AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's no secret that I prefer logical inquiry to unquestioning acceptance when confronted with the many romantic myths that shroud so much modern tarot practice in sheer fantasy. I've come to believe that there is an empirical explanation for the seemingly unfounded intuitive and psychic impressions attending the act of divination, we just … Continue reading Logical Mysticism and Pragmatic Action: Quantifying the Unknown
Tarot Opinion
Spread Denial: A Curious Myopia
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across a critique in the online tarot community that belittled using structured tarot spreads because they "muzzle the message" that the cards are trying to deliver. I can only assume that this individual has not carefully considered (or has chosen to ignore) the many advantages of adopting a more coherent … Continue reading Spread Denial: A Curious Myopia
“Shaken or Stirred” – Synthesis vs. Precision in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sure it's abundantly clear from my written work that I value the precise use of language. (Chalk it it up to being a former technical and legal writer in business.) This quest for accuracy spills over into the way I read the tarot cards, although I have to be vigilant in not … Continue reading “Shaken or Stirred” – Synthesis vs. Precision in Tarot Reading
“Why Divine?” – A Fortune-Teller’s Manifesto
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the past five decades I've come full circle in my attitude toward divination with the tarot cards. What originated as a philosophical preoccupation with occult theory became an intellectual pursuit centered on experiments in prediction, soon passed through a Jungian phase in parallel with psychological astrology, and finally settled into a non-deterministic … Continue reading “Why Divine?” – A Fortune-Teller’s Manifesto
The Golden Dawn’s “Opening of the Key” – Much Ado About Too Much?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: First a confession: it's been years (make that decades) since I last performed all five "operations" of the Golden Dawn's "Opening of the Key" (OotK) method of divination, which can take hours to complete and yields far more information than any ordinary inquiry requires. This fact alone severely limits its application in professional … Continue reading The Golden Dawn’s “Opening of the Key” – Much Ado About Too Much?
Attack of the Killer TINOs!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently had an eye-opening experience regarding the current state of disarray in modern tarot design. (I almost wrote "state-of-the-art" but that would have been giving it far too much credit.) I joined the Hermit's Cave Facebook page hoping to find intelligent conversation about the tarot, but what I encountered was an endless … Continue reading Attack of the Killer TINOs!
“Beware the Devil Woman”
"Crystal ball on the tableShowing the future, the pastSame cat with them evil eyesAnd I knew it was a spell she cast She's just a devil womanWith evil on her mindBeware the devil womanShe's gonna get you from behind"- from Devil Woman by Cliff Richard AUTHOR'S NOTE: I confess to a bit of "trolling" with … Continue reading “Beware the Devil Woman”
Deja Vu, Take 2: Rear-View Mirrors of the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The title of this essay refers to the fact that I already posted on the subject of "deja vu all over again" in the Lenormand category. Here the target of the famous Yogi Berra quip is the Minor Arcana series of the Waite-Smith (aka "RWS") tarot. (Note that although I much prefer the … Continue reading Deja Vu, Take 2: Rear-View Mirrors of the Minor Arcana
Taboo Topics in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While searching for a subject to continue my streak of daily posts, I decided to revisit one that I've touched on before in a less-comprehensive way. Like many professional tarot readers, I shy away from answering direct questions about medical concerns, financial investments or legal maneuvers because of the risk that they will … Continue reading Taboo Topics in Tarot Reading
Reversed Fours: A Stumble and A “One-Point Landing”
AUTHORS NOTE: Having finished re-reading 54 Devils, Cory Hutcheson's playing-card divination book, and not yet possessed of a new tarot book, I picked up my interrupted reassessment of Paul Fenton-Smith's Tarot Master Class (which I believe has now been renamed). In it he mentions that the 4 of Wands reversed can indicate a "lack of … Continue reading Reversed Fours: A Stumble and A “One-Point Landing”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 