AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the cinematic cartography of the buccaneers favored by Hollywood, treasure maps invariably displayed an "X" where the prize could be found (i.e. "X marks the spot"). On a different arc, there have been many tarot spreads that use the "best case/worst case scenario" to indicate how a situation can be expected to … Continue reading The “Upside/Downside” Situational Roadmap: A Cartomantic Spread
Tarot Techniques
The Less-Traveled Byways of Tarot: Knowledge and Inspiration Meet Insight and Wisdom
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whenever I contemplate the unstructured psychic or purely intuitive approach to tarot reading as currently practiced in "live" settings, on internet platforms and via telephone-hotline "prediction mills," my skeptical nature goes into overdrive. I summon a fanciful vision of a youngish mystical diviner (who is largely untutored and inexperienced in the historical roots … Continue reading The Less-Traveled Byways of Tarot: Knowledge and Inspiration Meet Insight and Wisdom
An “Overt-and-Covert” Situational Development Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that is designed to follow the progress of an initiative, enterprise or project from its inception to the "first milestone" of self-sustaining viability. (The "story arc" is structured so it can be repeated for later phases of a strategic game plan.) It includes a public (or "overt") arc and … Continue reading An “Overt-and-Covert” Situational Development Spread
Reversal as Disconnection: “How Far Should I Stick My Neck Out?”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another take on the phenomenon of reversed cards in a tarot reading, this time inspired by the interpretation of a reversed court card from Paul Fenton-Smith's Tarot Master-Class. The male subject was described as being disconnected from expressing the characteristics of the upright orientation, and the impression was of being barred … Continue reading Reversal as Disconnection: “How Far Should I Stick My Neck Out?”
Reductionism as the Tarot Reader’s Duty
"Your goal as a reader is to clarify the client's situation, so reducing the possible meanings for each card on the table is a part of this process."- Paul Fenton-Smith in Tarot Master-Class AUTHOR'S NOTE: My belief has always been that the tarot cards are infinitely flexible and adaptable to any situation, given that each … Continue reading Reductionism as the Tarot Reader’s Duty
A “Life’s Big Questions” Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a tarot spread that should be useful for exploring any profound existential issues confronting a seeker. In it, the analytical shares equal billing with the mystical (which is my customary approach to divination). The five-fold architecture of the layout is more philosophical than pragmatic in a "fortune-telling" sense. It is to … Continue reading A “Life’s Big Questions” Spread
A Potential-Mapping Spread in Three Parts: High Road, Low Road and Middle Way
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a spread for the analysis of situations that offer three ways to confront the ethical choices facing the querent: a "High Road" of wisdom; a "Low Road" of folly; and a "Middle Way" of apathy. There are five factors on each path that are subject to optimization or abasement according to … Continue reading A Potential-Mapping Spread in Three Parts: High Road, Low Road and Middle Way
One Oar in the Water: Reversal as “Rowing in Circles”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In common slang, failing to have "both oars in the water" carries a meaning similar to "not playing with a full deck," but in tarot terms this nautical metaphor could imply rowing in circles, unable to find a direct route to one's destination. Here I'm applying it to the conundrum of reversed cards … Continue reading One Oar in the Water: Reversal as “Rowing in Circles”
Court Cards As “Loss of Control”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've almost always viewed court cards in a reading as describing potential interaction with other people who have an interest in the matter, or as attitudes and behaviors the seeker should either adopt or avoid. But I just encountered another possibility in a sub-reddit thread. Suppose that numerous court cards in a spread … Continue reading Court Cards As “Loss of Control”
Confronting Reversals: Do We Retreat or Advance?
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?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 