Posts Tagged ‘cards’
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
Tarot cards comprise of twenty-one trump cards, the fool and 1 supplemental face card for every other suits in the deck. Zones about Europe employ the deck to amusement with established rules, howeverin English-chatting states, tarot cards can be discovered in the zone of fortunetelling.
The tarot cards commenced also with other cards in the 1300s. History people recommend that they were invented in Islamic states, although the initial actual material in the English-chatting sphere is the Christian terrain of Bern, Switzerland. The older tarot cards consisted of only 16 trump cards as compared to twenty-one in intricate decks.
A typical tarot deck contains 78 cards consisting of the four suits seen in regular card games, which are hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. The Latin version of the tarot deck has a different set of suits. They are swords, batons, cups, and coins. Like a regular deck, tarot cards are numbered from one to ten plus the four court cards; jack, queen, king, and ace.
The difference between a tarot deck and the regular deck is the twenty-one divinity cards known as Major Arcana. A joker equivalent in the tarot deck is called the Fool, or the excuse. The Fool can take all four suits and acts as the strongest trump card.
Meaning is assigned to each card in a tarot deck; however, the specifics of interpretation are impacted by the layout of the cards, whether they are upright or reversed, and the interpreter’s own reading. Many of the cards in the major arcana, the trump cards, are fairly logical. The Lovers represent love, in some capacity, while Strength is symbolic of courage and drive. Each of the cards in the minor arcana also carries meaning when used for divination, based on both the numeric value of the card and which suit it is. Meanings of each card can be found online, in books, or simply by interpreting the images on the card.
Face to face tarot readings are interactive in a sense that the reader allows the person to determine which face down card is interpreted by the reader. Face to face readings are commonly found in the streets of many different places in the English-speaking world. In England, there is a going rate of £12.50 per person, but the price drastically decreases depending on the number of people paying for the service. Some offer the service in the comfort of one’s own home, while some offer it on the street for cheaper rates as well.
There is a purist belief that face to face readings are significantly more accurate than other types of readings such as e-mail readings or phone readings, but of course the general destiny of these beliefs is to be completely unfounded like all other astrological arguments.
Phone readings are available on the Internet for approximately £5.00 per reading. Perhaps it is significantly cheaper than face to face readings due to the lack of mystique and personal/visual connection with the reader himself. While the past presented interested parties with the option of calling a phone line, the Internet now offers international calls for the same price, and if one is interested, one can acquire a reading through credit card of PayPal.
The popular reputation of phone readings is that the impersonal nature of the transaction weakens the link, although this can also be attributed to the absence of mystique from the service.
Tarot cards have been around for centuries and have been used in many cultures for the purposes of divination. There are a variety of card layouts, and there are several different card reading methods that card readers use. The interpretation of Tarot Cards is based on the card position and the various symbols in each card.
Tags: astrologer, astrologers, astrological, astrology, bern switzerland, book, card face, card games, cards, courage, court cards, deck tarot, destiny, determinant, diamond, divination, diviner, divinities, divinity, face card, face down, home, images, internet, islamic states, latin version, love, minor arcana, nature, numeric value, people, personal, personalities, personality, popularity, queen king, reader, reading, senses, spades, tarot, tarot cards, tarot deck, tarot-readings-, trump card
Posted in love horoscopes | No Comments »
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Just by its name, you would think that the Lovers card in a Tarot deck would signify romance, love and marriage. Good guess. The Lovers card has a lot to do with relationships, sexuality, personal beliefs, and values.
Has the Lovers card ever come up when you are reading Tarot cards? The Lovers card speaks for itself. The Lovers card is number 6 on the list of Tarot cards.
For most people, when they are looking for advice from either a fortune teller or a psychic, they want the Lovers card to appear.
Why is this?
The Lovers card deals with forming bonds, feeling loved, creating a loving union, acknowledging a relationship bond, having sympathy of another person, becoming closer, establishing a connection, and being intimate.
The Lovers card signifies a world where there are no boundaries to intimacy, romance flourishes, and sex is passionate, but gentle. At the same time the Lovers card represents life-long partnerships, companionship, and trusting another person that you are in love with.
