Whispering to the Eye
A Few Thoughts on the Marseille Tarot’s Optical Language.

by Enrique Enriquez The unconscious responds to vibration and to shape. The meaning of a concept is its cage, and for that concept to reach the unconscious it must free itself. This, I would say, is the key to understanding the Marseille Tarot’s distinctive language. The Marseille Tarot speaks a language of signs which expresses [...]

Perceptions of Spirituality

by Lisa Larson “To ride on a broomstick and fly: combine belladonna leaves, stramonium, munkshood, and celery seeds to make an ointment. Add one toad and boil until the skin falls off the bones. Strain and apply the ointment to the body.” This seventeenth century formula, as told by Jeanne Rose in her book “Herbs [...]

The Boiardo Poem (15th century)

Tarotpedia translation > www.tarotpedia.com/wiki/Boiardo Some time between circa 1460 – 1494, Count Matteo Maria Boiardo wrote a poem about cards, the structure of which either mimics or anticipates tarot: apart from the brief opening and closing sonets, the first four ‘chapters’ (of five) have fourteen parts, and the fifth twenty-two. This mirrors precisely tarot as [...]

Inquiries into Tarot
& on divination by means of tarot cards (Part 1)

by M. C. de M*** trans. by Jean-Michel David For this translation, I was very much aided by the various (often provisional) translations of Mary Greer and Jack Meier, Jess Karlin, Donald Tyson and those who contributed to Tarotpedia’s entry (especially Stephen John Mangan / kwaw). Each different translation provided thoughts for different nuances, for [...]

The four elements and the suits of the tarot

by Jean-Michel David As I was preparing this article for the Newsletter, not long after organising an entry under the same topic for Tarotpedia.com and updating my own webpage on the topic, I finally obtained a copy of Mary Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card. I must admit that Mary is amongst the [...]

The Court Cards of the Tarot as Personalities

by Jean-Michel David In card games, there is an inherent simplicity to court cards: they are basically the ‘rulers’ of each suit, with a very clear and determined hierarchy. Of course, having said this, we are then faced with peculiar variations in terms of specific games, where Aces or Jacks ‘trump’ Kings and Queens, or [...]

Of Mice, Monkeys and Men
writing the Fantastic Menagerie book

by Sophie Nusslé Once upon a time, in the early spring of 2005, I was exchanging private messages on Aeclectic Tarot with Karen Mahony of Magic-realist Press in Prague. We were discussing their latest deck project. I had long been a fan of the Tarot of Prague, and like a good fan, had written gushing [...]

On certification, the codification of ethics, and reading Tarot

by Jean-Michel David [The following article is essentially one I wrote some years ago (here with only very minor editing) in response to a request for some clarification with regards to my views on tarot reading certification and the increased usage of so-called 'codes of ethics'. At that time, various discussion threads on aeclectic.net's tarotforum had [...]

What is the function of a Tarot reading?

Jean-Michel David (ed.) Two years ago, a variety of answers to the question ‘What is Tarot?’ was presented in this Newsletter (#12). During the December 2005 Melbourne Tarot Café, a similar yet quite distinct question was asked, for which replies were requested in a thread on Aeclectic’s tarotforum.net. So… …what is the function of the [...]

Memorization VS. Instinct

text by Stephanie Arwen images from the Fairytale Tarot www.tarotbyarwen.com www.fairytaletarot.com How do you memorize the cards? It’s a common question with a simple surface issue. However, if you dip below that surface, you will find a darkness lurking there in the waters. What are we really asking when we say, "How do I memorize [...]