AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I prefer to do a New Moon reading each month, the Full Moon on December 15th of this year is special. Not only is it the last Full Moon of the year, it is reaching its northernmost declination (distance from the equator), achieving a "major lunar standstill" in the sky after which … Continue reading Full-Moon Finale: The “Cold” Moon
Tarot Techniques
“You Have No Power Over Me” – Benefic and Malefic Tarot Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My title comes from the final exchange between Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) and the Goblin King (David Bowie) in the fantasy movie The Labyrinth, in which she informs him that she is no longer susceptible to his wiles. But the inspiration for what follows comes from The Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis (who knew … Continue reading “You Have No Power Over Me” – Benefic and Malefic Tarot Cards
Negotiated Settlement: A Best-Case/Worst-Case Trend Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I like to say that I don't purposely seek "good" or "bad" answers in a tarot reading but only an indication of trending circumstances that can be brought to a head through the querent's focused engagement. Here is a spread that makes good on this paradigm. It uses a breakdown of generally auspicious, … Continue reading Negotiated Settlement: A Best-Case/Worst-Case Trend Development Spread
Therapeutic Tarot: Counseling or Healing?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across a debate in the online tarot community that argued whether a tarot reading should be used as a form of therapy that, instead of seeking an answer to a specific question, can "work through and heal the anxiety underlying why the question is being asked in the first place." … Continue reading Therapeutic Tarot: Counseling or Healing?
Fudging, Hedging and Guessing: Random Thoughts on Timing
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Timing the occurrence of specific events or the arrival of predicted circumstances with the tarot cards is a perennial source of discussion (and frustration) in the online tarot community. Responses usually run the gamut from the traditional suit-based approach that transitions from Wands (very soon) at one end to Pentacles (very much later) … Continue reading Fudging, Hedging and Guessing: Random Thoughts on Timing
Days of Future Present
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For my header I've borrowed and adapted the title from the old Moody Blues prog-rock album Days of Future Passed to acknowledge that many tarot readers believe the cards can only speak effectively to present conditions and not to future occurrences. I might even hint at the Jethro Tull lyrics "It was a … Continue reading Days of Future Present
Approaching the Hub: An Elemental Alignment Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading about the Medieval concept of "Fortuna" (later identified with the tarot Wheel of Fortune), I was impressed by the thinking of Boethius (as presented by C.S. Lewis), who put the following into the mouth of his philosophical muse, Philosophia. (Note that, although "Divine Providence" is not in my personal vocabulary as … Continue reading Approaching the Hub: An Elemental Alignment Spread
Manipulative Tendencies: A “Dark Triad” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While roaming the internet I encountered a psychological concept I hadn't seen presented in quite the same way before. I don't believe tarot should be used independently for the kind of psychoanalytical probing this behavioral complex demands, but I propose that it can at least shed speculative light on the presence of such … Continue reading Manipulative Tendencies: A “Dark Triad” Spread
A Seven-Day Mixed Media Card Selection Method
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a card-selection technique that uses a large, randomly-pulled template from which to select seven cards for a weekly reading by throwing a single "token" or "pointer" seven times (I used alphabet beads as described below). My "casting surface" was a repurposed pizza box, but any rectangular container with sides will suffice. … Continue reading A Seven-Day Mixed Media Card Selection Method
Dropping the Masks: A Shared-Dynamic Relationship Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been a while since I created a comprehensive relationship spread. Here is one that shows the shared dynamic that can bring two parties together but also drive them apart. It sets up two "personality profiles" for the purpose of comparison, followed by a central pair that describes converging and diverging interests between … Continue reading Dropping the Masks: A Shared-Dynamic Relationship Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 