AUTHOR'S NOTE: The adventure of the title began in 2017 when I started this blog and reached a zenith with post #2,000 at the conclusion of my "tarot alchemy" series two days ago. Yesterday, post #2,001 - although little different from the 242 consecutive daily essays that preceded it - opened what I intend to … Continue reading 2,001: A Tarot Odyssey
Lottery-Ticket Tarot for the Win
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I decided to come up with a tarot-based approach for selecting the most favorable day(s) to buy weekly lottery tickets as a way to hopefully improve the probability of success. I don't gamble as a rule because, if I have a 50-50 chance of winning at any game of chance, I lose around … Continue reading Lottery-Ticket Tarot for the Win
Trump-Card Functionality: A Learning Exercise
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a two-part learning exercise with a dual purpose - to study individual cards that have been giving us trouble during interpretation, and to examine their effects in combination with other cards as a way to better understand their practical functionality. This essay is a couple of months old and the narrative … Continue reading Trump-Card Functionality: A Learning Exercise
Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Coagulation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As the final stage in traditional alchemy, one that is analogous to the clotting of blood, coagulation of the refined elixir produced by distillation is intended to yield gold in physical terms or the "Philosopher's Stone" as its spiritual output. In The Collector, Thomas Ellison describes it as "the process of solidification where … Continue reading Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Coagulation
Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Distillation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before I cover the technical definitions, I want to suggest another word for distillation: sublimation, as in refining or purifying something of an inferior quality to elevate it to a condition of surpassing excellence. In spiritual alchemy the mode of self-realization begins to evolve in a more rarefied direction. In traditional alchemy, distillation … Continue reading Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Distillation
Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Fermentation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In alchemy, fermentation is a euphemism for "putrefaction" or rotting, from which an impure elixir is generated. Spiritually speaking, the composite Self formed during the process of conjunction was assumed to be authentic but it had not yet achieved the pinnacle of perfection and must now be dissolved, digested and reformulated. The union … Continue reading Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Fermentation
Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Conjunction
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Quoting Thomas Ellison in The Collector, "Conjunction refers to the process of combining the elements from the previous three stages." Another source (Credo Quia Absurdum) notes: "The separated elements demand a new combination to find the balance. The male and female principles are significant for every human being and its physical and spiritual … Continue reading Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Conjunction
Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Separation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In approaching the subject of alchemical separation as it relates to the third phase of my tarot "self-realization" model, I decided to quote my source material: "The separation of the elements allows us to observe them more clearly. Their true nature and shape are finally exposed to us." For the purpose of spiritual … Continue reading Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Separation
Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Dissolution
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the second in my series of tarot spreads based on the principles of alchemy, this time addressing the process of dissolution. Once again I used a "prepared" deck with the pip and court cards separated into sub-packs and the rest of the trump cards set aside. The purpose of this alchemical … Continue reading Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Dissolution
Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Calcination
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading about the seven stages of alchemy for another purpose, I hit upon the idea of doing a series of tarot spreads for individual self-development based on those principles. The first stage of personal growth is one of symbolic calcination, an act of depletion that chastens and corrects as it redeems. The … Continue reading Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Calcination
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 