What Happened to Adam? – A Missing Person Reading

UPDATE: Adam Camarato was found deceased on the shore of Great Bay in Newington, NH after a three-week search. There was no further information about the cause of death, other than he seemed to be "slightly intoxicated" in surveillance videos the night of his disappearance. No toxicology results had been published as of October 3, …

Elementary, Really

I recently did a Celtic Cross reading that strongly emphasized the importance of elemental qualities in tarot interpretation. I realize that many people don't appreciate or apply esoteric correspondences in their readings, but if there is a single method that should be in every diviner's toolbox, that would be a good grasp of the four …

The Double Jeopardy Rite-of-Passage Spread

Just when it looked like I wasn't going to post today, I've come up with another new spread.  We're all familiar with the phrase "you're your own worst enemy," but in this "Age of Empowerment" we don't see it trotted out very often in tarot practice. My impression is that in this particular paradigm it's …

“When Your Gravity Fails”

For this post I'm putting a slight twist on the words of Bob Dylan from the song Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues: "When your gravity fails and positivity don't pull you through." Although it seldom happens to me after a long lifetime spent with the tarot, I frequently encounter the lament of novice (and even …

Pretzel Logic

I see so many tarot spreads invoking the "What do I need to know/What should I do/What should I avoid doing?" dynamic that I'm beginning to think that, in the eyes of the typical reader, no other paths are worthy of exploration. Certainly such an approach is effective in a utilitarian way, since it's undeniable …

“Unto the Breach” Problem-Solving Spread

Most personal-problem scenarios reach a point where things "come to a boil;" we have gained some momentum toward resolution but the opposition is entrenched, so a pitched battle ensues (even if the conflict is only within our own psyche). Some kind of "breach" has to be found (or made) in the wall of resistance that …

Mystics With Statistics

The title has a certain "ring" to it. This is another chapter in my ongoing inner debate over mysticism vs. empiricism. Warren Zevon once wrote a song called Desperados Under the Eaves that included the lines: And if California slides into the ocean Like the mystics and statistics say it will Although those mystics probably …

“Knights’ Crossing” – The Marginal Significator

In an earlier post in this series I discussed how to deal with a floating Significator or topic card that appears in the bottom row of the 9x4 layout, such that there aren't enough cards left in the deck to populate a nine-card square surrounding it. The worst case occurs when it lands in the …

“Knights’ Crossing” Example Reading #3: The 2019 “Troutlook”

I've been an avid fly-fisherman for most of my life, and was of the "catch-and-release" persuasion long before the US Border Patrol co-opted the phrase, although my targets are native and not immigrant. Hmm, come to think of it, both rainbow and brown trout are "introduced" species in my region, so there are parallels, but …

A Traditional Kipper Tableau: Assange Fallout

This is a tall order for a Kipper novice, but I decided to try the 7x5+1 traditional Kipper tableau, using the spread instructions that came with my deck and a tutorial video I found on Stella Waldvogel's cartomancy blog. The question I asked was: What legal and political "fallout" will there be from the US …