AUTHOR'S NOTE: The more time I spend with the tarot, the more appreciative I become of the numerous layers of intelligent and meaningful commentary that can be found within its often obscure symbolism. It's said with justification that tarot talks to us in its own tongue. This is an easy assumption to make but I … Continue reading Talking in Tongues: The Many Voices of the Tarot
Tarot Theory
Ceremonial Magick and the I Ching: Card Comparisons
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I realize that the title is misleading. This essay is not about the practice of ritual magic, nor is it a discussion of divination with the I Ching. I'm always looking for a reason to drag out my copy of Anthony Clark's I Ching Pack with the hexagrams on the cards, and I … Continue reading Ceremonial Magick and the I Ching: Card Comparisons
The “Scream of the Butterfly:” Squeezing the Bad from the Good
"Before I sinkInto the big sleepI want to hearI want to hearThe scream of the butterfly"- from "When the Music's Over" by Jim Morrison of The Doors AUTHOR'S NOTE: We can only guess whether Jim Morrison achieved his goal before he sank into his final "one-way" encounter with drugs, alcohol and heart failure (but given … Continue reading The “Scream of the Butterfly:” Squeezing the Bad from the Good
Astral Access: Surface Tension and the Suspension of Disbelief
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The belief in communication with spirits is often based on the assumption of an invisible world that exists behind or above mundane reality, and these contacts are said to occur along frequencies or "channels" that can be accessed through the psychic faculties. This is the Astral Plane of the mystics and the Formative … Continue reading Astral Access: Surface Tension and the Suspension of Disbelief
The Outer and Inner Dimensions of the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just rediscovered the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's description of the Queen of Swords as presenting a "good exterior" despite being inwardly "cruel, sly, deceitful, unreliable" and generally rotten to the core when ill-dignified in a reading. She would have us believe she is pure in all her ways while she … Continue reading The Outer and Inner Dimensions of the Minor Arcana
My Inner House of Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Lon Milo DuQuette's Tarot Architect, the author proposed that students build a personal "house" of knowledge and wisdom in their consciousness with the 78 cards of the tarot. I see it as a practical way to pursue Aleister Crowley's vision of "living with the cards" that is more organized than daily divination. … Continue reading My Inner House of Cards
The Aces as “Seed-State”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Tarot Architect, Lon Milo DuQuette describes the Ace of Wands as the "Seed of Will" that carries the blueprint for purposeful action. I decided to extend this concept into the rest of the Aces. The Ace of Cups suggests the "Seed of Compassion;" the Ace of Swords the "Seed of Insight;" and … Continue reading The Aces as “Seed-State”
Love, Sex . . . and Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a well-established marketing ploy that assumes "Sex sells, and everyone's buying!" In the tarot-reader's world, the sales model is more like "Love sells, and sex is along for the ride!" Most diviners have extensive experience with the "love" question, usually phrased as "When will I find it?" Some querents are actively … Continue reading Love, Sex . . . and Tarot
The 10 of Cups: Satiety or Perfected Success?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whenever I consider the Thoth 10 of Cups in light of the Golden Dawn's original title, I'm amused by the fact that Aleister Crowley chose "Satiety" as his one-word condensation of the Order's "Lord of Perfected Success." The expression goes beyond mere sufficiency into a state of egregious excess, as in consuming far … Continue reading The 10 of Cups: Satiety or Perfected Success?
The 9 of Swords: Despair Is There But Where’s The Cruelty?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my opinion, neither the Thoth nor the Waite-Smith 9 of Swords does justice to the Golden Dawn's title of "Lord of Despair and Cruelty." While both capture the essence of despair, the overall effect looks more like "Despair after Cruelty" than an equal distribution of the two: the former describes a condition … Continue reading The 9 of Swords: Despair Is There But Where’s The Cruelty?
