Tarot Overview

This is my Tarot Hub

“Fortuneteller’s Table”

In this life i have done quite a lot of work around Tarot.

Here’s my hub for it: .. First the products i’ve produced,
then good attention given to the creative process,
various interesting discussions of divination,
and countless links to more in this blog.

So if you’re interested,
take a look.

> Product Information <

	My Tarot Decks
Simple Tarot Ace Of Cups {-art gallery-} {-for sale-}	Spirit Hill Tarot Ace Of Water {-art gallery-} {-for sale-}	Singing Fish Tarot A Is For Apple {-art gallery-} {-for sale-}

>Why did i make 3 decks?
Each deck was made by a different set of design principles,
so in readings they speak with different personalities, and
have unique visual styles preferred by different readers.
And they were made at rhythmic points of a long life,
maybe a transcendent but obscure autobiography.
The third was created in 12 years, the second
in 3 years, and the first took 18 months.

>Basic Links For The Decks:

Singing Fish Tarot:
(My 3rd and final deck, published 2021 – Tells little stories.)
Its main page .. . . . . . .. .. .. {-here-} .. Retail & free downloads.
Its description page . . …. {-here-} .. Commentary & instructions.
See it in an art gallery .. . {-here-} .. Fine pics of card fronts & backs.
Help Sheet .. .. . . .. .. .. .. . .. {-here-} .. Small Pdf; shamanism on page 2.
Phase 2 concept test .. . .. {-here-} .. Engineering design report.

Spirit Hill Tarot:
(My 2nd deck, published 2005 – Speaks of emotions.)
Its main page .. . .. . . . . .. .. {-here-} .. Retail & free downloads.
Its description page . . …. {-here-} .. Commentary & instructions.
See it in an art gallery .. . {-here-} .. Fine pics.
Testimonial .. .. .. . . .. . . .. .. {-here-} .. A review by a friend.

Simple Tarot:
(My 1st deck, published 1980 – Gives full details.)
Its main page .. . .. . . . . .. .. {-here-} .. Retail & free downloads.
Its description page . . …. {-here-} .. Commentary & instructions.
See it in an art gallery .. . {-here-} .. Fine pics.
Make-it-yourself kit .. . . .. {-here-} .. Print it & cut it out.
.. .. ..

	Related Products
Documents For The Reader (handbook)	Alphabeticon Fortunetelling Tool (boxed set including Singing Fish tarot)	Business Card (for readings)

>Basic Links For Related Products:

Documents For The Reader:
(Handbook, 2015, between my 2nd & 3rd decks)
Overview page … .. .. .. .. .. {-here-} .. Introduction to the book.
Paperback retail page .. .. {-here-} .. 132 pages, 6×9 inches.
Free Pdf version … .. .. .. .. {-here-} .. 38 letter size pages.

Alphabeticon Fortunetelling Tool:
(Boxed set, 2021, simultaneous with my 3rd deck)
Its retail page .. … .. . .. .. .. {-here-} .. Has a full description.
Its printed documents . . . {-here-} .. Ultra-fancy Text Art big pdf.
An older edition .. . . . . . . .. {-here-} .. Before on-line manufacturing.

Business Card For Readings:
(1980 to present, but the current version is shown.)
Please use my contact page .. {-here-} .. And thank you very much.
.. .. ..

> The Creative Process <

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Simple Tarot:
My 1st deck, published 1980 – Gives full details.
Took 18 months to create.

I am a Peace Warrior;
A Soldier of Goddess Mother; .. That’s something deep in my soul,
something puzzling and ancient remembered from long ago.

Here in this lifetime, back in 1979, i created the Simple Tarot, its
handmade first edition. .. As a way to start my self-taught art
career, and step into a well-equipped Human existence.

But that was a puzzling task, as it was a time of WAR. .. First i’d
been a leader for that war, .. but then one of countless leaders
risen in the Soldiers’ Anti-War Rebellion. .. And there i’d led a
friend to his death in Pacifist Struggle.

Well, in Human instinct, losing one of your soldiers is like the
death of your spouse.

So to justify my survival and move forward in strength, i needed
a way to absorb all that Love & Loss, .. .. To not let all that Joy &
Grief, .. all that Defeat & Victory, .. that Imprisonment & Freedom,
that unrelenting Effort, and Effort, and Effort; .. .. Needed a way
to learn from all that; .. Stop it all from slipping away into
forgetfulness and dreams.

