AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been juggling so many interesting essay topics lately that I had to look at the planets transiting my natal horoscope to see what's going on. As I might have guessed, it turns out that just as the Sun makes its ingress into dramatic Leo, transiting Mercury is also in Leo in the … Continue reading The Tarot Reading As “Mind-Map”
Tarot Techniques
The Unseen Map: “Here Be Dragons”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across the idea that an unpopulated tarot spread (prior to laying the cards) represents an "unseen map of the question" (this coming once again from Vincent Pitisci's Genius of the Tarot, my current "morning-treadmill" read). This squares well with my own premise that the spread positions represent "signposts" or "way-points" … Continue reading The Unseen Map: “Here Be Dragons”
“New Position” Gap-Analysis Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the questions I encounter quite often on the web is whether anyone has a job-search or career-change spread to offer or recommend. I have several, but here I've created one that will be useful for any scenario where a current position must be compared to a proposed or potential new one. … Continue reading “New Position” Gap-Analysis Spread
Rethinking the “Four Winds” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've come across examples of the "Four Winds" spread in more than one publication. Its premise is that the classical "winds" that blow from the four quarters of the Earth can be equated to the four aspects of the human psyche, Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional and Physical. (The inspiration for "rethinking" this spread came … Continue reading Rethinking the “Four Winds” Spread
Context as “Master Key”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I picked another random thought out of Vincent Pistisci's Genius of the Tarot that is worth contemplating. For most of us, the suit symbolism of the minor and court cards is the essential factor in determining their general "theme" (the specific images on the cards confer more precise anecdotal import). The "cameo" version … Continue reading Context as “Master Key”
Gap Analysis: The Three-Card Reading and the Hidden Agenda
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not much of a fan of the three-card tarot reading because, as I've mentioned before, it leaves too much up to subjective guesswork in bridging the narrative gap between cards that may have nothing even remotely in common. In the three-card pull, utterly antagonistic cards are the intuitive reader's worst nightmare since … Continue reading Gap Analysis: The Three-Card Reading and the Hidden Agenda
The “Window of Opportunity”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here are a few more thoughts on "opportunity" as expressed by the cards of the tarot. Any discussion of the effective duration of a tarot reading (i.e. how long it is "good" for) carries the implication that there is a "window of opportunity" for action in the matter that will close sooner or … Continue reading The “Window of Opportunity”
The Threes: Finding Scope in Opportunity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another riff on the topic of "opportunity" as expressed in the cards of the tarot. The Threes of the tarot have long been associated with the concepts of advancement and growth, but a parallel principle is that of opportunity, the premise being that any such development - while it may be … Continue reading The Threes: Finding Scope in Opportunity
Reversed Cards and the Golden Dawn
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every once in a while I encounter another self-anointed expert who insists that reversed-card meanings must not be used with the Thoth tarot and other Golden-Dawn-based decks, and that Elemental Dignity is the only permissible method for judging the fortunate or unfortunate complexion of the cards in a reading beyond their intrinsic stand-alone … Continue reading Reversed Cards and the Golden Dawn
The “Bridge or Tunnel” Situational Outlook Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my second spread based on the "troll under the bridge" symbolism of Scandinavian folklore. (The first one was aimed at readings for children; this one is for adults and the "troll" - here we could call it a "cave troll" - is implied rather than explicit.) The roll of a single … Continue reading The “Bridge or Tunnel” Situational Outlook Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 