A Quintessence “Thumbnail”

As I continue to post my original spreads on various sites, those layouts that include the calculation of a quintessence (aka "quint") card often receive puzzled questions and comments from tarot neophytes who have never heard of the technique. It's one I've found quite useful for neatly winding up all the threads in a reading …

The “Life’s One-Act Play” Situational Awareness Spread

A long time ago there was a song by British blues band Savoy Brown titled "Life's One-Act Play." It struck my as a perfect idea for a small spread that shows the outcome of a single "act" or "scene" in the life of the seeker. It is a three-carder at heart, with an additional summary …

Stepping Back: A “Roll Them Bones” Situational-Awareness Reading

I decided that, as of today, I will be backing off from publicly posting on the status of certain missing-person cases in New Hampshire because of the volatility of the issue, especially if criminal activity is suspected. (I will continue working on "cold cases" and less provocative scenarios.) Although I've been careful about maintaining discretion …

Should I or Shouldn’t I? – A “Measure of the Moment” Reading

After having spent most of the last month in my house, going nowhere but into the back yard, I've been itching to get into the outdoors and do something active. The governor here has been encouraging it, but so many people are following his advice that the parks and trails are crowded, defeating the purpose …

The “Unwanted Attention” Interrogation Spread

This spread is intended for use whenever confronted by either the occurrence or the possibility of unwelcome attention of any kind, whether at home or in public. It is designed as a set of questions to be asked via the cards about an absent second party who either has been making such advances or is …

“Theosophical Reduction” or “Casting Out Nines?”

I've touched on this subject before but wanted to spend some time going over the details. There are situations (particularly the "quintessence" calculation) where we add together the numerical values of all the cards in a spread to arrive at a single trump card that can provide a summary "roll-up" of the combined energies at …

An “Agree to Disagree” Example Reading

To test this spread, I asked how effective the US government's response to the COVID-19 crisis is going to be. I used the dazzling Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus Tarot (a Thoth clone), with reversals. Note that, in this case, the only relevant aspects of the two court cards are their facing and orientation; they aren't …

A Career “Fishing Expedition” Spread

While I have a few spreads that examine career potential, all of them assume that  querents have at least some idea what they want to do for work. Before today I had none that start from the perspective that some kind of employment change is crucial but the individual has no clue where that might …

Trump’s “Mamushka”

I can tell by the resounding silence whenever I post one that few people here like my political readings (I'm a "small-government" New England Libertarian at heart, not a Liberal or Socialist) but that doesn't stop me and, to be honest, I do my best to "just read the cards" and not inject personal bias …

Daily-Draw Tones and Overtones: Variations On a Theme

I've found over many years of working with them that single-card daily draws are more useful for showing the background "tone" of the upcoming day than for trying to pinpoint specific activities or events. They are too limited in scope to effectively convey all of the ramifying "overtones" that can accompany the main theme, which …