I'm not a fan of spreads that have no specific meaning for each card (also known as non-positional spreads). Speaking strictly for myself, I think they can leave the reader groping for relevance and potentially taking far too long to come to closure on a reading if the goal is to be diligent about providing … Continue reading The “Mole’s-Eye View” Event-Horizon Spread
Experimental
A “Simple Yes-or-No Spread” Update
I don't do many yes-or-no readings because I think the tarot is more effective at telling stories. But today we had a contractor scheduled to come and hydro-seed our new lawn, and they hadn't arrived yet as of 10:00 AM. Because contractors in our area can be notoriously hard to pin down to a commitment, … Continue reading A “Simple Yes-or-No Spread” Update
Utility, Overkill or Elegance: A Spread Designer’s Dilemma
"Once upon a time there were three bears . . . oops, I mean tarot spreads that lived in a binder on my bookshelf. There was a great big 'father' spread, a middle-sized 'mother' spread and a tiny 'baby' spread. One was too large and hard and one was too small and easy but the … Continue reading Utility, Overkill or Elegance: A Spread Designer’s Dilemma
A “Two Paths” Example Reading
The Question: "What is the best way to approach local metaphysical (formerly "New Age") shops about getting card-reading gigs at their establishments? The Deck: Conver Ben-Dov (CBD) Tarot de Marseille All images copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc, Stamford, CT This reading will test both the spread and my provisional TdM "pip" card meanings. The court-card … Continue reading A “Two Paths” Example Reading
A Tarot de Marseille “Pips” Overview: The Ambitious and Combative Batons
Although the Tarot de Marseille suit of Batons (our modern Wands) has similarities to the Swords in that both are considered "hard" suits, there are flourishes of a more nuanced individuality in the pip cards that the Swords pips lack. Alone among the suits, the Batons have a very limited "inner landscape;" their agenda involves … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille “Pips” Overview: The Ambitious and Combative Batons
A Tarot de Marseille Thumbnail: 4 of Coins
The 4 of Coins is fascinating in that it is the only one of the Coins pip cards to display a fabricated artifact (other than the coins themselves, which in fact could be seen as fruit or seeds). There is a shield with an abstract central blossom on it separating the two sets of coins … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille Thumbnail: 4 of Coins
A Tarot de Marseille Thumbnail: 7 of Coins
Here is a kind of "trial balloon" floating some of the ideas I've been talking about in my most recent posts. The image in the Conver 7 of Coins suggests a trellis bearing ripe fruit, some of which have fallen (or are in the act of falling) to the ground. It shows the harvest at … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille Thumbnail: 7 of Coins
“It’s Alive!”
Aleister Crowley went to some trouble in The Book of Thoth to characterize the cards of the tarot as living beings. Much like Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein (who was rewarded after a fashion when his creature began making "yummy sounds" in the basement), I've been on a similar quest to coax heart-and-soul out of … Continue reading “It’s Alive!”
The “Crossroads of Opportunity” Spread
Whenever inspiration for my next post fails me, I turn to creation of a new spread. This one plays off my fascination with inserting unknown qualities (in this case, face-down cards) into my layouts, the implications of which are revealed through certain selective operations. Other than that feature, this is a fairly standard multi-path decision-making … Continue reading The “Crossroads of Opportunity” Spread
Over Under Sideways Down
In 1966, the English rock band The Yardbirds released the song that was the inspiration for the title of this post. The image it conveys reminds me strongly of something I picked up from the Enrique Enriquez documentary, "Tarology," regarding the structural patterns that are evident in the "pip" cards of the Tarot de Marseille. … Continue reading Over Under Sideways Down
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 