In my own practice, I consider any spread of five cards or fewer to be "small." I find anything in that range to be of little use in complex scenarios with numerous variables that often have their most telling influence from behind-the-scenes. A small layout leaves a lot unsaid "between the lines" (that is, in … Continue reading A Small-Spread Overview
Tarot
“How Long, How Long”
In 1928, Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell recorded one of the first blues "standards," How Long Blues, with the lyrics: "Heard the whistle blowin', couldn't see no train Way down in my heart, I had an achin' pain How long, how long, baby how long" What, you're asking, does this random piece of music history … Continue reading “How Long, How Long”
An American Football Prediction: Super Bowl LIV*
UPDATE: Since the 49ers won the coin toss but chose to defer possession to the 2nd Half, the Chiefs took first possession of the football and therefore got the top row of the spread as Team "A." As predicted, Team "A" did in fact blow the game open with three touchdowns in the 4th quarter, … Continue reading An American Football Prediction: Super Bowl LIV*
Cartomantic Snobbery?
The snooty elitism of wine snobs is well-known. Much of their recondite vocabulary speaks of properties that apply to anything but fermented grapes. To be fair, I have come to the conclusion that some red wines do present the fanciful and not-entirely-agreeable sensory impression of "raisins" or the slightly more desirable "black currants" in both … Continue reading Cartomantic Snobbery?
A Star to Steer By
Old wine in new bottles . . . Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will no doubt have noticed that I tend to recycle certain ideas that have become almost axiomatic for me, and I trot them out whenever the occasion warrants it. There are a couple here but … Continue reading A Star to Steer By
A Milestone and a Conundrum
I've just passed 175 self-created spreads in my personal inventory (see the Dropbox link in the sidebar for the list, which you can explore in the WordPress search function), and I paused a moment to wonder whether I will ever use the majority of these spreads in practice. Although I've binned them by category, the … Continue reading A Milestone and a Conundrum
“It Is Known”
C.S. Lewis observed that history books written during the Middle Ages differed far less from the historical fiction of that time than modern histories differ from present-day historical novels (or, even more so, screenplays). He pointed out that the proper role of the Medieval historian was to accurately perpetuate the "knowledge" received from earlier authorities … Continue reading “It Is Known”
The Cartomancer Redux
I see that The Cartomancer, the magnificent (and singular) high-quality tarot journal has changed hands again. Arwen Lynch acknowledged that she was having difficulty keeping up with production demands and schedules, so she sold the quarterly glossy magazine to 7 Stones Publishing with Lori Barbieri Ross at the helm. The following message was posted on … Continue reading The Cartomancer Redux
Transitional Cards
I use two different numerical models in my work with the minor (or "pip") cards of the tarot: the Pythagorean sequence that exhibits an increasingly complex geometric progression, and the Qabalistic numeration based on the descent of the sephiroth on the Tree of Life. Both explain the emergence of formless "archetypal energy" from a primal … Continue reading Transitional Cards
A “Moving Finger” Example Reading
This example reading involves a couple I used to know whose relationship can best be described as more than a little dysfunctional. The question was "What is going to become of them?" I performed the spread in two ways, first considering reversals, and then turning all of the reversed cards upright and applying Elemental Dignities. … Continue reading A “Moving Finger” Example Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 