The Skeptic’s Confession

It may surprise you to see an admission of skepticism in a post by the author of a divination blog. But in fact I'm doubtful about the legitimacy of much that currently passes for truth in the metaphysical scripture of the unseen. For example, I'm a non-believer in the "Law of Attraction," which as far …

The “Hamlet Defense”

In my previously constrained magical life, which persisted for many years after we moved to rural New Hampshire in 1979 and our early attempts to start astrology and Qabala groups came to nothing, I never encountered scoffers and skeptics. Eventually, my only public exposure in the esoteric field was to the like-minded people at the local …

So You’re a Professional Tarot Reader?

In a local "commerce-and-culture" magazine, I came across an interview with a professional "Certified Life Coach" and began pondering how I would respond to such questions if they are ever presented to me as a tarot reader. Here is my version of a hypothetical interview that aligns more closely with the practice of divination. What is …

The Doctor Is Out

. . . but the curmudgeon is always in! I'm inclined to approach a tarot session as I would a surgical emergency room rather than as an updated 19th Century parlor pastime: "We're going to perform a little triage here, not just exchange polite pleasantries. It could get bloody!" But I'm suspicious that many newcomers …

The Sitter’s Intent

In his abbreviated commentary on the Major Arcana at the end of The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley observed that the Wheel of Fortune describes "Change of fortune. (This generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent.)" His point is that people who seek the advice of a diviner usually …

The “Ivory Gambit” Spread

Lately I've become fascinated with using dice and tarot in combination to produce unique forms of divination. Here the gambit (opening move) is provided by rolling dice to identify four trump cards to serve as the basis for the reading. Those trump cards are then used to extract four sets of "reading" cards from which …

A Long-Distance Travel Forecast

UPDATE #2: We hit overnight snow rather than rain at the midpoint of the trip. The remainder of the journey was uneventful. UPDATE: The weather is iffy for Thursday morning when we hoped to leave, so we might have to wait until Friday. The Mice at work eating holes in our plans! Original Post: Later …

The Heloise Lenormand “Attitude Check”

I just received Lynn Boyle's Heloise Lenormand from Australia and I'm definitely impressed. The deck is designed around a stained-glass-window motif, and the images are crystal-clear and instantly recognizable. There are five extra cards in the plain white box: the now customary second Man and Woman as well as an extra Tree, Tower and Heart. …

Turn of the Tide

It's probably obvious that I really love the tarot. It's been a faithful companion on my life's journey since I first discovered it around 1970; it brings out my contemplative side in the same way that philosophy does, thanks mainly to the writing of Aleister Crowley, whom I admire as a thinker and scholar if …

A “Rocky Road” Example Reading

I know a woman who is forever agonizing over how to get a better job but is somehow never able to "pull the trigger" on actually getting one. Something always seems to stand in her way. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to test my "Rocky Road" Self-Betterment spread. I used the Gilded Reverie …