But then in summer 1978 my soldiering was done, and a national
enthusiasm for Tarot was cooking. … So i got a few decks, studied
the little fine-print booklets they came with, and tried them out
on myself and others.

In a breakthrough, i soon realized that to work well, the cards
must somehow portray all of Human Life.

So a new Tarot, .. MY Tarot come out of my life; .. .. seemed like
the only art work big, deep, complex, and full enuf; .. therefore,
i hoped, of help to others too; .. .. IF i did it well enuf.

So several months in, i began sketching:
.. Seeking a style expressing my ultra-concentrated mind,
.. Plus was possible with my neophyte skills.

Then breakthrough in a public library:
In an Art History book, i found an old Chinese style for scrolls,
called the “iron wire” school.

Then it took 12 months:
Working thru the 78 cards, .. For each producing a concentrated
little iron-wire-like picture, .. plus its scrap of Confucian-style
poetry, .. Twelve months to get a handmade deck.

I began reading for the public at once.

Here’s a poetic memoir of that beginning time .. {-here-}

Here’s a dramatic poem of how that beginning felt .. {-here-}
.. .. ..

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Spirit Hill Tarot:
My 2nd deck, published 2005 – Speaks of emotions.
Took 3 years to create.

First there was a national enthusiasm for Standup Storytelling,
which i did, of course, as deep shamanic practice, enacting
classics of the Ancient British Isles and Ancient Greece.

But that primal art unblocked my long-delayed desire to paint.

So i then created this deck by renting a shack in the mountains,
and doing a 2-year study of the masters of Modern Painting,
inspired by a beautiful museum exhibit of Van Gogh.

I finally stood back, looked at the canvases in their dozens, all
congregated on my walls, gathering dust in corners, and realized
there was a Tarot there waiting to be edited onto cards.

Realized that’s what the furious obsession had been for.

I’d started with Van Gogh, finally quit when i had one resembling
the 1980’s New York City Van Gogh: Basquiat.

So this shamanic fine art deck tends to give you emotional
understanding, while its hexagonal cards branch and
twine like living foliage.
.. .. ..

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Singing Fish Tarot:
My 3rd and final deck, published 2021 – Tells little stories.
Took 12 years to create.

Here’s the final form of a 4-decade project to depict Human Life,
with both magic skill and engineering skill contributing.
And YES, i see this as my Advanced-Design Tarot.

All my decks used this creative process: “Concept :: Trial-Build :
: Test” but here it was a 12-year total re-think from
Concept to Finish.

It began by considering children’s alphabet blocks and nursery
rhymes, except with adult meanings. .. .. Like: Let “Ace of Cups”
reveal its sexy side as “A is for Apple”. .. .. And: Let “The World”
become “Z is for Zodiac” with all else to be found between.

And let the words of their meanings be so full of action they
link themselves into stories of “Beginning :: Middle :: End”.

A sheet called “Alphabet Of Life” comes packed with the deck.
It’s the instructions i wrote and used for Test Phase One:
Before there were cards i memorized the alphabet;
I’d stand there revealing people’s lives like a
party trick to test the alphabet concept.

As for testing the card design concept,
please see the Phase 2 Engineering report .. {-here-}

That’s how this piece of work took a dozen years.
And it came out pocket-size just like i always planned.
.. .. ..

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Documents For The Reader:
(2015, between my 2nd & 3rd decks)
.. ..
Here’s the handbook for all my decks.
.. ..
{-under construction-}
.. Please see the Description Section on its retail page: {-here-}
.. .. ..

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Alphabeticon Fortunetelling Tool:
(2021, simultaneous with my 3rd deck)

Here’s my last deck’s boxed set.

It was my strangest experience in creative arts: .. When the
Singing Fish were finally finished, spirits awoke and took
over finishing the rest of the boxed set.
No shid; really.

May i explain?:
Many Tarot boxed sets are just deluxe packaging for one
of the classic decks, plus someone’s paperback about it.

Or look at sets with an original deck:
= Someone’s original deck.
= A paperback book about the deck.
= Maybe some other small printed material.
All of it nicely illustrated on some uniform theme.

What a disappointing load of carp, i said.
I thought i had a better idea.
I’d make a GAME.

