The "boy-meets-girl" fairy-tale is one of the oldest (and perhaps now most irrelevant) cliches in the annals of romantic storytelling. It struck me that the RWS suit of Cups offers an almost pitch-perfect "storyboard" for the ups-and-downs often associated with these narratives, with a few added wrinkles to make it interesting. In this essay I … Continue reading The “Boy-Meets-Girl” RWS Storyboard
The RWS Tarot as Storyboard
From Wikipedia: "A storyboard is a graphic organizer in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence." I think this definition is a workable analogy for envisioning the "movie" of a querent's life as it unfolds into the future … Continue reading The RWS Tarot as Storyboard
RWS, TdM and Lenormand Binning
I have now added searchable categories for my Waite-Smith, Tarot de Marseille and Lenormand-related posts and am beginning to populate them. These posts aren't as easy to chase down as the Thoth group because they are often tied to broader commentary, so it will take me some time to capture them. As before, use the … Continue reading RWS, TdM and Lenormand Binning
My Thoth Material: Of Gold and Gorillas
I've long considered the Thoth deck by Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris to be the "gold standard" and the "300-pound gorilla" of the tarot world, and my blog is graced (or littered, depending on your level of tolerance for Crowley) with numerous dedicated posts and incidental references to it. I decided to create a category … Continue reading My Thoth Material: Of Gold and Gorillas
A Missing-Person Update: Brandon
I originally analyzed the disappearance of 20-year-o;d Brandon Chicklis in June, and noted that it didn't appear he was buried (he wasn't) but that he might be drowned (he wasn't that either). His body was later found on the side of a road in New Hampshire. https://parsifalswheeldivination.com/2018/06/30/where-is-brandon-a-missing-person-reading/ But this case continues to get more interesting, … Continue reading A Missing-Person Update: Brandon
The “Needs Fulfillment” Relationship Spread
I don't know how this one escaped my initial push to post all of my spreads here. I created it back in 2016, but it has since been eclipsed by shorter, simpler spreads. Still, in going back over the guidance text, I find that it has value in more complicated situations, not all of which … Continue reading The “Needs Fulfillment” Relationship Spread
Tarot de Marseille: Built for Comfort, Not for Speed
"Some folk rip and roar, some folk b'lieve in signs But if you want me, you got to take your time Because I'm built for comfort, I ain't built for speed" Built for Comfort (Willie Dixon/Howling Wolf) There is something (well, actually 40 "somethings") about the Tarot de Marseill that eludes a facile approach to … Continue reading Tarot de Marseille: Built for Comfort, Not for Speed
The “Tower Moment”
There occasionally comes a time for many of us (hopefully not often) when our personal "house of cards" topples to the ground and hope temporarily vanishes, eclipsed by despair. West Coast blues master Charles Brown once memorialized the aftermath of this traumatic scenario in the dirge-like tune "Black Night." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-71jfEwX-xQ Tarot has a card that … Continue reading The “Tower Moment”
Venus and the Horned Moon
“ . . . while close above the Eastern bar the horned Moon, with one bright Star almost between the tips." (from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge). On Sunday night, July 16, 2018, we observed a rare celestial phenomenon, technically called an occultation of Venus by the Moon with Earthshine, but … Continue reading Venus and the Horned Moon
The Nasties
When I returned to professional reading at a local New Age shop a couple of years ago, the proprietress gave me a piece of good advice: the tarot contains a few trump cards that really throw sitters for a loop if they pop up unheralded as the "outcome" in a reading, especially if those clients … Continue reading The Nasties
