*Syncretism: The union of different practices whose features may be synchronized to good effect. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I last weighed in on the subject of esoteric syncretism in divination with a pair of essays in April and May of 2024, and a recent encounter with the topic in an r/occult sub-reddit thread brought it to mind … Continue reading Tarot Syncretism*
Metaphysical Syncretism
Playing Cards and the Astro-Romany Personality Profile
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several years ago I adapted the 21-card Romany spread for use with the seven planets of classical astrology and came up with a dual-axis developmental profile for both character analysis and associated timing. All seven columns can be used for a complete personality study, or only those that apply to specific circumstances can … Continue reading Playing Cards and the Astro-Romany Personality Profile
“Resource Management” Cards in Lenormand Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the fifth installment of the series in which I'm experimenting with informally linking the 36 Lenormand cards to the 12 signs and 36 decanates of the astrological zodiac. This time I'm looking at the sign of Taurus and its "native" 2nd House as indicators of personal resource management. I'm bringing in … Continue reading “Resource Management” Cards in Lenormand Reading
Qabalistic Mercury and the Tarot Trumps
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my theoretical reworking of the Golden Dawn's astrological correspondences for the Major Arcana a few years ago, I realigned Mercury with two of the four trumps - Temperance and the World - via sign rulership and left it in place with the Magician, which represents the archetypal personification of its energy. Here … Continue reading Qabalistic Mercury and the Tarot Trumps
A New Year, A New Agenda
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's no secret that I've become thoroughly disenchanted with the populist pretensions of the online tarot community, to the point that I've decided to disengage from public conversation and return to private academic pursuits of a more esoteric nature. (I doubt the typical YouTube "talking head" will miss me or even notice.) I … Continue reading A New Year, A New Agenda
Recasting Saturn: The Devil, the World and the Hermit
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the next installment in my series of follow-up essays examining the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's astrological notation for the Major Arcana of the tarot. The planet Saturn has traditionally shared equal billing with the element of Earth as the corresponding symbol for the World (Thoth Universe) card, which has … Continue reading Recasting Saturn: The Devil, the World and the Hermit
Swapping Correspondences for the Empress and the Lovers*
*Empress = Taurus (the most fertile of signs) and the Lovers = Venus (the Goddess of Love) In an earlier post (linked below), I explored "rethinking" the Golden Dawn's astrological assignments for the Major Arcana based on my five decades of practice with the esoteric tarot and astrology. This is the third in my series … Continue reading Swapping Correspondences for the Empress and the Lovers*
Musings on the Major Arcana: The Chariot and the Wheel of Fortune
"Big wheel keep on turnin'"- from Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several years ago I posted a high-level overview of my personal reassignment of some of the Golden Dawn's astrological correspondences for the tarot's Major Arcana (I'm an experienced astrologer and some of them just didn't sit well with me). I've linked … Continue reading Musings on the Major Arcana: The Chariot and the Wheel of Fortune
Zodiacal Segmenting of the Court Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about this subject before, but I've just been reading T. Susan Chang's very precise description of it in her book, Tarot Correspondences: Ancient Secrets for Everyday Readers, that brought me back to my own assumptions. In the Golden Dawn's Chaldean model of zodiacal associations for the tarot, all of the court … Continue reading Zodiacal Segmenting of the Court Cards
Syncretic Card Selection: Alternatives to the “Straight Deal”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley discussed metaphysical syncretism as it applied to spiritual beliefs and practices across a wide range of ancient cultures, drawing parallels between them when it struck him as significant. At a more humble level, I employ syncretism ("the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions") in … Continue reading Syncretic Card Selection: Alternatives to the “Straight Deal”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 