AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been getting a bit bombastic lately, so here is a "palate-cleanser." I often employ both tarot cards and dice in what I call mixed-media readings. While I use the odd-and-even faces of the dice mainly as binary "pointers" in multi-path spreads to indicate which of two or more series of cards should … Continue reading Blended Trends: Card-Wrangling with Dice
Metaphysical Syncretism
Tapping the Power: A Self-Realization Matrix
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a third adaptation of Benebell Wen's Lo Shu Square, this time applied loosely to her feng shui tarot model. I've created my own theme and position meanings for this purpose and did not adopt her spread design. (See her book Holistic Tarot for background details.) Another inspiration was the Lenormand 9-card … Continue reading Tapping the Power: A Self-Realization Matrix
Banishing the Clerics: A Numerological Twist on the Calculated “Essence” Card
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to geek world! Here is an oddball notion that may appeal to the numerologically-inclined tarotist. It aligns with my earlier exploration of the "numerical essence" concept but with a couple of twists. For context, see my previous posts on that subject and the "quintessence" calculation. When discussing the particulars of telepathic research … Continue reading Banishing the Clerics: A Numerological Twist on the Calculated “Essence” Card
The Tarot Court and the Magician’s Creed
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here and there in the esoteric literature I've encountered what I'm calling the "Magician's Creed," a set of four postulates that every practitioner of the occult arts should adopt and apply diligently: "To Know, To Dare, To Will and To Keep Silent" (Scire, Audere, Velle, Tacere). This morning I recognized that these stipulations … Continue reading The Tarot Court and the Magician’s Creed
A Planetary Astro-Tarot Heptad
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This mandala-style layout is another of my attempts to organize the tarot cards around the principles of astrology. I have no particular purpose in mind for its use, although it could be applied as a template on which to deal random cards and then look for convergence between their symbolism and the planetary … Continue reading A Planetary Astro-Tarot Heptad
Tarot Syncretism*
*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*
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 