AUTHOR'S NOTE: The inspiration for this essay comes from an idea I picked up during my metaphysical studies that can be applied to professional tarot practice: "When we focus on seeking to grasp the answer, we (can) lose the ability to hang onto it." We must cultivate the "quality of mind to hold the answer … Continue reading Grasping and Holding: Readings That Stick
Tarot Theory
The “Side-Eye” – Looking Askance at Card Meanings
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In one of my online tarot conversations I've once again fielded the perennial question about the need to use reversals in divination. My response was: "Many people insist that - depending on the context of the reading - they can squeeze contradictory intent out of the upright meaning of any favorable tarot card … Continue reading The “Side-Eye” – Looking Askance at Card Meanings
“Who Shall I Be Today?” – A Tweaked Daily-Draw Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: During my ongoing study of the Taoist Bagua I encountered the idea that, in the three lines of a trigram, the top line represents Heaven, the bottom line signifies Earth and the middle line shows the individual poised between the two. I've been thinking about ways to relate this model to the three-card … Continue reading “Who Shall I Be Today?” – A Tweaked Daily-Draw Spread
“Wishing Won’t Make It So” – The Scholarly vs The Colloquial Tarot
"Your dream. It fadesBut truth. It staysAnd with truth you must live onFrom deep insideYour heart. It criesI wish that dreams lived onBut wishing won't make it soI proved it long ago"- from Wishing Won't Make It So by the Everly Brothers AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a result of my constant study of esoteric topics and … Continue reading “Wishing Won’t Make It So” – The Scholarly vs The Colloquial Tarot
“Untying All Tangles” – A Syncretic Insight
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I love the following definition of the Tao presented in Benebell Wen's I Ching, The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes: " . . . the Tao is described as 'the origin of all things . . . It unties all tangles, it harmonizes all lights, it unites the world … Continue reading “Untying All Tangles” – A Syncretic Insight
The Eighth Nature: Beyond Patience
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay quickly became dense as I continue to draw inspiration from The Tao of Thoth, but it winds up with an exercise that you may find intriguing. Although there are seven tenets in Hermetic philosophy as presented in The Kybalion, an eighth metaphysical precept has been proposed that unifies them. One school … Continue reading The Eighth Nature: Beyond Patience
Polar Opposites and the Pendulum of Contrasts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: An interesting aspect of esoteric metaphysics is that there are no unconditional "black-and-white" polarities in terms of active/passive, positive/negative or masculine/feminine principles; everything is on a sliding scale and varies in proportion according to the circumstances. The result is a pendulum-swing of contrasting energies, quite often discordant themes that converge momentarily on a … Continue reading Polar Opposites and the Pendulum of Contrasts
Tarot and the “Lust of Result”*
*"For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect." - Aleister Crowley in The Book of the Law AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my study of Taoism I came across two concepts that have a bearing on the ethics of divination: the "conceit of silver" and the "conceit of iron," … Continue reading Tarot and the “Lust of Result”*
Tarot As “Offering Bowl” – A Situational Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The practice of Taiji envisions eight "offering bowls" that enclose space and also present the contents of that space to the aspirant. Here I've created an eight-position tarot spread modeled on the taijitu (yin/yang) symbol of the I Ching to show situational progress from constructive input (yin as receptive and cooperative) to productive … Continue reading Tarot As “Offering Bowl” – A Situational Development Spread
“When in Doubt, Lay It Out”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tarot beginners who are doubtful about both their predictive skills and the reliability of divination in general often ask "But is a tarot reading always accurate? Can it actually foretell my future?" I made my own peace with that conundrum long ago and thought I would share my experience. One of the main … Continue reading “When in Doubt, Lay It Out”
