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 attentiont 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.