A “Yin-and-Yang” Monthly Pattern

My efforts to apply the Yin and Yang principles of Chinese philosophy to the monthly cycle of the Moon via the Major Arcana of the tarot proved to be more difficult than anticipated. I suspect this is due mostly to the fact that the Moon is a quintessential symbol of the feminine Yin, and the …

The Tens as “Disengagement”

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This meditation on the nature of Ten is an extension of my previous thoughts on the subject. I've written in the past that, esoterically speaking, the Tens of the tarot suits represent the exhaustion of the original elemental force that first appeared as pure, untrammeled spiritual energy in the Aces. This is based …

A “Yin-and-Yang” Seasonal Pattern

As I continue to explore the Taijii ("Yin/Yang") symbol in combination with the Major Arcana of the tarot, I downloaded an image and inserted the semi-annual solstices and equinoxes to create a four-season cyclical pattern showing the interplay between the dark of Yin and the light of Yang over the course of a year. I …

“Tao Jones and the Wages of Yin”

Copyright U.S. Games Systems, Stamford, CT Forgive my weakness for loopy "pop-culture" titles, but this one comes from a serious place. As I previously mentioned, I'm reading a fine book titled The Tao of Thoth and went online to look for an image of the Taijii ("Yin-Yang") symbol. I came up with one that showed …

“No Wrong Way” (But Maybe Better Ones)

I'm weary of hearing well-intentioned metaphysical mavens trumpet "There is no wrong way to read the tarot," which is usually appended with "Just do whatever you feel." I recently came across a quote from Aleister Crowley that I think is appropriate here: "There are only two operations possible in the Universe, Analysis and Synthesis. To …

A Tale of Two Wanderers

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've always believed that - apart from their customary role in the "Fool's Journey" pageant - there is more to be said about the visual similarities between the Waite-Smith Hermit and the Fool than I've come across in the literature. Here I explore one version of it in "storytelling" guise. I've been bemused …

The “Anatomy of Affirmation” Self-Actualization Spread and Example Reading

I created a self-actualization spread for rational/emotional self-work that uses a pre-selected trump card as its focus, and the idea of contrasting "hard" (rational) and "soft" (emotional) approaches with Elemental Dignities as the main determinant. I also included a tenth card under the middle "Full Face" position and called it "The Back of the Head" …

Topic Is King

I've been reading tarot cards for several decades now without needing to know in advance exactly what the sitter (querent, client, etc.) is seeking. Since discovering the idea in Eden Gray's book The Tarot Revealed, I've always felt that - beside offering total privacy unless the sitter chooses to breach it - such an unstructured …

The “Khayyam’s Dialectic” Spiritual Alignment Spread

As a lover of both classical poetry and metaphysical theorizing, I have long adored (not a word I use often or lightly) the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It's full of elegant verse and philosophical profundity (and the joy of wine). I decided to use it as the basis for a tarot spread aimed at the …

A “Road to Shambala” Self-Development Example Reading

I performed a reading to test the spread of the same name I posted a couple of days ago, using three copies of the Retro Thoth deck (and being extra-careful to keep all of the decks separate). I didn't use reversals for the purpose of this demonstration. In the "Who Should I become?" position I …