Those who are interested in the Golden Dawn and Thoth methods of divination have the complex and lengthy Opening of the Key (OotK) series of "operations" to entertain them. This includes a relatively straightforward initial operation that provides an overview of the querent's situation at the time of the reading. It is followed by three … Continue reading An Opening of the Key First Operation Template
Esoteric
A Revealing Bit of “Magic”
I just tested my "Opening of the Key" alternative method for finding the focal point of a 21-card elemental panorama (see previous post). The technique produced a 13-card subset that proved to be too unwieldy to read as a line, so I rolled it up into a Celtic Cross spread with a three-card outcome series. … Continue reading A Revealing Bit of “Magic”
“A Little Magic” Prepared-Deck Spread
As a long-time user of the Golden Dawn's "Opening of the Key" method of reading (or at least the First Operation), I'm always looking for novel ways to apply the "four elemental sub-packs" model to other spreads. I've also been intrigued by the notion that the deck can be separated into four equal sub-packs with … Continue reading “A Little Magic” Prepared-Deck Spread
Zeroing In
There are times when the 78 cards in a tarot deck seem like a case of "information overload," even when pulling only a small number for a particular spread. Although I realize it's part of the broader question about how tarot works, I sometimes think "What am I missing here that's hidden in the rest … Continue reading Zeroing In
Cheap Shots #19: Dr. Doolittle on Rulerships
While putting together my table of active and passive affinities, I got to thinking about the sometimes schizophrenic relationship between the seven traditional planets and the sign(s) of their rulership. Not that there isn't an internal logic to all of the correspondences (as we shall see), but some apparent anomalies do crop up. For the … Continue reading Cheap Shots #19: Dr. Doolittle on Rulerships
Table of Affinities and Correspondences
One technique often used by tarot readers when analyzing a spread is that of preponderance - determining whether there is an abundance (or conversely, an absence) of any fundamental aspect of interpretation. This approach can show where too much (or not enough) attention is being paid to certain particulars of the matter, possibly to the … Continue reading Table of Affinities and Correspondences
Liber T and Navigators of the Mystic SEA: A Deck Comparison
By way of offering an example reading for my "Friend or Foe" two-deck comparison layout, I decided to run the spread on the Liber T, Tarot of Stars Eternal and Navigators of the Mystic SEA decks. I've had both decks for a while and have used them together before. Both are Thoth clones, and I … Continue reading Liber T and Navigators of the Mystic SEA: A Deck Comparison
Tarot and Dice
For a while now, I've been combining dice rolls with my tarot spreads as a way to obtain a second opinion on the outcome, especially when the question is of the yes-or-no type. (Here is my most recent effort: https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com/2017/08/20/the-double-whammy-yes-or-no-spread/.) I thought I was onto something until I read the very first page of the … Continue reading Tarot and Dice
Cheap Shots #18: Justice Restored
No, this isn't about the impeachment of Donald Trump. It alludes to the fact that Aleister Crowley returned the trump cards Justice and Strength (aka Fortitude) to the positions they held in the historical decks of Italy and France: Justice as the eighth in the series and Strength as the eleventh. For his part, A. … Continue reading Cheap Shots #18: Justice Restored
Confessions of an Incurable Thothie
By all reliable accounts, Aleister Crowley was not a nice man. Yet he fathered one of the enduring icons of modern tarot - the Thoth deck - along with its remarkable companion volume, The Book of Thoth or BoT. A revisionist attempt is afoot to give the lion's share of the credit for the excellence of … Continue reading Confessions of an Incurable Thothie