Given that love is such a universal need, it is little wonder that most individuals feel the need for it somewhere in their Tarot reading
1) Breaking Down The Lovers Card
The Lovers card is part of the major arcana. Love is one of the many stages of life, and that means it is a fairly important card in a reading.
The Lovers card represents that an individual is looking for a union, experiencing desire, making love, being open to love, responding with passion, feeling a physical attraction, or tapping into the energy within them.
When this card is turned, predominately, the person who is having their Tarot cards read is in a committed relationship or is looking for attention from the opposite sex.
Because of the personal beliefs of the individual, they are questioning who they are, trying to find where they stand, being true to themselves, walking their on path in life, abiding by their own principles, or making up their own mind.
Overwhelmingly, though, the Lovers card does not represent being a loner. In dealing with the values of the person, they may be deciding what their values are at that time, struggling with temptation, choosing between what is right and wrong, refusing to let the ends justify the means, or discovering what is truly important to them.
2) The Two Types of Lovers Cards
a. The Upright Lovers Card
This card represents being in tune with others and an improvement in the relationships you have, especially ones that are romantic in nature. This card carries a clear message that we should all develop a deep connection with the others that share our lives.
b. The Reversed Lovers card
This card is a warning not to make hasty decisions as you may regret them in the future. You have to be careful with the decisions you make and make sure they feel like the right decisions in your gut. The reversed Lovers also symbolizes bad timing and frustration in relationships
3) Cards That May Reinforce The Lovers Card
There are a few cards in the tarot deck that mean similar things to The Lovers card including such cards as:
a) The Empress
This card represents sexual fulfillment and feeling pleasure in your relationship as well as being very sexually active.
b) Two of Cups
This card symbolizes a union, marriage, or some type of connection. It also stands for happiness of the person that is in that relationship.
c) Nine of Cups
This card stands for outright sexual pleasure. The person is promiscuous and has no qualms about their body.
d) Ten of Cups
This card stands for solid permanent unions and family ties.
e) Ten of Pentacles
This card stands for a person that has been in a long marriage and has full grown children, who they are still close to.
f) Can The Lovers Tarot Card Help your Relationship?
Many people want to know if the Lovers card will be the remedy for their problems in relationships.
It is often the case that people feel that Tarot cards will enlighten them so that they will be able to read their partner. They have the belief that these cards can give them information about relationships they are currently in, as well as past ones.
So can your relationship questions be answered by the Lovers card?
It has been said that that cards reveal secrets in your relationship, which then will reveal other aspects of your life, and then it snowballs. Finally, everything you wanted to know about is exposed to you. The Lovers card may just hold your relationship secrets.
Tags: attraction, bonds, breaking down, card deals, cards, children, companionship, development, energy, establishments, family, feelings, flourishes, fortune teller, future, good, happiness, help, individuality, information, intimacy, life, love, loving union, major arcana, making love, marriage, nature, needs, nines, no boundaries, number 6, people, personal, personal beliefs, personalities, personality, physical, physical attraction, reading, reading 1, reading tarot cards, relationship, relationships, romance, romantic, same, sexuality, tapping, tarot, tarot deck, time, true, universal need, universe
Posted in love horoscopes | 1 Comment »
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Most of what I’m going to lecture from come from Cynthia Giles’ book: The Tarot, History, Mystery and Lore and some other resources.
The origins of the Tarot have been attributed a wide range of wacky sources paleolithic cave paintings, gypsy folk lore, Moroccan mystics and even gifts from space aliens to Egyptian priests!. Most of these stories are, of course, speculation of the wildest, most ridiculous kind, and only serve to muddy the waters when it comes to understanding the Tarot. If you’re going to use the cards, it’s important to understand where they come from so that you know their rich history, their potential and their value and not put faith in silly urban legends.
Tarot on parade
The first mention of the cards was in Italy in the 14th century, called “Tarocco” and used for games and already, authorities were lecturing against its use. The first known deck was made for the Vicsconzi-Sforza family of Milan, designed by the artist Bembo. According to Tarot expert Gertrude Moakley, the various characters illustrated in the major arcana represented the triomfi, or parade, that accompanied Italian celebrations.
