AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a three-deck comparison of the Threes similar to the one I recently posted for the Fives. When applying esoteric number theory to the forty Minor Arcana of the tarot, the number One represents the Point and the four Aces that describe the "prelude" to the action signified by their suit but … Continue reading The Tarot Threes: Sidling, Then Circling
TdM Material
“Happening to the World” – A Trump-and-Pip Card Exercise
AUTHOR'S NOTE:This spread examines the conceptual divide between our private self-image and the public self-projection that signifies - in tarot author Joe Monteleone's memorable phrase - "how we happen to the world." The degree of separation or integration is determined by comparison of two parallel columns of trump and pip cards. In one model of … Continue reading “Happening to the World” – A Trump-and-Pip Card Exercise
The Disruptive Fives: A Bleak But Essential Corrective
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about the tarot Fives a number of times from an esoteric perspective, and also from a pragmatic point-of-view as indicating the need to "break eggs (the stagnant Fours) to make omelettes (the harmonious Sixes)." I've often called them "can-openers" and "nutcrackers." Their disruptive nature comes from their association with the sphere … Continue reading The Disruptive Fives: A Bleak But Essential Corrective
Refreshing the French Cross Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The five-card French Cross spread (traditionally known as the tirage en croix) is one of my favorite smaller layouts because it reveals what needs to be known about a situation without being overly analytical. It provides a slightly different level of detail than my customary five-card line, and through constant use I've tweaked … Continue reading Refreshing the French Cross Spread
Repurposing the Chaldean Decans for Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Golden Dawn's alignment of the tarot cards with the astrological (aka "Chaldean") decanates (36 ten-degree segments of the zodiac beginning on the Vernal Equinox) has intrigued me since I first picked up the tarot in 1972 to complement my practice of astrology, but I have never been satisfied with its customary application … Continue reading Repurposing the Chaldean Decans for Tarot Reading
A Non-Esoteric View of the Trump Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I published my Tarot de Marseille guide a couple of years ago, my grasp of the traditional symbolism in the TdM trump cards was only moderate, so for those cards I felt compelled to fall back on the metaphysical assumptions with which I'm most familiar. But I've always had reservations about this … Continue reading A Non-Esoteric View of the Trump Cards
Strength and the Sun: Solar Traveling Companions
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Golden Dawn's astrological correspondences for the tarot cards often reveal interesting parallels and tangents between the Major Arcana. Here is one example. Both the Sun and Strength (originally titled "Fortitude" and later called "Lust" by Aleister Crowley) are associated with the potent solar light that radiates with uniform intensity throughout the firmament, … Continue reading Strength and the Sun: Solar Traveling Companions
The Colors of Compromise
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Along with pictorial iconography and suit-and-number theory, color symbolism plays a major role in our interpretation of the Tarot de Marseille cards, and some TdM authors have gone on at length about the significance of the different pigments used by 17th Century printers. I decided to stick my oar in the water. The … Continue reading The Colors of Compromise
A Bridge to Somewhere
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The title of this essay alludes to an episode from one of the Presidential terms of Bill Clinton during which he proposed building a bridge spanning the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Conservative critics at the time immediately panned the idea as a costly boondoggle, a "bridge to nowhere" (which would almost certainly have … Continue reading A Bridge to Somewhere
Leveraging the French Cross: An Alternative to Yes-or-No Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Conventional wisdom is that tarot is ineffective for addressing simple "yes-or-no" questions because it is more suitable for telling stories. I've always taken issue with this opinion, believing that the cards will provide an answer for any inquiry that is phrased properly. So rather than wanting to know "Will I or won't I … Continue reading Leveraging the French Cross: An Alternative to Yes-or-No Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 