Here is another complex layout that isn't a reading spread but a personality profile developed using the cards; it takes a bit of effort to set up but should be worth it. I've been looking at full-deck readings posted online recently and wanted to try that in a way that randomly "compartmentalizes" the cards into … Continue reading The “Spirit-Mind-Body” Personality Matrix
The Suit of Wands As “Arrows”
I'm currently reading Alain Bougearel's book, The Language of the Cards: An Initiation into French Cartomancy (OUROBOROS Editions, August 16, 2020), in which he equates the tarot suit of Batons (modern Wands) to the playing-card suit of Diamonds, and associates the arrowhead-shaped suit emblem with the military arrow as a weapon of ranged combat. He … Continue reading The Suit of Wands As “Arrows”
“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”
Buzzard Luck
"Just like a buzzard flyin' high in the skyI can't kill nothin', nothin' won't die"from "Buzzard Luck" by the Powder Blues Band AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't expect this to be an entirely coherent ramble unless I find somewhere to take it after my preliminary comments. I've always prided myself on being able to read the tarot … Continue reading Buzzard Luck
“The Wall Was Too High” – A 9 of Swords Comparison
I've been reading Barbara Walker's excellent 1984 book, The Secrets of the Tarot: Origins, History and Symbolism, and have been gaining some valuable insights and inspiration from her brief essays on the Minor Arcana. In it she applies the Thoth title of "Cruelty" to the 9 of Swords while discussing it mainly in terms of … Continue reading “The Wall Was Too High” – A 9 of Swords Comparison
A “Left Brain/Right Brain” Example Reading: The Fate of Roe vs Wade
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the companion piece to the spread I posted earlier today. To test my new "Left Brain/Right Brain" Split-Decision Spread, I decided to tackle one of the most highly-charged and divisive issues of our time from both a legal and emotional standpoint: the fate of the Roe vs Wade abortion law in … Continue reading A “Left Brain/Right Brain” Example Reading: The Fate of Roe vs Wade
The “Left Brain/Right Brain” Split-Decision Spread
AUTHOR"S NOTE: I will follow this up shortly with an example reading showing how it is to be used. To help resolve the endless debate (or perhaps to generate more debate) on whether an allusive, intuitive approach to reading the cards or a literal, logical one is most informative, I decided to create a spread … Continue reading The “Left Brain/Right Brain” Split-Decision Spread
The “Three of a Perfect Pair*” Tarot Card Selection Method
I'm always looking for novel ways to pull cards for a tarot reading. Here I've adopted and also adapted the "card pairing" method of the Golden Dawn as used in the First Operation of the "Opening of the Key." First, I shuffled the deck and pulled a single card to show the "Heart of the … Continue reading The “Three of a Perfect Pair*” Tarot Card Selection Method
Isolation and Insight: The “Essence of Nine”
I just unearthed another random gem from Barbara Walker's book, The Secrets of the Tarot: Origins, History and Symbolism. One meaning she offers for the 4 of Swords is "insight generated by seclusion" and, judging from the obvious opportunity for introspection shown in the RWS version, I can see where she's coming from. The Thoth … Continue reading Isolation and Insight: The “Essence of Nine”
Tarot As “Wave-Form”
A wave is described as "a traveling disturbance that carries energy from one place to another." We might consider the flow of cards from one place (the first position) to another place (the last position) in a linear tarot spread to be a "wave-form," with observable peaks and troughs along the way (a mix of … Continue reading Tarot As “Wave-Form”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 