As an astrologer of long standing, I've always been fascinated by the internal or secondary structure in my tarot readings offered by the symbolic architecture of the astrological correspondences developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at the end of the 19th Century (see the chart below). Some of them work better than … Continue reading Daily Patterns: “Moon-Day,” “Mars-Day,” Etc.
Experimental Methods
A Domino-and-Cards Example Reading: House Sale
To test this spread I chose a real-life situation in which acquaintances have just started the process of trying to sell their current house and move to a bigger one. The deck here is the RWS Centennial Edition in a Tin (copyright U.S. Games, Stamford, CT, used by permission) that I shuffled to introduce random … Continue reading A Domino-and-Cards Example Reading: House Sale
“Hot” Cards
Many of my ideas about Lenormand reading spring from my numerous fertile conversations on the Aeclectic Tarot forum with authors Andy Boroveshengra and Mary K. Greer before they both moved on - and then we all did. This one is no exception. I've written on this subject before (links below) but I wanted to sharpen … Continue reading “Hot” Cards
An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
Here is a 15-card spread that explores the notion that cards will complement one another according to the position they hold within the 78-card series, essentially creating pairs of "symbolic parallels." It is intended to show the querent's psychological orientation to the subject of the reading as it develops over time, from initial awareness to … Continue reading An Experiment in “Symbolic Parallels”
“Up the Down Staircase” – The Reversed Quintessence Card
A number of years ago, a young woman who went by the online name of "Amanda" on the now-defunct Aeclectic Tarot forum gave me the idea of subtracting the face value of any reversed cards in a spread when doing the "quintessence" calculation, which can result in a negative total and therefore a reversed "quint" … Continue reading “Up the Down Staircase” – The Reversed Quintessence Card
A “Psychometric” Yes-or-No Reading Approach
The dilemma of how to handle "yes-or-no" questions (or whether to even attempt answering them) is one that all tarot readers must confront sooner or later. I've tried numerous ways, both simple and complicated, to solve the problem and a few years ago I created a table of what I dubbed "Yes-Leaning," "No-Leaning" and "Maybe" … Continue reading A “Psychometric” Yes-or-No Reading Approach
Daily “Hermetic Meditation” #1
Casting around for something new to post, I decided to do a series of daily "Hermetic Meditations" using the various Golden-Dawn and Thoth-based decks I own. I have around a dozen of them now and will be rotating them in and out of the six-card pull regularly. The layout is the graphic for my "Pentagram … Continue reading Daily “Hermetic Meditation” #1
The Major Arcana and the “Box of Chocolates”
In previous posts I've presented the observation that, in my own experience, Major Arcana (or trump) cards appearing in a spread seldom indicate the actual arrival of significant events in everyday terms, and serve more to show the overriding tone, theme or scenic backdrop for the period covered by the reading. They may still create … Continue reading The Major Arcana and the “Box of Chocolates”
The “Solunar” Situational Development and Outcome Spread
When I was a young fisherman and knew nothing about astronomical cycles, I used to ponder the "solunar tables" that purported to forecast the best fishing times. I never did completely fathom them, but most used the daily position of the Moon (Moonrise, Moonset, Moon Overhead, Moon Underfoot); some added Sunrise and Sunset; a few … Continue reading The “Solunar” Situational Development and Outcome Spread
“Crossing the Bridge” Spirit Contact Spread
I occasionally see requests for "spirit contact" spreads. Here is one that focuses on facilitating psychic readiness. This won't do much for you if you don't assume the existence of an "Astral Plane."