. . . but the curmudgeon is always in! I'm inclined to approach a tarot session as I would a surgical emergency room rather than as an updated 19th Century parlor pastime: "We're going to perform a little triage here, not just exchange polite pleasantries. It could get bloody!" But I'm suspicious that many newcomers … Continue reading The Doctor Is Out
New Age
Divinatory Revisionism
Yesterday I was reading an article that equated geomancy with "earth healing" - that is healing of or through the Earth. This stopped me in my tracks because not only does this usage have absolutely nothing to do with the suffix "mancy," which derives from the ancient Greek word "manteia," meaning divination, it is at odds with … Continue reading Divinatory Revisionism
Craft, Career or Calling?
I sometimes wonder how many people actually make a living wage in the field of divination, much less a handsome income. There are notable exceptions, of course, mostly respected authors, teachers, lecturers, artists, publishers and the occasional shop owner (although those are rapidly disappearing or diversifying in the face of crushing online sales). But I would venture to … Continue reading Craft, Career or Calling?
Love at First Insight
A comment I encountered on Facebook recently caused me to revisit and reaffirm my reasons for working with the tarot. The woman was arguing against its use for divination, and said "We all know that the original purpose of the tarot was self-improvement." Well, no, actually we don't. Clearly this person doesn't have a clue … Continue reading Love at First Insight
Mea Culpa, Baby . . . Maybe
I appreciate the expression mea culpa. It has a contrite, confessional ring to it that in this imperfect world may in fact only be, like the Tarot de Marseille stage-magician's averted glance, an attempt to deflect critical scrutiny (call it moral sleight-of-hand). Bring attention to the little sins and let the big ones go so … Continue reading Mea Culpa, Baby . . . Maybe
“All Eyes and No Sight”
Although I made my daily post for June 30 early this morning, I was sitting at my desk looking at a mug with amusing Shakespearean quotes on it given to me by my daughter-in-law when I spied the words "all eyes and no sight." This was excerpted from the line in the play Troilus and Cressida … Continue reading “All Eyes and No Sight”
So Easy a Caveman (or Any Man) Could Do It
Permit me a little latitude (at least in my terminology if not in my attitude, which is in the main sympathetic - and please forgive the unintended limerick) as I examine the demographics of the modern tarot community. Back in the early '70s social connectivity other than barroom malingering was virtually unheard of beyond one's … Continue reading So Easy a Caveman (or Any Man) Could Do It
Life After Tarot
I'm not going anywhere. At least not soon, and not unless I'm carried out. I've just been wondering where I might point my omnivorous intellectual appetite next in the world of metaphysical inquiry. There is still some unfinished business in that area: I have to get back to my study and practice of geomancy, which … Continue reading Life After Tarot
Saving Tarot from Psychology
During a delightful presentation by Rachel Pollack at a regional tarot meeting on Saturday, the subject of fortune-telling came up. Rachel made the fascinating remark that back when she began reading for others over forty years ago, she was committed to saving tarot from the tarnish of fortune-telling, but now she is more inclined to … Continue reading Saving Tarot from Psychology
The Other “I” Words
Since I describe myself as a storyteller in the same breath that I profess to being a diviner, I often find that intuition is thin sauce with which to season my readings. It's not something that can typically be turned on and off at will like a faucet; when it's "on," it's free-flowing and insightful, … Continue reading The Other “I” Words
