I was reading the new Freakonomics book (Levitt, Stephen and Stephan Dubner, Think like a Freak, William Morrow, 2014.) In this book, they discuss the “Upside of Quitting.” They make a distinction between stopping and failing. Why quitting or giving up is NOT a failure. We all subscribe to the Winston Churchill ideal of never,… Continue Reading
I can rarely enjoy a magic show anymore. I worked for a short time in the office of a wonderful mentalist and good friend (as well as a greatly respected mentor who helped me break into the psychic entertainment business.) Once he twirled the stem on a pocket watch, handed it to me then guessed… Continue Reading
Once you have bought a deck, you must familiarize yourself with it and start your study of Tarot. Open your deck, but don’t shuffle it yet. Or if you have played with it already, resort it into suites. Read the little white booklet that came with the deck. Raymond Buckland made a good suggestion: read the… Continue Reading
How do you pick a deck to use? There are hundreds even thousands of published and unpublished decks to choose from. Some people like to create their OWN tarot decks. Some decks have pictures on the Minor Arcana. some (referred to as Marseille decks) don’t. The best way to pick a deck for you is… Continue Reading
Listen to the voices. The wee inner voices. Even if they don’t speak, only breathe a little, like dirty phone calls. Do anything they tell you to do except rape, kill or pillage. (The voices make mistakes sometimes, but they don’t make boring mistakes.) –Michael Ventura, “SOLUTIONS TO EVERYTHING” I bought a desk today. I… Continue Reading
I am sure you have seen Tarot cards and wondered about them. Maybe you have even had a reading before. I am starting a new series here of short pieces about tarot. I hope you enjoy them. For this first piece, lets talk about what Tarot is and what it is not. It is 78… Continue Reading
The Hermit Once you begin a path, you need to stop from time to time to take stock, to be sure you are on the “right” path for you. The Hermit traditionally stands at the peak of a mountain and looks down. He is looking back to see how far he has come before descending… Continue Reading
Strength The Strength card has nothing to do with physical prowess. It has everything to do with mental ability. Traditionally, it depicts a woman closing a lion’s month. NOT forcing it open, which would require a good deal of strength. Instead she is going with the natural path and forcing it closed. Which requires coaxing… Continue Reading
I was hoping the Lovers script would cause some discussion, maybe it will next week. I like doing these radio scripts, they make me rethink the cards myself as I riff on them. I think my view of the Lovers is worth discussing. I really hate the myth of the Soul mate, the perfect person… Continue Reading
The Chariot The Chariot shows a man driving a chariot, pulled by two animals, usually a black horse and a white horse, almost invariably without reins. He is steering them just by the power of the mind. This is a card that has varied from deck to deck, but not changed much in its subject.… Continue Reading