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Beginner’s Tarot: Getting to Know Your Deck
I’m a firm believer in learning by doing, and getting to know the components of your deck is no exception. This can also be a great daily spread for anyone. 1. Divide your deck into four stacks: • The 4 Aces • The 16 Court Cards • The 36 Minor Arcana Cards numbered 2-10 • The 22 Major Arcana…...
Major Arcana Planetary Triplicities
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn introduced what I consider the most extensive and elegant set of correspondences among the tarot and other magical systems. Here is a permutation I hadn’t seen before. It’s from The Magical Writings of Ithell Colquhoun edited by Steve Nichols. Colquhoun was an artist, magician and the biographer of…...
The Moon Card: Between a Dog and a Wolf
Do you know what the expression “entre chien et loup” or “between a dog and a wolf” means? Llewellyn’s Black and Gold Tarot – fragment It is a French description for twilight – either dusk or dawn – when the half light turns everything monochromatic and you can’t tell the difference between the wild and…...
Killing the Thoth Deck
An issue came up on one of the forums about which is the best book from which to learn about the Crowley-Harris Thoth deck. The answer for almost everyone is, without question, Aleister Crowley’s Book of Thoth. This, despite the fact that, for most beginners in esoteric studies, it seems impenetrable. Books by Duquette and…...
The ‘Breaking Your Sound Barrier’ Spread
On the morning of October 14, 1947, pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. According to PBS’s Nova program it marks a major milestone in flight and space history as “the sound barrier was no longer a barrier after all.” This spread helps you break your own “sound or noise barrier” as it is a…...
Carl Jung and Tarot
Although many tarot practitioners apply a Jungian psychological approach to their tarot work, there’s been a question as to whether Jung himself knew anything about tarot. In fact he did, and he would have liked to explore it more deeply but for a lack of hours in the day. Here are some of his references…...
Position 9 in the Celtic Cross Spread
While everyone who regularly uses the Celtic Cross Spread adapts it to their own understanding, I am going to reveal the underlying richness of the traditional “Hopes and Fears” or 9th position* of this classic spread. *I’m not counting the Significator. Both/And Early in my tarot reading career, I interpreted whatever card landed in this…...
Egypt, Tarot and Mystery School Initiations
Tarot did not originate in ancient Egypt, despite claims to the contrary. Nevertheless, an occult tradition underlies modern Tarot decks that arises from 18th century lore about the Egyptian mysteries. Mystery schools often use tarot to define the levels of their initiations and feature Egyptian god-forms and symbolism. Mystery Schools claim there is hidden meaning…...
The RWS Deck: Where Was It Between 1939-1971?
First, I need to be forthcoming and let you know that despite my 1,000+ collection of tarot decks, the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) Tarot is my all-time favorite (not that I don’t like and use many others). I’ll talk about the reasons another time. Now I just want to offer up this tidbit of publishing history. This…...
Skeptics, Mentalists and Tarot Readers: Part 1
For purposes of this article let us assume that there is no paranormal or spiritual aspect to tarot readings. Let’s pretend, for the moment, that all tarot readings have a rational basis in easily explained normal human skills. Skeptics and mentalists reduce tarot reading to just this level. Mentalists utilize skills to make money in…...
