Continuing from my last post: The 51 cards I extracted from the full deck according to the astrological features of my natal horoscope form what I call a "prepared" deck, or in this case, partial deck. Normally, when I pre-conditon a deck in some way, it's usually by separating out the trump, court and pip … Continue reading An Astro-Tarot Meditation, Part Two
Experimental
An Astro-Tarot Meditation, Part One
This post is yet another installment in a long-running theme that has been intriguing me for several years: the blending of tarot and astrology in more practical ways than simply using the latter to provide depth to the meaning of the cards. It will also pull together several other ideas that have been gaining traction … Continue reading An Astro-Tarot Meditation, Part One
The Lenormand 3×5 Alternative
While the Grand Tableau is deservedly the pinnacle of the Lenormand reader's art, there is a gap between it and the 9-card square in the repertoire of standard spreads. This empty niche is ably filled by the 15-card, 3x5 mini-tableau - which some call the "Petit Tableau." The thing I like best about this layout … Continue reading The Lenormand 3×5 Alternative
Coming or Going?
In the Golden Dawn tarot papers, MacGregor Mathers made an observation regarding the facing or directionality of the Kings and Pages when placed in a spread: "The Kings, if looking against the direction of the reading, or if meeting it, represent the coming of a person or event, or phase of an event, but if … Continue reading Coming or Going?
A 2017 World Series Postscript
I thought I would try an experiment to see if I could come up with a layout that would emulate a baseball box-score for the final game of the World Series. I used a Tarot de Marseille deck (the Hadar) because the non-scenic pips are easier to read as pure numbers. Since not many Major … Continue reading A 2017 World Series Postscript
Numerological Fun with the Trumps
I was thinking today about the ways that the Major Arcana cards tie together numerologically. Except for the Fool, all of them have what Phillip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm call "numerological counterparts:" trump cards whose numbers when subject to mathematical reduction result in a lower-numbered card with which the original card can be seen as having … Continue reading Numerological Fun with the Trumps
Thoth Pip Cards as Emotions
A couple of years ago one of my Aeclectic Tarot forum mates conducted an exercise to explore how the Minor Arcana, or "pip" cards, of the Thoth deck might be categorized as a range of emotional expressions: Joy, Anger, Love, Grief, Surprise, Fear, Trust and Anxiety. Because the Thoth pips have titles on them as … Continue reading Thoth Pip Cards as Emotions
A Finger-of-Fate Test Reading
As usual, I ran a test reading with the new spread I just posted to see how well it works. I have a moderately challenging home repair task underway. The first half went well, and I'm finishing the rest of it today. I chose that project as my target, pre-selecting the Thoth "Work" card (3 … Continue reading A Finger-of-Fate Test Reading
The “Fickle Finger of Fate” Needs-Fulfillment Spread
Sometimes all we really want to know is "How will my day go?" but the single-card pull and even the 3-card "past/present/future" line seem just a little short on substance (which for me is most of the time). Here's a slightly more involved way to get a deeper look at the situation that brings in … Continue reading The “Fickle Finger of Fate” Needs-Fulfillment Spread
The “Serpentine Fire” 36-Card Lenormand Tableau
I don't create many new spreads for the Lenormand cards. The traditional layouts (the 3, 5, 7 and 9-card lines, the 9-card square, the Petit Tableau and the Grand Tableau), are sufficient for almost any purpose. However, that doesn't stop me from occasionally experimenting. This spread uses all 36 cards and applies the concept of … Continue reading The “Serpentine Fire” 36-Card Lenormand Tableau
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 