I decided to test the "Tetractys" spread with my Fournier Tarot de Marseille deck, without reversals. Two weeks ago I received a tentative offer to perform tarot readings at upcoming metaphysical events sponsored by a spiritual medium in the area. There is apparently a shortage of male readers and I would apparently be a welcome … Continue reading A “Tetractys” Example Reading
TdM Material
Archetype, Archetype, Who’s Got the Archetype?
It appears from the on-line conversations I've been following that there are two distinct chains of archetypal descent in the tarot. One of them - the older one - is culturally-specific, symbolizing conventions that were widely understood and accepted during the pre-Enlightenment era when they were first captured in the trump cards. Their appeal to … Continue reading Archetype, Archetype, Who’s Got the Archetype?
What Happened to Tre? – A Missing Person Reading
UPDATE: On December 5, the body of Tre Rouse was discovered inside his vehicle submerged in the Merrimack River in Hooksett, NH. This was something he had apparently been threatening to do before his November 15 disappearance. This reading obviously goes into the "failure" column as far as predictive accuracy. https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/missing-pembroke-man-found-inside-suv-merrimack-river-update Original Post: On November … Continue reading What Happened to Tre? – A Missing Person Reading
Squaring the Circle
I remember reading in Jean-Michel David's Tarot de Marseille course material that it can be instructive to lay out the "pip" cards in different, seemingly random patterns to see what visual hints to their interpretation might be gleaned from the various combinations. Recently, I was reading an informative article about the meaning of the Masonic … Continue reading Squaring the Circle
Lunar Month Look-Ahead, October-November, 2019
I haven't done one of these in a while because the New Moon tends to slip by without notice and I insist on punctuality in the performance of readings that have transitional "milestone" dates. Here I've applied my most recent spread design, with which I use only the pip cards as explained in this excerpt … Continue reading Lunar Month Look-Ahead, October-November, 2019
The Ringmaster Speaks
While digging through on-line interview material looking for videos by Enrique Enriquez, I came across a quote of his that put something into perspective for me. "The first metaphor in tarot happens when we shuffle the tarot. There is a carnivalesque stance in this debasement of hierarchies. I associate this with sabotaging reality. Shuffling the … Continue reading The Ringmaster Speaks
Poetry in Motion
I've been thinking about Enrique Enriquez' imaginative approach to the Tarot de Marseille that aims to turn the cards into "visual poetry," apparently without the intervention of inductive reasoning. (I believe it's intended to be more inventive and inspiring than ordinary free-association, which works rather poorly with the TdM anyway.) It seems to me that, … Continue reading Poetry in Motion
The Tarot Classic Deck Interview
Since many of you will have read my previous thoughts on the subject and perhaps some of the several "deck interviews" I've posted here, let me reiterate. I'm not one who believes that tarot decks have distinct personalities, nor that they possess speech other than what we endow them with through a convenient form of … Continue reading The Tarot Classic Deck Interview
Aristotle’s Theorem: A Situational Gestalt Spread
I've started creating spreads specifically for use with the Tarot de Marseille (but certainly not limited to it). Here is my most recent one, a sophisticated layout that can be read in whole or in discrete parts, three cards at a time or the entire 24-point tableau plus knighting. I built it around an industrial … Continue reading Aristotle’s Theorem: A Situational Gestalt Spread
A Horse of a Different Color
To my knowledge, other than the small dog in Le Mat, the lion in La Force, the two canines in La Lune and the two horses in Le Chariot, there have been few attempts to rope the Tarot de Marseille animals into the narrative of a reading and give them a starring role. I was … Continue reading A Horse of a Different Color
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 