I sometimes amuse myself by creating study tools for analyzing the interrelationship between the cards of the tarot, both in two dimensions and stacked in a three-dimensional overlay. This one uses an imaginative arrangement of the trump cards as its basis. I call it the "Mystic Chalice," but have to admit it does look a … Continue reading The “Mystic Chalice” Trump Card Layout
Learning
Esoteric Twaddle? Yes, Please
Those new to the tarot, and especially those who are younger (but then almost everyone involved is younger than me these days) rejoice when told by their mentors that they don't have to learn all of that arcane stuff in tarot books, just "go with what you feel" and ignore any methodical, structured approach to the cards. To … Continue reading Esoteric Twaddle? Yes, Please
A Harmony of Parts
Near the end of his epic performance of "Alice's Restaurant," folk singer Arlo Guthrie exhorts the audience to sing "with four part harmony and feeling." That sense of harmony is part-and-parcel of what it takes to read the Lenormand Grand Tableau with sensitivity and precision. Unlike the tarot cards, the Lenormand cards don't carry an … Continue reading A Harmony of Parts
Medieval Cat Tarot Deck Interview
I should be clear up front that I'm not a huge fan of animal decks, unless they're a little (or a lot) quirky like the Tarot of the Magical Forest, the Marseille Cats or the Baroque Bohemian Cats (which I unfortunately missed buying when it was still in print). But I was gifted the utterly charming Medieval Cat Tarot for … Continue reading Medieval Cat Tarot Deck Interview
The Force
There is a premise in esoteric philosophy that envelopes the entire field of Hermetic theory: the "Descent of Spirit into Matter." This key concept underlies the principle of spiritual "adaptation" (as described in the Emerald Tablet) that links the "above" to the "below," mediating between the most subtle regions (the Divine) and the grossest (the … Continue reading The Force
Earth Abides*
(*Thanks to George R. Stewart for the title of his 1949 science-fiction novel and its main character "Ish," the word for "Man" in biblical Hebrew.) For most of us, at any given moment the one thing we can rely on in our experience of objective reality is the ground beneath our feet. The element of … Continue reading Earth Abides*
Air Apparent
I put the Book of Thoth's slant on elemental Air under the microscope next. In his discussion of the Ace of Swords, Crowley called Air "all-embracing, all-wandering, all-penetrating, all-consuming." He also said "In nature, the obvious symbol of Air is the Wind, 'which bloweth whithersoever it listeth.'" Taken together, these observation could be seen as … Continue reading Air Apparent
Water, Water Everywhere
Expanding on my analysis of elemental Fire as described in The Book of Thoth, I examined Crowley's observations regarding the other two "primal" elements ("completely spiritual forms of pure energy"), Water and Air, and the special case of Earth, which represents a "crystallizing out" or coalescing of the other three in order to effectively impinge … Continue reading Water, Water Everywhere
The Inner Flame
In re-reading The Book of Thoth for what is now the fourth time, I'm constantly being enriched by fresh insights and epiphanies regarding the esoteric underpinnings of the modern tarot. I've long appreciated Crowley's statement regarding the Hebrew letter Shin (relative to Judgement in the Golden Dawn system of trump-card correspondences) that "The element of Fire … Continue reading The Inner Flame
The Lagging Indicator
I figured I had better strike while the iron is hot on this thought. While considering the nature of divination in my previous post, it occurred to me that the "outcome" card in a tarot reading - the outward evidence of a predicted conclusion - may actually be what the science of economics calls a … Continue reading The Lagging Indicator
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 