AUTHOR'S NOTE:: This spread was inspired by the discussion of the Chinese Lo Shu Square in Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot, but I've taken it in a different direction. The objective is to first read the "force-and-form" axes from top-to-bottom and left-to-right, respectively to see how the situation will develop when unaffected by "big-picture" environmental concerns. … Continue reading The “Cross-and-Square of Becoming” – A Force-and-Form Situational Awareness Spread
Tarot
NFL Football: Patriots at Seahawks, September 9, 2026
UPDATE: It looks like the Seahawks found the pulse of all those reversed trump cards after all. The only thing I can say about this reading - other than that I'm getting better at "hedging" - is that the final point spread was within range of the predicted single touchdown, although on the wrong side. … Continue reading NFL Football: Patriots at Seahawks, September 9, 2026
A National Football League Game Prediction Template
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's that time of year again, at least for US sports fans. Since 2018 I've been using my "Enemy at the Gate" conflict-resolution spread to predict the outcome of National Football League games. Over the years I've occasionally tinkered with the original design for that specific purpose, so I decided to formalize the … Continue reading A National Football League Game Prediction Template
A Tarot Card-Counting Tableau
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After a long spell pursuing other divination-related interests, I've returned to reading Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot and was just examining her card-counting approach to populating spreads. She uses the Golden Dawn technique from the "Opening of the Key" method, but I find it counterintuitive so I decided to create my own based loosely … Continue reading A Tarot Card-Counting Tableau
Tarot-Card Rank as a Measure of “Reach”
Author's Note: In her book Tarot and the Tree of Life, Isabel Kliegman spent some time describing the implications of accidental ennoblement as symbolized by common suit, element, number, polarity or rank displayed by several cards in a reading. This commonality (known as "dignity") gave the affected cards an edge in effectiveness over their unaffiliated … Continue reading Tarot-Card Rank as a Measure of “Reach”
A Four-Function General Well-Being Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread based on the First Operation of the Golden Dawn's "Opening of the Key" method, but with no Significator and without the formal counting of cards to populate it. The four sub-packs from right-to-left are the same - Fire, Water, Air and Earth, but I've retitled them to suit my … Continue reading A Four-Function General Well-Being Spread
Midterm Election: Trump the Enabler or Trump the Adversary?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It was probably inevitable but I have to mention before continuing that Donald Trump looms large in this midterm election forecast as the Emperor, first upright as "Trump the Enabler" in the Republicans' "Chance to Win" position, and then reversed as "Trump the Adversary" in the Democrats' "Weaknesses" position. In the first instance, … Continue reading Midterm Election: Trump the Enabler or Trump the Adversary?
Parsing the Past in a Celtic Cross Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before the Jungian tinkerers got hold of it, the original Celtic Cross spread had two positions that reflected the querent's prior circumstances, and these are still in use by many traditional readers. There is a popular belief that there is no point in having a "past" position in a tarot reading because the … Continue reading Parsing the Past in a Celtic Cross Reading
A Three-Card “Yes-or-No” Spread with Extra Detail (à la Eden Gray)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In her 1971 book, Mastering the Tarot, Eden Gray presented a three-card "yes-or-no" predictive model that had the four Aces as its key feature. (Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot pointed me at it and I do in fact own a copy.) I've adapted Gray's approach in developing this spread, but I won't offer a … Continue reading A Three-Card “Yes-or-No” Spread with Extra Detail (à la Eden Gray)
“Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)”
"We got to realize that ninety-nine and a half just won't doNo, got to have a hundred, oh yeah"- from the rhythm & blues song by Wilson Pickett AUTHOR'S NOTE: Today - for the third or fourth time in nine years - I've reached 100 consecutive days of posting on this blog, which is nowhere … Continue reading “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)”
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 