If you've been following my "RWS storyboard" posts and have read any of my example readings, you're already aware that I make extensive use of metaphor and analogy when interpreting the minor cards of the tarot, often bringing in shared cultural, social, historical and literary references. The Thoth tarot, my mainstay for many years, offered … Continue reading Tarot Euphemisms: A Work-in-Progress
Tarot
The Sagittarian Conundrum
Sagittarius is described in the literature of astrology as a high-minded philosophical and religious sign (along with its associated 9th-House placement in the "natural" zodiac, although traditional astrologers tell us signs and houses have nothing to do with one another); it is the province of academics and clerics and the most abstract and "temperate" of … Continue reading The Sagittarian Conundrum
Missing-Person Update #2: Brandon
The case of Brandon Chicklis is progressing, with a young Massachusetts woman to be charged with his murder. No details of the investigation were provided, other than that he was allegedly murdered in her Ashburnham, MA home and dumped in New Hampshire. http://www.wmur.com/article/1-arrested-in-connection-with-killing-of-man-found-dead-in-rindge/22530232 The first three cards as interpreted in the original reading now come … Continue reading Missing-Person Update #2: Brandon
The “Barbarians at the Gate” RWS Storyboard
This is the second in a series of "storyboard" studies of the Minor Arcana cards of the Waite-Smith deck, this time examining the Wands. The quote in the title originated in Roman times, although modern readers will connect it more readily to the story of rapacious corporate greed portrayed in the book and movie of … Continue reading The “Barbarians at the Gate” RWS Storyboard
“A Minute Passed” – The Problem of Prediction
There is an old comedy sketch by Monty Python's Eric Idle that neatly lampoons the slippery art of predicting future circumstances and events. Although the subject of Idle's monologue is anticipatory sexual tension and not divination, the notion of waiting in vain for something to happen is all too familiar. "A minute passed. Then another. Then, another … Continue reading “A Minute Passed” – The Problem of Prediction
The “Boy-Meets-Girl” RWS Storyboard
The "boy-meets-girl" fairy-tale is one of the oldest (and perhaps now most irrelevant) cliches in the annals of romantic storytelling. It struck me that the RWS suit of Cups offers an almost pitch-perfect "storyboard" for the ups-and-downs often associated with these narratives, with a few added wrinkles to make it interesting. In this essay I … Continue reading The “Boy-Meets-Girl” RWS Storyboard
The RWS Tarot as Storyboard
From Wikipedia: "A storyboard is a graphic organizer in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence." I think this definition is a workable analogy for envisioning the "movie" of a querent's life as it unfolds into the future … Continue reading The RWS Tarot as Storyboard
RWS, TdM and Lenormand Binning
I have now added searchable categories for my Waite-Smith, Tarot de Marseille and Lenormand-related posts and am beginning to populate them. These posts aren't as easy to chase down as the Thoth group because they are often tied to broader commentary, so it will take me some time to capture them. As before, use the … Continue reading RWS, TdM and Lenormand Binning
My Thoth Material: Of Gold and Gorillas
I've long considered the Thoth deck by Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris to be the "gold standard" and the "300-pound gorilla" of the tarot world, and my blog is graced (or littered, depending on your level of tolerance for Crowley) with numerous dedicated posts and incidental references to it. I decided to create a category … Continue reading My Thoth Material: Of Gold and Gorillas
A Missing-Person Update: Brandon
I originally analyzed the disappearance of 20-year-old Brandon Chicklis in June, and noted that it didn't appear he was buried (he wasn't) but that he might be drowned (he wasn't that either). His body was later found on the side of a road in New Hampshire. https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com/2018/06/30/where-is-brandon-a-missing-person-reading/ But this case continues to get more interesting, … Continue reading A Missing-Person Update: Brandon
