Trump’s Dilemma: A “Passing the Monkey” Example Reading

Subtitle: Avoiding Prosecution in the "January 6th Riot" Investigation To test my new "Passing the Monkey" problem-solving spread, I asked what would be the best way for Donald Trump to approach the risk of Congressional prosecution for his alleged role in the "January 6th Riot" in Washington, DC. Although Trump may now be "old news" …

“Passing the Monkey” – A Problem-Solving Spread

We have all been in situations that make us squirm uncomfortably, wishing with all our heart that we could "get off the hot seat" or "out from under the microscope." I was just reading some commentary about an old Harvard Business Review book titled Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey? by William Oncken and Donald …

The Impressionistic Tarot – “”What-If?” or “So-What?”

(NOTE: I'm not talking about a particular deck here, just a method of reading the cards.) It's undeniable that I'm more literal (some might say "clinical") than mystical in the way I go about dissecting the meaning of a tarot card. I start with a firm footing in the traditional definitions that have adhered to …

Chasing the Sun and Moon: The Astro-Psychology of the Major Arcana

According to the psychological astrology that had its roots in the groundbreaking work of Dane Rudhyar and Marc Edmund Jones and its initial flowering during the 1970s, the zodiacal (sign) placement of the Sun shows our Ego-center or, in more poetical terms, how we can "shine" most brightly in our personal self-expression (the house placement …

St. Stephen: “What Would Be the Answer to the Answer Man?”

I figured this would be another good opportunity to use tarot cards to illustrate a famous poem (or in this case, song lyrics). The Biblical "Deacon Stephen" was stoned to death for his heretical beliefs; his theological adversaries couldn't best him in debate so they killed him. This is arguably my favorite Grateful Dead song …

A “Three-Part Cacophony” Run-Through: What Happened to Reeves?

Here is an example run-through of my "Three-Part Cacophony" reading method. I posted photos of both the "master" layout (for reference) and the cards I pulled. I've been working on a missing-person "cold case" in NH that has remained unsolved since 1983. Reeves Johnson went missing after picking up a hitch-hiker on his way back …

Deck Review: The Remarkable (But Questionably Legal) “Retro Thoth” Mini

I've been in the market for a "mini" version of the Thoth deck for quite some time, but I've been put off by several negative reviews of the three currently-available "pocket-size" editions from 1998, 2002 and 2005, in which the weak color palette and the out-of-focus, too-small-to-see details were roundly criticized. I already had four …

The “Three-Part Cacophony” Reading Method: One Part Melody, Two Parts Counterpoint

Here's one from "way out in left field;" I chose "Cacophony" because "harmony" is never a foregone conclusion in a tarot reading. This layout has some similarities to the Celtic Cross (CC) in the way it is read, but the structure differs, the number of "developmental" cards is flexible and there are fewer fixed position …

The God Dilemma

WARNING: Here be dragons! If you are at all religious in the customary Western sense, this may insult or at the very least offend you. Proceed at your own risk if the mere mention of Richard Dawkins doesn't send you screaming for the exit. A few years ago, preeminent atheist Richard Dawkins wrote a book …

A Reasonable Assumption

As regular readers of this blog know, I'm not an advocate of remote tarot reading of any kind although, with COVID keeping me away from "live" divination venues for the foreseeable future, I've been doing a few of them by email. The thought struck me that useful parallels might be drawn between the conventions of …