AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an ambitious concept aimed at addressing the premise that, according to Dr. James Wanless, "There are no bad cards, only opportunities." (Conversely, there are no entirely good cards, only fortuitous hints.) After choosing a card to represent the goal of the reading, I'm using the same four randomly-drawn cards to show … Continue reading Coming and Going: A Dual-Spiral “Reversal of Fortune” Method
Astrology
“Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I was employed as a Purchasing Manager for a utility power-plant, the Maintenance team used to say that there was no wizardry involved in keeping the facility's operating equipment running smoothly as long as they had the right parts and the right skills. This attitude led to the adage "Parts is parts" … Continue reading “Parts is Parts” – Finding Unity in Multiplicity
The Case for Esoteric Syncretism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley went to great lengths (15 pages) to relate a number of primitive cultural rites to his understanding of the Fool, with much of his inspiration coming from Sir James George Frazer's anthropological tome, The Golden Bough. This conceptual melding is known as syncretism, and as one … Continue reading The Case for Esoteric Syncretism
Personalizing Taoist Cosmology: Natal Planets and the Five Agents of Change
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a previous post I explored the Taoist "Five Agents of Change" (Wu Xing) as encompassed by the twin cycles of creation and destruction in the order Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-Water. I decided to take the Minor Arcana cards associated with the five personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars) of my natal horoscope and … Continue reading Personalizing Taoist Cosmology: Natal Planets and the Five Agents of Change
Creation and Destruction: The Tarot Trumps and Taoist Alchemy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the next installment in my series of essays on syncretism between the European tarot and Chinese esoteric tradition. In I Ching, the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes, Benebell Wen presents two diagrams, the Cycle of Creation ("To support and fortify") and the Cycle of Destruction ("To defeat … Continue reading Creation and Destruction: The Tarot Trumps and Taoist Alchemy
The Square in the Circle: The I Ching Mandala and the Tarot Trumps
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I continue my exploration of the syncretism between the tarot and the I Ching, I encountered this I Ching mandala in Benebell Wen's book, I Ching. the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes. The discussion involved a square of eight trigrams within a circle of 64 hexagrams, and since … Continue reading The Square in the Circle: The I Ching Mandala and the Tarot Trumps
Trumps and Trigrams: A Syncretic Exercise
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my recent essay (linked below) on syncretism between Western astrology and the I Ching, I correlated the twelve Ptolemaic signs of the zodiac with the eight I Ching trigrams and, via synthesis between consecutive signs, with twelve of the 64 hexagrams. In doing so I resorted to a good deal of inspiration, … Continue reading Trumps and Trigrams: A Syncretic Exercise
Syncretism Unbound: The Octile Horoscope and the Trigrams
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been reading about the origins of the esoteric alignment between the 12-year Chinese zodiac/calendar and the eight trigrams of the I Ching, and I was struck by the notion that - with twelve "branches" and only eight trigrams resulting in an apparent ideological disconnect - there may be a more symmetrical formulation. … Continue reading Syncretism Unbound: The Octile Horoscope and the Trigrams
The “Moving Card” Idea-Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've just come up with a notion that intrigues me quite a bit, and I credit metaphysical author and blogger Benebell Wen for taking me there via the discussion of "moving lines" in her book, I Ching, The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes. Its ideal application may be in … Continue reading The “Moving Card” Idea-Development Spread
Qabalistic Constellations: A Reading Template
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As does religious mysticism with its unproven "origin" theories and moralizing allegorical themes, esoteric metaphysics exhibits a long history of "making stuff up." In the world of tarot, the British "Occult Revival" of the late 19th Century produced the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, one of the chief proponents of such inventive … Continue reading Qabalistic Constellations: A Reading Template
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 