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”
Tarot Theory
Natural Alignment: Separating the Cow from the Hamburger
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My opinion of Ethan Indigo Smith's imagination and sense of humor went up a notch while reading (in The Tao of Thoth) his discussion of the archaic Egyptian word "neter" (meaning vital energy or life-force), which he relates to the equivalent term "chi" in the Tao. He describes this organic animating principle as … Continue reading Natural Alignment: Separating the Cow from the Hamburger
Tarot Disambiguation: “I Know You Think You Believe You Understand . . .”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Disambiguation is a great word. As I see it, the concept involves eliminating confusion in the understanding and application of language by clarifying the differences between similar terms. The various definitions that have accrued to a word are sorted and ranked according to their frequency in common usage, although the fact that not … Continue reading Tarot Disambiguation: “I Know You Think You Believe You Understand . . .”
Learning the Tarot Cards: Assimilate, Don’t Aggregate!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came upon an alleged "ancient Egyptian proverb" that I decided to tweak for use in this essay. Here I'm revisiting a topic I previously covered in 2020 because I have so many new followers who may not have caught up to it. Original: "True teaching is not an accumulation of knowledge; … Continue reading Learning the Tarot Cards: Assimilate, Don’t Aggregate!
Tarot As “Awareness Practice”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Lately my head has been crammed with ideas from my informal study of Taoism as presented by Benebell Wen in I Ching The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes and Ethan Indigo Smith in The Tao of Thoth. (The former is polished and intelligent while the latter is much more … Continue reading Tarot As “Awareness Practice”
Going Off-Script: Reversed Cards as “Gradients”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been involved in another online discussion about the use of reversed (upside-down) cards in tarot reading. The comment I offered was my standard response reflecting over fifty years of working with reversals, but the dialogue provided some fresh insights that I will explore here. I've been reading reversals since I started practicing … Continue reading Going Off-Script: Reversed Cards as “Gradients”
“So Many Different People To Be” – Personalizing the Court Cards*
"And when I look in my window/So many different people to be"- Donovan Leitch, from Season of the Witch AUTHOR'S NOTE: Correct interpretation of the court cards is a recurring topic of debate in the online tarot community and a thorn in the side of novice readers, who don't know whether to approach them as … Continue reading “So Many Different People To Be” – Personalizing the Court Cards*
Rhythmic Attunement: Harmony and Discord in Tarot Reading
"Proper rhythm forms and flows with the situation . . . "- Ethan Indigo Smith, from The Tao of Thoth AUTHOR'S NOTE: Those tarot readers who work with esoteric correspondences know that the elemental alignment of Fire, Water, Air and Earth cards in a spread has a lot to say about the natural rhythm of … Continue reading Rhythmic Attunement: Harmony and Discord in Tarot Reading
Claiming the Space: An Elemental-Alignment Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across the Taoist concept of "claiming the space" in Taiji martial-arts combat by swinging the arms in a specifically "yang" (or offensive) manner as opposed to "relinquishing the space" in strategic withdrawal via a defensive "yin" arm-movement. I decided to apply this "yang" idea to a tarot spread. Begin by … Continue reading Claiming the Space: An Elemental-Alignment Spread
“What is Dead May Never Die” – An Alternate Take on Death
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I should mention in advance that nothing you see here (or in any of my essays) is AI-generated because I believe resorting to AI "web-scraping" - when it isn't outright theft - depreciates the original contribution of creative artists and writers. (But artificial intelligence - isn't there an oxymoron in there somewhere? - … Continue reading “What is Dead May Never Die” – An Alternate Take on Death
