AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a tarot spread that should be useful for exploring any profound existential issues confronting a seeker. In it, the analytical shares equal billing with the mystical (which is my customary approach to divination). The five-fold architecture of the layout is more philosophical than pragmatic in a "fortune-telling" sense. It is to … Continue reading A “Life’s Big Questions” Spread
Tarot
No Hidden AI Here, Now or Ever
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Due to the number of computer programs that are being developed to sniff out text and images that were gathered by and manipulated with LLMs, or "large language models," without being credited to the original writers or artists, I decided to state my own position on the subject, which is: "I may offer … Continue reading No Hidden AI Here, Now or Ever
Lurking Spirits and Subtle Modes of Divination
"Gideon is knocking in your hotel while you slumber"- from Prophets of Doom by Clutch AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a more thorough examination of a subject I've touched on several times in past essays, one that keeps coming up in conversations within the online tarot community due to an entrenched belief in reliable psychic disclosure … Continue reading Lurking Spirits and Subtle Modes of Divination
Gender Parallels and Partitions in the Court Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the fourfold elemental world of the occult tarot that is symbolized by Fire, Water, Air and Earth, there is a fundamental separation of the elements into two divisions of two elements each that share the same polarity (positive or negative), the same mode of operation (active or passive) and the same key … Continue reading Gender Parallels and Partitions in the Court Cards
A Potential-Mapping Spread in Three Parts: High Road, Low Road and Middle Way
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a spread for the analysis of situations that offer three ways to confront the ethical choices facing the querent: a "High Road" of wisdom; a "Low Road" of folly; and a "Middle Way" of apathy. There are five factors on each path that are subject to optimization or abasement according to … Continue reading A Potential-Mapping Spread in Three Parts: High Road, Low Road and Middle Way
Small Steps: The Wise Man’s Journey Through the Minor Arcana
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Since the rise of the Jungian approach to tarot during the early days of the "New Age" era, a sea of literary ink (both physical and digital) has been spent on explanation of the "Fool's Journey" as it applies to the Major Arcana. Here I'm proposing a similar concept for the Minor Arcana. … Continue reading Small Steps: The Wise Man’s Journey Through the Minor Arcana
Tarot Scholars vs. Tarot Mystics: A Lopsided Showdown
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a long-time student of the esoteric tarot and a committed practitioner of divination with the cards, I've always had a foot in both the scholarly and mystical camps. But my interaction with the online tarot community demonstrates that the academic perspective is far outweighed by the psychological navel-gazing, psychic mind-reading and intuitive … Continue reading Tarot Scholars vs. Tarot Mystics: A Lopsided Showdown
The Diviner’s Role: Oracle or Coach?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Back in the day when professional tarot reading was almost exclusively a face-to-face affair (unless - like Etteilla, the "father of modern cartomancy" - one occasionally resorted to "snail-mail" communication with clients), the reader served as a personal advisor who delivered first-hand consultation regarding a seeker's presumed future and what might be done … Continue reading The Diviner’s Role: Oracle or Coach?
The Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Tarot Reading
"Deal them down and deal them dirtyLife's a wheezing hurdy-gurdyDeal them up and deal them cleanMan is just a soft machine"-from Dame Fortune by the Holy Modal Rounders AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay gave me another opportunity to trot out the card-playing trope from the Holy Modal Rounder's song Dame Fortune, which alludes to the fact … Continue reading The Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Tarot Reading
One Oar in the Water: Reversal as “Rowing in Circles”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In common slang, failing to have "both oars in the water" carries a meaning similar to "not playing with a full deck," but in tarot terms this nautical metaphor could imply rowing in circles, unable to find a direct route to one's destination. Here I'm applying it to the conundrum of reversed cards … Continue reading One Oar in the Water: Reversal as “Rowing in Circles”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 