AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently involved in an online discussion about the uncommon practices that readers employ on a regular basis. I took this to mean those techniques I've developed over the years that are outside the mainstream as defined by standard teaching methods and the tarot literature. The following is just a snapshot of … Continue reading “You Can’t Get There from Here:” Targeted Spreads and the Prepared Deck
A “Higher Arc/Lower Arc” Developmental Forecast Spread
Typically, in reading situations where I don't know the sitter's specific question or topic of interest in advance, I begin the narrative on a practical note, looking for "action-and-event-oriented" situational-awareness details and developmental insights. If the querent doesn't connect with what I'm saying, I will change direction into a more psychological angle. Recently I wrote … Continue reading A “Higher Arc/Lower Arc” Developmental Forecast Spread
Aleister Crowley: “Hierophant” or “Devil?”
I'm now reading Alejandro Jodorowsky's commentary in The Way of Tarot about the number Five and its "decimal equivalency" in the Pope (Hierophant) and the Devil. One passage struck me as an accidental portrait of Aleister Crowley as an exemplar of what Jodo is talking about: "The Five of Wands represents two temptations: sublimating the … Continue reading Aleister Crowley: “Hierophant” or “Devil?”
The “Active Witness” and the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another interesting observation from Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Way of Tarot. In it he notes that, when a "pip" card of the Tarot de Marseille exhibits a red dot or figurative "eye," the symbol represents an "active (that is, actively involved) witness" to the action signified by the card. This idea inspired … Continue reading The “Active Witness” and the Minor Arcana
The Sixes as “Solar Centerpiece”
I recently reconnected with an idea I had forgotten about from my previous studies: adding together the integers of certain sets of three consecutive numbers from One to Nine (and, if necessary, refining the sum through "Theosophical reduction") will always yield the number Six. The same is true of the double-digit trump cards, and actually … Continue reading The Sixes as “Solar Centerpiece”
Lunar Month Look-Ahead for December 2022 – January 2023: A New Wrinkle
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This reading reflects both an update to my lunar-month predictive model and a return to "first principles." In the past I decided to remove the Major Arcana and court cards from the draw because the short-term outlook changes on roughly a 3-1/2 day frequency during the month and the Minor Arcana should therefore … Continue reading Lunar Month Look-Ahead for December 2022 – January 2023: A New Wrinkle
“Heavenly Fourth”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Nothing profound today, just a bit of whimsy from the Monty Python - Mel Brooks collaboration Yellowbeard that I find amusing from a tarot perspective. There has been much conjecture about the intentions of the angelic hand emerging from the cloud in the Waite-Smith 4 of Cups as it offers a fourth chalice … Continue reading “Heavenly Fourth”
The Court Cards as “Decimal Equivalents”
I've been working with the concept of "Theosophical reduction" (adding together and reducing the digits of a composite number to produce a simple, one-factor sum) for so long that I've been more than a little skeptical of Alejandro Jodorowsky's notion of "decimal equivalency" between the double-digit and single-digit cards of the Major Arcana. His premise … Continue reading The Court Cards as “Decimal Equivalents”
The Overturned Cups: Half Full or Half Empty?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a wonderful metaphor that speaks directly to our attitude about life's occasional downturns and hints at whether we are naturally optimistic or pessimistic in our outlook: "Is the glass half full or half empty?" As a lifelong skeptic, my first thought when confronted with this conundrum is "What's in the glass?" … Continue reading The Overturned Cups: Half Full or Half Empty?
“Blocked Energies” in a Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some mornings I wake up with an idea in my head for a blog post. This was just such a morning. One of the assumptions we often make as tarot readers is that the energy of a reading can be "blocked" in its usual mode of expression. This occurs most commonly as one … Continue reading “Blocked Energies” in a Tarot Reading
