AUTHOR'S NOTE: While debating the subject of reversed cards in an r/tarot sub-reddit thread, I arrived at what I consider to be my final position on the subject. I didn't realize how sharply divided the community is on whether or not the reading of upside-down cards in a tarot spread is necessary. The skeptics like … Continue reading Supplemental Notation: The Hierarchy of Upright and Reversed Orientation in Tarot Reading
Tarot Theory
The Practical Mystic: Intelligence and Imagination in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some time ago I added a sub-category titled "Practical Mysticism" to the "Categories" drop-down menu on the sidebar. This feature was inspired by my reading of Lon Milo DuQuette's Tarot Architect and it was solidified by the observations of Dr. Dean Radin in Real Magic. I've written extensively in the past on the … Continue reading The Practical Mystic: Intelligence and Imagination in Tarot Reading
Hooray for Reversals! – A Rational Perspective At Last
AUTHOR'S NOTE: An otherwise mean-spirited rant in an r/tarot sub-reddit thread posed the perfectly legitimate question "Since when did reading reversals become controversial????" One of the more thoughtful contributors to the conversation had the following to say, and it aligns quite well with my own long-standing defense of the practice. "In my opinion, the issue … Continue reading Hooray for Reversals! – A Rational Perspective At Last
The Benefits of Structured Tarot Reading (or Pattern-Recognition on Steroids)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my considered opinion, one area where modern tarot reading has "gone off the rails" is in the rise of the so-called "freestyle" layout in which there is no established rhyme or reason to the arrangement of the cards. Its proponents claim that this "deconstructed" approach sparks their creativity but it seems to … Continue reading The Benefits of Structured Tarot Reading (or Pattern-Recognition on Steroids)
The Story of a Life: Past-Life Reading with the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A question occasionally arises in the online divination community regarding whether anyone has attempted to explore past lives with the tarot cards. I have a couple of existing spreads for this purpose, but I'm currently reading parapsychologist Dean Radin's book on yoga, Supernormal, in which he makes a case for reincarnation and past-life … Continue reading The Story of a Life: Past-Life Reading with the Tarot
Reversal As Out-of-Sync Energy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The r/tarot sub-reddit feed is turning out to be a gold-mine of inspiration now that I've dumped my Facebook account. Here is an essay based on a thread about reading reversed cards in an integrated way that looks at their interaction with the rest of the cards in a spread. First a condensed … Continue reading Reversal As Out-of-Sync Energy
Frank Herbert and Dean Radin on Prescience
“I know the trap of prescience . . . to know the future absolutely is to be trapped into that future absolutely. It collapses time. Present becomes future. It’s a subtle and powerful thing, prescience. The future becomes now." AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the above quote, Dune author Frank Herbert expressed fear of being trapped in … Continue reading Frank Herbert and Dean Radin on Prescience
The Slippery Slope of “Truth According to Tarot”
"This isn't right. This isn't even wrong."- Wolfgang Pauli AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll preface my remarks by noting that tarot's field of operation - the subconscious mind - can itself be a "slippery slope" that tilts away from where our conscious intentions want to go. We have no immediate control over its orientation and can only … Continue reading The Slippery Slope of “Truth According to Tarot”
Pre-Conditioning and Pre-Positioning: The Twin Roots of Cause-and-Effect
"There is always a 'cause' and a 'because' for every event. Nothing ever 'happens' without a cause, or rather a chain of causes. There is a continuity between all events precedent, consequent and subsequent. There is a relation existing between everything that has gone before, and everything that follows."- from The Kybalion by "Three Initiates" … Continue reading Pre-Conditioning and Pre-Positioning: The Twin Roots of Cause-and-Effect
Empowerment as “Mental Induction”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is no concept more widely endorsed in the divination community than that of peppering (aka empowering) a sitter with encouragement during the conduct of a tarot reading. We don't merely want to hand our clients relevant information about their future circumstances, we attempt to make them feel like they are (or will … Continue reading Empowerment as “Mental Induction”
