AUTHOR'S NOTE: A few years ago I read that the numbers Three, Six and Nine represent the "Three Perfections" of Greek philosophy as espoused by Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. I finally pinned down where the idea came from, and it isn't a direct quote from any of them. While an argument can be found in … Continue reading The “Three Perfections” in the Suit of Swords
Thoth Material
The Past/Present/Future Tarot Reading in Euclidean Space
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his book Prometheus Rising, Robert Anton Wilson discusses three-dimensional "Euclidean space," observing that every human experience displays not only a perceived* temporal shift from the Past to the Future (conventionally graphed as left-to-right) and a non-temporal "chaotic-to-concrete" organizing principle that devolves from top-to-bottom (my Qabalistic take, not his), but also a psychological … Continue reading The Past/Present/Future Tarot Reading in Euclidean Space
Tarot Profiling: “Don’t Need No Gypsy to Tell You Why”
- from Ain't Wastin' Time No More by the Allman Brothers Band. AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a classical astrologer I don't agree with the elemental assignments for the four "humours" (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholic) presented in a slightly different form by Robert Anton Wilson in Prometheus Rising, but his fourfold model of human sociopolitical behavior … Continue reading Tarot Profiling: “Don’t Need No Gypsy to Tell You Why”
Who Am I Today (and Do I Really Want to Know)?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my essay on self-reading I mentioned that I had already spent 40 years "doing the psycho-spiritual thing with both astrology and tarot." That pursuit was mainly philosophical navel-gazing aimed at uncovering my theoretical "true nature" apart from my observable attitudes and behaviors. After all that time, when I returned to professional tarot … Continue reading Who Am I Today (and Do I Really Want to Know)?
Blended Trends: Card-Wrangling with Dice
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been getting a bit bombastic lately, so here is a "palate-cleanser." I often employ both tarot cards and dice in what I call mixed-media readings. While I use the odd-and-even faces of the dice mainly as binary "pointers" in multi-path spreads to indicate which of two or more series of cards should … Continue reading Blended Trends: Card-Wrangling with Dice
Tapping the Power: A Self-Realization Matrix
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a third adaptation of Benebell Wen's Lo Shu Square, this time applied loosely to her feng shui tarot model. I've created my own theme and position meanings for this purpose and did not adopt her spread design. (See her book Holistic Tarot for background details.) Another inspiration was the Lenormand 9-card … Continue reading Tapping the Power: A Self-Realization Matrix
Personality, Adaptive Behavior and Character in Three Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not long ago I read a psychological article that described personality as being innate or instinctual, while character develops gradually over time through repetitive experiences that eventually solidify into a Pavlovian "conditioned response." In astrological terms, personality is the purview of the natal horoscope while the emergence of character can be shown by … Continue reading Personality, Adaptive Behavior and Character in Three Cards
The “Cross-and-Square of Becoming” – A Force-and-Form Situational Awareness Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE:: This spread was inspired by the discussion of the Chinese Lo Shu Square in Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot, but I've taken it in a different direction. The objective is to first read the "force-and-form" axes from top-to-bottom and left-to-right, respectively to see how the situation will develop when unaffected by "big-picture" environmental concerns. … Continue reading The “Cross-and-Square of Becoming” – A Force-and-Form Situational Awareness Spread
A Tarot Card-Counting Tableau
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After a long spell pursuing other divination-related interests, I've returned to reading Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot and was just examining her card-counting approach to populating spreads. She uses the Golden Dawn technique from the "Opening of the Key" method, but I find it counterintuitive so I decided to create my own based loosely … Continue reading A Tarot Card-Counting Tableau
A Four-Function General Well-Being Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread based on the First Operation of the Golden Dawn's "Opening of the Key" method, but with no Significator and without the formal counting of cards to populate it. The four sub-packs from right-to-left are the same - Fire, Water, Air and Earth, but I've retitled them to suit my … Continue reading A Four-Function General Well-Being Spread