Historians believe that there may have been other cards that existed to represent other characters but have disappeared over time. Few decks of Tarot cards exist for those early days, but there’s enough similarity in artwork to make it clear that the deck was in common use in that time. Some historians believe that the Tarot was originally only used as a gaming deck to play a game called tarocchi until occultists began using them for divination.
Taking Europe by storm
The next big milestone in Tarot’s history came in the late 1700’s when Court de Gebelen, a member of a secret society of occultists, came across the a game of tarocchi and became obsessed with the cards. He believed them to be imbued with important symbolism which he attributed to ancient Egyptian lore. De Geblen wrote a nine-volume treatise titled “Le Monde Primitif” in which he discussed the meanings of the Tarot. That he attributed the Tarot’s symbolism to the Egyptian’s was based less on any real fact than on the fascination that Europeans had with Egypt at that time, believing it to be the center of all of man’s early wisdom. Use of the cards for divination spread during that time, with a book by a man named Etteilla in 1783, in which he offered his interpretations of the cards. In fact, professional mystics began using the Tarot throughout Europe, although there was no consensus of what the cards actually meant.
The mystical background of the Tarot
Card readings have long been associated with Gypsies, although they certainly weren’t responsible for their creation. For hundreds of years, Gypsies made their way across the world, living by their wits and earning a living by any skills that they could market. Gypsies were exotic, feared and looked down on, but there was an aura of romance about them that caught the imagination of Europeans in the 1800’s. A book was published towards the end of the century called “The Tarot of the Bohemians,” attributing the Tarot to the Gypsies (who Europeans commonly believed came from Egypt). Interestingly, Gypsies used regular playing cards for divination not the Tarot.
In the 19th century, the famed mystic Eliphas Levi Zahed (whose real name was Alphonse Louis Constant) connected the Taror with Hebrew mysticism the Kabbalah. He saw the Tarot as a key to life, a tool that man can use to develop himself as a human being, as a way to grow so that he might find heaven. His work outlined 22 connections to the tarot major arcana, making it a tool to be used on the path to enlightenment.
The modern Tarot deck was most influenced by the cards used in the late 1800’s by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The order was founded in England by three men who, according to lore, found an old secret manuscript written in code, deciphered it as the by-laws of a secret German society, and received permission to start their own group in England. Years later, the woman who gave them permission died, and the German members disavowed the British branch, saying they never got permission after all.
The modern Tarot is born
Despite its contentious beginnings, the Golden Dawn became a very influential group, with two members in particular doing a great deal to spread the popularity of occultism Aleister Crowley and Arthur Edward Waite. Crowley, a protégé of the Golden Dawn founders in England, created a Tarot called the Book of Thoth. Waite created the Tarot deck that’s most familiar to modern users. Working with an American artist named Pamela Coleman Smith, Waite used a storytelling theme, utilizing characters from myth, legend and religion, allocating a group of symbols to each card that gives them unique meaning. His Tarot formed the foundation on which most decks that followed were based.
The next milestone in the Tarot’s history came in the 1920’s, when a Golden Dawn member named Paul Foster Case started a group in Los Angeles called Builders of the Adytum (BOTA). The BOTA deck is in black and white, created so that the owner could color the drawings themselves (it was a tradition in the Golden Dawn that each member had to make their own deck as part of their training). The group offers Tarot training to this day, although their interpretations of the cards are disputed by many divination experts.
Today, there are countless versions of the Crowley/Waite Tarot available, some with magnificent artwork, others less impressive. Whatever your choice of deck, using the Tarot as a divination tool is a personal experience, one that’s origins reach far back in history. Hopefully, knowing the background of this ancient art will enhance your connection to the cards, and to your own readings.
