AUTHOR'S NOTE: The practice of Taiji envisions eight "offering bowls" that enclose space and also present the contents of that space to the aspirant. Here I've created an eight-position tarot spread modeled on the taijitu (yin/yang) symbol of the I Ching to show situational progress from constructive input (yin as receptive and cooperative) to productive … Continue reading Tarot As “Offering Bowl” – A Situational Development Spread
Metaphysical Syncretism
Tarot As “Awareness Practice”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Lately my head has been crammed with ideas from my informal study of Taoism as presented by Benebell Wen in I Ching The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes and Ethan Indigo Smith in The Tao of Thoth. (The former is polished and intelligent while the latter is much more … Continue reading Tarot As “Awareness Practice”
Getting Out of Our Own Way: More Thoughts on Attunement
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the chapter on "Rhythm" in his book The Tao of Thoth, Ethan Indigo Smith describes being obstructed by the routine "rhythms of the world" and, in order to advance, learning to "move out of our own way, physically at first, and as we progress mentally and emotionally as well. An example of … Continue reading Getting Out of Our Own Way: More Thoughts on Attunement
Claiming the Space: An Elemental-Alignment Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across the Taoist concept of "claiming the space" in Taiji martial-arts combat by swinging the arms in a specifically "yang" (or offensive) manner as opposed to "relinquishing the space" in strategic withdrawal via a defensive "yin" arm-movement. I decided to apply this "yang" idea to a tarot spread. Begin by … Continue reading Claiming the Space: An Elemental-Alignment Spread
No Flatfooting Allowed: Transcending Inertia and Leveraging Imbalance
"The fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent."- Aleister Crowley in The Book of Thoth AUTHOR'S NOTE: The inspiration for this essay comes from an observation in Ethan Indigo Smith's book The Tao of Thoth about the martial-arts aspect of Taoist philosophy and the risk of standing flatfooted in the middle of the ring like … Continue reading No Flatfooting Allowed: Transcending Inertia and Leveraging Imbalance
2024 Presidential Election: An Astro-Tarotscope Forecast
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Regardless of what you think of Donald Trump (and even though I'm far from liberal in my own political views, I don't have much use for him), the Gods of Prognostication seem to prefer him on November 5th. Of all the readings I've done on the upcoming election, this one is the most … Continue reading 2024 Presidential Election: An Astro-Tarotscope Forecast
Calling Forth Answers: A Mixed-Media Problem Solving Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been a while since I last explored the technique of using a board-game spinner and an array of tarot cards to come up with a two-tiered approach to reading. In Benebell Wen's I Ching The Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes, I've been learning about an abbreviated yarrow-stalk method … Continue reading Calling Forth Answers: A Mixed-Media Problem Solving Spread
Where Is Carol? – A Missing-Person Case Study
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Carol Gemmiti, a 66-year-old Florida woman with dementia, went missing from Ossipee, New Hampshire on Friday, October 27, 2024. Numerous searches were performed over the week-end but nothing was found so further efforts were temporarily suspended on Monday, October 30. I decided to tackle this case by performing a horary astrology analysis and … Continue reading Where Is Carol? – A Missing-Person Case Study
A Monthly “Astro-Tarotscope” – Harnessing Horary Astrology and Tarot Insights
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not the first writer to use the term "tarotscope;" I've encountered it in various posts over the years. But here I'm applying it to a merger of horary astrology and tarot to come up with a monthly forecast that may well be unique. (I don't believe the hyphenated term in my title … Continue reading A Monthly “Astro-Tarotscope” – Harnessing Horary Astrology and Tarot Insights
Reverse-Engineering an Alternate Outcome
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another novel application of the Golden Dawn's system of astrological correspondences for the tarot cards as presented in the annotated figures of the "Chaldean" zodiac. (See the diagrams below.) In this model, each card has a complementary opposite across the wheel that is of the same polarity (positive or negative) and … Continue reading Reverse-Engineering an Alternate Outcome
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 