AUTHOR'S NOTE: Once again I've received inspiration for a new essay from something tarot author and entrepreneur Marcus Katz said on the Tarot Professionals Facebook page. His wise counsel for those confronting a "Tower moment" is "May it bring about for you an Acceleration in those things which require Acceleration." It's common knowledge that those … Continue reading Acceleration and Deceleration in Tarot Reading
Tarot Techniques
Death of a Dream: the Seven through Ten of Swords as a “Downward Spiral”
"I woke up this morningAnd I got myself a beer.The future's uncertainAnd the end is always near."- from Roadhouse Blues by The Doors AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my recent essay on the Minor Arcana of the suit of Swords, I mentioned that the 9 and 10 of Swords taken together could be construed as meaning the … Continue reading Death of a Dream: the Seven through Ten of Swords as a “Downward Spiral”
“Present” Focus in Tarot Reading: Leveraging the Moment
"I woke up in betweenA memory and a dream"- from You Don't Know How It Feels by Tom Petty When it comes to temporal bias in a tarot reading (i.e. the traditional "Past/Present/Future" sequence), it could be said that there is nothing more useless to the timing of events than a memory and nothing more … Continue reading “Present” Focus in Tarot Reading: Leveraging the Moment
Cut to Fit: Existential Advice in Four Elemental “Flavors”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One problem with tarot spreads based on the four classical elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth is that there is often a significant qualitative mismatch between the elemental position meanings and the nature of the cards that land in those positions, requiring vigorous mental gymnastics on the part of the reader to … Continue reading Cut to Fit: Existential Advice in Four Elemental “Flavors”
Reversal as Introspection or Introversion
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my rereading of Paul Fenton-Smith's Tarot Master-Class, I frequently encounter his assumption that a reversed card points back to the previous upright card of the suit to suggest unfinished business relevant to its nature. Most recently, he described the reversed 5 of Cups as showing a need to go inward and retreat … Continue reading Reversal as Introspection or Introversion
Numerous Reversals as Trade-offs: Pyrrhic Victories and Strategic Retreats
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Encountering numerous reversed cards in a brief tarot reading can present a challenge that is difficult to resolve. In an otherwise favorable forecast they can mean willingly giving up just a little more than you get to achieve your goal (the "Pyrrhic victory"), while in a less fortunate augury the implication is that … Continue reading Numerous Reversals as Trade-offs: Pyrrhic Victories and Strategic Retreats
Deck Preparation: Clearing and Neutralizing
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The subject of "randomizing" a tarot deck before pulling the specific cards for a reading is one that suffers from much misapprehension. The common belief is that the pre-deal shuffle by the client or the diviner accomplishes the intended dispersion, but it is more accurate to say that this step instead subconsciously arranges … Continue reading Deck Preparation: Clearing and Neutralizing
Kicked Upstairs: A Numerical Displacement Method and Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The assumption behind this spread is that the top tier of cards is more likely to be "fast-tracked" to closure, the middle tier will play out more gradually and the bottom tier will be substantially delayed. The table at the end of the essay offers a tool to determine which tier a card … Continue reading Kicked Upstairs: A Numerical Displacement Method and Spread
Tarot Journaling: Why Bother? (With a Little “Blarrrrgh!” on the Side)
First a bit of personal drama. Pseudo-John Cleese intones gravely: "Tonight on 'Too Much Information,' we explore the frontiers of stomach flu." In the wee hours I woke up with a mild fever that went downhill to the point that I began to feel that glottal "Barfish" (not "Bar-fish," you're thinking of Douglas Adams' "Babel-Fish;" … Continue reading Tarot Journaling: Why Bother? (With a Little “Blarrrrgh!” on the Side)
Obviously A Map . . . But Of What?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The panorama of 78 tarot cards is often described as a "map." Some say that it portrays the dimensions of the objective Universe, others consider it a "roadmap of life" into which we can dip to extract the itinerary for a particular leg of the journey (stay tuned, there may be a new … Continue reading Obviously A Map . . . But Of What?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 