Tags: 14th century, american, association, book, cards, cave paintings, centuries, colors, cynthia giles, design, development, divination, diviner, divinities, divinity, egyptian lore, egyptian priests, family, fear, folk lore, gifts, giles book, history mystery, illustrations, life, major arcana, moakley, modern, muddy the waters, mysteries, mystery, mystics, myth, owner, personal, personalities, personality, popularity, reading, religion, rich history, romance, sforza family, source, space aliens, story, tarot, tarot cards, tarot history, time, tools, understanding, urban legends, user, volume treatise, water, wisdom, woman, work
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Saturday, April 25th, 2009
Many people are curious about reading Tarot cards for their friends and family. Once you have a deck of Tarot cards, it is only natural to want to use them with others. After experiencing the insight that Tarot cards can give you, anyone would certainly understand that you would want to share this with the people in your life.
When reading for others, there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind. The purpose of reading for other people is to share your love of the Tarot cards and to offer them some insights, just as you have received them by reading the Tarot cards for yourself. Keeping these tips in mind will help make reading for others in your life go smoothly and make reading fun.
Begin reading for other people you are comfortable around. This may sound like a very logical thing to do, however there are some that will actually do a Tarot reading when someone says to them, “Oh, Tarot? That’s nonsense….well; let’s see what you can do!” This is not the best atmosphere for even a professional Tarot reader to read under, let alone a beginning Tarot reader. Make your first readings for others are ones for family, friends and people who are genuinely interested in the Tarot. Trust your judgment that these be people who are kind and supportive types.
Let the person begin the Tarot reading by proposing a question. Your Tarot reading begins always with the querent giving a question they would like the reading to focus on. Let the person you are reading come up with the question. Sometimes when we read our family and friends, this means that they want to look into some life issue that may seem tiresome to us but is very close to this person’s heart.
When reading for others it is important to respect people’s feelings. Every question should be treated with respect. Most Tarot questions work best if they are simply phrased and to-the-point. The Tarot question is ideal when it focuses on one issue. When the querent wants to ask about an additional issue, suggest you do a second Tarot reading for that question.
Give the Tarot cards to the person to shuffle. This puts the querent’s energy into the Tarot cards. When you are reading Tarot, this is a very common practice to have the person asking the question shuffle the cards for awhile. It is also fun and makes them feel like a part of the reading. Try not to criticize the way they shuffle your Tarot cards unless they are doing something that might damage your Tarot cards. Many people are not used to handling Tarot cards; suggest they shuffle them, just as they would playing cards.
Trust your intuition to guide the Tarot reading. The Tarot is full of symbolism and other information that will give you a reading for any question that you ask. Trust your own intuition when looking at the cards. You may feel inspired to say something different even though a card’s interpretation according to the book means something a little different. This is quite common with Tarot readers and simply means you are connecting with the Tarot cards in your own personal way. Everyone has their own personal way of reading Tarot and as you read for others, you’ll discover yours.
Don’t make predictions about death, medical or legal issues. Most professional Tarot card readers will not touch these issues with a ten-foot pole. It is advisable that you not do Tarot readings for these issues either. When someone asks you to look into why they get headaches, encourage them to see a medical professional.
People may ask you other questions that make you uncomfortable you don’t have to try to answer them. Simply say politely, “I don’t think I can answer that one.” Don’t say you can’t get the answer “right now” or they’ll try to get you to read the issue later on. When you speak to them, be kind, friendly and polite. Do not let them “box” you into doing a reading that makes you uncomfortable in any way.
Try not to take criticisms or comments about your Tarot readings too much to heart. Some people may criticize your Tarot readings and this can hurt your feelings. Other people may praise you nearly to the heavens, making you out to be some amazing oracle type of person. Don’t let this inflate your ego either. Focus instead on your love of the Tarot cards and continue reading them for pure enjoyment.
The person who loves Tarot most often runs into both of these types of people during their reading experiences. You don’t want to let either of them ruin your experience with Tarot cards. When reading Tarot cards, be kind and respectful of others and even if your readings are not perfect they will be the best you can do.
Reading the Tarot for others can be fun, entertaining and quite enjoyable. Having respect for other people and also the Tarot is critical. Once you become skilled at this, it is also a great way to earn additional income.
