AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really need a new tarot book. Right now I'm re-reading Paul Fenton-Smith's Tarot Master-Class, which I believe has been revised, re-titled and republished since I bought it. This is not a bad experience, just a redundant one, but it has brought me face-to-face once again with his premise that encountering a reversed … Continue reading Confronting Reversals: Do We Retreat or Advance?
Tarot Card Meanings
My Inner House of Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Lon Milo DuQuette's Tarot Architect, the author proposed that students build a personal "house" of knowledge and wisdom in their consciousness with the 78 cards of the tarot. I see it as a practical way to pursue Aleister Crowley's vision of "living with the cards" that is more organized than daily divination. … Continue reading My Inner House of Cards
The 10 of Wands: Oppression as the Wages of Negligence
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I once wrote that, with his nose buried in his bundle of sticks, the man in the Waite-Smith 10 of Wands could just as easily walk off a cliff as reach the village shown in the distance. From a practical divination perspective, he has too much on his plate and doesn't know where, … Continue reading The 10 of Wands: Oppression as the Wages of Negligence
The Aces as “Seed-State”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Tarot Architect, Lon Milo DuQuette describes the Ace of Wands as the "Seed of Will" that carries the blueprint for purposeful action. I decided to extend this concept into the rest of the Aces. The Ace of Cups suggests the "Seed of Compassion;" the Ace of Swords the "Seed of Insight;" and … Continue reading The Aces as “Seed-State”
The 2 of Swords: Peace Restored or Peace, Period?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As part of his apparent crusade to reduce the Golden Dawn's multiplex card titles to single words, Aleister Crowley truncated the name of the 2 of Swords from "Lord of Peace Restored" to simply "Peace," thereby redirecting the thrust of the Order's definition, which was intended to convey successful recovery from distress. "Strength … Continue reading The 2 of Swords: Peace Restored or Peace, Period?
The 10 of Cups: Satiety or Perfected Success?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whenever I consider the Thoth 10 of Cups in light of the Golden Dawn's original title, I'm amused by the fact that Aleister Crowley chose "Satiety" as his one-word condensation of the Order's "Lord of Perfected Success." The expression goes beyond mere sufficiency into a state of egregious excess, as in consuming far … Continue reading The 10 of Cups: Satiety or Perfected Success?
The 9 of Swords: Despair Is There But Where’s The Cruelty?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my opinion, neither the Thoth nor the Waite-Smith 9 of Swords does justice to the Golden Dawn's title of "Lord of Despair and Cruelty." While both capture the essence of despair, the overall effect looks more like "Despair after Cruelty" than an equal distribution of the two: the former describes a condition … Continue reading The 9 of Swords: Despair Is There But Where’s The Cruelty?
The 8 of Cups: Indolence or Abandoned Success?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It has always been my opinion that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was on the right track with the 8 of Cups as "Lord of Abandoned Success" (although the ambition being thwarted seems to fall within the purview of Wands, not Cups). The only reason I can see for Aleister Crowley … Continue reading The 8 of Cups: Indolence or Abandoned Success?
The 9 of Wands: Why “Strength?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about the 9 of Wands a couple of times before, usually in more detail. But I keep coming back to it because it's one of several Golden-Dawn-named cards that doesn't wear its title well. Aleister Crowley tried to fix most of them in his own way but - at least in … Continue reading The 9 of Wands: Why “Strength?”
“Talisman” Under the Tarotscope
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been a while since I last did a text-and-card pastiche. This one presented a good opportunity for some tarot “mind-stretching.” I've always been impressed by the contemplative mood of the Guess Who song "Talisman," a mystical bit of New-Age sentiment replete with semi-loopy Burton Cummings/Randy Bachman lyrics offset by supple, meditative acoustic … Continue reading “Talisman” Under the Tarotscope
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 