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A Crash Course in Tarot for
Newbies #1
by Samantha Stevens
The Tarot is not just a
divinatory tool, but it can also be utilized in the
appropriately trained hands as a tool for providing counsel and
advice with which we can navigate life. It is an antique form of
divination that predates popular psychology, but has been shown
to have archetypal energies that work well from a Jungian
perspective.
Tarot becomes a book of
wisdom offering you a living parable or myth that reflects your
life journey in the hands of the right Diviner. It describes a
journey that mirrors your path in life. Usually the story is a
direct description of what is going to happen in a particular
window of time although talented readers can tell you much more
than that from looking at the symbols in the cards! One of the
main purposes of the use of the cards is to construct a future
narrative so that you can make decisions to change your fate.
The reader shuffles cards and lays them out in a specific
pattern usually called a "spread." This can be compared to a
snapshot or map of your life.
Each card position in the
layout of the spread represents a characteristic of the
situation in question --what forces are beyond your control,
what your particular strengths are in the current or future
situation, and what the likely outcome is if you continue as you
have been doing. As the cards fall into their positions, meaning
is created by the unique placement of the symbolic meanings of
each card. Together they weave a synchronistic tapestry that may
seem random at first, but in reality is a very careful map which
you may follow or not as you wish to bring about or avert the
outcome of your reading. Synchronicity is a principle that is
not only referred to constantly in psychology, but also in
quantum physics.
The entire system of Tarot
cards can be described as a pictorial or numerological
expression of the human condition. The Tarot cards can be
compared to a wise friend who we can turn to when we wish to
make a wise decision regarding a relationship or a career. The
wisdom found inside the Tarot, is actually the same wisdom that
is found inside each and every one of us. The whole purpose of a
reading is to tell you what you don't know so that you can use
your free will to take appropriate actions that are good for
your soul. Now, this does not necessarily mean telling you what
you want to hear - but instead what you NEED to hear.
It's hard to believe, but
Tarot cards were not originally designed to tell the future!
They were first used in the 16th century Paris to play a card
game similar to Bridge. As there were no soap operas in those
days, the cards were also put to another entertaining use. The
face cards, such as the Queen of Cups, King of Swords and so
forth were modeled on the personas of popular celebrities of the
day. These cards were shuffled and then arranged into scandalous
story lines. This parlor game was a source of great amusement
for both royalty and peasants alike.
In addition, 16th century
poets used the cards to compose poems called tarocchi
apporporati. The poems would be constructed about the characters
in the trump cards in the deck, such as the Queens, Kings,
Knights and Pages to tell a tragic or romantic story. Tarot
cards were not associated with divination until the 1800s, when
a secret order of magicians in Venice, Italy found significance
in their numbers and symbols. Before that these decorative cards
were not used for fortune telling. As these magicians were the
Illuminati of their day, their reading methods were kept very
secret.
The first known records of
the divinatory meanings assigned to Tarot cards did not appear
until the 1700s in Bologna. Ordinary playing cards have been
connected with divination as early as 1487. The gypsies were
adept at reading plain playing cards for centuries before the
Venetian magicians got their hands on a French Tarot Deck. It is
safe to assume that the Tarot card meanings and spreads that are
used today are based on a hybrid of techniques derived from the
Tzigani system of reading playing cards, French parlor games and
Venetian interpretations of occult symbols!
To understand the Tarot you
need to familiarize yourself with the meanings of the four suits
and the meanings of their symbols. The cups, coins, disks and
wands of the Tarot deck derive their meaning from cartomancy.
Cartomancy is the art of reading playing cards. There are 78
cards in a traditional Tarot Deck. These 78 cards are divided
into the Major and Minor Arcanas. The Minor Arcana relates to
the ordinary playing deck. Most of the cards in the Minor Arcana
represent events or qualities. The additional 22 Major Arcana
cards included in the traditional Tarot deck represent the
stages of a person's individual passage through life, from
non-existence, birth, love, marriage, death spiritual ascension
and back to non-existence again. The Fool Card, numbered 0, is
indicative of this eternal cycle.
The 22 Major Arcana cards
are an addition to what otherwise could be described as an
ordinary playing deck that consists of four suits. The meanings
of the 22 Major Arcana cards are based on an old French parlor
game that was used to predict the lives of the celebrities of
the day. Since then, they have mutated to symbolize major life
events and personal attributes. When you are first learning to
read the Tarot cards, sometimes it is valuable to have a list of
the card's abbreviated meanings to refer to while you are
throwing the cards. Though not all diviner's use the same
correspondent meanings. Here is a list of the classic meanings
of each of the 22 cards of the Major Arcana.
0 The Fool - choices offered, folly, going in circles
1 The Magician - creative
energy, psychic power
2 The High Priestess - mystery, hidden influences, female
supremacy
3 The Empress - abundance, fertility, motherhood
4 The Emperor - leadership, control, fatherhood
5 The Hierophant - convention, society, restrictions
6 The Lovers - love, relationships, intimacy
7 The Chariot - mind over matter, conflicts, war
8 Strength - courage, power, stamina
9 The Hermit - wisdom, spirituality, connection with Higher Self
10 Wheel of Fortune - unpredictability, changes of luck for good
or bad,
11 Justice - legal issues, balance, karmic return
12 Hanged Man - withdrawal, study, rest, waiting
13 Death - change, physical death, an ending
14 Temperance - moderation, adaptation, patience
15 The Devil - temptation, the material world, evil
16 The Tower - conflict, problems, devastation
17 The Star - hope, inspiration, happiness
18 The Moon - unseen troubles, black magic, female sexuality
19 The Sun - marriage, success, male sexuality
20 Judgment - awakening, renewal, the result of good or bad
actions
21 The World - success, opportunity, a clean slate
If you subtract the extra 22
cards that comprise the Major Arcana from a Tarot deck, the
Minor Arcana is what is left over. The Minor Arcana of every
Tarot deck contains 56 cards divided into four suits with each
suit maintaining its own sphere of influence. The four suits are
the Cups, Pentacles (also referred to Disks or Coins in some
decks), Wands (sometimes referred to as Batons) and the Swords.