Tags: atmosphere, book, cards, encouragement, energy, family, family and friends, family friends, feelings, friends and family, guide, heart, help, information, insight, insights, intuitions, judgment, life, love, mind, nature, nonsense, people, personal, personalities, personality, professional tarot reader, querent, reader, reading, reading fun, reading tarot cards, soundness, tarot, tarot questions, tarot-reading, understanding, work
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Friday, April 24th, 2009
If you are in love and want to know how your love story will end up, you might be interested to learn about love tarot spread illustrations that predict such an outcome. This could also help you understand your proposed life partner better, and/or tell you whether this is the right choice for you. So many questions pop up in your mind when you think of a relationship. Are not you curious to know the answers? Often these answers could be answered at the click of the mouse. In other cases, a visit to your favorite psychic could give you amazing insights. Whether you choose the Internet as your medium or a live psychic, knowing about the types of tarot spread illustrations would always be helpful.
Among all the divinations, magic potions, miracles sought, prayers offered, the most would be found in search of love. Human beings are perpetually hungry for love. While often this love is for and about a life partner, there are many times when people seek the love and acceptance of their parents, siblings, friends, children, God. When you seek answers through tarot card reading about love it is good to learn a little about the basics that go into such a divination process.
The Internet is a great teacher and information disseminator. Grab a scrap pad and a pencil and settle in front of your computer seeking tarot spread illustrations that divine love and relationships. One of the popular love divination spreads would be the 13 card spread. In this spread, there are seven cards that would describe you and your position in the relationship; the other six cards would be drawn three at a time, the first indicating your past, present and future and the second set of three cards indicating the other person’s past present and future.
The seven cards spread about you would read as follows, the card no 1 tells about you and your feelings in the relationship. In order to understand clearly what is said, it would help if you have a tarot spread in front of representing each card and its meaning close by until you know them by heart. Card no 2 would tell you about the other person’s character. Card 3 would give you an overall feeling about the situation. Card 4 would identify the obstacles in your path towards achieving the full love of the person you want to love you back. Card 5 would indicate what exactly the other person thinks or feels about you. Card 6 is about the expectations of the other person from you and the relationship; and lastly card 7 will tell you where exactly the relationship is at present.
The reading sounds easy, even fun. However, if you go through a few sessions or see some tarot spread illustrations you would realize that there are a lot of grey in the readings and very little pure black and white areas. This means you need to have that inner intuition that psychics are blessed with and a lot of experience before you could really understand the language of the tarot cards.
Tags: card reading, cards, children, divination, diviner, divinities, divinity, feelings, friends children, future, god, good, heart, help, human beings, illustrations, information, inner, insight, insights, internet, intuitions, life, life partner, love, love story, magic potions, mind, miracles, needs, obstacles, parents, pencil, people, personal, personalities, personality, popularity, prayers, reading, relationship, right choice, search, siblings, soundness, story, tarot, time, understanding
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Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Have a date this Saturday? Better check if Fate is on your side, with a quick look at your online dating horoscope.
There are different kinds of horoscopes. The Western Zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc.) is based on your birthday. The Chinese Zodiac (Snake, Dragon, Horse, etc.) is based on your birth year. There is also numerology, which gives a number equivalent to the letters of your name, and the date, place and hour of your birth. You can also get online tarot card readings and rune readings.
Depending on how detailed your horoscope is, you can find out about your personal fortune or your compatibility with your date. A personal fortune just looks at the kind of “universal forces” you need to consider during any particular time. For example, some days you’ll have a higher tendency to get into conflicts, while there are other days when everything just effortlessly falls into place. This doesn’t mean you’re predestined to fight by dinnertime. It just reminds you to watch out and be more conscious—sort of like the weatherman predicting rain, and saying you might as well bring an umbrella.
You can also find compatibility charts. Let’s say you were born in the Year of the Dragon: can you get along with someone born in the year of the Rabbit? In Ancient China, no marriage was allowed if their horoscopes weren’t “auspiciously aligned”. Even if you choose to take their advice with a grain of salt, it doesn’t hurt (and it’s even kind of fun) to check.
