The snooty elitism of wine snobs is well-known. Much of their recondite vocabulary speaks of properties that apply to anything but fermented grapes. To be fair, I have come to the conclusion that some red wines do present the fanciful and not-entirely-agreeable sensory impression of "raisins" or the slightly more desirable "black currants" in both … Continue reading Cartomantic Snobbery?
A Star to Steer By
Old wine in new bottles . . . Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will no doubt have noticed that I tend to recycle certain ideas that have become almost axiomatic for me, and I trot them out whenever the occasion warrants it. There are a couple here but … Continue reading A Star to Steer By
A Milestone and a Conundrum
I've just passed 175 self-created spreads in my personal inventory (see the Dropbox link in the sidebar for the list, which you can explore in the WordPress search function), and I paused a moment to wonder whether I will ever use the majority of these spreads in practice. Although I've binned them by category, the … Continue reading A Milestone and a Conundrum
“It Is Known”
C.S. Lewis observed that history books written during the Middle Ages differed far less from the historical fiction of that time than modern histories differ from present-day historical novels (or, even more so, screenplays). He pointed out that the proper role of the Medieval historian was to accurately perpetuate the "knowledge" received from earlier authorities … Continue reading “It Is Known”
A “Lenormand Scramble” Example Reading
This imaginary reading is based on a story I made up after seeing the cards; it's about a man who is confronting a situation where his off-and-on girlfriend has told him she is pregnant and he has misgivings about whether to ask her to marry him. I used Pixie's Astounding Lenormand for this reading. All … Continue reading A “Lenormand Scramble” Example Reading
The “Lenormand Scramble” Awareness or Action Spread
Today I'm turning my spread-creation spotlight on the Lenormand deck. Lenormand readers generally work within a fairly narrow range of spread types: left-to-right lines (usually odd-numbered, running from 3 to 9 cards that allow for a "hinge" card in the middle), squares (typically the 9-card "3X3" array) and "tableaux" (often 36 or 15 cards). I … Continue reading The “Lenormand Scramble” Awareness or Action Spread
Where Is George? – A Horary Update
I have been asked by the group that continues to search for George Cross (a Berlin, NH man who has been missing since last September) whether I have any new insights into his whereabouts. Although my last attempt with the tarot showed a different direction and location than previous readings, I decided to refresh the … Continue reading Where Is George? – A Horary Update
The Cartomancer Redux
I see that The Cartomancer, the magnificent (and singular) high-quality tarot journal has changed hands again. Arwen Lynch acknowledged that she was having difficulty keeping up with production demands and schedules, so she sold the quarterly glossy magazine to 7 Stones Publishing with Lori Barbieri Ross at the helm. The following message was posted on … Continue reading The Cartomancer Redux
Transitional Cards
I use two different numerical models in my work with the minor (or "pip") cards of the tarot: the Pythagorean sequence that exhibits an increasingly complex geometric progression, and the Qabalistic numeration based on the descent of the sephiroth on the Tree of Life. Both explain the emergence of formless "archetypal energy" from a primal … Continue reading Transitional Cards
A “Moving Finger” Example Reading
This example reading involves a couple I used to know whose relationship can best be described as more than a little dysfunctional. The question was "What is going to become of them?" I performed the spread in two ways, first considering reversals, and then turning all of the reversed cards upright and applying Elemental Dignities. … Continue reading A “Moving Finger” Example Reading
