"See chameleonLying there in the sunAll things to everyoneRun, run away"- Slade, Run, Run Away Once in a while the question comes up online about how the Magician should be interpreted when it appears as the "person of interest" in a reading about a possible romantic connection. The sense I get is that the inquirer … Continue reading The Chameleon
Trumps
“Sometimes Crazy Works”
In my recent studies* I came across some useful "key concepts" for the Fool that go beyond the usual meanings of immaturity or lack of mental clarity ("a period of confusion and disorder"). It was described in part as "a card of impulse and instinct" as well as representing an "inability to commit," perhaps running … Continue reading “Sometimes Crazy Works”
The Magician and “Imposter Syndrome”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sometimes the Magician gets a well-deserved "rap on the knuckles." In all his sly cleverness, the Magician can come across as insincere; there may be disarming assurances of proficiency or protestations of virtue where no such qualities exist. I'm reminded of the "Imposter Syndrome" in which we find ourselves in an uncomfortable position … Continue reading The Magician and “Imposter Syndrome”
A Matter of “Expectation”
In The Grand Etteilla, a mid-19th-Century French compilation of informed opinion on Jean-Baptiste Alliette's late-18th-Century cartomantic deck of the same name, one snippet of text on the 6 of Clubs (Wands) assigns zero to "the world" (with a lower-case "w") and gives it the reversed keyword of "Expectation" (not "none" as one might reasonably assume … Continue reading A Matter of “Expectation”
The Lovers: Decisions, Commitments and A “Fork in the Road”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another random insight from The Grand Etteilla. In Jean-Baptiste Alliette's Book of Thoth tarot (aka the "Grand Etteilla") there is a card titled "Marriage" that is markedly similar to modern versions of the Lovers based on the Waite-Smith design. It shows a man and a woman attended by an officiating priest, obviously engaged … Continue reading The Lovers: Decisions, Commitments and A “Fork in the Road”
That Mean Ol’ Moon
I've begun reading the English-language translation of The Grand Etteilla, a 19th Century French tarot compilation by Julia Orsini et al, with the goal of beginning to wrap my head around Alliette's "Continental" system of interpretation. I noticed three things immediately: 1) the method of pulling and arranging the cards for a reading (often using … Continue reading That Mean Ol’ Moon
The Wheel and the Case for Cancer
One of my favorite academic pastimes is tinkering with the cherished set of esoteric correspondences that was handed down to us by the Hermetic Order of the Golden. Its chief architect, Samuel Liddell "MacGregor" Mathers, was by all accounts an accomplished scholar, occultist and metaphysical innovator but I don't think he was infallible, and some … Continue reading The Wheel and the Case for Cancer
A Utilitarian “Day-Trip” Event Planning Spread
While at a Maine beach yesterday I was thinking about how the tarot might be used for planning any kind of daily outing or event, covering circumstances such as weather, general comfort level, crowds and access (meaning "getting there and getting in"). It applies the 40 "elemental" minor cards and the astrological correspondences for the … Continue reading A Utilitarian “Day-Trip” Event Planning Spread
“. . . Hanged If I Know”
If I had to choose the Tarot de Marseille trump cards that exhibit the greatest divergence of interpretation between tarot traditionalists and their modern counterparts, Le Pendu (the Hanged Man) would be near the top of the list The historical impressions are uniformly harsh: here is a traitor who is being severely punished for his … Continue reading “. . . Hanged If I Know”
The Major Arcana and the “Box of Chocolates”
In previous posts I've presented the observation that, in my own experience, Major Arcana (or trump) cards appearing in a spread seldom indicate the actual arrival of significant events in everyday terms, and serve more to show the overriding tone, theme or scenic backdrop for the period covered by the reading. They may still create … Continue reading The Major Arcana and the “Box of Chocolates”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 