AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several years ago I came across the revelation that the numbers Three, Six and Nine represent the "Three Perfections" of ancient Greek (or possibly Hindu) philosophy. I was unable to discover the historical source of this information, but the idea has stuck with me. The "magic number" in the following meditation is the … Continue reading A Confluence of Perfection: The Hermit by Threes
Thoth Material
Mental Over-steering: Mercury and the Tarot Eights
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the Book of Thoth Aleister Crowley expounds at length on the fact that the Sevens and Eights are unbalanced, "low down on the Tree and off the middle pillar." In the case of the Eights they represent an over-emphasis on intellectual rationalizing divorced from the more mystical, intuitive and fluid outlook of … Continue reading Mental Over-steering: Mercury and the Tarot Eights
Change As Stability
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just begun re-reading Isabel Kliegman's excellent Tarot and the Tree of Life and I've already encountered a meaty subject that is worth a brief essay. Although her focus is Kabbalistic, she uses the Waite-Smith Tarot (aka "RWS") to illustrate the text, which unfortunately introduces some of the prosaic non sequiturs characteristic of … Continue reading Change As Stability
Deconstructing the Quintessence Calculation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I have always preferred to perform the "quintessence" calculation in a way that rolls up the numerical values of all the cards on the table (including the court cards) to generate a single trump card as a condensed overview of the situation and the outcome, I have in the past "parceled out" … Continue reading Deconstructing the Quintessence Calculation
Tarot and Transits: Energizing the Chaldean Decans
"These are the daysWhen you wish your bed was already made"from Manic Monday by The Bangles AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sounds like The Bangles needed a tarot-reader or an astrologer, not a housekeeper and a day-planner. Or maybe both. I'm here to help. In the past I spent a good deal of time correlating all of the … Continue reading Tarot and Transits: Energizing the Chaldean Decans
Ukraine vs. Russia: An “Enemy at the Gate” Conflict-Resolution Reading
The pundits at Fox News have been leaning toward the opinion that Russia will lose the Ukraine war. I haven't done a reading on this since Biden thought he might be able to stare down Putin while the Russian saber-rattling was still going on. We all know how well that worked out. I used my … Continue reading Ukraine vs. Russia: An “Enemy at the Gate” Conflict-Resolution Reading
“Six-ness” and the Sextile
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across two online questions that I've merged into a single essay. The first involved the blending of astrology with tarot, and the second inquired whether the 6 of Swords is a favorable card. In thinking about this topic, it struck me that in astrology the sextile aspect (60 degrees of … Continue reading “Six-ness” and the Sextile
The Importance of “Focus”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While ordering my thoughts for this essay, I toyed with the idea of talking about "landscape" and "distance" (near, middle and far) as displayed in the scenic cards of the tarot, since both imply "action in the world" (Alejandro Jodorowsky's supple phrase) that can be explored during the interpretation. But then I realized … Continue reading The Importance of “Focus”
An “On-Point” Alternative Choice Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although the issue has already been settled in principle if not yet in fact, a client has reached a "tipping-point" in a major life decision and is seeking additional insight from an impartial Universe regarding the wisdom of a pending action that was chosen and is soon to be taken. I used my … Continue reading An “On-Point” Alternative Choice Reading
The “Active Witness” and the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another interesting observation from Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Way of Tarot. In it he notes that, when a "pip" card of the Tarot de Marseille exhibits a red dot or figurative "eye," the symbol represents an "active (that is, actively involved) witness" to the action signified by the card. This idea inspired … Continue reading The “Active Witness” and the Minor Arcana
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 