AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have a number of new spreads stacked up that have taken a back seat to other projects. For the next few days I will posting them exclusively unless something else intervenes. In his book, Etteilla or the Only Way to Draw the Cards, Jean-Baptiste Alliette described what he called the "Etteilla Draw," … Continue reading The “Parsifal’s Draw” Negotiated Situational Development Spread
Tarot Theory
“AI” Graphics: Art for Art’s Sake?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Warning!!! Curmudgeon alert! Computer-generated "AI" artwork is a thing right now that has caused considerable buzz in the online tarot community. We might well ask (along with Barry Mann back in 1961) "Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?" I would argue that the creative "bomp" is being hijacked … Continue reading “AI” Graphics: Art for Art’s Sake?
“Gravity Wells” in Tarot Reading
Subtitle: "Crunchy in the Middle" As an avid reader of science fiction in the mid-60s, I was around when the idea of "black holes" in interstellar space first entered the public consciousness; the premise is that their gravity field is so intense that not even light can escape, and they suck in all nearby matter. … Continue reading “Gravity Wells” in Tarot Reading
Reversal As “Unloading”
I recently experienced several reading situations that caused me to come up with yet another spin on the subject of reversed cards: the idea of "unloading" or being relieved of something - ideally a burden but actually a surplus of anything that has reached its "tipping point" or "critical mass," for good or ill. A … Continue reading Reversal As “Unloading”
Off-Center and Off-Balance or Completely Off-the-Page?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've begun reading the second (1773) edition of Jean-Baptise Alliette's seminal book on divination, Etteilla or The Only Way to Read the Cards. In an example reading he mentions that failure of the card representing the querent to appear in the draw meant that she was not "at the center of her affairs." … Continue reading Off-Center and Off-Balance or Completely Off-the-Page?
“Voodoo Metaphysics” or “Too Fine a Point?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Many years ago, when President Ronald Reagan was floating his "trickle-down" theory of economic prosperity, his ideas were dismissed as "voodoo economics." Here (although it's not my main point) I'm proposing that the way we read the tarot cards can sometimes resemble "voodoo metaphysics." I won't go so far as to equate tarot … Continue reading “Voodoo Metaphysics” or “Too Fine a Point?”
A “Chaldean Vertical Slice” Situational Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although the Chaldean decans are a useful symbolic tool on a card-by-card basis, I'm always seeking ways to press the model into wider service. Here's another attempt that treats the attached Golden Dawn "wheels" as more than reference works. I decided to turn the diagrams of Chaldean decan and tarot card correspondences into … Continue reading A “Chaldean Vertical Slice” Situational Development Spread
A “Deep Dive” Card Selection Method and Multipurpose Spread
Here's another "new-to-me" idea, courtesy of The Grand Etteilla. In the book there is a five-card spread in which the reader creates the layout by initially pulling the fifth card from the top (Card #5), then the card five tiers below that one (Card #10), followed by the card five tiers below the tenth card … Continue reading A “Deep Dive” Card Selection Method and Multipurpose Spread
Living in “The Now”
I recently came across an interesting interpretation for the 6 of Pentacles (Coins, Disks, Diamonds, etc): it can reflect the querent's current physical surroundings, the "now" of mundane existence. Although there were no Qabalistic inferences, this suggests the structure of the Tree of Life, in which the sixth sephira holds a central position with more … Continue reading Living in “The Now”
The Ace of Cups as “Affirmation”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following observations by Mme. Le Marchand in The Grand Etteilla regarding the Ace of Cups are unique in my experience of tarot literature (although they do bear a resemblance to the cartomancy I've studied). It's interesting stuff for speculation and perhaps for use. This Ace is described as "confirming the prediction of … Continue reading The Ace of Cups as “Affirmation”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 