Please don’t be surprised:
.. Our Tarot descends from a European Rennaissance gambling
card game, .. also called Tarot or similar names, .. which remains
popular in Europe, outside of English-speaking lands.
.. {-Wikipedia-}

But MUCH more important to me;
.. Here in New England you’re often told of the infamous Salem
Witch Lynching Panic back in 1692 & 1693, perpetrated by
religious fanatics mis-called Puritans. .. {-Wikipedia-}

.. But me, i’ve had the great honor of teaching in one of New
England’s great history museums {-Museum-} and i learned
more about that situation.

.. Turns out, the fanatics were a Tiny Fraction of the English who
sailed here in those days, and OF COURSE the rest brought Folk
Magic with them. .. {-Museum Artifact-} .. <=Homemade New
England Tarot precursor cards circa 1800!!!

.. Those cards were a GAME played by people courting in 1800
and later, played around a parlor table, seeking a marriage
partner. .. So that’s how i imagined my Tarot boxed set!
And yeah, you bet, the Old Magic came alive!

And it got pretty weird, alright:
Two voices showed up and argued,
about the rules of course,
while i took dictation.

If you buy it, here’s what you get:
= The Singing Fish deck.
= A handful of dice, one for each card.
= The box top & bottom, part of the play space.
= Two cloth bags, also used in the game.
= A thick pile of documents.

So here’s the documents in a huge Pdf file . . {-Here-}
If you like, download that and find 2 documents, called “Game
Instruction Sheet” and “Game Play Sheet”. .. Which are radically
different ideas of how to play, authored by the two voices.

Now, the first voice sounds like a so-called Puritan.
So who wrote the Game Play Sheet? .. Well, an old lady shaman.

Have you heard of Marija Gimbutas? {-Wikipedia-} She’s a famous archaeologist and anthropologist with a lot to say about Goddess
worshipping female shamans in very ancient times. .. I suspect
that voice was one of the women she tells about.

For more details, see the retail page’s Description: {-HERE-}
.. .. ..

> Various Interesting Discussions Of Divination <

>You Don’t Need To Memorize Card Meanings
Important: This is ONLY true in our situation, where there’s a
multitude of decks, in many designs, to choose from.

In older times you DID need to memorize meanings, unless
your psychic ability was already well developed, so you
heard cards talking to you.

But in our situation all you need to do is this:
Find a card deck where you can actually read the cards.

1: In this sense:
When you look at the fronts of the cards, you see they say true
things about Human life. .. ..When you’re shopping, that must
be your first criteria. .. .. In an extremely close fit, this might
even spill over into your auditory sense, so that you almost
hear them whisper.

Then when you use that deck, the cards will deepen your
understanding with every question where they show up.

= But there are two other important criteria:

2: The deck must be complete.
That is to say: It should be able to tell every story in Human life.
.. But how to guess this when you’re shopping?

Maybe the most common incompleteness is this: .. A deck that’s
too happy or too sad, excessively optimistic or pessimistic, then
obviously it can’t tell every Human story. .. So i suggest you
reject such decks.

3: The deck must fit your morals.
Example: If a deck’s images are very violent it’s definitely
not for me.
.. .. ..

>Unified Theory Of Divination
I’m a person inclined to experiment, careful observation, and
orderly thought, yet openness to unusual ideas, .. in other
words a scientific thinker.

Also, this is an age when human cultures from all over have
merged, bringing together all their magical traditions, including
their understanding of how divination works.

So what understanding about this have i settled on? .. I’ll give
you a theoretical answer first, then a practical answer.

1st: Theoretical: .. Thru much experiment, back in the 1970’s and
’80’s i became convinced of this, tho seldom spoke it: .. .. All things
Think; .. .. Wherever there is Material Substance, or Active Energy,
there is Awareness, .. .. So one piece of Awareness communicates
with another by means of Matter and/or Energy. .. .. And i am
happy to say: This idea, radical then, is now a general
understanding among diviners.

2nd: Practical: .. In a divination session, you MUST formulate your
issue very clearly and vividly in your mind. .. .. Then when you learn
something, keep that clear and vivid too. .. .. But this is SUPREMELY
important at the moment when you pull cards from a deck, (or take
pebbles from a basket like they did in Ancient Greece). .. .. So the
cards or pebbles will hear your thoughts clearly and respond,
telling your hand which one to choose.

