Those of a certain age will remember Bullwinkle Moose exclaiming "Oh, my stars and garters!" whenever something surprised him, and I certainly resemble that remark (chronologically if not semantically since a certain rude three-letter acronym now replaces such quaint language). AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I began my esoteric journey as an astrologer in 1970, I was … Continue reading Sensible Divination – Oh, My Stars and Cards!
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The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm merging astrological principles (natal planets and rising sign) with tarot cards and insights from the casebook of psycho-spiritual mind/body awareness to create a self-appraisal tool that is intended to identify any strengths and weaknesses in one's personality that may not stand out clearly from horoscopic delineation or cartomantic examination alone. While … Continue reading The Mirror of Identity: An Astro-Tarot Self-Appraisal Spread
Sagittarius: Distant Cousin of the Flame
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Among the Fire signs of the zodiac, the Sagittarius native can be a perennial "dabbler" while the other two are usually accomplished "doers." Aries sports the ruddy flush of Fire on its ample brow (I know a few who fit the description), and Leo wears the sentiment on its sleeve, but Sagittarius keeps … Continue reading Sagittarius: Distant Cousin of the Flame
Elements and Modes in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If there are any astrologers among my readers who were active during the era of New-Age metaphysical expansion, feel free to fact-check my historical observations. Having been there myself, this is how I remember it. Astrology uses a modal form of analysis: there are three quadriplicities (also known as modalities) - Cardinal, Fixed … Continue reading Elements and Modes in Tarot Reading
Mercury Retrograde: A Brief Case Study
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a natal and predictive astrologer with 50+ years of experience I've always accepted the premise that, unless they evoke a response by contacting factors in the birth chart of the entity involved (most acutely by conjunction, square or opposition), transiting influences of any kind have little impact on individual lives and even … Continue reading Mercury Retrograde: A Brief Case Study
Modern Astrology and the “Pick-a-Chart” Quandary
AUTHOR'S NOTE: On one of the astrological sub-reddits, a member recently asked how it can be right for different house systems to yield inconsistent chart structures and planetary placements but still manage to "resonate" with our life circumstances even though there is little commonality in the competing definitions. This fluidity of horoscope factors doesn't seem … Continue reading Modern Astrology and the “Pick-a-Chart” Quandary
Personalizing Taoist Cosmology: Natal Planets and the Five Agents of Change
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a previous post I explored the Taoist "Five Agents of Change" (Wu Xing) as encompassed by the twin cycles of creation and destruction in the order Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-Water. I decided to take the Minor Arcana cards associated with the five personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars) of my natal horoscope and … Continue reading Personalizing Taoist Cosmology: Natal Planets and the Five Agents of Change
Syncretism Unbound: The Octile Horoscope and the Trigrams
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been reading about the origins of the esoteric alignment between the 12-year Chinese zodiac/calendar and the eight trigrams of the I Ching, and I was struck by the notion that - with twelve "branches" and only eight trigrams resulting in an apparent ideological disconnect - there may be a more symmetrical formulation. … Continue reading Syncretism Unbound: The Octile Horoscope and the Trigrams
Connecting Sky and Earth
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his book on the history of the occult tarot (The Esoteric Tarot: Ancient Sources Rediscovered in Hermeticism and Cabalah), Ronald Decker ventures into astrological symbolism as it may have appeared in some of the early decks. In his discussion of the traditional planetary deities he cites a passage from the magical tome … Continue reading Connecting Sky and Earth
Something Borrowed, Something New
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In reading about the mythological history of the stars and their constellations, I came across the supposition that, in primitive cultures, the concept of a personal "guiding star" predated by millennia that of an individual "guardian angel." Everyone was aligned with a dominant stellar (or more likely planetary) force that governed their destiny … Continue reading Something Borrowed, Something New
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 