AUTHOR'S NOTE: I struggled to find a polite way to say "arrogance" without actually saying it, but that would be an extreme example of my point. Also, there is an idea here regarding the reversed court cards and their Golden Dawn assignment to the Chaldean zodiac that warrants further exploration in another essay. In astrology … Continue reading The Unevolved Fire Signs: A Study in Vanity
Trumps
A “Yin-and-Yang” Monthly Pattern
My efforts to apply the Yin and Yang principles of Chinese philosophy to the monthly cycle of the Moon via the Major Arcana of the tarot proved to be more difficult than anticipated. I suspect this is due mostly to the fact that the Moon is a quintessential symbol of the feminine Yin, and the … Continue reading A “Yin-and-Yang” Monthly Pattern
“Set the Table, Doug”
As my revisionist thinking on the significance of the Major Arcana in a tarot reading continues to churn up fresh ideas, I entertained the notion that the functional relationship between the minor cards, court cards and trump cards might be likened to the experience of dining out. The minor cards provide the "meat-and-potatoes" of the … Continue reading “Set the Table, Doug”
“Warring Archetypes”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As my thinking on the Major Arcana continues to evolve, I occasionally experience an epiphany during my online tarot conversations. I was explaining my opinions about the most effective uses for the cards on the r/tarot forum, and was asked a question that sent me down an unexplored path. Having worked with tarot … Continue reading “Warring Archetypes”
The Fertilizing Flash
I've now gleaned a number of fresh impressions from my study and practice that support writing a bit more about the Tower, the 16th trump card of the present-day tarot (titled "the House of God" or the "Lightning-Struck Tower" in older packs). One of my favorite interpretations comes from Alejandro Jodorowsky's book The Way of … Continue reading The Fertilizing Flash
The Virtue of Simplicity
As time goes on I find myself drawn more and more to working with only the 56 Minor Arcana cards in divination. Granted, the 22 Major Arcana are where most of the philosophical "meat" lies in the tarot, but very few of my readings rise to that level of metaphysical complexity and intensity. Most of … Continue reading The Virtue of Simplicity
TURN OFF THE CAPS! (Majors-Only Tarot Reading)
It seems to be popular in Europe to read with only the 22 trump cards and leave the pip and court cards aside. This is surely a pre-20th-Century form of cartomancy that antedates the lofty assumptions of Jungian thought and its psychological archetypes. I'm not familiar enough with Joseph Campbell to say so conclusively, but … Continue reading TURN OFF THE CAPS! (Majors-Only Tarot Reading)
Temperance/Art and the Sagittarius Decans
Continuing with my exploration of the "meditation patterns" for the Minor Arcana from Jim Eshelman's Liber Theta, here are the patterns for the Sagittarius trump card, Temperance (Art in the Thoth deck), and the three decans of Sagittarius; I call this sequence "Art for Art's Sake." The Minor Arcana for Sagittarius are the 8 of … Continue reading Temperance/Art and the Sagittarius Decans
Meditation Patterns: Strength/Lust and the Leo Decans
Continuing my exploration of the "meditation patterns" for the Minor Arcana from Jim Eshelman's Liber Theta, here are the patterns for the Leo trump card, Strength (Lust in the Thoth Deck), and the three decans of Leo; I call this sequence "The Three Trials of Lust." The Minor Arcana for the Leo decans are 5 … Continue reading Meditation Patterns: Strength/Lust and the Leo Decans
Meditation Patterns: The Emperor and the Aries Decans
A Facebook friend of mine just reminded me that Liber Theta, the College of Thelema's Thoth-based rewrite of the Golden Dawn's Liber T, includes what author Jim Eshelman calls "meditation patterns" for each pair of Major Arcana that are considered "astrological counterparts" to the Minor Arcanum for the associated decan of the Chaldean zodiac. There … Continue reading Meditation Patterns: The Emperor and the Aries Decans
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 