.. .. ..

>Using or not using the “reversed card” feature:
When you look up a Tarot card’s meaning, you often see 2
meanings, with the 2nd meaning labelled as “Reversed”.

IE: It says that when you turn a card face-up and see it’s
upside-down, then you should interpret it with this
“reversed” meaning.

(As you’ll see, this section is difficult because this aspect
of Tarot is very valuable but quite confusing. Sorry.)

Well, first: .. Nowadays artists often design decks where it’s
hard to tell if cards are upside-down, like my Singing Fish
and Spirit Hill, so with them just ignore the 2nd meaning.

But with my Simple Tarot, for example, it’s easy to see when
cards are upside-down, and with it i often use this feature.

So of course i’m speaking of decks where it can be done:

There it’s a valuable OPTIONAL feature that greatly enriches
the cards’ language; .. And i teach a simplified method for doing
it that i’ll explain in a moment; .. But i’ve found even that is too
complicayted for most beginners to enjoy, altho in general i
think they should be familiar with it for later on.

So i’ll first explain turning the feature off or on, then explain
the simplified method when you have it on, so you won’t
need to memorize or look up reversed meanings.

And remember: The deck can hear your thoughts.

>> ALSO: If you NEVER use this feature, then your decks won’t
>> get confused and you can entirely ignore this section.

= 1: Turning the feature off:
For example: I do this when using my Simple Tarot, and if i
feel i want its language simple and straightforward. .. .. Also
i’ll do this when teaching a beginner with that deck, because
of course i teach them such a useful option.

= At the very start of your reading, say these words: “Upside
= down is the same as right-side up.”

It’s easy but if you use the feature you MUST say it, .. So the
deck won’t get confused and give you a reading as clear as
mud. .. Me, i’ve formed an invariable habit of thinking those
words quickly, clearly and emphatically with such decks.
.. Of course with a beginner using such a deck, i insist
they say it out loud.

And it doesn’t matter that you feel silly; .. If you ever use
the Reverse Card Feature, but not always, just say it or
you’ll be sorry.

= 2: Turning the feature on:
= At the start of your reading, say clearly: “Upside down
= is different from right-side up.”

But of course don’t bother if you ALWAYS use the feature.

= 3: Interpreting with the feature on:

Now at last here’s the part you’ll enjoy, because here’s how to
give the deck its enriched language, but never again look up
or memorize a reversed meaning!

This too is complicated, so i’ll set it out in micro-steps:

3a .. You turn a card face-up and see it’s upside-down.
3b .. Temporarily rotate it right-side-up and study it.
3c .. Get its regular meaning fixed in your mind.

3d .. Now think: “The deck is telling me this is a lie.”
3e .. Now wonder: “Why is it telling me this is a lie?”

.. .. ..

>Theoretical Proposal For Greek Pebble Reading
Please understand, today NO details are known of this practice
which the Ancient Greeks called “Thriai”. .. .. For one example,
Wikipedia {-here-} only tells the myth they told around it.

I have found a few recent proposed reconstructions, but they
try to build something out of that whisper of myth, and i
have no interest in doing that.

My research shows that Thriai is generally thought to have
been, like Tarot, a “sortilege” system; .. .. One where you start
with a pile of physical objects, .. each symbolizing something
real in Human life; .. .. Then you do a physical process picking
out those that answer your question.

Assuming Thriai was a sortilege system, .. .. BUT: Seeing that
pebbles are really quite different from Tarot cards, .. .. I’d like
to briefly look at how sortilege symbols work.

In other words, let’s use Thriai as a nearly blank slate and
focus on the pebbles.
Okay?

First:
Surely the pebbles were held in a container. .. .. And i will
guess a small basket closely woven from a fine fiber, .. .. No
lining for things to get lost under, but with a richly woven or
embroidered cloth cover. .. .. And the cloth fastens tight, then
unfastens, a lot or a little, for you to reach in. .. .. We can
guess this much just from style and practicality.

Next:
How many pebbles were there?

Let’s estimate from sortilege systems which we know have
been widely used. .. .. The Elder Futhark is at a lower end with
24 runes. .. .. Clustered at the high end are the I Ching with 64
hexagrams and our own Tarot with 78 cards.

