AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently came across the concept of "weaving differences into harmony" that is a perfect expression of the tarot reader's art. The relevant post disappeared from my Facebook feed immediately after I viewed it so I'm unable to cite the inspiration for this essay other than to recall that it was related to … Continue reading “Weaving Differences into Harmony”
Tarot Theory
Esoteric Correspondences “In the Trenches”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been inspired by something I just read in T. Susan Chang's Tarot Correspondences: Ancient Secrets for Everyday Readers to revisit a subject I covered a few years ago in my essay "Correspondences: How Much is Too Much?" (linked below). Her section on "putting it all together" provides useful techniques by which the … Continue reading Esoteric Correspondences “In the Trenches”
Swapping Correspondences for the Empress and the Lovers*
*Empress = Taurus (the most fertile of signs) and the Lovers = Venus (the Goddess of Love) In an earlier post (linked below), I explored "rethinking" the Golden Dawn's astrological assignments for the Major Arcana based on my five decades of practice with the esoteric tarot and astrology. This is the third in my series … Continue reading Swapping Correspondences for the Empress and the Lovers*
Affinity or Dignity? – Elemental Compatibility in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In its Liber T tarot curriculum, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn presented elaborate and prescriptive rules for the analysis of elemental associations between cards of different suits in a tarot reading, an interpretive technique known as "Elemental Dignity." The classical premise was that Fire and Air are "friendly" to one another, … Continue reading Affinity or Dignity? – Elemental Compatibility in Tarot Reading
Death Reversed: Resetting the Agenda
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When upright, the Death card of the tarot is usually understood to mean that something of great importance to the querent will come to an end to make way for something new. It echoes the Coffin, one of the "stop" cards in Lenormand reading, that always indicates a terminal event after which a … Continue reading Death Reversed: Resetting the Agenda
Action-and-Event-Oriented Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm currently working my way through the court-card section of Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot, and one of her observations struck an agreeable chord: the presence of these cards in a spread signifies human activity, and the more of them there are, the higher the energy level will be. In other words, court cards … Continue reading Action-and-Event-Oriented Tarot Reading
Keeping It Real: Intimations of the Truth
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While observing conversations in the online tarot community, I've noticed that attempts to interpret the cards pulled by other members veer far off-course into mystical and psychological abstractions that don't really address the question posed by the inquirer, who is invariably an inexperienced beginner looking for guidance from more seasoned readers. Part of … Continue reading Keeping It Real: Intimations of the Truth
“Igniting Consciousness” – The Tarot Reader’s Mission
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I recently plowed my way through a lengthy post on the r/Tarot sub-reddit in which the author discussed the true purpose of tarot reading, ending with the opinion that it's all about igniting the seeker's consciousness via an act of motivation. I like this focus much better than the typical goal of "empowerment," … Continue reading “Igniting Consciousness” – The Tarot Reader’s Mission
Tarot Signals: Symbolic vs. Visionary Impressionism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I've set out to examine the differences between the two main modes of tarot interpretation: objective (or descriptive, akin to the way Lenormand cards are read) and subjective (or suggestive, which displays a more intuitive or psychic bias). A couple of years ago I was approached by a prospective client who wanted … Continue reading Tarot Signals: Symbolic vs. Visionary Impressionism
“Ballpark” Tarot Timing: Finesse In Action
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've made several attempts to come up with a reliable method for timing future events with the tarot cards. So far, success has eluded me because every innovation has remained susceptible to producing irrational answers that don't accurately reflect the context of the question (e.g. short-turnaround situations too often receive grossly exaggerated long-term … Continue reading “Ballpark” Tarot Timing: Finesse In Action
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 