As is no doubt self-evident from my previous posts here, I love complex spreads with lots of working parts to coordinate. This spread is a substitute for the Celtic Cross and covers much the same ground, but is entirely situational in content with no overt psychological assumptions other than the inferred attributes of the Significator … Continue reading “Parsifal’s Microscope” In-Depth Analysis Spread
Tarot
The Druid Craft Tarot Deck Interview
A conversation on one of the tarot forums about whether the Druid Craft Tarot is "mean" prompted me to run it through my "Tell Me No Lies" personality-profile deck interview. https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsz2m38qfzgh9p1/Expanded%20New%20Deck%20Challenge%20Spread.pdf?raw=1 The top row is the Wands row, indicative of the deck’s vitality and spirit; the second row is the Cups row, showing the deck’s … Continue reading The Druid Craft Tarot Deck Interview
A Summer Solstice Processional Spread
New Year's Day is basically a meaningless date for me. My annual cycle begins on the Summer Solstice, which happens to be my birthday. This month marks the end of my 70th trip around the Sun, so I decided to create a new solstice spread to mark the occasion. I figured seven cards (one for … Continue reading A Summer Solstice Processional Spread
Saving Tarot from Psychology
During a delightful presentation by Rachel Pollack at a regional tarot meeting on Saturday, the subject of fortune-telling came up. Rachel made the fascinating remark that back when she began reading for others over forty years ago, she was committed to saving tarot from the tarnish of fortune-telling, but now she is more inclined to … Continue reading Saving Tarot from Psychology
Involution vs. Evolution
As I continued to look for subtle patterns in the multi-faceted relationship between the cards of the Minor Arcana, I began thinking about the flow of elemental energy on the qabalistic Tree of Life. In the most commonly applied model, that flow follows the top-to-bottom Path of the Lightning Flash or Flaming Sword, with the … Continue reading Involution vs. Evolution
A “Twist of Fate” Example Reading
Here is an example of how to read the "Twist of Fate" spread I posted last night. I used my favorite "take-no-prisoners," socio-psychological mudslinging deck, Brian Williams' Post-Modern, or "PoMo," Tarot. Note that, although Williams considered his suit of "TVs" to represent Fire and "Guns" to reflect Air, I believe that TVs are better as … Continue reading A “Twist of Fate” Example Reading
The “Twist of Fate” Course-Correction Spread
Any enterprise or project can reach a point where it becomes vulnerable to external meddling, especially when someone on the outside sees an opportunity to gain some kind of advantage, whether that individual is a corporate raider, a wealthy investor, a wheeling-and-dealing venture capitalist, a conniving co-worker or a pushy mother-in-law. This is the stuff … Continue reading The “Twist of Fate” Course-Correction Spread
Cartomantic Consumerism: One Deck Too Far
A question came up on one of the tarot forums late last year that stopped me in my tracks, and after thinking carefully about it I haven't bought a new deck of any kind since (although I still lust for quite a few). "How many decks are too many?" My flippant answer at the time … Continue reading Cartomantic Consumerism: One Deck Too Far
The “Flying Leap” Illness and Injury Risk Assessment Spread
Back in the '50s when people were marginally more genteel, there was an expression of disdainful dismissal that went "Go take a flying leap" (typically off a tall building), the objective being that the miscreant would not return. Where in the '70s we might have said "Go s**t in your hat" and today we get … Continue reading The “Flying Leap” Illness and Injury Risk Assessment Spread
“Easy Come, Easy Go”
I'm not exactly "at war" with the narrative thrust of the Minor Arcana in the Waite-Smith (aka RWS) deck, but it often doesn't sit well with me because of my lengthy involvement with the Thoth deck and the Golden Dawn's system of esoteric symbolism. It's not just that the stories they tell are prosaic, they … Continue reading “Easy Come, Easy Go”