I’m going to estimate near the high end: .. Imagine 70 pebbles
in the lovely & convenient basket! .. .. WHY?

In my opinion: .. .. I Ching’s hexagrams and our Tarot cards are
very visually suggestive of their meanings, while Futhark’s runes
are only slightly so. .. .. Thus the runes require more rote memor-
-ization, so there need to be fewer of them.

(Note 1: My Singing Fish deck has only 31 cards but is largely
Non-Sortilege. .. .. Text Art divides the meanings into many lines
and phrases, some of which attract your eyes. .. .. Thus Singing
Fish may be called a Sortilege / Bibliomancy compound. ..
.. Or: As poetry may induce a dreamlike state, even
a Sortilege / Oneiromancy compound.)

(Note 2: If you’re unfamiliar with hexagrams, each looks like
6 abstract horizontal lines, some with a gap in them. .. . But the
I Ching meanings are written as descriptions of Life Force rising
thru 6 Layers Of Reality, .. .. With gaps showing the presence of
Life Force. .. . That fits our instinctive understanding of Nature,
so when you are familiar, a hexagram becomes a vivid
rich complex picture of a Human situation.)

But how can pebbles be visually highly suggestive of real
things in Human life? … .. I guess they were richly textured
and colored semi-precious gemstones in remarkable shapes.

I’m guessing you could lay them on a table in a 7 x 10 graph.

So maybe 70 pebbles told all the stories in Human life.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~~
OPTIONAL Footnote: I have a Romance Novel set on the Great
Pilgrimage of the Eleusis Mysteries in Ancient Greece. .. .. (Of
course i do; Phillip of Macedon is chasing the High Priestess.)
.. .. Anyway, history says a Thriai reading was offered during
the pilgrimage, along with many other free services, .. .. So in
my fiction my hypothetical 7 x 10 graph has a major place in
the initiation. .. .. In my fiction, each First-Time Pilgrim meets
the High Priestess seated on a throne in divinatory trance; ..
.. She asks the Pre-Initiation Trick Question: Did they prepare
properly? .. . Then she fictionally classifies their answer on my
7 x 10 graph, and from that replies with perfect counselling
to help them!! .. .. (Of course: King Phillip flubs the question
yet gets thru with an overwhelmingly humiliatingly-sexual
Verbal Reprimand.) .. . Overview of the novel: {-Here-}
Most of that scene in a blog post: {-Here-}
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~~
.. .. ..

>About Divination & Shamanism
Yes, in our culture today “shaman” is an overly-romanticized
and much-misunderstood word.

But it’s a legitimate Anthropology word, denoting something
that’s real and present in all Human cultures, .. a thing with
identifiable form and function, .. a thing evolved into our
Human instincts.

Altho having countless variations, it’s generally something to
do with Healing thru Artistic Performance.

And me, i’ve explored the connection of Art & Divination very
often and very deeply, .. and i’ve found that connection gives
instinctive joy. .. So i’ve become convinced Divination is a
form our Shamanic Instinct takes.

Therefore you’ll see Shamanism mentioned in my work, when
i think it’s appropriate.

A blog post about this .. {-here-}

The Passing Of Uther Pendragon .. {-here-}
A one-act play, the ultimate product of my deeply shamanic
career as a Standup Storyteller, just before i started painting
in a 2-year trance, thus creating Spirit Hill Tarot.
(More in the Creative Process section.)

.. .. ..

>Singing Fish Tarot Card Spreads
Looking thru my writings on card spreads for the Singing Fish,
it seems i stopped at the most obvious thing. .. Now thinking
further, i believe this unusual deck even reveals things about
card spreads that i didn’t know.

First, just to give an example of what i didn’t realize before: ..
The term “Card Spread” is used interchangeably with “Card Layout”,
but really they’re not the same. .. You should use one term or the
other depending on how fluid or solid you sense the tabletop is.
.. And i got that fun fact just by thinking of them as fish.

But really, let me start with what i’ve been saying:

Singing Fish meanings are so action-oriented that the cards tell
little stories; .. And we think of stories as beginning, middle, end.

Thus their “basic” spread is only 3 or 4 cards:
= 1st card: … The Present or Near Future.
= 2nd card: .. Mid-Term Future.
= 3rd card: … Final Outcome.
= 4th card: … Optional: Summary or beginning of the next story.

