I've been reading tarot cards for several decades now without needing to know in advance exactly what the sitter (querent, client, etc.) is seeking. Since discovering the idea in Eden Gray's book The Tarot Revealed, I've always felt that - beside offering total privacy unless the sitter chooses to breach it - such an unstructured … Continue reading Topic Is King
Tarot Theory
Tarot Trumps and Planetary Hours of Greatest Potential Impact
I just came across the notion of "day" readings and "night" readings that can supposedly exhibit different qualities. This reminded me that traditional astrology includes the concept of "planetary hours" that can be used for selecting the most favorable time to undertake any activity governed by one of the seven classical planets. From there it … Continue reading Tarot Trumps and Planetary Hours of Greatest Potential Impact
The Celtic Cross and the “Penultimate” Timing Method
As any tarot reader knows, the venerable Celtic Cross (CC) layout includes two "future" positions: the "Near Future" that is the last card in the "cross" section and the "End of the Matter" (or long-range "Outcome") card at the top of the "staff" section. Although the general timing assumptions for these forecasts are built into … Continue reading The Celtic Cross and the “Penultimate” Timing Method
The “Penultimate” Tarot Timing Method
PENULTIMATE: the last but one; second to last It's probably safe to say that every tarot reading performed in response to the question "What will happen?" has an initially unspoken postscript: "When will it happen?" It's equally true that the precise timing of future events with tarot cards is a tricky undertaking; many techniques have … Continue reading The “Penultimate” Tarot Timing Method
Health Readings: A Psychosomatic View
Psychosomatic: (literally, mind [psyche] and body [soma] "willing to perform" [matos]); an adjective describing a physical illness or other condition caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress. In tarot circles it's generally acknowledged that attempting to divine someone's future medical condition in a diagnostic way is professionally and personally … Continue reading Health Readings: A Psychosomatic View
A Creative Approach to Weekly and Daily Draws
A common practice recommended to tarot beginners is to randomly pull one card each day and contemplate its meaning over the course of that day, with the goal of gradually mastering the complex art of interpretation. Unfortunately, this approach to learning can continue long after its initial usefulness fades; the "daily draw" becomes institutionalized and … Continue reading A Creative Approach to Weekly and Daily Draws
Buzzard Luck
"Just like a buzzard flyin' high in the skyI can't kill nothin', nothin' won't die"from "Buzzard Luck" by the Powder Blues Band AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't expect this to be an entirely coherent ramble unless I find somewhere to take it after my preliminary comments. I've always prided myself on being able to read the tarot … Continue reading Buzzard Luck
“The Wall Was Too High” – A 9 of Swords Comparison
I've been reading Barbara Walker's excellent 1984 book, The Secrets of the Tarot: Origins, History and Symbolism, and have been gaining some valuable insights and inspiration from her brief essays on the Minor Arcana. In it she applies the Thoth title of "Cruelty" to the 9 of Swords while discussing it mainly in terms of … Continue reading “The Wall Was Too High” – A 9 of Swords Comparison
Isolation and Insight: The “Essence of Nine”
I just unearthed another random gem from Barbara Walker's book, The Secrets of the Tarot: Origins, History and Symbolism. One meaning she offers for the 4 of Swords is "insight generated by seclusion" and, judging from the obvious opportunity for introspection shown in the RWS version, I can see where she's coming from. The Thoth … Continue reading Isolation and Insight: The “Essence of Nine”
Tarot As “Wave-Form”
A wave is described as "a traveling disturbance that carries energy from one place to another." We might consider the flow of cards from one place (the first position) to another place (the last position) in a linear tarot spread to be a "wave-form," with observable peaks and troughs along the way (a mix of … Continue reading Tarot As “Wave-Form”
