I was just reading a fascinating wiki article about Canadian cultural philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who coined the phrase "the medium is the message" while analyzing the impact of media sources like television on society, and who concluded that the delivery system is more revealing of modern collective values than the contents. In commenting on his … Continue reading Call Them “TINOs”
“Mixed-Media” Reading
"Mixed-media" technique is a concept usually limited to the visual arts; a good example would be combining paste-up photo-collage and manual deposition of some kind (brush, pen, pencil, crayon, stick, etc.) to create an integrated and aesthetically pleasing image. (Before anyone asks, presentation technology often relies on "multi-media" delivery, a different animal.) I'll get to … Continue reading “Mixed-Media” Reading
Jodo’s New-Age “Art” Films
Before he became a tarot star (of sorts), Alejandro Jodorowsky was a maker of exquisitely (or excruciatingly) surrealistic experimental films. I was 24 in 1972 when I first saw El Topo at a midnight drive-in theater screening in Connecticut, and it left a lasting impression (or stain?) on me. A couple of years ago, I … Continue reading Jodo’s New-Age “Art” Films
Enlightened Folly?
More musings on "how tarot works," with a new twist or two (but I will spare you a few of my overused personal aphorisms and axiomatic bromides). I've long believed that the Age of Enlightenment (aka the Age of Reason) that arose out of Renaissance "humanism" between the 17th and early 19th Centuries did more … Continue reading Enlightened Folly?
Mild Spring? A Geomantic Example Reading
For my first geomantic "return engagement," I decided to ask whether we will have a milder-then-usual Spring season here in my local area (and no, I didn't consider the "groundhog factor"). I used my bowl of carefully-gathered stones, even though they came from our previous "home ground" and are more regional than local. I'm rusty … Continue reading Mild Spring? A Geomantic Example Reading
DAS: A Joyful Scourge
Around the end of every year there seems to be a flood of new-deck announcements and glossy (albeit online for most of us) catalogs from Lo Scarabeo, U.S. Games Systems and a few smaller publishing houses. These feed the pernicious addiction many of us share: "Deck Acquisition Syndrome." Every tarot forum I've participated in (I'm … Continue reading DAS: A Joyful Scourge
Easing Back into Geomancy: Tools of the Trade
As promised, I'm moving toward exploring forms of divination beyond cartomancy and horary astrology. Several years ago I spent a good deal of time pursuing the art of geomancy but let it lapse as my tarot practice grew. I found it to be quite accurate in its predictions about practical affairs and accumulated a small … Continue reading Easing Back into Geomancy: Tools of the Trade
The “Hopscotch” Multi-Tier Situational Awareness Spread
As is most likely apparent, I enjoy spreads that take unexpected twists and turns at some point in their journey from question to answer. This one uses reversed cards to change the direction of the flow from a typically linear, left-to-right model to a more complex, multi-tiered affair that can descend into situational ambiguity as … Continue reading The “Hopscotch” Multi-Tier Situational Awareness Spread
High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
Yesterday while performing a reading I was struck by the notion that certain cards literally stand out from the pack as "high-focus" since they are symbolically replete and subject to little or no modulation in their expression. My immediate examples were the Aces, which are undivided and uncomplicated in behavior and purpose; they make a … Continue reading High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
A Simple Event-Timing Example Reading
To test this spread, I decided to run it on our open question regarding when we can expect a final answer from the people who are interested in buying our property. I used the Waite-Smith Centennial Pocket Edition (for no other reason than that it fits on my small reading table), and swapped in the … Continue reading A Simple Event-Timing Example Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 