As a creator of numerous tarot spreads, I find that I must walk a fine line between pursuing too much information and seeking insufficient detail in the structure of a layout. Trying to parse a reading into narrative bits that are too fine-grained risks putting too much insignificant "ground clutter" on the reader's radar screen, … Continue reading The Long and Short of It
Tarot Techniques
The “PB&J” Sandwich Spread
As usual, I'm having some fun with the title, but the intent of this spread is quite serious. It offers a "Progressive Betterment and Judgment" ("PB&J") outlook for long-range prospects in life improvement, both overall and in specific focus areas. The three-card "sandwiches" provide a past/present/future profile in four areas of personal growth: Inspirational, Emotional, … Continue reading The “PB&J” Sandwich Spread
An American Football Prediction
I decided to keep experimenting with my "Enemy at the Gates" conflict-resolution spread to predict the outcome of sporting events, specifically the American football match-ups for Sunday, November 6. In looking at the standings, I wanted to pick two adversaries with winning records that at least have a chance against one another. Although most of … Continue reading An American Football Prediction
World Series Game 7 Postmortem
It's interesting how life teaches you lessons through the tarot. The flaw in my first attempt to predict the outcome of the final World Series game was in using a coin-flip to decide which team to place in the top row of the spread, rather than following the traditional practice of putting the visiting team … Continue reading World Series Game 7 Postmortem
A 2017 World Series Postscript
I thought I would try an experiment to see if I could come up with a layout that would emulate a baseball box-score for the final game of the World Series. I used a Tarot de Marseille deck (the Hadar) because the non-scenic pips are easier to read as pure numbers. Since not many Major … Continue reading A 2017 World Series Postscript
Number Theory in Action
Occult number theory - whether Pythagorean or qabalistic - is one of my favorite ways to extract additional information from the cards in a spread. The geometric axioms of Pythagoras evolve from the Monad (the Point, or Number One) to the Decad (the Decahedron, or Number Ten), while the qabalistic approach follows the descending flow … Continue reading Number Theory in Action
What’s the Story?
I often field questions from anxious novice readers who have yet to acquire the knack of imaginative story-telling with the cards. Anything beyond the simplest layout puts them into the panicked "Lego-block" mode of interpretation, in which they try to stack up keywords in a way that approximates a smooth narrative but instead resembles a … Continue reading What’s the Story?
“Coin-Flip” Divination
Back when I was employed and had to rise before dawn to get ready for work without waking my wife, I used to judge the promise of the coming day by whether or not I slid my slippers on the right feet on the first try in total darkness. If I got it wrong, I … Continue reading “Coin-Flip” Divination
“Cheap Shots” #22: Tough Talk
I've written on the topic of tarot professionalism before (see Volume 3 - Issue 2 of The Cartomancer), but recent forum exchanges bring me back to the subject. What might be termed the "journeyman class" of tarot readers- those who have been reading for family and friends for some time - is strongly tempted to … Continue reading “Cheap Shots” #22: Tough Talk
The Tarot of Dreams Deck Interview
I just received Ciro Marchetti's Tarot of Dreams (the 2015 reissue) today and decided to run it thorough my "personality profile" deck interview spread. This is Ciro's second tarot project, following on the heels of his Gilded Tarot. I consider it a step up in excellence. All images copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc, Stamford, CT … Continue reading The Tarot of Dreams Deck Interview
