Esoteric study groups of the face-to-face kind are mercurial beasts. Interest tends to wax and wane, and attendance is anything but consistent as members occasionally choose to deal with more mundane matters on meeting day. When I lived in the Hartford, CT area in the '70s, there were numerous opportunities to meet regularly with kindred … Continue reading The Ideal Study Group
New Age
Cheap Shots (The Final Cut): “Is It Live or Is It Memorex?”
This will be the last installment of my "Cheap Shots" series. My "inner curmudgeon" isn't going anywhere, of course, but I've moved on into more productive (as well as kinder) areas of expression. I've said enough already about my views on current populist tarot culture, and need to chill before the "New Age police" discover … Continue reading Cheap Shots (The Final Cut): “Is It Live or Is It Memorex?”
The “Wrapper” and the “Filling”
As a continuation of my last post, I want to talk about reading style. Interpreting a tarot spread can be a little like eating an enchilada. You have the "wrapper" (the visual presentation captured in the images) and the "filling" (the core meaning of the cards). It can be all too easy to become seduced … Continue reading The “Wrapper” and the “Filling”
Recycled Material
Since I have nothing new to say today (not yet, anyway, although the day is still young), I thought I would reflect on the course of this blog since its start-up last July. Although I make a dedicated effort to avoid it without good reason, with over 400 posts now you may notice that I … Continue reading Recycled Material
The Long Result of Time
Bear with me here, soon enough you'll see my quirky connection between Tennyson's poetry and the professional practice of tarot divination. Back in 1965, British science fiction author John Brunner wrote a novel dubbed The Long Result. He lifted the title from a couplet in Tennyson's long lyrical poem, Locksley Hall, which - even though … Continue reading The Long Result of Time
New Age Tropes and the “Theater of Tarot”
This lengthy article was rejected for publication because it was viewed as "too elitist." I'm many things, but I'm by no means an elitist. I am however highly opinionated and skeptical of what has become of the bright promise of the New Age as it continues its long, slow decline. Sometimes my "inner curmudgeon" just … Continue reading New Age Tropes and the “Theater of Tarot”
Cheap Shots #30: The Shadow Knows
Time - and, it seems, conventional wisdom - flies (maybe out the window?) when you're having fun, which in my case involved pursuing a career and helping raise a family while tarot languished for a few years. When I found my way back, the landscape had changed. I discussed this in detail in a previous … Continue reading Cheap Shots #30: The Shadow Knows
Cheap Shots #28: Prediction vs. Divination
We've been having a spirited and occasionally contentious debate on one of the forums I frequent regarding the difference between divination and prediction (if there even is one), and which approach is most suitable for work with the tarot. A side issue is whether the proper role of a reader in discussing difficult cards is … Continue reading Cheap Shots #28: Prediction vs. Divination
An Artifact of the ’70s
It's interesting how things that once seemed so natural now come across as more than a little stilted and excessive. Case in point: as I work up my knowledge (and courage) to dive into the untested waters of crystal ball gazing, I'm absorbing the information in two books. In his Golden Dawn material on scrying, … Continue reading An Artifact of the ’70s
Cutting-Edge Cartomancy
The Cartomancer is a glossy, elegant, high-quality and high-caliber quarterly international journal for the card-reading enthusiast, mainly focusing on Tarot, Lenormand and Oracle deck study and practice. After a distinguished turn at the helm by Jadzia deForest, the publication has now been purchased and is being published by Arwen Lynch-Poe. This is Arwen's inaugural effort, … Continue reading Cutting-Edge Cartomancy
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 