AUTHOR'S NOTE: I can't quite fathom why anyone would think that the intrusion of AI (artificial intelligence) technology into the art of divination is desirable. Regarding the entire phenomenon, we might well substitute "AI" for "America" in the old Funkadelic album title "America Eats Its Young." I'm disturbed (although I can't say shocked) by the … Continue reading The AI Assault on the Art of Divination
Tarot Techniques
“Tell Me What’s Going to Happen, Percy!”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just reading an online comment that stated in part "Tarot isn't meant to give you answers (about the future) per se . . . " I looked up the current definition of that phrase, which is "by or in itself; intrinsically." For the purpose of this essay I decided to transmute … Continue reading “Tell Me What’s Going to Happen, Percy!”
Rank Has Its Prerogatives – A Departure from the Norm
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I understand it, those diviners who use only the 22 trump cards in their readings frequently assign all of the cards equal weight in the same way that Lenormand cards are interpreted. I've also been told by some in Europe that they accord the trumps no more significance than they would any … Continue reading Rank Has Its Prerogatives – A Departure from the Norm
The Middle Way: Finding the “Sweet Spot”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It is often said that, within its range of customary definitions, every tarot card contains all possible shades of positive and negative meaning that will invariably yield a piece of the puzzle when wisely applied to a specific question. The analysis is typically approached as a deductive exercise that first zeros in on … Continue reading The Middle Way: Finding the “Sweet Spot”
Carpe Momentum Redux : Another “Two Sides to Every Story” Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I created this spread a couple of days ago, I had two "test" questions in mind. Here is the second one. Since we moved to our new home seven years ago, I've been doing at least one reading a year exploring how I might go about restarting the small tarot-reading business I … Continue reading Carpe Momentum Redux : Another “Two Sides to Every Story” Reading
The Importance of Validation: Framing the Past in a Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In recent years I have moved away from the "Past/Present/Future" format in three-card tarot readings because there is little point in dwelling on "what has been" in such a brief snapshot. Instead I cut to the chase by focusing on "Present/Near Future/Longer-Range Outcome." However, in larger spreads like the ten-card Celtic Cross, there … Continue reading The Importance of Validation: Framing the Past in a Reading
Digging Deeper: Creative Consulting vs. Counseling
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While all tarot reading for other people is advisory in nature, some professional diviners possess the psychoanalytical qualifications and credentials to counsel their clients in a therapeutic way, while those who don't should be careful to remain within the bounds of informal "consulting." I may bring decades of life experience, philosophical study and … Continue reading Digging Deeper: Creative Consulting vs. Counseling
Force Over Form: Leveraging the Elements
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Leveraging" is the act of pressing one's advantage in ways that optimize the benefit in practical terms; it's the concept behind the Biblical proverb of "moving mountains" with simple conviction and affirmation (aka "faith" but I don't subscribe to that concept, preferring to say that I'm a "man of certainty"). Here I will … Continue reading Force Over Form: Leveraging the Elements
Transformative Tarot Reading: From “Soft in the Middle” to “Fire in the Belly”
"A man walks down the streetHe says, 'Why am I soft in the middle now?Why am I soft in the middle?The rest of my life is so hard.'"from You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've reached the unsurprising conclusion that many (if not most) serious seekers who consult me for a … Continue reading Transformative Tarot Reading: From “Soft in the Middle” to “Fire in the Belly”
An Elemental Career-Path Alignment Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While answering a career-related question in one of the online tarot communities, I was inspired to develop a spread that is based on "matching" between one of four elemental "career-path" cards and the querent's significator. It's not exactly a process of elimination; call it a "process of affiliation." I spent some time trying … Continue reading An Elemental Career-Path Alignment Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 