I don't use the 3-card "past/present/future" spread very much because I find it lacking in detail. Trying to stuff all of the relevant nuances of a moment in time into the narrow confines of a single card is like omitting the yeast when baking bread; it can be done but the results are usually quite … Continue reading The “Alternate Reality” Timeline Spread
Tarot
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Threes
In esoteric number theory, the Three represents growth, progress and opportunity. Geometrically, it is symbolized by the triangle, the third point of which provides a new perspective by mediating between the other two; thus, "understanding" is also indicated. Another thought is that it implies "getting off the treadmill" implied by the cyclical motion of the Two and … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Threes
Invictus and the Tarot Triptych
In honor of William Ernest Henley's poem Invictus, which started me down this road with the line "My head is bloody, but unbowed" and its perfect complement in the Waite-Smith Tarot's 9 of Wands, I decided to render the entire poem in tarot cards. Although the text is structured in four-line stanzas, the three-card triptych made for … Continue reading Invictus and the Tarot Triptych
The Jabberwocky and the Thoth Tarot
There is something slightly dismal about the opening and closing stanzas of the famous Lewis Carroll nonsense poem that reminds me of some of the more unsettling cards of the Thoth deck (must be those flimsy, miserable, shabby-looking birds described by Humpty Dumpty). I took on the interesting challenge of finding correlations between the cards and the rest … Continue reading The Jabberwocky and the Thoth Tarot
The “Measure of the Moment” Spread
Although this decision-making spread looks complicated, it is more so in its derivation than in its interpretation. At its simplest, it consists of four main elemental cards, each flanked by two modifiers, that represent active agents expressing the thrust of the energies in the matter of the reading. The title refers to the confluence of those energies … Continue reading The “Measure of the Moment” Spread
Changing Gears
This is a reading about a setback and an opportunity. Our ongoing saga of relocating across the State to be closer to our granddaughter continues. A couple of months ago when we had two or three potential houses lined up for viewing, I did a reading that showed we would find a house but probably not … Continue reading Changing Gears
Annabel Lee in the Cards
I can't get enough of this project, and Edgar Allan Poe has me by the throat! His somber poem Annabel Lee overflows with vivid imagery that is well-served by the cards of the tarot. Once again, I'm using both "small" cards and trumps in the visual narrative, and this time a court card sneaks in as … Continue reading Annabel Lee in the Cards
The Raven and the Dark “Pip” Cards
There is a dark current running through the Minor Arcana (or scenic "pip") cards of the Waite-Smith deck that finds its most eloquent expression in the suits of Cups and Swords. I was encouraged by my daughter-in-law to examine Edgar Allan Poe's gloomy, elegiac poem The Raven for inclusion in my "poetry-as-trumps" project, and in doing so I couldn't … Continue reading The Raven and the Dark “Pip” Cards
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Twos
The number Two represents the Line in Pythagorean number theory; it is the original Point "in extension," which in theory is infinite but in practice joins Point A to Point B. It cycles from one extreme to the other in an oscillating or reciprocal fashion that is symbolized by the swing of a pendulum, briefly … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Twos
The Highwayman and the Major Arcana
I don't know precisely why it should be so (although I have a hunch that is rooted in psychology), but somber poems seem to lend themselves really well to my project of interpreting classic poetry in terms of the tarot trump cards. Here is a vivid example, The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. The wind was … Continue reading The Highwayman and the Major Arcana
