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Barley's Take on Tarot . . . etc.

A blog by Barleywine in Member Blogs

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About this blog

A blog for all things related to divination, but mainly for my tarot, Lenormand and horary astrology writing and personal spreads culled from my external blog listed in the Links Directory.

 

Entries in this blog

Divinatory Methods

Shifting Gears: The Multi-Phase Reading

I'm always interested in hearing how others read in a face-to-face setting (remote reading is another matter about which I have a few curmudgeonly opinions). The following is an explanation of the in-person methods I've developed over five decades of practice.   AUTHOR'S NOTE: From the day I first encountered it in 1972, I've followed Eden Gray's suggestion that we can disregard asking sitters (those who "sit" for a tarot reading) to tell us their specific question or concern prior to
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Divinatory Methods

Functional Spread Design

AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a previous essay I described topical readings aimed at exploring "department-of-life" conditions (romance, career, finances, health, education, etc.) as often involving a "functional" dimension that presents the seeker an opportunity to pursue; a situation to understand; an agenda to advance; a decision to make; a problem to solve; a crisis or conflict to manage; etc. I've been thinking about how spread design can best accommodate these factors.   I believe the
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Tarot de Marseille

Refreshing the French Cross Spread

I've now been working with the tirage en croix (French Cross) spread for some time and have given it a functional "face-lift" that still avoids succumbing to the siren-call of psychological and esoteric interpretation. (I'm also a Lenormand reader and have gained considerable inspiration from its pragmatic focus.) This is my second effort to slightly repurpose this spread. AUTHOR'S NOTE: The five-card French Cross spread (traditionally known as the tirage en croix) is one of my favorite sma
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Divinatory Methods

Here's Looking at You! - Gaze as a Directional Indicator

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The concept of facing, gaze or regard has a long history of use with the Tarot de Marseille, although fans of more modern decks tend to disregard it.   Here is a spread that applies the facing and orientation of one of the 16 court cards to choose which of four 3-card sets becomes the reading scenario. It's important to select a deck in which the court cards exhibit a distinct regard that doesn't look straight out of the scene.   The standard RWS works we
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Divinatory Methods

The "Spiritual Tribunal" Astral Contact Spread

Here is one for the spiritual mystics and pendulum users to play around with.   AUTHOR'S NOTE: All of the spirit-contact methods I'm aware of assume that we're going to encounter precisely the entity we're seeking (ancestor, god-form, elemental figure, spirit guide, etc.) whenever we ask. But I've never been convinced that disembodied beings are lurking at the threshold of the Astral Plane, just waiting for us to reach out, nor are they necessarily sympathetic.   Here I'm postul
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Esoteric Tarot

Force Over Form: Leveraging the Elements

AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Leveraging" is the act of pressing one's advantage in ways that optimize the benefit in practical terms; it's the concept behind the Biblical proverb of "moving mountains" with simple conviction and affirmation (aka "faith" but I don't subscribe to that concept, preferring to say that I'm a "man of certainty"). Here I will attempt to explain how it can be applied to our interaction with the elemental correspondences in tarot reading.   This act of will entails bri
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Reversed Cards

The Reversed Seven of Wands: "Kneecapping" the Enemy

AUTHOR'S NOTE: When upright, the 7 of Wands represents "Valour" or extraordinary courage in the face of daunting odds. This is clearly reflected in the Waite-Smith version, which shows a harried warrior being set upon by six adversaries who have crowded him into a corner. At that moment in time he has yet to give an inch even though his prospects appear to be dim.   But all is not lost. He is holding the "moral high ground" as well as the tactical advantage (as any reading of US Civil
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