In the last few months I've read three tarot books that have caused me to move beyond my aversion to drawing additional "clarifier" cards during my readings, although in a very specific and limited way. This situation arises due to the facing (also known as "gaze," "regard," "gesture" or "posture") of the figures on the … Continue reading A Step Beyond
Process & Methodology
A Career “Fishing Expedition” Spread
While I have a few spreads that examine career potential, all of them assume that querents have at least some idea what they want to do for work. Before today I had none that start from the perspective that some kind of employment change is crucial but the individual has no clue where that might … Continue reading A Career “Fishing Expedition” Spread
Hand Jive*
(*For those unfamiliar with it, the hand jive was a dance from the 1950s involving "a complicated pattern of hand moves." It brings to mind some of the elaborate manual maneuvers we make in preparing a tarot deck for a reading.) Last night I was reading Paul Huson's Mystical Origins of the Tarot and reached … Continue reading Hand Jive*
An I Ching/Tarot Personality Profile
I'm continuing to experiment with the Russian table of correspondences for linking the I Ching hexagrams to the cards of the tarot. By bringing the trump and court cards into the mix, this table attempts to reconcile the discrepancy that there are 64 hexagrams but only 40 pip cards to which they can be assigned. … Continue reading An I Ching/Tarot Personality Profile
“Read ‘Em and Weep”
If your experience is similar to mine, you've most likely encountered reading situations where the cards drawn are so wildly at variance with the context of the question that you're hard-pressed to meet your professional obligation of giving your sitters something meaningful to work with. As you strive to salvage your credibility, it can seem … Continue reading “Read ‘Em and Weep”
Days Like This
As you probably know, I'm not a fan of the one-card daily draw because it's so static; you're stuck with its singular influence since there is little sense of movement or development in it unless you "intuit" such from free-association or your prior experience with the card. (In a previous post I called it the … Continue reading Days Like This
A Tarot de Marseille Two-Deck Comparison Reading
For quite some time I've been intending to use my "Friend or Foe" deck comparison spread with my two Fournier TdM decks, Le Tarot de Marseille and the Spanish Tarot. I finally got around to doing it. First, here is a link to the spread, followed by the reading layout. I prefer not to anthropomorphize … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille Two-Deck Comparison Reading
The “Trump-Card Interrogation” Spread
This spread is based on the work I did with Alejandro Jodorowsky's list of trump-card questions that I posted yesterday. It is one step above a general life-reading in level of detail and is intended for use when the sitter doesn't have a more personal question to ask of the cards. The spread begins with … Continue reading The “Trump-Card Interrogation” Spread
No Question? No Problem
Most diviners have occasionally encountered sitters who are too shy, nervous or confused to come up with a single question to put to the tarot. My practice has always been to have them concentrate on what they want to know while shuffling the deck in a form of silent communion, although my goal hasn't been … Continue reading No Question? No Problem
Predicting the Future: Prescience or Self-Projection?
There is a strong sentiment among experienced diviners that "fortune-telling" of the flatly predictive variety - while it is not exactly denounced - is an impractical and unreliable pursuit, for a couple of reasons: 1) the future is a moving target and can change regularly based on intervening circumstances not always of our own making … Continue reading Predicting the Future: Prescience or Self-Projection?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 