AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a technique used in navigation and surveying called "triangulation," the technical definition for which, in its simplest form, is "the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points." While navigation encompasses distance as well as direction and position and surveying only defines … Continue reading Two Approaches to Tarot Triangulation: The Quintessence and the Midpoint
Tarot Techniques
Interstitial Tarot Reading: “Piercing the Veil”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a non-tarot-related Medium post I came across the word "interstitial" (a term that describes the transitional space connecting two related objects or ideas, much like a short hallway linking adjacent rooms). It brought to mind my previous comments about having to rely too heavily on intuitive guesswork in order to bridge the … Continue reading Interstitial Tarot Reading: “Piercing the Veil”
“Getting It Wrong”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tarot novices often ask more seasoned diviners (with almost palpable dread) "What should I do if I get a reading totally wrong for one of my sitters?" The puzzling thing for me is why they assume they must be infallible when that's an impossible feat in a practice as fluidly impressionistic as card-reading. … Continue reading “Getting It Wrong”
Boundaries, Fences and Neighbors: Drawing a Line in the Sand
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his poem Mending Wall, Robert Frost gives the impression that he is rudely baiting the neighbor who keeps telling him earnestly "Good fences make good neighbors" as they work on repairing their shared stone wall. ("Something there is that doesn't love a wall." Hmm. Why do I feel that Frost would have … Continue reading Boundaries, Fences and Neighbors: Drawing a Line in the Sand
Qabalistic Constellations: A Reading Template
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As does religious mysticism with its unproven "origin" theories and moralizing allegorical themes, esoteric metaphysics exhibits a long history of "making stuff up." In the world of tarot, the British "Occult Revival" of the late 19th Century produced the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, one of the chief proponents of such inventive … Continue reading Qabalistic Constellations: A Reading Template
Deck Selection and Spread Dynamics
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not proposing that there are "scientific" answers to these questions but, humans being the insatiably curious and highly critical creatures that we are, I tend to think in those terms. "What is the best deck to use? What is the best spread?" I hear these questions all the time from beginners who … Continue reading Deck Selection and Spread Dynamics
One Against Nature: A Tarot Self-Critique
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Mystical and spiritual types like to assert that they use tarot solely to tap into their self-awareness and self-improvement potential in the service of personal enlightenment. Fair enough, but going at it completely cold with nothing but the cards to compare ourselves to - no model or set of criteria defining excellence and … Continue reading One Against Nature: A Tarot Self-Critique
Emotional Bias in Cartomancy: A Case Study
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The adverse impact of intense emotional upset on the task of shuffling the cards is a topic that often surfaces in conversation. I've seen endless hand-wringing in online discussions over whether being distressed when consulting the cards should be viewed as a "show-stopper." Most people who bring it up are afraid that their … Continue reading Emotional Bias in Cartomancy: A Case Study
Deep, Distant, Dire or Ditched? – Competing Views on the Major Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every time I encounter a new observation about the significance of the Major Arcana I feel compelled to revisit the subject in order to re-examine my own position. When I was learning to read the tarot cards back in the early '70s the consensus was that the 22 Major Arcana were a "big … Continue reading Deep, Distant, Dire or Ditched? – Competing Views on the Major Arcana
Tarot Occupations
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay is not about careers in divination (although that is another interesting topic), but rather the typical occupations that are symbolized by the tarot cards. It's a subject I've been intending to address more thoroughly for quite some time, even though I don't consider myself uniquely qualified as a historian or sociologist … Continue reading Tarot Occupations
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 