue reading A “Tarot and Trauma” Vignette