Some online dating horoscopes are free. Others give a free trial, then offer more personalized or detailed charts for a small fee. It depends on what you’re looking for. Some will actually go so far as to tell you which days are best for seeing people, which days you should stay in and watch reruns, what kind of lucky charms you may need to bring with you. Others give very general advice, like “It’s a good month for meeting new people.”
Other dating horoscopes don’t focus on making predictions, but are tools for self-awareness and reflection. This is especially true for tarot or rune readings. Many of these sites believe that what the “cards” (or any other tool) tell you isn’t the future, but the things going on in your life right now that may need addressing. Their philosophy is that your thoughts or emotions attract certain kinds of situations, and when you ask for a horoscope you’re taking a kind of “spiritual check up” so you can correct whatever’s blocking true love.
Whether you choose to get a general reading or a detailed chart, a year’s predictions or a chance to reflect and assess where you are right now, online horoscopes can be an important tool for dating.
Tags: ancient china, aries, attraction, birth year, cards, chart, charts, chinese, chinese zodiac, compatibility charts, conflicts, date, dating, dinnertime, dragon, emotional, emotions, fate, free, frees, future, gemini, good, grain of salt, horoscope, horoscopes, life, lucky charms, needs, number equivalent, online tarot card readings, people, personal, personal fortune, personalities, personality, philosophy, predicting rain, reading, rune readings, spiritual, spirituality, tarot, tarot card readings, taurus, taurus gemini, thoughts, time, tools, true, universal forces, universe, weatherman, western, western zodiac, year of the dragon, year of the rabbit, zodiac, zodiacs
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Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
The Love spell is performed with many loving rituals. If you love someone and want them back, then a great method to bring that love is by a love spell. If anyone wants to attract someone new or if ones lover is in love with someone else, then by introducing love spells you may gain back your lost love. Lost love spells are usually performed for someone who has lost his or her love and wants them back.
Anyone can learn to use the laws of spell casting if he or she is ready for magic.
Types of Love Spells
Some of the more common and ancient Magic Love Spells include: Wicca Love Spells, Voodoo Love Spells, Simple Love Spells, Powerful Love Spells, Egyptian Love Spells, Reuniting Love Spells, Reuniting Lovers Spells, Attracting Love Spells, Psychic Love Spells, Return & Reunite Love Spells and Bring Back Lost Love Spells.
Uses of the Love Spell
Love spells are cast for many reasons, especially to gain back a lost love, attract a new love, to find a new lover, turn a good friend into a lover, draw a loved one closer, receive a proposal of marriage, celebrate married life, mend lover’s quarrels, magnify lust, attract casual sexual partners, or increase fertility. Love spells can be gentle or strong, suggestive or coercive.
Love Spells for Different People
Red spells are for romance, love, lust, fertility, or sexuality. Binding spells are used to bring two lovers together forever. It can also be used for those who are insecure with their love relationship. Love spells can be used for Protection. To protect your marriage or repel against divorce often marriage spells, break up spells, breaking Love Spells or divorce spells are used. Some times love spells are used to get back a lost Love. Another favourite are the potent Break up Spells which are commonly used to get back someone who is with some one else.
Techniques of Casting a Love Spell Different people use different Techniques in Love Spell Casting. But the most common techniques are:-
Love Spell Casting using Horoscope Signs Love Spell Casting using Moon Phases Love Spell Casting using Tarot Card Reading Love Spell Casting with Candle Spells Visualization
How to Cast a Love Spell
For a very common type of love spell you can easily try the following – This works best on the Friday before a full moon. You will require a Pink Candle, a Vase, and Pink Flowers possibly roses.
Step 1- After sunset light a candle and place next to the vase. Step 2- Say aloud I ask the power of love and light to bring opportunity for me Step 3- Next recite I affirm that I am worthy of love. Step 4- I am opened to love and ask him/her to come to me. Step 5- Blow out the candle. Step 6- Wait a month – and if there is no change, try the spell again.
Love spells draw the magic forces for someone to love you. Modern scientific research is rediscovering ancient magical truths. It was once believed that magicians could create miracles, witches could cast spells, and through chanting certain people could bring on the unbelievable. Now we find modern instances of the same ancient principles in new terms called meditation.