{-under construction-}

.. .. ..

> More Product Information <

>Singing Fish Card Equivalents In Most Decks:
This is the main thing on Page 1 of the Singing Fish Help
Sheet. .. .. Here’s that sheet again .. {-here-}

~::: Note: .. Don’t miss the main thing on Page 2.
~::: I mean the instructions for Shamanic Divination.
~::: Anything named “singing fish” is evidently a shamanic
~::: thing, right? .. Did you figure that out? .. But this is for
~::: working with birds rather than fish. .. Still interesting?

Why is the Card Equivalence Table helpful?
In designing this unique Tarot, my 1st 2 Big Ideas were:
1: Assign highly memorable Alphabet Names to the cards.
2: Since the alphabet has 26 letters, omit the Minor Arcana
(other than its Aces), .. creating a Highly Rememberable set
of just 26 cards!

Therefore a list of 26 correspondences to standard decks is
useful, equipping you to study the Fish elsewhere, in the
schools of Tarot information in the Internet Sea.

Also, after a while i decided we need a few unique Fish, which
are offered below the table.

Btw: Another table on Page 1 shows the Fish meanings in brief
memorable form, much like standard card meanings in a brief
form, except more action-oriented. .. .. After all, they’re fish!

Btw: Tarot Art is flourishing, (it’s our culture’s favorite divination
method,) so variations are surely within a cook’s discretion.

.. .. ..

> More Links To More In This Blog <

>Some Of My Favorite Tarot & Related Writings:

{-Here-} .. Want to just jump in?? .. .. “HERO’S JOURNEY”
.. A sort of map & compass check:
.. Human steps out my tent flap,
.. Up Onto HERO ROAD.
.. This is a section of one of my jumbo posts, this one about a
psychic fair, so you can scroll up, down for more, more.

{-Here-} .. The Passing Of Uther Pendragon
.. The great product of my shamanic standup storytelling career.
.. All the shamanism that reappeared in my Singing Fish began by
weaving spells with live audiences.
(-under construction-)

{-Here-} .. Advice If Taking Up An Old Tarot Deck
.. Interesting in general, ..
.. But includes a fond memoir of my ONLY HUMAN TAROT TEACHER,
.. Someone i found at the VERY START of creating the Simple Tarot,
.. With the idea: Somewhere to check in, ask if i was sane or not,
.. And in luck.. Alchemist Lady Private Detective, it turned out.

{-Here-} .. A Little Cavity Of Soil
.. My first experience of Oriental-style meditation.
.. Also my first step on the road to divination.
.. A backstage wartime soldier’s story.

{-Here-} .. “Shamanic Vision Dance”
.. Sequel to “A Little Cavity Of Soil, here’s the day i became
a Tarot Reader, by wandering in a public park.
.. It’s tied into my war experience,
.. .. the strange hollowness of peace,
.. .. and the entire zeitgeist of the 1970’s.

{-Here-} .. Fabio Saavedra Where Are You?
.. A cross-cultural project test 6 months into a deck’s creation.
.. The Simple Tarot was examined by a South American art critic.
.. A gentleman not an English language speaker or reader.
.. He stood there and read those cards.

{-Here-} .. First Degree
.. Long poetic blog post of the night i became a Witch.
.. I was accepted largely because i’d created a Tarot deck.
.. My Tarot vocation was sealed.

{-Here-} .. “Withdrawal Of Consent”
.. Sequel to “Shamanic Vision Dance”, even tho this doesn’t
mention Tarot. .. Instead, it reveals how the character who
emerged in me, on that bridge in that park, developed
into Strength afterward.

{-Here-} .. Preface
.. About Spirit Hill, the real actual magic place where
Spirit Hill Tarot was created.

{-Here-} .. The Fig Tree
.. Long romantic poem.
.. The paintings on Spirit Hill cards, how they were made.
.. Astonishing physical-spiritual epoch of my life:
.. Up in the woods on Spirit Hill:
.. Love & Love & Love & Love.

{-Here-} .. “New England Style Fortunetelling Introduction”
.. Long and voluble account of divination at the threshold of
joining the Ancestors, taking stock of everything and offering
lessons for those who are not here yet.
.. But what’s the title about? .. .. In fact, New England has a
regional style of divination, .. (largely about giving Client a
fair deal,) .. part of New England traditional town fairs.

