AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an elegant conflict-resolution spread that explores the overlapping consequences of optimistic and pessimistic trajectories converging in a tarot reading. It's a further experiment with using a "grim" deck to suggest the less-desirable scenario and an "upbeat" deck to convey the more-auspicious outlook. The design shows the two on an intersecting "collision … Continue reading The “Eclipsed Priorities” Spread: Competing Agendas, Solutions and Consequences
Tarot Techniques
The Map and the Territory: Precision in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "The map is not the territory" is a celebrated statement by semanticist Alfred Korzybski that points out the cognitive disconnect between viewing a printed map and physically walking the land it represents. I've used it often to convey the idea that a tarot prediction is only an approximation of one possible future, and … Continue reading The Map and the Territory: Precision in Tarot Reading
“Passing Through Zero:” Transcending the Victim Archetype (A Tarot Spread)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As an astrologer I've long been familiar with the "victim mentality" as revealed in the natal horoscope. (I once called it the "doormat syndrome" exemplified by the Virgo-Pisces axis: people who become accustomed to being walked on.) Now I see that it has been elevated to the status of an "archetype" and decided … Continue reading “Passing Through Zero:” Transcending the Victim Archetype (A Tarot Spread)
Airing Out the Tradition: When “Organic” Trumps “Scientific”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although he was addressing Medieval poetry and poets in The Discarded Image, C.S. Lewis made several observations that can be directly applied to the diviner's approach to cartomantic tradition.* He mentioned that many literary works of that era were an amalgam and synthesis (or at worst a pastiche) of contributions by a host … Continue reading Airing Out the Tradition: When “Organic” Trumps “Scientific”
The “Cusp of Renewal” Year-End Review & New-Year Forecast
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While preparing to do New Year's readings for some friends tomorrow, I decided to create a special spread for the occasion. The scope encompasses a recap of the year that is ending, a look at the present-in-transition, and a projection for the coming year in three developmental areas: Stimulation; Stability and Stagnation. It … Continue reading The “Cusp of Renewal” Year-End Review & New-Year Forecast
“Ships That Pass” – A Relationship-Potential Spread
"Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow AUTHOR'S NOTE: Relationship spreads are a favorite topic of mine, and I'm especially keen on exploring the likelihood of two people connecting for the first time. Here is … Continue reading “Ships That Pass” – A Relationship-Potential Spread
Tarot Keywords: Cataloguing the Commonplace
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been learning that many Medieval writers padded their work in a variety of ways to increase its length. One of their favorite ploys was digression, by virtue of which they never had to get to the conclusion in a timely manner. But the one that caught my eye was cataloguing or assembling … Continue reading Tarot Keywords: Cataloguing the Commonplace
Complexion vs. Character Mapping in Tarot and Astrology
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I joined Aeclectic Tarot in 2011 I met two traditional "seven-planet" astrologers whose opinions greatly affected my thinking on psychological profiling with the natal horoscope (and, by extension, with the tarot cards). I had been a "New-Age" psychological astrologer since 1972 but quickly realized that the "complexions" (aka qualitative humours or temperaments) … Continue reading Complexion vs. Character Mapping in Tarot and Astrology
The “Pendulum of Progress” Situational Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The directional orientation of the figures on the cards is an underutilized factor in tarot reading that is most often taught in traditional courses of study. I've made a few attempts in the past to bring this technique into my own practice, and now I'm at it again. This orientation can be depicted … Continue reading The “Pendulum of Progress” Situational Development Spread
Waking Hours: A Daily Draw in Three Acts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I like working with "prepared" decks that let me create discrete layers of significance in a single reading. This typically involves splitting the deck into trump, court and minor-card sub-packs and dealing them separately. I'm also not a fan of the vague, single-card daily draw: "Today it's going to be wall-to-wall 10 of … Continue reading Waking Hours: A Daily Draw in Three Acts
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 