 The tarot is magic. It is a language of images, full of metaphor and symbology, that speak of the tale of life. The tarot is an ancient tool of insight, wisdom and guidance that leads us along the path of transformation.
The tarot typically consists of the Major Arcana, which has been described as "the Fool's Journey", and then the four suits, Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles, which are the four elements of fire, water, air and earth, respectively. There are many different decks with different themes, but the structure generally remains the same. The Major Arcana consists of twenty-two cards but is only numbered to twenty-one, because the first card is numbered zero. Zero is the Fool. The Fool carries potential and possibility. This is where the journey begins. The Major Arcana ends at card twenty-one, The World, which is fulfillment. The cards of the Major Arcana are as follows:
If The Fool, that symbol of possibility and potential, is set aside, then the remaining twenty-one cards can be divided into three groups of seven. The first group is the Magician through the Chariot. The second group is Strength through Temperance. The third group is the Devil through the World. Now these three groupings can be seen as three distinct levels of consciousness or spiritual awakening. The tarot is steeped in hidden meaning and symbology and there are so many discussions of different ways the Major Arcana can be divided and analyzed that I can only begin to touch on it here. Within each elemental suit of the Minor Arcana, there are numbers one through ten and then a page, knight, queen and king. In readings the court cards (as well as the cards of the Major Arcana) can be referring to a specific person in addition to its situational meaning. The basic meanings of the cards of the suits are as follows:
There are different ways of handling and laying cards for different situations. The cards will always tell a story. When asked with a specific question, they will give a specific answer. If the question is vague, so will be the cards. Part of the lesson the cards teach is that we must truly understand what it is we wish to know. The imagery of each card is rich, so after associating the key meaning of a card with its position in the spread, look at the imagery and use your intuition. This is an art - it's more of letting the meaning arise than trying to fit everything into a neat box. The tarot's beauty, timeless wisdom, and guidance will be shared in my posts often. Each image is a portal into another realm showing us what might otherwise be hidden. The cards can serve as a beautiful muse as we journey through this life, infusing it with their insight and magic. Comments are closed.
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Kasey Ford, Soul-Aligned Love & Life Mentor to Women
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