This subject comes along with some regularity on the tarot forums and social-media pages, especially among new readers: "What topics can't (or shouldn't) we attempt to read with the cards?" My personal opinion is that almost any matter is fair game as long as the question is worded with finesse (although I do draw the … Continue reading Tarot Taboos
Tarot Theory
Rachel Pollack: A “Best-Case Scenario” Reading
Author's Note: It may be presumptuous of me to do this without being asked, but those of us who have ever met Rachel are deeply concerned about her condition and I wanted to capture that interest in an appropriate appeal to the tarot. It seemed fortuitous that I have her Shining Tribe deck. UPDATE: This … Continue reading Rachel Pollack: A “Best-Case Scenario” Reading
The Wheel and the Case for Cancer
One of my favorite academic pastimes is tinkering with the cherished set of esoteric correspondences that was handed down to us by the Hermetic Order of the Golden. Its chief architect, Samuel Liddell "MacGregor" Mathers, was by all accounts an accomplished scholar, occultist and metaphysical innovator but I don't think he was infallible, and some … Continue reading The Wheel and the Case for Cancer
The “Wrong Answer” Dilemma
Lately I've been frequenting the "r/tarot" sub-reddit forum since it is one of the more active public tarot platforms. What caught my eye is the regular appearance of posts that express dismay over the incorrect results of self-reading: "Why did the cards tell me this when exactly the opposite happened?" Most of these observations come … Continue reading The “Wrong Answer” Dilemma
Supporters and Detractors: A “Human Factors” Developmental Spread
The rationale behind this spread is fairly self-explanatory. None of us "live, and move and have our being" in a total vacuum. Even if other people have no direct or apparent involvement in the circumstances of the reading, we may still have cautionary feelings about them from a "what if" perspective that can color our … Continue reading Supporters and Detractors: A “Human Factors” Developmental Spread
Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
As an astrologer of long standing, I've always been fascinated by the internal or secondary structure in my tarot readings offered by the symbolic architecture of the astrological correspondences developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at the end of the 19th Century (see the chart below). Some of them work better than … Continue reading Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
Tone vs. Substance: “Soft Focus” and the Art of Simplification
Sometimes (well, actually, more often than not) I think people just starting into the practice of tarot reading expect far too much from it in the way of precision. I was talking to a frustrated individual online who admitted to being extremely analytical and receiving little encouragement from the persistent lack of congruity between his … Continue reading Tone vs. Substance: “Soft Focus” and the Art of Simplification
“Where, Oh Where, Is My . . .”
. . . little dog, gold necklace, missing brother, true love?" There has been a recent uptick in questions on the social-media pages about the use of the tarot to locate anything that has gone missing or has yet to be found. The first thing to point out in this regard is that, while tarot … Continue reading “Where, Oh Where, Is My . . .”
An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
Here is a 15-card spread that explores the notion that cards will complement one another according to the position they hold within the 78-card series, essentially creating pairs of "symbolic parallels." It is intended to show the querent's psychological orientation to the subject of the reading as it develops over time, from initial awareness to … Continue reading An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
The “Double-Entry” Situational Bottom-Line Spread
I had intended to make this spread emulate a double-entry book-keeping ledger with a "credit" (profitable) side and a "debit" (less-rewarding) side, in which the "bottom line" would be a "zero-sum" proposition using the "quintessence" method. But the only way I could get a numerical zero out of it was to use the reversed version … Continue reading The “Double-Entry” Situational Bottom-Line Spread
