AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a layout that forms a sigil or "charm" intended to influence another person or situation that the querent wants to bend to his or her will. It uses a "significator" card at the center to represent the objective of the enchantment (for lack of a better word), and the seven classical … Continue reading The “Star of Hope” Personal Initiative Sigil
Tarot Theory
The “Ace-in-the-Hole” Spread: Just a Little Extra
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Ace in the hole" is a stud poker-players term for a face-down Ace or similar high card that the other players don't know about until it is played for the win. Here is a spread that uses reversals to create a "resource pool" of hidden cards that can be tapped when the predicted … Continue reading The “Ace-in-the-Hole” Spread: Just a Little Extra
NFL Football Forecast: 2025 AFC Championship – Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
UPDATE: This one turned out to be pretty much "on the money." The final score of 32-29 in favor of the Chiefs closely agrees with my "high-end" prediction of 35-24 with Kansas City on top at the end of the game. I'll take it as a forecasting success. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I decided to post this … Continue reading NFL Football Forecast: 2025 AFC Championship – Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
The “Zodiacal Strip” Monthly Astro-Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is not nearly as messy as it looks. Those who are familiar with astrology will be able to make good sense of it. Here is a different take on the 12-position astrological spread that I adapted from Donald Tyson's book, Tarot Magic. It uses the twelve zodiacal trump cards and the seven … Continue reading The “Zodiacal Strip” Monthly Astro-Tarot Reading
Leveraging the Hexagram: A Motivational Spread
AUTHOR’S NOTE: For this spread, I’ve lifted the internal hexagram array from my “Tarot Magic” layout to use as a motivational overview covering both mental/spiritual and physical aspirations as well as four types of opportunity: adventurous (i.e. risk-taking) or pragmatic (both aligned with Physical Motivation) and intellectual or emotional (associated with Mental/Spiritual Motivation). Taking a … Continue reading Leveraging the Hexagram: A Motivational Spread
A Tarot Compass and Range-Finder: Locating the Lost
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although horary astrology is much better for it, I sometimes work with tarot as a means of finding lost items or people. I once applied the left-or-right gaze of the human figures on the cards to indicate a past or future bias in a querent's situation. Here I'm bringing it to bear, along … Continue reading A Tarot Compass and Range-Finder: Locating the Lost
“Neat Borders:” A Further Case for Tarot Spreads
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was just reading a fascinating post in which a miscellany of famous authors expounded on why they (often vociferously) disliked a variety of important books by other esteemed writers (some of them very popular). I came across this gem from Charlotte Bronte, who was eviscerating Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: it … Continue reading “Neat Borders:” A Further Case for Tarot Spreads
Trump’s Next Four: A PoMo Perspective
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After listening to part of Donald Trump's inauguration speech (I dislike the man as much as ever but, as a Libertarian sympathizer, I'm not entirely opposed to his message), I decided to dig out my favorite sociopolitical deck, Brian Williams' PostModern (aka "PoMo") tarot to see what the next four years will spell … Continue reading Trump’s Next Four: A PoMo Perspective
Head Games: Are We Fooling Ourselves?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another installment in my long-running series about the functional dynamics of tarot reading and the arguable legitimacy of cartomantic fortune-telling. (File under "How tarot works.") I don't doubt that, unless they are unusually introspective, most seasoned tarot readers who are confident in their skill and experience have it in their heads … Continue reading Head Games: Are We Fooling Ourselves?
The Hierophant: Returning to Normal
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Of all the tarot trumps, the Hierophant (originally the Pope) feels most like a "square peg in a round hole" when brought up against modern expectations. It's a product of a bygone era and a different mindset, often requiring a great deal of mental calisthenics to puzzle out in practical reading situations. I'm … Continue reading The Hierophant: Returning to Normal
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 