AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been learning that many Medieval writers padded their work in a variety of ways to increase its length. One of their favorite ploys was digression, by virtue of which they never had to get to the conclusion in a timely manner. But the one that caught my eye was cataloguing or assembling … Continue reading Tarot Keywords: Cataloguing the Commonplace
tarot-reading
The Fate of the Nation (According to Tarot)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Now that the dust from the US election has settled and, as the bingo callers shout, "We have a winner!" (although many will think "a wiener"), I decided to do a year-ahead "fate of the nation" reading with my personal twist on the Celtic Cross spread. (I'm also test-driving the new spread cloth … Continue reading The Fate of the Nation (According to Tarot)
Dabblers in the Future
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was reading an essay about Medieval historians and came across the 12th-Century Italian theologian and monastic abbot Joachim of Flora (or Fiore) who was described not as a historian but rather as a "dabbler in the future," mainly for his theory about a coming new age based on clear (at least to … Continue reading Dabblers in the Future
Kabbalah and Tarot – A Collision of Concepts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently read a fascinating essay by Mark Horn on the Tarot History Facebook page that proposed Italian nobleman and scholar Giovanni Pico della Mirandola as the forefather of the esoteric connection between the tarot and the Hebrew Kabbalah via his association with philosopher Marsillio Ficino in the court of Lorenzo de Medici … Continue reading Kabbalah and Tarot – A Collision of Concepts
Complexion vs. Character Mapping in Tarot and Astrology
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I joined Aeclectic Tarot in 2011 I met two traditional "seven-planet" astrologers whose opinions greatly affected my thinking on psychological profiling with the natal horoscope (and, by extension, with the tarot cards). I had been a "New-Age" psychological astrologer since 1972 but quickly realized that the "complexions" (aka qualitative humours or temperaments) … Continue reading Complexion vs. Character Mapping in Tarot and Astrology
The “Pendulum of Progress” Situational Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The directional orientation of the figures on the cards is an underutilized factor in tarot reading that is most often taught in traditional courses of study. I've made a few attempts in the past to bring this technique into my own practice, and now I'm at it again. This orientation can be depicted … Continue reading The “Pendulum of Progress” Situational Development Spread
Crunch Time for Source Material
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any writer who attempts to post a blog essay every day (which I've now done for 290 consecutive days) has to walk a fine line between imparting useful knowledge and entertaining readers enough to keep them coming back. It's more important for those who are trying to earn money from their online publishing … Continue reading Crunch Time for Source Material
Bringing Home the Bacon!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just discovered a quote by an unnamed "Bacon" (it's unclear whether the writer meant Roger or Francis, but my money would be on the latter, who was a consummate linguist) that speaks loudly to my long-held opinion that the scenic (and often "folkloric") minor cards of the Waite-Smith tarot do no justice … Continue reading Bringing Home the Bacon!
Waking Hours: A Daily Draw in Three Acts
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I like working with "prepared" decks that let me create discrete layers of significance in a single reading. This typically involves splitting the deck into trump, court and minor-card sub-packs and dealing them separately. I'm also not a fan of the vague, single-card daily draw: "Today it's going to be wall-to-wall 10 of … Continue reading Waking Hours: A Daily Draw in Three Acts
Full-Moon Finale: The “Cold” Moon
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I prefer to do a New Moon reading each month, the Full Moon on December 15th of this year is special. Not only is it the last Full Moon of the year, it is reaching its northernmost declination (distance from the equator), achieving a "major lunar standstill" in the sky after which … Continue reading Full-Moon Finale: The “Cold” Moon
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 