AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aleister Crowley once wrote in his commentary on the Wheel of Fortune (which at one time meant "a turn of one's luck for the better" but now seems to promise only "change, good or bad"): "(It) generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent." (In more colloquial terms, … Continue reading Mindset and the Quest for Control
Lenormand and Lost Items
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I haven't used the Lenormand oracle much for tracing lost objects (or people) since horary astrology works so well. But I occasionally come across online requests for help with lost-item readings, and as a result I thought a little harder about its potential. (Apparently I'm not the first to do so, but to … Continue reading Lenormand and Lost Items
Obliquity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I woke up this morning with the oddest thought and figured I had better sit right down and capture it before it escapes. What if there were no "right angles" in the world and instead only oblique transitions? (I think my contemplation of reversed cards may have given me nightmares). In astrology, only … Continue reading Obliquity
Reversed Cards as “Sticking Point”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a recent discussion about reversed cards on one of the online tarot pages, it was frequently asserted that "upside-down" orientation can be ignored because all 78 cards exhibit both positive and negative meanings when in their normal aspect, and whether to emphasize one over the other depends on the context of the … Continue reading Reversed Cards as “Sticking Point”
“Imagination Gone Wild”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I wrap up my reading of Vincent Pitisci's Genius of the Tarot, I'm struck by how much momentum it gained after I got past the slightly inane discussion of card meanings. In the last chapter he talks about having fanciful conversations with several of the cards; he is rather flippant about these … Continue reading “Imagination Gone Wild”
The Lenormand Five-Card Cross: A Case of Event Horizons and Broadside Collisions
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently involved in a discussion regarding the temporal nature of the horizontal, left-to-right line in a Lenormand reading and the fact that it doesn't automatically reflect a "Past/Present/Future" scenario. This dialogue occurred within a broader examination of the five-card cross layout, which I will explore further here. In most cases, I … Continue reading The Lenormand Five-Card Cross: A Case of Event Horizons and Broadside Collisions
Cutting to the Chase: A “Thinks or Feels” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a philosophical type with a utilitarian streak, I'm tired of seeing the glut of hopeful "What does "X" think or feel about me?" questions on every cartomancy site I frequent, often put to spreads that are ill-suited to answer them. I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a … Continue reading Cutting to the Chase: A “Thinks or Feels” Spread
Economies of Scale: A Lenormand Conundrum
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For my purpose here I've tweaked the business-management definition of economy of scale to read: "a proportionate saving in effort gained by an increased level of organization." The idea is that - up to a point - the broader the range of facts presented for analysis, the more productive it is to identify … Continue reading Economies of Scale: A Lenormand Conundrum
The Tarot Reading As “Mind-Map”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been juggling so many interesting essay topics lately that I had to look at the planets transiting my natal horoscope to see what's going on. As I might have guessed, it turns out that just as the Sun makes its ingress into dramatic Leo, transiting Mercury is also in Leo in the … Continue reading The Tarot Reading As “Mind-Map”
Knighting in the Spotlight
I learned something valuable about the oblique influence of knighting in a recent Grand Tableau reading. The male querent was interested in finding a new job, so I asked him if he wanted a specific career reading or a full "life-reading." He said he wanted "life." (I asked him "Life without parole? You're already married, … Continue reading Knighting in the Spotlight
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 