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
Tarot Theory
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?”
“Gut” or “Gourd” – Your Choice
As I frequent larger Facebook tarot groups, I encounter advice for reading the cards that recommends to beginners "Just go with your gut, don't think about it," which seems to be book-ended by "There is no right or wrong way, so whatever feels right is "right for you." As a thinking person, I have some … Continue reading “Gut” or “Gourd” – Your Choice
Reversed Cards As Psychological Cues
I know I'm repeating myself here, but I draw few psychological inferences (not none, but certainly not many) from my tarot readings. I'm an "action-and-event" kind of guy, and would rather explore what could potentially happen in a situation and not what someone else "thinks or feels" might happen, since (putting it kindly) they may … Continue reading Reversed Cards As Psychological Cues
Much Ado About Nothing? – The Problem with Trump Cards in Prediction
Although I've been working up to it for a while, I recently decided to take a more measured stance regarding the significance of trump cards in my personal readings (but not in those for other people since I won't presume to tinker with their destiny; that's for them to decide upon seeing the cards). I've … Continue reading Much Ado About Nothing? – The Problem with Trump Cards in Prediction
Pattern Recognition
Last night, while reading John Michael Greer's The Art and Practice of Geomancy, I came across a passage that has relevance for most forms of divination: "sensing the patterns in the spiritus mundi, after all, is what divination does best." Greer described the spiritus mundi as the "life force of the world," which - along … Continue reading Pattern Recognition
When Stability Goes Stale: A Study of the Fours and the Binary Paradigm
My assumption has always been that Four is one of the "good" numbers: it is the doubling of the binary (Two), which is the root of conciliation and harmony, as well as the source of the term foursquare, which means "standing squarely and solidly." It is synonymous with stability and anything in a steady-state condition. … Continue reading When Stability Goes Stale: A Study of the Fours and the Binary Paradigm
The “Hedge Mystic”
In a recent post I characterized myself as a "garden-variety mystic" in that I don't identify as a "psychic" (much less an all-seeing one) or a "sensitive" in my professional pursuits (nor as an "empath" either, but that's a subject for a different post), I just "read the cards." Today I hit upon the even … Continue reading The “Hedge Mystic”
The “Time Passages” Long-Range Life-Reading Spread, Parts One and Two
As promised yesterday, here is my latest attempt at creating a spread (actually two interlocking spreads) that can be used to provide long-range developmental insights as far out as three years in time. It uses a split deck (Major and Minor sub-packs) in the first phase only, and consists of two separate parts. Part One … Continue reading The “Time Passages” Long-Range Life-Reading Spread, Parts One and Two
