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
Golden Dawn
“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
The Golden Dawn Factor
The contribution of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to our modern understanding and use of the tarot cannot be overestimated. Here is a link to a brief article on Biddy Tarot by Richard L. Palmer that lays out the fundamentals. https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-astrology-golden-dawn/ The esoteric concepts and structures devised by the Golden Dawn and its … Continue reading The Golden Dawn Factor
Correspondences: How Much is Too Much?
Funny thing about esoteric correspondences. Sometimes you don't need them at all, other times you can get nowhere without at least a cursory nod to them. They're especially useful when a spread serves up a disjointed mish-mash of contradictory meanings that resists all tactics of intuition, inspiration, imagination and ingenuity. The analytical skill required to … Continue reading Correspondences: How Much is Too Much?
The In-between
In a recent essay on David Spangler's (he of the pioneering New Age pedigree) Lorian Association website (see "Strange Attractors" at http://www.lorianassociation.com), Susan Beal described how she eventually resolved the apparent conflicts between her inner and outer worlds - those of private spiritual practice on one hand and routine daily existence on the other - … Continue reading The In-between
“In the Court of the Crimson King” 3-D Elemental Matrix
This isn't a spread per se, it's a simpler substitute for the initial step of the "First Operation" of the Golden Dawn's Opening of the Key method. Instead of separating all 78 cards into four stacks and finding the Significator, only sixteen cards including the Significator are selected for the matrix, four in each elemental … Continue reading “In the Court of the Crimson King” 3-D Elemental Matrix
Elemental Dignity Permutations by Suit
In the Liber Theta discussion of Elemental Dignities, Jim Eshelman uses the term "permutations" for the three-card combinations that can be made with cards of elementally friendly, unfriendly and neutral nature. Although I diverge in my view of the "neutral and supportive" category, instead considering those cards to be "complementary opposites" - one suit provides … Continue reading Elemental Dignity Permutations by Suit
Demystifying Elemental Dignities
In preparing material for a presentation handout on Elemental Dignities, I amassed quite a bit of detail on the background of the subject. Following the presentation, I had further thoughts on application of the Golden Dawn rules provided in Liber T and the amplification given by Jim Eshelman in Liber Theta. Demystifying Elemental Dignities
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 