"Mixed-media" technique is a concept usually limited to the visual arts; a good example would be combining paste-up photo-collage and manual deposition of some kind (brush, pen, pencil, crayon, stick, etc.) to create an integrated and aesthetically pleasing image. (Before anyone asks, presentation technology often relies on "multi-media" delivery, a different animal.) I'll get to … Continue reading “Mixed-Media” Reading
Tarot
Enlightened Folly?
More musings on "how tarot works," with a new twist or two (but I will spare you a few of my overused personal aphorisms and axiomatic bromides). I've long believed that the Age of Enlightenment (aka the Age of Reason) that arose out of Renaissance "humanism" between the 17th and early 19th Centuries did more … Continue reading Enlightened Folly?
DAS: A Joyful Scourge
Around the end of every year there seems to be a flood of new-deck announcements and glossy (albeit online for most of us) catalogs from Lo Scarabeo, U.S. Games Systems and a few smaller publishing houses. These feed the pernicious addiction many of us share: "Deck Acquisition Syndrome." Every tarot forum I've participated in (I'm … Continue reading DAS: A Joyful Scourge
The “Hopscotch” Multi-Tier Situational Awareness Spread
As is most likely apparent, I enjoy spreads that take unexpected twists and turns at some point in their journey from question to answer. This one uses reversed cards to change the direction of the flow from a typically linear, left-to-right model to a more complex, multi-tiered affair that can descend into situational ambiguity as … Continue reading The “Hopscotch” Multi-Tier Situational Awareness Spread
High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
Yesterday while performing a reading I was struck by the notion that certain cards literally stand out from the pack as "high-focus" since they are symbolically replete and subject to little or no modulation in their expression. My immediate examples were the Aces, which are undivided and uncomplicated in behavior and purpose; they make a … Continue reading High-Focus Cards: An Input/Output Model
A Simple Event-Timing Example Reading
To test this spread, I decided to run it on our open question regarding when we can expect a final answer from the people who are interested in buying our property. I used the Waite-Smith Centennial Pocket Edition (for no other reason than that it fits on my small reading table), and swapped in the … Continue reading A Simple Event-Timing Example Reading
A Simple Event-Timing Spread
Accurately foretelling the time-frame for an anticipated event is the second of the "Three Great Challenges" facing any diviner. The primary focus of a predictive reading is obviously "whether" the event is going to happen at all; next comes "if yes, when?" The question of "where" is a distant third, usually overshadowed by secondary considerations … Continue reading A Simple Event-Timing Spread
Why Waite? Why Now?
After a couple of recent conversations with what I can only think of as "traditional tarot snobs" (which is not necessarily a bad thing, it was just painfully obvious that I was talking to a wall), I decided to revisit my opinion of the Waite-Smith deck (if only because the traditionalists damn it so vehemently). … Continue reading Why Waite? Why Now?
A “Triple-Decker” Mind/Body/ Spirit Example Reading
I performed this spread to project my own circumstances over the next six months, using the Waite-Smith Centennial Pocket Edition with reversals. I deliberately chose a scenic deck for its "facing" possibilities, but the spread can be used with non-scenic decks like the Tarot de Marseille by using the odd-or-even directional model mentioned in the … Continue reading A “Triple-Decker” Mind/Body/ Spirit Example Reading
The “Triple-Decker” Mind/Body/ Spirit Six-Month Life Reading Spread
I have a strong interest in tarot spreads that function on multiple levels, particularly of the "mind/body/spirit" type. This is my second three-tiered spread to explore that territory, this time using "facing" and dispensing with the astrological correspondences. This one is developmental in nature, offering a six-month forecast, rather than a real-time "snapshot." Here is … Continue reading The “Triple-Decker” Mind/Body/ Spirit Six-Month Life Reading Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 