AUTHOR'S NOTE: If we are savvy in the self-empowering ways of practical magic, our encounter with a given tarot card in a reading won't invariably deliver a foregone conclusion. We can choose how much of its influence to let into our life and how to engage it. The fundamental energy won't change, just our handling … Continue reading Embracing the Cards as a Matter of Choice
Spirituality
Probability Management: Divination as Agent of Destiny
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the "magical practices" section of her book, Tarot Correspondences: Ancient Secrets for Everyday Readers, T. Susan Chang offers "probability enhancement" as one definition of practical magic. It involves creative visualization (a more assertive type of creative imagination) in the form of a consciously-scripted aim to manifest what we want for the future. … Continue reading Probability Management: Divination as Agent of Destiny
The Meaning(lessness) of Life: An Appreciation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After chasing the esoteric implications of various forms of metaphysical practice for over five decades, I've finally concluded that, despite determined efforts to find the "meaning of life" therein, all of them nibble around the edges but never really deliver on the promise. First off, don't hand me any religious nonsense; I'm just … Continue reading The Meaning(lessness) of Life: An Appreciation
The Allure of Prediction
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've become irritated by the fatuous claims of self-styled experts in the online tarot community who insist that the cards should not be used for divination because they were "originally intended" only for the attainment of psychological self-awareness and self-improvement. If that's the case, why are the tarot pages flooded with requests for … Continue reading The Allure of Prediction
The Emperor and Jus Ad Bellum: Moral Rectitude or Just a Shot of Arrogance?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across a term I had never seen before, in this case regarding the Emperor card of the tarot. Jus ad bellum means being justified in one's reasons for taking on a fight. (It sounds like "the ends justify the means" to me.) It is usually applied when presenting an argument … Continue reading The Emperor and Jus Ad Bellum: Moral Rectitude or Just a Shot of Arrogance?
Keeping It Real: Intimations of the Truth
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While observing conversations in the online tarot community, I've noticed that attempts to interpret the cards pulled by other members veer far off-course into mystical and psychological abstractions that don't really address the question posed by the inquirer, who is invariably an inexperienced beginner looking for guidance from more seasoned readers. Part of … Continue reading Keeping It Real: Intimations of the Truth
“Igniting Consciousness” – The Tarot Reader’s Mission
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently plowed my way through a lengthy post on the r/Tarot sub-reddit in which the author discussed the true purpose of tarot reading, ending with the opinion that it's all about igniting the seeker's consciousness via an act of motivation. I like this focus much better than the typical goal of "empowerment," … Continue reading “Igniting Consciousness” – The Tarot Reader’s Mission
Vetting the Significator
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the past 15 year I've largely eliminated the use of a "significator" card to represent the client in my public readings after recognizing that it adds little or nothing to the story shown by the rest of the spread. But I've recently experienced an epiphany regarding the subject. When performing the initial … Continue reading Vetting the Significator
“Spirits Passing By” – A Random Spirit-Contact Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written in the past about using the tarot to approach the Astral Plane for the purpose of contacting disembodied spirits, usually deceased relatives. I mentioned that we may not get the party we're after (dear departed Uncle Joe or Aunt Mary may not be near the portal at the time) so we … Continue reading “Spirits Passing By” – A Random Spirit-Contact Spread
The Realist Bids Farewell to the Romantic (or “Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You”)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was recently cautioned against performing the kind of investigative tarot-reading that operates in the same algorithmic space as probabilistic number-crunching (specifically for odds-making in sports betting). The critic's presumptuous attitude was that I'm tarnishing my credentials as a diviner (which I assume means my standing as an enlightened mystic). I'm not so … Continue reading The Realist Bids Farewell to the Romantic (or “Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You”)
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 