AUTHOR'S NOTE: While studying the text for Hexagram 20 (Guan; Observation) in Benebell Wen's book I Ching the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes, I encountered a description of the lower trigram (Kun, or Earth) with its three yin lines forming a "keyhole" (suggestive of an unobstructed line-of-sight) through which a glimpse … Continue reading The Wall and the Keyhole: A Way Through
Thoth Material
“Making It Real” – The Tarot Talks About Female Presidents
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although it may not happen during this election cycle, the United States will eventually have a female President; even I, as an "Old White Male," can see that the paradigm has pretty much run its course. (This time around, the likely Democratic nominee is not a particularly strong candidate if performance [or nonperformance] … Continue reading “Making It Real” – The Tarot Talks About Female Presidents
The Will and the Way: A Self-Advancement Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that is designed to reveal the "way forward" in any situation involving a "willed" ambition or purpose. It offers both an "Open Way" that is obvious to everyone involved in the affair and a "Hidden Way" that has more clandestine dimensions and implications. Working with the Thoth deck as … Continue reading The Will and the Way: A Self-Advancement Spread
A “Warring Factions” Political-Profile Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This spread needs little explanation. It is intended to examine the key qualities of aspirants to public office. (I'm leaving age and infirmity off the table.) It is best to use a different deck for each contender so all cards are available to both (or all) of them. In the US political system … Continue reading A “Warring Factions” Political-Profile Spread
“Auspicious to Proceed”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The predictive text supporting the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching is full of brief advice that occurs with regular frequency. Two of these insights are "Auspicious to proceed" and its counterpart "Ominous to proceed." There is nothing quite that formulaic in tarot divination, whose practitioners often pride themselves on avoiding such prescriptive … Continue reading “Auspicious to Proceed”
“No Blame” – Between the Ideal and the Irredeemable*
*Between the ideal and the irredeemable lies the imperfect or slightly flawed that, with prompt corrective action, can still be salvaged. (A creative rewrite of Benebell Wen's I Ching text.) AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been thinking about the often-repeated advice of the I Ching that "there is no blame," in essence meaning that, although mistakes have … Continue reading “No Blame” – Between the Ideal and the Irredeemable*
“Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I was employed as a Purchasing Manager for a utility power-plant, the Maintenance team used to say that there was no wizardry involved in keeping the facility's operating equipment running smoothly as long as they had the right parts and the right skills. This attitude led to the adage "Parts is parts" … Continue reading “Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
“Scrying Into” the Tarot Cards: An Alternative to Intuition
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Scrying in the spirit vision" is an occult practice involving out-of-body exploration (or, if you prefer, "astral travel") that is more focused and directed than the spontaneous act of intuitive discernment commonly used in divination. (Classically, one visualizes and enters the "body of light," projecting it onto the Astral Plane and moving about … Continue reading “Scrying Into” the Tarot Cards: An Alternative to Intuition
“The Fix is In!” – Invoking Tarot Energy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This tarot-based technique for magically imposing one's personal Will on circumstances is based on the concept of intention. If we "intend" something strongly enough we will ideally achieve its realization without "getting our hands dirty." As long as it isn't harmful to others (and if it is, the Wiccan "Three-fold Law" might kick … Continue reading “The Fix is In!” – Invoking Tarot Energy
Inspirational and Cautionary “Catch-Phrases” for the Major Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There are several ways to split the 22 Major Arcana into rows; one of the most popular is the 7x3 layout of 21 cards with the Fool standing apart, an array I first encountered in Rachel Pollock's 78 Degrees of Wisdom (although it is much older). Here I'm organizing the rows into "duets" … Continue reading Inspirational and Cautionary “Catch-Phrases” for the Major Arcana
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 