AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I continue my exploration of the syncretism between the tarot and the I Ching, I encountered this I Ching mandala in Benebell Wen's book, I Ching. the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes. The discussion involved a square of eight trigrams within a circle of 64 hexagrams, and since … Continue reading The Square in the Circle: The I Ching Mandala and the Tarot Trumps
Tarot Theory
Trumps and Trigrams: A Syncretic Exercise
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my recent essay (linked below) on syncretism between Western astrology and the I Ching, I correlated the twelve Ptolemaic signs of the zodiac with the eight I Ching trigrams and, via synthesis between consecutive signs, with twelve of the 64 hexagrams. In doing so I resorted to a good deal of inspiration, … Continue reading Trumps and Trigrams: A Syncretic Exercise
Pressure-Points: Triggering a Reaction
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll flatter myself by saying that I do some of my best tarot writing (as well as tarot divination) via the use of storytelling tropes (and humor, but that's more incidental). I've settled on two analogies to bulk up the present, rather slender topic. The first is an electronic "touch screen" with its … Continue reading Pressure-Points: Triggering a Reaction
Major Arcana as Overarching Themes
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While they may imply the potential for "fireworks," I'm long past the point of treating trump cards in a reading as a guarantee that big things are afoot since that hasn't been my experience with them in over fifty years of practice. I now view them as showing the overarching theme or environmental … Continue reading Major Arcana as Overarching Themes
Up-slopes, Down-slopes and Flat-lines: A Three-Tier Tarot Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm posing the question "Which of three typical 'motifs' will form the core of a tarot reading and have the most to say about the situation?" In this experiment I'm attempting to craft an approach that separates the cards pulled for a reading into three situational scenarios indicating the path the narrative … Continue reading Up-slopes, Down-slopes and Flat-lines: A Three-Tier Tarot Spread
Mission Impossible?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Can tarot really tell the future?" Tarot readers gnaw on this question endlessly the way a dog worries a well-chewed bone, and it frequently comes up in online discussion groups. Judging from the number of comments I've seen, it often feels like there are as many contentious opinions about it as there are … Continue reading Mission Impossible?
The Sevens: “Fearing a Misstep”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This morning I came across a fragment of text by Benebell Wen from a longer translation of one line from the I Ching hexagram Lu, " Heaven over Lake" (Hexagram 10) that dovetails neatly with my previous observations about the Sevens of the tarot Minor Arcana. The gist of it is that the … Continue reading The Sevens: “Fearing a Misstep”
Pitch-Perfect: Tarot Reading as “Tone Poem”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: On nearly every page of Benebell Wen's book, I Ching, the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes, I encounter another example of ancient Chinese wisdom that provides fresh impetus for my ever-increasing forays into esoteric syncretism. This time it was the following excerpt: ". . . every movement in the … Continue reading Pitch-Perfect: Tarot Reading as “Tone Poem”
“The Arduous Path” – Walking the Talk
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As the theme for this essay I'll trot out my slightly cynical version of the hackneyed aphorism: "It's all good . . . except when it isn't." Because I detect a certain weary resignation in the voices of those who use the original as a justification for accepting less-than-ideal conditions, it has always … Continue reading “The Arduous Path” – Walking the Talk
The “Reset Arc” – Daily Draw x 7
". . . every day resets itself, from sunrise to sunset to sunrise again."Benebell Wen, I Ching, the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes AUTHOR'S NOTE: The above quote should be the guiding principle behind every daily draw in tarot reading. But too many readers trust the one-card pull to satisfy this … Continue reading The “Reset Arc” – Daily Draw x 7
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 