On the hidden meanings of the Major Arcana, revealed through anagrams.

The great alchemist John Dee designed a protective magical talisman under the direction of the angel Uriel: crossed lines, a central circle, and the letters A, G, L, and A. These letters constitute an acronym (also known as a kabbalistic "notariqon") of the unspeakable primordial name that was lost through the ages. It's a well-kept secret that this talisman can serve as a revealing template for a four-card Tarot spread. We explore how in the following post at Thematic Tarot.

We explain the concept behind punctuating a Tarot spread over at Thematic Tarot.

This is a page purloined from The Young Wizard's Hexopedia.  (See the very strange history of this book here.)

Can a postage stamp album serve as a mystical guidebook to the universe?  The visionary Polish writer and fine artist Bruno Schulz certainly believed it could, as he explores in Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass.  His meditations on postage stamps as "handy amulets" forming "a book of truth and splendor" inspired us to piece together a Tarot deck of stamps from around the world.  We reveal our progress and explain the concept here:

The Stamp Album Tarot

Some highlights of our vintage Tarot/divination finds over at Spotted in the Wild:

An unmistakable Tower crops up in a mystery novel

A Ten of Wands feels the heat

An astrologer from Siam

A King of Cups

Justice meets a Page of Cups

Roswila has for years been exploring the less-common, even quirky meanings of Tarot cards:

http://roswila-tarot.blogspot.com/

Divining a Story Expressed by Symbols

Here's our brief article about how to divine a story expressed by symbols:

http://janetboyer.typepad.com/thematictarot/2013/09/divining-a-story-expressed-by-symbols.html

Tarot as a picture book of life:

http://mysteryarts.typepad.com/magicwords/2013/07/a-picture-book-of-life.html

This is a stunning ceremonial parade helmet created for the Archduke Ferdinand II by the Milanese studio of Filippo Negroli, a 16th century armorer. I could easily envision such an ornate helmet as part of a Knight image in a Renaissance inspired Tarot deck. While the design and theme variations on the Tarot deck are boundless, the more traditional imagery remains the most evocative and meaningful for me.