While digging through on-line interview material looking for videos by Enrique Enriquez, I came across a quote of his that put something into perspective for me. "The first metaphor in tarot happens when we shuffle the tarot. There is a carnivalesque stance in this debasement of hierarchies. I associate this with sabotaging reality. Shuffling the … Continue reading The Ringmaster Speaks
TdM
Poetry in Motion
I've been thinking about Enrique Enriquez' imaginative approach to the Tarot de Marseille that aims to turn the cards into "visual poetry," apparently without the intervention of inductive reasoning. (I believe it's intended to be more inventive and inspiring than ordinary free-association, which works rather poorly with the TdM anyway.) It seems to me that, … Continue reading Poetry in Motion
The Tarot Classic Deck Interview
Since many of you will have read my previous thoughts on the subject and perhaps some of the several "deck interviews" I've posted here, let me reiterate. I'm not one who believes that tarot decks have distinct personalities, nor that they possess speech other than what we endow them with through a convenient form of … Continue reading The Tarot Classic Deck Interview
Aristotle’s Theorem: A Situational Gestalt Spread
I've started creating spreads specifically for use with the Tarot de Marseille (but certainly not limited to it). Here is my most recent one, a sophisticated layout that can be read in whole or in discrete parts, three cards at a time or the entire 24-point tableau plus knighting. I built it around an industrial … Continue reading Aristotle’s Theorem: A Situational Gestalt Spread
A Horse of a Different Color
To my knowledge, other than the small dog in Le Mat, the lion in La Force, the two canines in La Lune and the two horses in Le Chariot, there have been few attempts to rope the Tarot de Marseille animals into the narrative of a reading and give them a starring role. I was … Continue reading A Horse of a Different Color
The “Innies” and the “Outies”
This essay is both a synopsis and a further exploration of some of the ideas I covered more fully in my "TdM Thumbnail" series of posts. Those of us who spend a good deal of time "navel-gazing" (by which I mean, of course, contemplating "the world in a grain of sand" . . . or … Continue reading The “Innies” and the “Outies”
My Weekly Elements
Since I haven't been very diligent about doing my daily "element-and-number" draws as described in my previous post, I decided to do a seven-day look-ahead using the same technique. If I remember to do so, I will probably add day-to-day pulls to the series for additional insight about this longer-range projection. Overall, it looks like … Continue reading My Weekly Elements
The “Functional” Tarot de Marseille
I have long held that the elaborate set of esoteric correspondences for the tarot developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has no place in divination with the Tarot de Marseille apart from classical suit-and-number theory (elemental and numerological associations that in their present form date back, respectively, to the Greek philosophers Empedocles … Continue reading The “Functional” Tarot de Marseille
A Tarot de Marseille Process Analysis
As I gain experience with it, I find that divination with the Tarot de Marseille (TdM) is best suited for providing a literal perspective (as with the Lenormand cards) rather than for the more symbolic, impressionistic approach used with most modern tarot decks. This is due primarily to their spare presentation that doesn't encourage much … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille Process Analysis
Weather or Not: An Event-Planning Spread
This spread serves two purposes: its more obvious aim is to forecast the likely weather conditions for a planned outdoor event or travel situation. Its more abstract objective is to serve as a data-collection tool for determining how effective prediction is with the cards. One of the chief weaknesses in cartomantic prognostication is that so … Continue reading Weather or Not: An Event-Planning Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 