Gilding the Weed

I'm often amused by the earnest claims of professional diviners who trumpet  how "accurate" they are, as if being "right" surpasses being "helpful" in their interaction with their clientele. Since I have yet to see a workable empirical model that everyone can agree on for measuring the accuracy of our readings, much less practice in …

Symbolic Inclusiveness vs. Singularity of Purpose

Symbolic inclusiveness: The idea that all symbols are interchangeable and can mean anything one wants them to mean; personal perception "in the moment" trumps the accumulated wisdom of the ages, so there is no need to learn the symbolic language of any particular system of thought in order to practice it. Throw enough symbols at …

Another Missing Tyler

Sixteen-year-old Tyler Christensen went missing from the Edmonds, Washington area on April 19, 2016 and hasn't been heard from in over two years. I decided to subject this cold case to my "Train to Nowhere" missing-person spread. I used the Thoth deck and chose the Princess/Page/ Knave of Wands as Significator based on his youth …

The Twos and the Sword of Damocles

The analogy I'm attempting here may be too much of a stretch even for me, but let's see where it takes us. Damocles was a courtier to King Dionysius II, 4th Century BC ruler of Syracuse. He was the classic "Man Who Would Be King," envious of the tyrant's power and glory. His thinking would …

Numerological Counterparts: “Pips-as-Trumps” Revisited

Although I posted my original thoughts on this subject some time ago, I have since come across further discussion in the literature on the concept of numerological counterparts for the trump cards, both within the 22-card major series and among the 40-card minor population. This model was first proposed as a way to make sense …

The Pathfinder

In a previous post I examined the relationship between astrological Saturn and its "counterbalance," Jupiter, likening the former to the structure of our individual social vehicle (also our protective shell or "armor") and the latter to the indwelling spirit of adventure that motivates the apparatus of interpersonal outreach. One represents the gears, wheels and levers …

The Funnel, the Hourglass and the Megaphone

As a visual artist of the graphic persuasion, I'm constantly looking for patterns in card layouts. The Lenormand Grand Tableau is particularly ripe for this pursuit. I've already posted about "ripples on the pond" (concentric circles of cards surrounding the various topic cards that overlap, either reinforcing or cancelling one another); "knighting arrays" (block patterns …

Roll the Credits

If you have been following my spread development arc, you will have noticed that I frequently make use of two graphic wheels showing the attribution of the 78 cards of the tarot to the system of astrological correspondences formulated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The foundation of this system is the arrangement …

An Astro-Tarot Mood Index

I'm always looking for new ways to blend the Golden Dawn's astrological correspondences with practical tarot applications. Here is my latest effort. The idea behind it is to use the "natural" (Aries-rising) zodiac and the current "sky-map" for the five "personal" planets (Sun through Mars*) to create a template on which to cast a number …

Where Is Tyler? – A Missing Person Reading

UPDATE: The missing sailor was found unharmed in another State. As I expected, this comes from the news agencies: "No other details about Tyler's circumstances were released." A young sailor has gone missing from Groton, CT after having left home on his Honda motorcycle last Tuesday. http://www.wmur.com/article/silver-alert-issued-for-missing-new-england-navy-sailor/19860623 Although I haven't been getting much satisfaction out …