Having made a stab at identifying specific "yes, no or maybe" cards, I decided to try my hand at assigning "fast, slow or moderate" speediness to all of the tarot cards for use in answering timing questions. Although practical success with it has proven spotty, the general consensus is that Fire cards are the most … Continue reading Rare, Medium or Well-Done: A Timing-Card Experiment
Elements
The “Light-and-Shadow” Decision-Making Spread
The "Holy Grail" of decision-making advice is the simple, straightforward "yes-or-no" answer: "Should I or shouldn't I? Will she or won't she? Is it or isn't it?" There are numerous short spreads that strive for this goal; this isn't one of them. It recognizes that every sunny street has a shady side, and a ray … Continue reading The “Light-and-Shadow” Decision-Making Spread
The “Hot-and-Cold Running Commentary” Problem-Solving Spread
Here is an intricate 12-card spread that uses elemental temperaments to determine which course of action will produce the best solution to a problem. The moderate traits of "warm" and "cool" are applied to suggest an integrated approach rather than the absolute qualities of Fire, Water, Air and Earth (which are considered background forces here … Continue reading The “Hot-and-Cold Running Commentary” Problem-Solving Spread
An Elemental Dignity “Short Form” Example Reading
As I've mentioned before (I know, more than once!), we moved into a newly-constructed home last December and are now working (well, struggling) to get a lawn going. But the tide seems to be turning (I refuse to succumb to that old Bobby Fuller lament, "I fought the lawn and the lawn won"), and now … Continue reading An Elemental Dignity “Short Form” Example Reading
An Elemental Dignity “Short-Form” Decision-Making Spread
Not every choice in life is gut-wrenching, although it may still be vexing when it comes to making a snap decision: "Should I go with X to the pub or with Y to the show?" In such cases a simple spread with a touch of subtlety is all that is needed when a straightforward yes-or-no … Continue reading An Elemental Dignity “Short-Form” Decision-Making Spread
Elementary, Really
I recently did a Celtic Cross reading that strongly emphasized the importance of elemental qualities in tarot interpretation. I realize that many people don't appreciate or apply esoteric correspondences in their readings, but if there is a single method that should be in every diviner's toolbox, that would be a good grasp of the four … Continue reading Elementary, Really
The “11th Hour Epiphany” Crisis Management Spread
I liked the layout of my "Roadkill Penguin" spread so much that I decided to do another spread based on it, this time to be read in a linear left-to-right fashion with "sidebar" cards adding more detail. The "crisis" of the title reflects the almost inevitable fact that every human endeavor runs into complications at … Continue reading The “11th Hour Epiphany” Crisis Management Spread
Astrological Significators
For tarot spreads that require a "Significator" card to represent the querent or the topic of interest, the challenge has always been how to go about selecting the "right" card. The old books advised using a querent's appearance (light-haired, dark-haired, fair-skinned, swarthy, etc.), gender and relative age to make the call. This provided a rough … Continue reading Astrological Significators
“According to Dignity”
I've carried on at some length in previous posts about the concept of Elemental Dignity, which is a method of inflecting the meaning of a card according to the elemental influence of its neighboring cards in a spread (that is, the level of agreement or disagreement between the qualities of the classical elements [Fire, Water, Air and Earth] assigned to the … Continue reading “According to Dignity”
Hard and Soft, Red and Black
During my intermittent involvement with the Tarot de Marseille (I'm still waiting for that "one book to rule them all"), I've come across the opinion that Batons and Swords are the "hard" suits, while Cups and Coins are "soft." There is some logic to this: both wooden batons (also called staves) and edged metal blades … Continue reading Hard and Soft, Red and Black
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 