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”
Trumps
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
“Grounding the Archetypes” – A Three-Card Daily Draw Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just encountered the idea that whenever we receive a Major Arcana (aka "trump") card in a reading, we should immediately pull another card to describe its practical (as opposed to its universal or spiritual) significance for the querent's future. I'm no fan of using clarifying cards in my work, but I can … Continue reading “Grounding the Archetypes” – A Three-Card Daily Draw Spread
Death As . . . Well, “Death”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I find it it immensely revealing that, in historical tarot decks like the Tarot de Marseille, the Thirteenth Arcanum ("Death" in our less-superstitious age) was typically left untitled, embracing the principle of sympathetic magic that if we don't name something, we can pretend that it has no power over us. Modern interpretation has … Continue reading Death As . . . Well, “Death”
“The Compleat Solarian” – A Lesson Learned
AUTHOR'S NOTE: File under "Every card has both positive and negative meanings." It is generally assumed that the Sun is an entirely favorable card that bodes no evil; even when reversed it suggests a "passing cloud" rather than a gloomy long-range forecast. But there is another way to look at it. I recently performed a … Continue reading “The Compleat Solarian” – A Lesson Learned
The Devil: A Vortex of Temptation, Seduction and Addiction
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Recent years have seen a trend in the tarot community to devalue or even neuter the negative implications found in traditionally difficult cards under the premise that "there are no bad cards." Mary K. Greer once observed in an online conversation that this sanitizing isn't entirely justified, and I agree. The Devil is … Continue reading The Devil: A Vortex of Temptation, Seduction and Addiction
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 