Portable Magic by Another Name
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’ve just begun reading Donald Tyson’s book, Tarot Magic, one that I’ve wanted to own for a long time under its original title, Portable Magic. Its premise is that tarot cards can stand in for the elaborate trappings of full-blown ceremonial magic, and we can just box up the deck and put it in our pocket when done. I’ve already received an epiphany from the first few pages that I want to share.
Many years ago I performed a bit of ceremonial magic, but it was limited to banishing rituals and the “charging” of talismanic sigils. I never got to the point of evoking elemental spirits to do my bidding, so I didn’t have a sanctuary with a summoning circle and a “triangle of art” painted on the floor. (I just mentally “cleared and warded” the space.) Tyson notes that an array of cards in the correct arrangement on a table-top can emulate that grander scale with little or no loss of effectiveness as long as we fully imbue it with our magical Will. (I can’t help but think of the tiny Stonehenge stage prop in This Is Spinal Tap.)
I decided to give it a try by creating a tarot spread constructed on that assumption. After making one’s customary devotional preparations, the idea is to place a card representing an object of our desire in a state of high focus by bending all of our passionate perseverance toward attaining it. The six-card “Circle of Aspiration/Internal Conditions” pattern shows the concentrated mental, spiritual and practical horsepower we’re able to bring to bear on the target (portrayed by the upward-pointing and downward-pointing triangles of the internal hexagram, respectively), while the three-card “Triangle of Evoking/External Circumstances” displays the zone of realization for our effort and the measure of acquiescence we can expect to find there.
As a “belt-and-suspenders” psychic safety feature to augment the protective circle and constraining triangle, I’ve added a randomly-drawn “Gatekeeper” position on the “Active Channel” (e.g. the subconscious highway) between the querent and the objective, and supported it with two unbiased “Wardens;” as a unit they will filter all outgoing projections of willpower and any incoming feedback through their net of expectations and assumptions that oversee the reliability of the exchange. (Devious cards here would not be good.)
Regarding the “Querent” card, it can be selected in one of three ways: 1) by assigning a Significator such as a court card to represent the individual; 2) by randomly pulling it from the deck and interpreting it as showing characteristics that the person is able to (or intends to) leverage in the venture; or 3) by deriving a “numerological essence” from the face values of the six “barrier” cards and using the resultant trump card for the purpose. (See my previous posts on the “quintessence calculation” for more details.)
The “Object” card can also be chosen in one of three ways: 1) by identifying a card that relates directly to the target of the reading: 2) by pulling it randomly when querents are of the opinion that they “don’t know what it looks like but will know it when they see it;” or 3) by deriving it numerologically from the three “tangent” cards as above.
In either case, if it is pulled randomly it should be drawn either first or last in the sequence. I propose not using reversals with this spread since the goal is for it to be willfully assertive and in no way furtive or circuitous. The design gives me Cirlot’s “evolutive” (that is, upwardly evolving) triangle encapsulating “unity of purpose” and surmounting the impartial “cross of spirit,” which in turn transcends the “circle of Infinitiy” that is seeded with the ambition to emanate a desired result.
To read this spread, analyze both the Querent card and the Object card for the degree of cooperation they receive from their adjacent companions, which will convey their independent strengths and weaknesses, then directly compare the two as a way to judge how closely aligned they are with one another in pursuing the objective (i.e. are they on the same page or working at cross-purposes?) Finally, determine whether they receive encouragement or opposition from the Gatekeeper/Warden axis. Success will be augured by favorable input on all or most counts and failure by an abundance of less auspicious contributors. (I will post an example reading tomorrow.)
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on January 12, 2025.
