The Minor Arcana of the Thoth Tarot all have "esoteric" titles that for the most part hark back to their Golden Dawn roots. While these titles have academic connections to the Order's tarot curriculum or to Crowley's Thelemic elaborations, they often invoke visceral reactions in the viewer due to their evocative imagery and compelling color … Continue reading Crowley’s Emotional Roller-Coaster
Tarot Theory
More Thoughts on the Trump Cards
Not long ago I posted a detailed essay on how I think the Major Arcana (aka "trump" cards) operate in divination. https://parsifalswheeldivination.com/2020/03/21/much-ado-about-nothing-the-problem-with-trump-cards-in-prediction/ Since that time I've had occasion to further consider their significance in readings that explore situational developments where external factors are likely to play a part. As before, I seldom see them as … Continue reading More Thoughts on the Trump Cards
The “Motivational Extremes” Problem-Solving Menu
Consider this "the spread that is not a spread." It requires the reader to exercise judgment regarding which two of sixteen "obstacle" and "opportunity" cards present the greatest challenge for the querent and the brightest hope for successful resolution in any problem-solving scenario. The result of this deliberation is a three-card reading that describes the … Continue reading The “Motivational Extremes” Problem-Solving Menu
A 3-Card Yes-or-No Preponderance Matrix
One of the perennial debates among tarot enthusiasts is how to answer yes-or-no questions with the cards. Conventional wisdom is that the tarot can't resolve such matters effectively, and they should therefore be avoided. But I believe it can successfully address any subject if a proper methodology is applied. The one-card pull is usually too … Continue reading A 3-Card Yes-or-No Preponderance Matrix
The Pragmatic Reading
I like to say that I "just read the cards," I don't try to discover or guess in advance what the sitter's motives, objectives or ambitions are because I really don't need to know. My practice of not wanting to hear the specific question at the start of a reading serves this approach quite well … Continue reading The Pragmatic Reading
“Painting Testimonial Pictures” – Problem Cards and Pataphysics
I think we can all agree that the tarot excels at throwing us curve-balls during the practice of prediction. Usually it's in the form of a card in a reading that just won't fit the puzzle no matter how we turn it. Often it's a major - or "trump" card - that lands in the … Continue reading “Painting Testimonial Pictures” – Problem Cards and Pataphysics
Stretchable Positions
No, I'm not talking about yoga or the Kama Sutra. Yesterday on the Tarot Professionals Facebook page Marcus Katz mentioned the notion of adjusting the meanings of spread positions according to the cards that land in them. I wasn't able to look at his full explanation because it's on the paid part of the site, … Continue reading Stretchable Positions
Jumping to Conclusions
In a recent conversation I described the art of cartomancy as "inspired guesswork with prompts." Anyone with finely-tuned intuitive sensibilities can do it with a little exposure to the theory and practice behind it, although mastering its nuances is another story. This nonchalance is nowhere more evident than in the curious concept of assigning special … Continue reading Jumping to Conclusions
The “Ring Pass Not” Critical Decision-Making Spread
I'm a firm believer in the idea that tarot can aid us in making momentous and potentially life-changing decisions as long as a judicious method is devised for applying its testimony. Like the old caveat about astrology ("The stars don't compel, they impel"), the cards in a reading should be treated as either encouraging or … Continue reading The “Ring Pass Not” Critical Decision-Making Spread
“Theosophical Reduction” or “Casting Out Nines?”
I've touched on this subject before but wanted to spend some time going over the details. There are situations (particularly the "quintessence" calculation) where we add together the numerical values of all the cards in a spread to arrive at a single trump card that can provide a summary "roll-up" of the combined energies at … Continue reading “Theosophical Reduction” or “Casting Out Nines?”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 