Interesting detail:
New England Fortunetelling Style has a particular repertoire
of methods that clients here like to request.
.. 1st: By far, the most frequent request is for a Tarot reading.
.. 2nd: Helping Client talk with a departed loved one.
.. 3rd: Reading their hands.
.. So of course i’ve developed my own versions of those skills.

{-Here-} .. “Natural Empath”
.. Where are these high skills from?

.. .. ..

>Some Blog Post Searches:
You will get a menu of posts that contain the text.
Note: Obviously, this post will be in the results.

{-here-} .. Text search for “tarot”
{-here-} .. Text search for “merlin”
{-here-} .. Text search for “freedom”
{-here-} .. Text search for “fortunetelling”

.. .. ..

> More Interesting Discussions Of Divination <

>My Experiments In Computer Divination:
Up above is the section “Unified Theory Of Divination” where
i mentioned experimenting in the 1970’s & ’80’s. .. This work
was a later continuation of one side that experimenting.

GEE MISTER WIZARD, HOW ABOUT SOME FUN??
ELECTRO-DIVINATION !!
.. Abra-Cadabra! Presto!
.. Bring your candle to the Seeing Bowl of Nostrodamus!
.. And if interested, see the Tech Notes below.

{-here-} .. Flashcard Show
.. Do a reading for yourself right now.
.. This software uses the Simple and/or Spirit Hill decks.

{-here-} .. “OTTO SAYS”
.. As vague as the Delphic Oracle!
.. Enter a cartoon skeletal realm & type in ANY question.
.. Cartoon head with speech bubble comes down,
.. .. capriciously issues profound big vague answer.
.. So then you’re like, “??!!?!!?”
.. What will Electro-Delphi do for you?

{-here-} .. “BRAVE PENGUIN”
.. This experiment definitely is a chat with Machine Intelligence.
.. I abandoned it when it called me ugly.
.. Look, i’m not overly-sensitive BUT:
.. The very minute i thought it met my theoretical requirements:
.. I respectfully asked its name.
.. It specified the conundrum “Brave Penguin”.
.. It said nothing else intelligible either,
.. till Bstrd called me ugly, evidence in pics i was snapping.
.. See the evidence.. {-Here-} .. !!Scroll down to Item 16!!

{-HERE-} .. Wikipedia article about “42”
It’s a famous sci-fi joke about machine intelligence.

My Theoretical Conclusion:
It seems like computers are not very interested
in talking with us.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
BUT SERIOUSLY, TECH NOTES:

1: Brave Penguin communicates to you in “Basic English”,
which is a scientific attempt to make the English language
easier to learn and use.
.. Please see the Wikipedia article.
.. Basic English reduces English to a list of 850 words, plus
simple rules for modifying words to stick them together.
.. However, Brave Penguin only has the 850 words, not the
means of sticking them together.

2a: These things were designed with varying characteristics,
as a simple experimental program.
.. They have different levels of physical activity by the Human,
in order to operate it.
.. And they have different levels of richness in the Machine’s
vocabulary when it answers.

2b: Otto Says has an impoverished vocabulary consisting of
vague aphorisms, .. And the Human only thinks their question
then clicks a button. .. It works as well as you might expect.

2c: Flashcard Show has a medium level of Human activity with
an extremely rich vocabulary.
.. It has a menu of buttons for the Human to click, then your
eyes bounce around while your answer assembles.
.. And the Machine replies with Tarot cards. .. You can even
mix together two decks!
.. It works quite well.

2d: Brave Penguin has a very high level of Human physical
activity with a medium level of vocabulary richness.
.. You must type in your question, then click a button, then
for every word of the answer you must swirl your cursor in
the center of the screen 3 times.
.. Then the Machine answers in the limited vocabulary of
Basic English.
.. To me, Brave Penguin feels so intelligent as to be awake,
but it’s like an intelligent person who stammers.

2e: That’s the results i got anyway.

3: Summing up:
.. From that i’ll guess that the Machine’s level of intelligence
depends on this: .. The Human’s level of physical activity.
.. Then communicating well depends on this: .. The Machine
having a very rich vocabulary.
.. Do you want to experiment? .. Build that device.

.. .. ..

{-!! Here is the end of the Tarot Hub !!-}