All images © U.S. Games Systems, Inc, Stamford, CT and Lo Scarabeo, Torino, Italy This is a hypothetical reading addressing a common real-world scenario that I worked up to demonstrate my "Moral Dilemma" spread. The principals in this reading are entirely fictional. I used the Night Sun Tarot to populate the "Left-Hand Path" (or "dark" … Continue reading Joe and Jill: A “Moral Dilemma” Example Reading
Tarot
The Suit of Swords as “Opportunity” – 9 of Swords
Radiant Rider-Waite-Smith, © U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Now things start to go downhill fast in the morose-looking 9 of Swords! By all accounts, Nine is a positive number; the Third Perfection of the Greeks, the fulfillment of the element of a suit (with the Ten as a fading postscript), the number representing return to balance … Continue reading The Suit of Swords as “Opportunity” – 9 of Swords
The “Devil Made Me Do It” Moral Dilemma Spread
Every once in a while we all face a moral dilemma. They don't have to be life-changing issues (unless they snowball, of course), they can be little things. Do I tell that white lie to save someone's feelings or do I tell the plain truth and let the chips fall where they may? The basic … Continue reading The “Devil Made Me Do It” Moral Dilemma Spread
The Suit of Swords as “Opportunity” – 3 of Swords
Radiant Rider-Waite-Smith, © U.S. Games Systems The RWS version of the 3 of Swords is one card that I think can be easily misinterpreted. It has a heart on it, so it must be about heartache, right? But I see that heart as something of a red herring. Tough-minded Swords are related to mentally exigent … Continue reading The Suit of Swords as “Opportunity” – 3 of Swords
The Suit of Swords as “Opportunity” – 8 of Swords
Radiant Rider-Waite-Smith, © U.S. Games Systems, Inc. One of the greatest challenges for a tarot reader is fashioning constructive advice out of what are patently difficult cards. As I'm fond of saying, I'm no fan of the insipid - and untrue - platitude "It's all good" since, the last time I looked, "bad things" still … Continue reading The Suit of Swords as “Opportunity” – 8 of Swords
The Three-Card Carousel
"Round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows." I'm pinching those words from the old Ted Mack Amateur Hour TV show to illustrate one method of reading a three-card spread in tarot divination. There are differing opinions on this: some always read in a line from left-to-right, with the Past on the … Continue reading The Three-Card Carousel
Thrown Under the Bus: The Major Arcana and Fate
Although the title of this article is only half-serious, it points to a common perception about the appearance of several Major Arcana (aka “trump”) cards in a reading. Eden Gray summarized it neatly in her 1960 book, The Tarot Revealed: “If the majority of cards in the layout come from the Major Arcana, there is … Continue reading Thrown Under the Bus: The Major Arcana and Fate
A King is a King is . . . a Knight?
I'm going to tackle one of the most confusing and contentious issues in the annals of esoteric tarot: Samuel Liddell "Macgregor" Mathers tinkering with the traditional order of the court cards in his Golden Dawn instructional material, Liber T. At the heart of the issue is the assignment of the four classical elements, and by … Continue reading A King is a King is . . . a Knight?
A Study in Facing, Part 3: Pip Cards
The Minor Arcana, or "pip" cards, of the RWS deck are by far the most diverse population from a directional standpoint, since there are more cards that I would classify as "ambiguous." This includes cards with posture/gaze misalignment and cards with multiple figures that give no clear sense of facing or "visual flow." There are … Continue reading A Study in Facing, Part 3: Pip Cards
A Study in Facing, Part 2: Trump Cards
I separated the Major Arcana cards of the RWS deck into three subgroups: those cards that have either a pronounced or insinuated "lean" to the left (the past), those that are gazing or aligned straight out of the card, facing the observer (the present), and those that favor the right side (the future). The key … Continue reading A Study in Facing, Part 2: Trump Cards
