AUTHOR'S NOTE: The next major milestone on the road to mastery for the neophyte tarot reader after internalizing the card meanings (as opposed to merely memorizing or looking them up) is to begin synthesizing the interpretation of all the cards in a spread to form a seamless narrative. (I often describe early efforts in this … Continue reading Active and Passive Dynamics
Tarot Theory
Portents, Predictions and Probability
While vacationing at a beach in Florida and needing something to take my mind (and my eyes) off the abundant evidence that this vulgar age of conspicuous consumption has had an adverse impact on the semi-clad human physique (present company included; thankfully there are no ocean-side mirrors), I decided to dip back into the writing … Continue reading Portents, Predictions and Probability
“Six-ness” and the Sextile
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across two online questions that I've merged into a single essay. The first involved the blending of astrology with tarot, and the second inquired whether the 6 of Swords is a favorable card. In thinking about this topic, it struck me that in astrology the sextile aspect (60 degrees of … Continue reading “Six-ness” and the Sextile
Mission Improbable?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the past I've written about the subject of "facing" (gaze or regard) of the figures on the tarot cards. Here I'm going to address the related topic of gesture or posture, at least to the extent that it applies to the scope of this essay. As I wind down my second pass … Continue reading Mission Improbable?
“Actions with Spirits”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the title of a 16th-Century book by Dr. John Dee and the scryer Edward Kelly that is a seminal work of Enochian magic. Here I'm borrowing it to launch a discussion on using divination (principally the tarot) for contacting ancestors and other disembodied beings. Recently I've noticed an increase in interest … Continue reading “Actions with Spirits”
What We Believe
It goes without saying that belief in the validity of divination is key to being able to do it with conviction. But what, exactly, is the object of our faith? Does our certainty have to be unalloyed and unsalted with skepticism or is there room for healthy doubt? I often contemplate what it means to … Continue reading What We Believe
The Importance of “Focus”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While ordering my thoughts for this essay, I toyed with the idea of talking about "landscape" and "distance" (near, middle and far) as displayed in the scenic cards of the tarot, since both imply "action in the world" (Alejandro Jodorowsky's supple phrase) that can be explored during the interpretation. But then I realized … Continue reading The Importance of “Focus”
The Further Adventures of “Gaze and Regard”
I've written in the past on the topic of "facing, gaze or regard" between two adjacent tarot cards that include human or human-like beings in their iconography, and what their juxtaposition in a spread means for the narrative when they are either facing toward or away from one another. (Simply put, one suggests "seeing eye-to-eye" … Continue reading The Further Adventures of “Gaze and Regard”
“Not A Very Nice Man?”
Whenever I present the observation that by all accounts occultist Aleister Crowley was "not a very nice man," I pause and wonder whether I should look in the mirror. Going back over five years of almost daily posts in this blog, I realize that the "curmudgeon content" in my writing is fairly high, which can … Continue reading “Not A Very Nice Man?”
A Fish Out of Water
"The fish in the water, the bird in the sky . . ." AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I encountered the above truncated haiku (which is apparently a fragment and maybe only a loose translation of a "traditional Japanese poem"), it brought me back to contemplation of the value of Elemental Dignity in tarot reading. This time … Continue reading A Fish Out of Water
