To test this spread, I chose as my topic the current status of a long-running initiative involving the sale of property. A non-local couple expressed an interest in buying some land early last year in order to be close to relatives when they visit, but a number of obstacles have intervened to prevent it from … Continue reading A “5:30” Situational Development Example Reading
The “5:30” Mixed-Media Situational Development Spread
One weakness of the traditional method of drawing from the top of the deck is that it leaves a large majority of the cards out of the running for selection. Although I trust the shuffle to bring the "right" cards to the top, I'm always looking for ways to enhance the credibility of the process. … Continue reading The “5:30” Mixed-Media Situational Development Spread
The Avatars of Tarot Past and Present
This morning I was thinking about the various "tarot factions" that exist and how I might write about them in a fresh (and satirical) way. The timeline for tarot-card development is fairly well-known, at least in broad terms: early Italian decks were appropriated by French, Swiss and German cartiers for the "Marseille" and "Besancon" styles, … Continue reading The Avatars of Tarot Past and Present
An All-Purpose “One-on-One” Relationship Spread
Relationship questions are the "bread-and-butter" of professional tarot reading, but most of them relate to romantic matters rather than to the more routine type of interpersonal contact. Here is a spread that examines one-on-one connections of any kind from five different perspectives: 1) the overall health of the relationship, along with its condition from 2) … Continue reading An All-Purpose “One-on-One” Relationship Spread
The Golden Art Nouveau Deck Interview
The Golden Art Nouveau Tarot is a gorgeous Italian rendering of the the Pamela Colman Smith designs that makes excellent use of gold-foil accents and backgrounds. I decided to put it through my "deck interview" spread to see what it will divulge about itself in the way of a pseudo-psychological "personality profile." I don't actually … Continue reading The Golden Art Nouveau Deck Interview
The Romany Cut “Wisdom or Folly” Situational Awareness Spread
I recently came across what was described as an "Italian Romany" method of dealing the playing cards to form a spread. That approach uses 15 cards culled from a larger set of 32 as the result of a preliminary reading. It includes the idea of three "Surprise" cards and a "Consolation" card revealing lessons learned … Continue reading The Romany Cut “Wisdom or Folly” Situational Awareness Spread
The “Undoing”
I've mentioned that I've been reading Jonathan Dee's Fortune Telling Using Playing Cards. In it he describes a "Romany" method of reading that uses reversals (apparently old playing cards weren't double-ended so you could do that easily; now you have to mark them first). In his discussion of reversals he brought up a point that … Continue reading The “Undoing”
Is It . . . RWS, or RSW, or WS or SW (or How About KSW)?
As far as I can tell, the publishing house of Rider & Son hasn't been involved with the tarot deck of Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith in over a century (except perhaps as the seller of reproduction rights until US Games bought them); it is now published in something approaching its original form … Continue reading Is It . . . RWS, or RSW, or WS or SW (or How About KSW)?
Incremental Court Cards
As I continue my study and practice of playing-card divination, I'm gaining some insights into the nature and application of the court cards that can be readily integrated into my knowledge of the tarot courts. The main idea is one of the progressive or incremental unfolding of the hierarchical and numerical energy in human terms. … Continue reading Incremental Court Cards
A Tale of Five Pips
As promised, here is my first serious attempt at divination with the playing cards. I used the Goldfield Nevada 1864 giant playing card deck, and I also augmented the five-card spread with the Night Sky playing cards to see if there is interpretive syncretism with any astrological fixed stars that may appear in the constellations. … Continue reading A Tale of Five Pips