In a deck of conventional
playing cards the Cups related to the suit of Hearts, the
Diamonds to Pentacles, the Wands to Clubs and the Swords to
Spades. Each of these four suits reigns over their own special
spheres of influence.
•The Cups suit deals with
emotional matters, love, sex marriage, fertility and creativity.
•The Pentacles suit pertains to matters such as wealth finance
commerce prosperity, career and economic security.
•The Swords suit refers to legal matters, the wheels of
progress, heartbreak, betrayal, opposition, breakthroughs and
the need to impose order on chaos. •Wands represent the mind,
inspiration, guidance, the world of ideas, deep thought,
intellect, purpose and potential.
Here is a handy list of the
condensed and abbreviated meanings of the 56 cards in the Minor
Arcana. Wands Ace beginning of fortune, passion, inspiration 2
business success, partnership 3 help offered, charity 4 rest
after labor, a compromise 5 struggle, competition 6 startling
news, invention, applied science 7 courage in the face of
difficulty, futility 8 swift action, a message, good news 9
overcoming obstacles, povert 10 unwise use of power, too much
force Page a messenger Knight starting or finishing of an issue,
a proposal Queen mother, artist, creative woman King man of
authority, an entrepreneur Cups Ace new love, union of souls,
birth 2 new friends, new love, soul mate 3 abundance, health,
prosperity 4 discontent, dissatisfaction 5 regret,
disappointment 6 happiness from the past 7 unrealistic dreams,
delusions 8 things thrown aside, waste, addiction 9 material
abundance, financial progress 10 family life, excess, indulgence
Page the arrival of good news Knight proposals, invitations
Queen romantic woman, vain woman King romantic man, sensitive
man Swords Ace victory, swift justice 2 indecision, uneasy
compromise 3 separation, love triangle 4 changes, improvement 5
success without happiness 6 difficulties resolve themselves,
medical attention 7 a failed plan, unmet goals, disappointment 8
restriction, rigid thinking, evil 9 sorrow, agony of mind 10
ruin, despair, betrayal Page upsetting message, a meddler Knight
end of a problem, a swift resolution Queen strong willed woman
King man of military authority Coins Ace beginning of wealth, a
great idea 2 two situations at once, commerce 3 skills in the
arts, steady work 4 material possessions, gifts 5 loneliness,
abandonment 6 charity, desperation 7 a pause amid growth 8
employment 9 enjoyment of wealth 10 family money, promotion Page
good financial news Knight patience with business and financial
matters Queen a rich woman, an independent woman, a matriarch
King man of business, a wealthy man
The face cards of the Minor
Arcana used to represent the Who's Who of Tarot. Originally
these personalities were based on the antics of celebrities in
16th century France. The face cards are the 'people" cards in
the deck that often symbolize the arrival or influence of a male
or female in your life. They are represented by the four face
cards in each suit - Cups, Wands, Coins and Swords. These are
the persons represented by the Kings, Queens, Knights (sometimes
Princes) and Page (or Princesses) in the Minor Arcana of the
deck. The four offices of King, Queen, Knight and Page vary in
name somewhat from deck to deck - but all are correct for the
deck and correspondences you are working with in that deck. For
those of you who have always wondered just exactly "whom" these
people are coming up in your reading, here is a short guide as
to what they are supposed to look like and be like:
Queen of Cups A fair-haired
young woman. Often good looking, vain, thoughtless.
Princess of Cups Beautiful,
naive sexy usually fair-haired woman. Immature. Queen of Disks A
slightly older woman. Well to do. Practical. Nobody's fool.
Princess of Disks A
nurturing, often codependent woman. Wounded Healer.
Queen of Wands Darker
haired, artistic, entrepreneur, independent, feminist,
intelligent.
Princess of Wands Brown or
blonde do-gooder. Practical.
Takes matters into own
hands. Queen of Swords Dark haired, widow, sad woman. Abandoned
woman. Wily Princess of Swords Dark haired, scheming woman.
Depressed. Promiscuous. Needy King of Cups Fair-haired alpha
male. Warm, generous, loving, Controlling. Knight of Cups Knight
in shining armor card. A suitor. Warm generous loving. King of
Disks Paternal Fatherly type. Medium to Dark Haired. Businessman
Knight of Disks An active, athletic stubborn type. Controlling.
Can be Violent. King of Wands Dangerous, womanizing man.
Egotistical. Dramatic. Sexy Knight of Wands Medium to dark
haired younger man. A Player. Vain. Selfish King of Swords
Cruel, powerful, bitter man. Sometimes emotionless. Swift.
Knight of Swords Sullen, dark haired, sexy but depressed younger
man. Poetic A Crash Course In Tarot For Newbies #2 will be about
basic spreads and layouts for divination.
