AUTHOR'S NOTE: I continue to gain fresh insights from my reading of Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot. This time I'm comparing the lunar qualities of the High Priestess and the Moon. While it's been a while since I read the chapter, I recall that she made reference to the symbolic relationship between the two cards by … Continue reading Lunar Logistics: The Message and the Messenger
Trumps
Hidden Things
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While it's true that reversal can skew the reader's assumptions about any tarot card and convey impressions that diverge markedly from its upright meaning (even though my own opinion is that the appearance of deviation is largely in the eye of the beholder who can't shake off the visual disorientation), here I want … Continue reading Hidden Things
Rank Has Its Prerogatives – A Departure from the Norm
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I understand it, those diviners who use only the 22 trump cards in their readings frequently assign all of the cards equal weight in the same way that Lenormand cards are interpreted. I've also been told by some in Europe that they accord the trumps no more significance than they would any … Continue reading Rank Has Its Prerogatives – A Departure from the Norm
A Reversed-Trump Triptych: the Devil, the Tower and Judgement
SUMMARY: I now have over twenty draft essays in my pre-publication queue, and my writing has been so prolific lately that I can't seem to whittle the population down, so I'm going to lump a few of them together when they share a theme. In this composite post the common topic is trump-card reversal shown … Continue reading A Reversed-Trump Triptych: the Devil, the Tower and Judgement
Cards of “Accelerated Circumstances”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a previous post I explored the cards of the Waite-Smith deck that generally indicate "movement" in the matter at hand. I cast a fairly wide net in assembling that population, but here I'm sharpening the focus to identify only those cards that create a propulsive "push" to get on with business. In … Continue reading Cards of “Accelerated Circumstances”
The World: Final Destination or “Jumping-Off Place?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The World card is generally interpreted to mean successful completion of the matter at hand (although it may entail some delay). In her book Holistic Tarot, Benebell Wen describes it as showing the "final state of cosmic consciousness" for the querent's Higher Self. A few years ago I formed a slightly different opinion … Continue reading The World: Final Destination or “Jumping-Off Place?”
Mischief Afoot: External Meddling in the Lovers’ Affairs
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although morality has lost much of its grip on modern romance, I still prefer the older definition of the Lovers card as being presented with a decision that has ethical implications. The Tarot de Marseille "Lover" makes this abundantly clear. I almost always read the Lovers as a "crossroads" from which the seeker … Continue reading Mischief Afoot: External Meddling in the Lovers’ Affairs
Fusion and Reconciliation: Temperance as the “Ultimate Smoothie”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In previous essays I've described the Temperance card as representing "the 'fine Art of Right Action' (neither too much force nor too little) when a discriminating finesse is called for." This has served me well as a practical definition over the years, but I just came across two ideas in Benebell Wen's Holistic … Continue reading Fusion and Reconciliation: Temperance as the “Ultimate Smoothie”
The High Priestess: Secrets Waiting to Pounce
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I began reading Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot a while ago but soon gave up because I found that it departed too drastically from my long-standing Hermetic approach to the Major Arcana. But I recently realized that the passages I objected to were inspired by Chinese cosmology and not by the tenets of Western … Continue reading The High Priestess: Secrets Waiting to Pounce
Dysfunctional Brinkmanship On Display
UPDATE: There has been conjecture in the "court of public opinion" that Donald Trump's "calling out" of the unconscionable profits being reaped by health insurance companies from the Affordable Card Act had a net positive effect in breaking the Senate's shutdown "logjam." I'm not convinced that it wasn't just the mounting stress on the public … Continue reading Dysfunctional Brinkmanship On Display
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 