A video of my visit to the Tarot exhibition at the Warburg Institute in London, Saturday 22nd March 2025. It featured historic Tarot cards, some dating right back to the 15th Century – the earliest known cards; A O Spare’s deck; Frieda Harris’ original artwork for the Crowley Thoth deck; as well as interpretations by contemporary artists.
A black hole, due to its inescapable gravity, is “death” to all matter which passes beyond its event horizon. Coincidentally, the black hole at the centre of this galaxy, otherwise known as Sagittarius A*, just so happens to be in the part of the sky to which the Golden Dawn attributes the Tarot Key “Death” (i.e. in terms of the “Tree of Life Projected in a Sphere” teaching of which I have spoken in the past). However, given that Black Holes leak “Hawking Radiation,” it would appear that Death is Not The End after all…
This is one of the things I always say: “There are no bad tarot cards, just bad tarot readers.” Really, it is the responsibility of the tarot reader to manage the expectations of the Querent. The tarot spread one uses is a choice: if the Tarot reader starts off by choosing to use a spread where there is supposedly only one possible outcome, then it is the Reader’s own stupid fault for when the reading ends in disappointment.
If however the Reader makes clear that the cards dealt represent alternatives or possibilities, and choses a tarot spread which reflects this, then the Querent will leave the session feeling that it was a worthwhile experience and they have gained valuable insights.
As to the Tarot cards which less-than-scrupulous readers leave in the box, the way I rationalise them is this:
The so-called “bad” tarot cards are Hazard Warning Signs.
If you were going about your daily business and saw a Hazard Warning Sign saying something like “Danger: Death!” You would obviously dislike the consequences of ignoring the sign, but you would regard the sign itself not as evil, but as Good – because it has helped save your life.
So it is with Tarot cards. If you ask “is it a good idea to do such and such?” and you turn over the 10 of Swords, I would answer: “No – unless you actually want to bring ruin and destruction upon yourself.”
Amongst positive sides to the cards to which the picture refers, I can think of the following:
Death. Refers to a metaphorical death such as the end of one thing and beginning of another. Also it refers to Scorpio and/or the eight house of one’s horoscope. Given that everyone dies, of old age if nothing else, it could just be talking about not the fact that you will die, but what happens when you do, such as inheritances.
10 of Swords. Because there is nothing worse than the 10 of Swords, everything that happens after it must by definition be better. If the 10 of Swords occurs in a position representing the past, it means the the worst is behind you.
The Tower. This means Destruction. But if the thing being destroyed is itself evil (e.g. what imprisons you or holds you back in life), then it’s actually good. It also could just mean the influence of the planet Mars, and all that that implies.
5 of Cups. Although this means loss or disappointment in love, in the RW version three cups are overturned, but two remain upright, showing that there is at least something that can be learned or salvaged from the experience. Also, like the 10 of Swords, if the 5 of Cups refers to something in the past…
LONDON. Occultists and art-lovers have been celebrating today at the discovery of a new set of Masonic Tracing Boards, which are alleged to have been painted by Lady Frieda Harris, better known as the illustrator of the Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck.
Harris was previously known to have created a set of tracing boards circa 1938 for the three degrees of Craft Masonry, which manage to combine Masonic symbolism with the same kind of projective synthetic geometry which she brought to the Great Beast’s tarot ideas. (Lady Frieda was herself a co-Mason). However it now transpires that she also created a further set of four prototype tracing boards, this time illustrating the degree known as “the Holy Royal Arch” (see above illustrations).
The discoverer of the Boards, a Miss Dolly Rapasif, said:
“The Holy Royal Arch of Jerusalem is said to be the completion of the third degree or Master Mason’s degree in Craft Masonry. It’s a colourful tale of how the Lost Word was found in a subterranean chamber below the site of the second Temple in Jerusalem, which is a clear metaphor for searching to find one’s own inner Divinity.
“Assuming that Lady Frieda Harris was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, it is highly likely that her attention would soon have been drawn to the Holy Royal Arch as well, and perhaps other additional degrees in Freemasonry, such as those of the Ancient & Accepted Rite.
“However the fact that no-one has ever heard of Frieda creating such tracing boards before means that it was a project which didn’t come to fruition.”
And how did Miss Rapasif actually find these previously unheard of tracing boards?
“Well, here’s the funny thing. We were out for a night out in the Plough in Museum Street, and I got lost trying to find the Ladies’ toilets, and there they were behind some plaster that was crumbling away! I’m surprised they weren’t found sooner, as that place is always full of drunken OTO members causing trouble.”
Recently I introduced myself to a group of magicians, saying “You may know me as Alex Sumner.” To which one of them responded by saying “I thought your name was Eric?” I do hope he wasn’t confusing me with other magicians named Eric, but the point is I am partly at fault for not having blogged much recently. I will explain:
Over the past few months I have been particularly concerned with re-visiting my Enochian magic practice. In addition I am now turning towards divination in general, and Tarot in particular. All the while I keep up with my post-Abramelin activities.
