I have a strong interest in tarot spreads that function on multiple levels, particularly of the "mind/body/spirit" type. This is my second three-tiered spread to explore that territory, this time using "facing" and dispensing with the astrological correspondences. This one is developmental in nature, offering a six-month forecast, rather than a real-time "snapshot." Here is … Continue reading The “Triple-Decker” Mind/Body/ Spirit Six-Month Life Reading Spread
A Small-Spread Overview
In my own practice, I consider any spread of five cards or fewer to be "small." I find anything in that range to be of little use in complex scenarios with numerous variables that often have their most telling influence from behind-the-scenes. A small layout leaves a lot unsaid "between the lines" (that is, in … Continue reading A Small-Spread Overview
“How Long, How Long”
In 1928, Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell recorded one of the first blues "standards," How Long Blues, with the lyrics: "Heard the whistle blowin', couldn't see no train Way down in my heart, I had an achin' pain How long, how long, baby how long" What, you're asking, does this random piece of music history … Continue reading “How Long, How Long”
An American Football Prediction: Super Bowl LIV*
* "American" because football in the rest of the world is played with a round ball. Maybe I should have said "US" or "North American" to be completely accurate. Once again, I'm attempting to predict the winner of the National Football League Super Bowl using my "Enemy at the Gates" conflict-resolution spread with the Chariot … Continue reading An American Football Prediction: Super Bowl LIV*
Cartomantic Snobbery?
The snooty elitism of wine snobs is well-known. Much of their recondite vocabulary speaks of properties that apply to anything but fermented grapes. To be fair, I have come to the conclusion that some red wines do present the fanciful and not-entirely-agreeable sensory impression of "raisins" or the slightly more desirable "black currants" in both … Continue reading Cartomantic Snobbery?
A Star to Steer By
Old wine in new bottles . . . Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will no doubt have noticed that I tend to recycle certain ideas that have become almost axiomatic for me, and I trot them out whenever the occasion warrants it. There are a couple here but … Continue reading A Star to Steer By
A Milestone and a Conundrum
I've just passed 175 self-created spreads in my personal inventory (see the Dropbox link in the sidebar for the list, which you can explore in the WordPress search function), and I paused a moment to wonder whether I will ever use the majority of these spreads in practice. Although I've binned them by category, the … Continue reading A Milestone and a Conundrum
“It Is Known”
C.S. Lewis observed that history books written during the Middle Ages differed far less from the historical fiction of that time than modern histories differ from present-day historical novels (or, even more so, screenplays). He pointed out that the proper role of the Medieval historian was to accurately perpetuate the "knowledge" received from earlier authorities … Continue reading “It Is Known”
A “Lenormand Scramble” Example Reading
This imaginary reading is based on a story I made up after seeing the cards; it's about a man who is confronting a situation where his off-and-on girlfriend has told him she is pregnant and he has misgivings about whether to ask her to marry him. I used Pixie's Astounding Lenormand for this reading. The … Continue reading A “Lenormand Scramble” Example Reading
The “Lenormand Scramble” Awareness or Action Spread
Today I'm turning my spread-creation spotlight on the Lenormand deck. Lenormand readers generally work within a fairly narrow range of spread types: left-to-right lines (usually odd-numbered, running from 3 to 9 cards that allow for a "hinge" card in the middle), squares (typically the 9-card "3X3" array) and "tableaux" (often 36 or 15 cards). I … Continue reading The “Lenormand Scramble” Awareness or Action Spread
