"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”
Tarot Theory
“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
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
The Aces: Close-to-the-Vest
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his playing-card divination book 54 Devils, Cory Hutcheson describes the suit of Diamonds (tarot Coins or Pentacles) as relating to money and messages, while - as in most systems of cartomancy - the Ace refers to something new such as an original idea or an initiative that is still at the planning … Continue reading The Aces: Close-to-the-Vest
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”
A Matter of Symbolism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not so long ago (before purely psychic free-association became fashionable among "pop-tarot" practitioners), tarot reading was a matter of deciphering complex images to come up with a narrative that was assumed to explain mundane conditions. The diviner's art lay in the translation of decidedly arcane symbolism into more commonplace language for the purpose … Continue reading A Matter of Symbolism
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
Over-interpretation: Looking for Trouble in All the Wrong Places
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I admit to being more than a little skeptical of the "empowerment" (aka "cheerleading") mode of divination and of unbridled optimism in general, which is why I seldom take anything I see in a spread at face value. I'm always looking for the "rest of the story" (in talk-radio host Paul Harvey's memorable … Continue reading Over-interpretation: Looking for Trouble in All the Wrong Places