Professionally, the manuscript of my next book “Conjuring Demons for Profit and Pleasure” is with the publishers, so that is still going ahead. I’m actually finding that periodically re-reading my magical diaries from whilst performing the Abramelin operation refreshes and re-inspires me.
OK there are two things you have to realise. Firstly, the idea that you must be gifted your first tarot deck is actually a superstition put about by charlatans who don’t want it widely known that if anybody can learn the tarot, they would be out of a job! It is “gatekeeping” at its worst. Do not let anyone shame you into not buying a new tarot deck, you are free to do so if you want.
However: the second thing to realise is that there is another option which you haven’t yet considered, i.e. that of getting your first tarot deck back. If it has truly become yours then this is what I (if I were in your position) would be first considering. My personal inclination would be to go to my favourite spirit of the Goetia, Andromalius, who is exceptionally good at recovering stolen items, although if you have any feelings left for the person who stole your tarot deck, you would have to word your petition to the spirit very carefully.
Young people in France are increasingly turning to tarot, astrology and other forms of esoterism, a trend that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent poll.
(a2a) Yes: you are not alone, I myself and I guess every tarot reader has been where you are when they began. There is no shame in feeling that way. As to what to do about it, I would give the following advice based on my own experience.
Treat Tarot Reading like an Art. A concert pianist does not worry about how much money he will make playing the piano, he concentrates on playing the best he possibly can – i.e. perfecting his Art. Conversely, if he did think about where his money his coming from, that would distract him from the pure art of playing. Similarly, if you really want to get good at Tarot reading, be like the Artist aiming to be the best Tarot reader you can possibly be – don’t go into tarot reading thinking about trying to please others or making money from fortune-telling.
Learn to get rid of the Little White Book as soon as possible. The LWB does not and cannot provide for every eventuality, so you should aim to get to a point where you don’t have to rely on it at all. This is another way of saying – learn to memorise the meanings of the individual cards – however! This does not have to be more difficult than need be. For example, picking one or two keywords for each card. I also found it helped to imagine that the Minors in the form of a grid of 4 columns (suits) and 14 rows (Ace to 10 and the Court Cards), realising that all columns have a similar meaning; all rows have a similar meaning; therefore a rough & ready way to remember a Minor is to mentally cross reference the two.
I also found it helpful to compare each tarot card with its astrological associations, and to analyse and look for patterns.
Read widely. Especially the thoughts of other practicing tarot readers. Not just books, but blogs as well. There is always the possibility that someone with more experience has come up with an insight which helps you.
Practice, practice, practice. The Three Ps. You can and should practice on yourself to begin with, but eventually you can take the plunge and try to give readings for other people – I found doing so myself boosted my confidence.
But really the most important piece of advice I would have to offer is
EMBRACE THE CONFUSION. It’s actually the challenge of trying to figure out the meaning of a difficult or seemingly out-of-place card which makes you a better tarot reader. It’s that flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants feeling which makes you realise the real secret of Tarot reading, which is that it’s not really about the cards, but about your own intuition. Ideally therefore, you shouldn’t be afraid of Confusion – you shouldn’t even resign yourself to accept it grudgingly – you should embrace it as an opportunity to grow and develop.
(a2a) It can be magical, and in the tradition which I practice, it is magical. By “magic” I am here referring to what is sometimes referred to as “magick” or the art and science of causing in change in conformity with Will, or in other words, the occult.
Tarot is magical at many different levels. For example: the actual act of interpreting the symbols of the cards stimulates the intuition of the reader, in which case Tarot becomes a key to unlocking the reader’s psychic powers. More generally there is at least one tradition of ceremonial magic which integrates tarot reading into the actual magical ceremony, so that one realises that the same techniques of clairvoyance and magical invocation for use in an occult ritual generally can unlock the full potential of tarot as a divinatory tool specifically.
Ultimately, because having a Tarot reading can be viewed as a quest to go out of the Darkness of ignorance into the Light of knowledge, one can draw parallels between it and the quest for spiritual illumination which is at the heart of true occultism.
Sol Ascendans - The Website of Alex Sumner 
Death
A black hole, due to its inescapable gravity, is “death” to all matter which passes beyond its event horizon. Coincidentally, the black hole at the centre of this galaxy, otherwise known as Sagittarius A*, just so happens to be in the part of the sky to which the Golden Dawn attributes the Tarot Key “Death” (i.e. in terms of the “Tree of Life Projected in a Sphere” teaching of which I have spoken in the past). However, given that Black Holes leak “Hawking Radiation,” it would appear that Death is Not The End after all…
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January 24, 2024 · 2:16 pm