I sometimes amuse myself by creating study tools for analyzing the interrelationship between the cards of the tarot, both in two dimensions and stacked in a three-dimensional overlay. This one uses an imaginative arrangement of the trump cards as its basis. I call it the "Mystic Chalice," but have to admit it does look a … Continue reading The “Mystic Chalice” Trump Card Layout
Trumps
Unto the Breach
As promised, I erected a mundane horoscope to examine the implications of Mars being singularly bright in the evening sky at the time of the Congressional mid-term elections in the United States. The title of this post alludes to the famous lines from Act III, Scene I of Shakespeare's play Henry V, which conclude with: … Continue reading Unto the Breach
“Adam Cardman”
There is a qabalastic tradition that places an image of the male human body within the structure of the Tree of Life, such that the ten spheres (or sephiroth) of the Tree relate to different parts of the anatomy. This image is known as "Adam Kadmon," or the Primordial Man. The most common version of … Continue reading “Adam Cardman”
Devil Inside
One of the most well-known tunes by Australian rock band INXS is the breathy "Devil Inside," with singer Michael Hutchence doing his best Lou-Reed-meets-Billy-Idol impersonation. I heard it a few days ago and it got me thinking about the tarot Devil and its somewhat disjointed jumble of meanings. A widespread belief is that the card … Continue reading Devil Inside
The Highwayman and the Major Arcana
I don't know precisely why it should be so (although I have a hunch that is rooted in psychology), but somber poems seem to lend themselves really well to my project of interpreting classic poetry in terms of the tarot trump cards. Here is a vivid example, The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. The wind was … Continue reading The Highwayman and the Major Arcana
Swinburn and the Major Arcana
Now I'm really going to have to work! This brilliant piece of mystical poetry, extracted from Algernon Charles Swinburn's epic verse drama, Atalanta at Calydon, is rife with possibilities for metaphorical correspondences to the cards of the Major Arcana. I was able to bring all 22 trumps to bear here; not all of them are a … Continue reading Swinburn and the Major Arcana
Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Moon and the Sun
We have now come to what might be termed the Dark Side and the Bright Side of the human experience. The Moon comes first, marking the treacherous path to its opposite pole, the Sun, with signposts of dubious reliability. The Moon does not offer a clear view of anything that comes under its dim rays; its realm … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Moon and the Sun
Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Tower and the Star
This is the classic "calm after the storm" scenario: the Tower topples the unsteady empire of the Devil and a soothing calm (and new hope) descends upon the ravaged landscape in the presence of the Star. There is nothing benign about the uncompromising Mars energy of the Tower; here is the "necessary" nature of the … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Tower and the Star
Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: Temperance and the Devil
It could be argued that these cards are in the wrong order. In real-life situations, temptation often comes first and, if the Will is strong enough, abstinence follows as a condition of recovery. This might be a reasonable scenario if Temperance actually referred to redemption through behavioral moderation; but the old verb "to temper" meant to adjust the properties of something in a … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: Temperance and the Devil
Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Hanged Man and Death
If I were writing pulp fiction, I could not come up with a juicier scenario: sentence has been passed (Justice), the perpetrator has been hung (Hanged Man) and the unfortunate soul has been laid to rest (Death). Of course, we all know that tarot is not Lenormand, and these things never play out so literally. The Hanged … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Hanged Man and Death
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 