AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a teenage science-fiction fan in the mid-60s I was fascinated by rocketry and the theory of space-flight in general. Here is a spread that uses some of that terminology to show three potential paths that a situational-development reading might take: short-range, long-range or open-ended. It will take some study for the user … Continue reading Departing the “Goldilocks Zone” A Multi-Path Situational Development Spread
Tarot Theory
The Problem – and Power – of Projection
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've approached the topic of "subjective bias" in different ways over the years, most notably in my essay The Nature of the Evidence. In The Way of Tarot, Alejandro Jodorowsky observes that - despite vehement claims to the contrary - it is impossible for tarot readers to eliminate "projection" from their readings (that … Continue reading The Problem – and Power – of Projection
Deconstructing the Quintessence Calculation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I have always preferred to perform the "quintessence" calculation in a way that rolls up the numerical values of all the cards on the table (including the court cards) to generate a single trump card as a condensed overview of the situation and the outcome, I have in the past "parceled out" … Continue reading Deconstructing the Quintessence Calculation
Why Healing?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Once again, while reading the tarot literature I've encountered the opinion that the Temperance card relates to "healing." I've unloaded on this notion in the past, but I've had a few more insights since then. The premise that there must be a "healing" card among the tarot trumps presumes that the other cards … Continue reading Why Healing?
Dynamic Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This certainly isn't the only way to read the tarot cards with deftness and fluency, but it came to mind while I was contemplating the raised sword in the right hand of Justice as "barring the way" of the card to the reader's left, seemingly fending off a past that is trying to … Continue reading Dynamic Tarot Reading
Releasing The “Daemon*”
*Daemon (n): originally a lesser divinity or spirit; the word is derived from the Proto-Indo-European daimon, meaning "provider, divider (of fortunes or destinies). AUTHOR'S NOTE: I vaguely remember an old animated cartoon that portrays one of the genre's iconic characters (I think it was Daffy Duck but it could have been Donald; others may recall … Continue reading Releasing The “Daemon*”
Reflections on Rephrasing and Repositioning
It's fair to say that many (if not most) seekers who are moved to pay for a tarot reading are dealing with anxiety (or at least unsettling reservations) about whether some action they are contemplating or some situation they're confronting will work out as desired. While it's also understandable that they want an unambiguous "Yes-or-No" … Continue reading Reflections on Rephrasing and Repositioning
The Elemental Divide: A “Temporal Shift” Decision-Making Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another spread that employs four randomly-selected "elemental" cards to offer guidance in making a well-informed decision. The card that presents the most favorable alignment with the central "Focus" (aka "Decision") card, as determined by elemental alignment and/or cooperative polarity, number, rank and inherent nature, becomes the preferred incentive for driving the … Continue reading The Elemental Divide: A “Temporal Shift” Decision-Making Spread
Divination or Fortune-Telling: A Matter of Degree, Not Pedigree
These days I fancy myself an ordinary "fortune-teller" rather than a starry-eyed purveyor of the psychological and spiritual insights that I've concluded are not particularly worthwhile pursuits for the tarot when compared to the robust capabilities of natal astrology. But I also agree with Alejandro Jodorowsky that a tarot reading - although it may be … Continue reading Divination or Fortune-Telling: A Matter of Degree, Not Pedigree
“The Light’s On But Nobody’s Home”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a brief meditation on the Hanged Man. The title of the post comes from the halo around the head of the figure in the Waite-Smith version. Albano-Waite Tarot, copyright of U.S. Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT While reading The Way of Tarot, I came across Alejandro Jodorowsky's observation that the suspended … Continue reading “The Light’s On But Nobody’s Home”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 