Tags: amp, attracting love, attraction, binding spells, cards, casting a love spell, divorce, good, good friend, horoscope, life, love, love spell casting, love spells, marriage, miracles, modern, moon, new lover, people, pink, proposal of increase fertility, reading, relationship, relationships, reuniting lovers, rituals, romance, s, sexual partners, sexuality, signs, tarot, time, two lovers, voodoo, work
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Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
Most of what I’m going to lecture from come from Cynthia Giles’ book: The Tarot, History, Mystery and Lore and some other resources.
The origins of the Tarot have been attributed a wide range of wacky sources paleolithic cave paintings, gypsy folk lore, Moroccan mystics and even gifts from space aliens to Egyptian priests!. Most of these stories are, of course, speculation of the wildest, most ridiculous kind, and only serve to muddy the waters when it comes to understanding the Tarot. If you’re going to use the cards, it’s important to understand where they come from so that you know their rich history, their potential and their value and not put faith in silly urban legends.
Tarot on parade
The first mention of the cards was in Italy in the 14th century, called “Tarocco” and used for games and already, authorities were lecturing against its use. The first known deck was made for the Vicsconzi-Sforza family of Milan, designed by the artist Bembo. According to Tarot expert Gertrude Moakley, the various characters illustrated in the major arcana represented the triomfi, or parade, that accompanied Italian celebrations.
Historians believe that there may have been other cards that existed to represent other characters but have disappeared over time. Few decks of Tarot cards exist for those early days, but there’s enough similarity in artwork to make it clear that the deck was in common use in that time. Some historians believe that the Tarot was originally only used as a gaming deck to play a game called tarocchi until occultists began using them for divination.
Taking Europe by storm
The next big milestone in Tarot’s history came in the late 1700’s when Court de Gebelen, a member of a secret society of occultists, came across the a game of tarocchi and became obsessed with the cards. He believed them to be imbued with important symbolism which he attributed to ancient Egyptian lore. De Geblen wrote a nine-volume treatise titled “Le Monde Primitif” in which he discussed the meanings of the Tarot. That he attributed the Tarot’s symbolism to the Egyptian’s was based less on any real fact than on the fascination that Europeans had with Egypt at that time, believing it to be the center of all of man’s early wisdom. Use of the cards for divination spread during that time, with a book by a man named Etteilla in 1783, in which he offered his interpretations of the cards. In fact, professional mystics began using the Tarot throughout Europe, although there was no consensus of what the cards actually meant.
The mystical background of the Tarot
Card readings have long been associated with Gypsies, although they certainly weren’t responsible for their creation. For hundreds of years, Gypsies made their way across the world, living by their wits and earning a living by any skills that they could market. Gypsies were exotic, feared and looked down on, but there was an aura of romance about them that caught the imagination of Europeans in the 1800’s. A book was published towards the end of the century called “The Tarot of the Bohemians,” attributing the Tarot to the Gypsies (who Europeans commonly believed came from Egypt). Interestingly, Gypsies used regular playing cards for divination not the Tarot.
In the 19th century, the famed mystic Eliphas Levi Zahed (whose real name was Alphonse Louis Constant) connected the Taror with Hebrew mysticism the Kabbalah. He saw the Tarot as a key to life, a tool that man can use to develop himself as a human being, as a way to grow so that he might find heaven. His work outlined 22 connections to the tarot major arcana, making it a tool to be used on the path to enlightenment.
The modern Tarot deck was most influenced by the cards used in the late 1800’s by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The order was founded in England by three men who, according to lore, found an old secret manuscript written in code, deciphered it as the by-laws of a secret German society, and received permission to start their own group in England. Years later, the woman who gave them permission died, and the German members disavowed the British branch, saying they never got permission after all.
The modern Tarot is born
Despite its contentious beginnings, the Golden Dawn became a very influential group, with two members in particular doing a great deal to spread the popularity of occultism Aleister Crowley and Arthur Edward Waite. Crowley, a protégé of the Golden Dawn founders in England, created a Tarot called the Book of Thoth. Waite created the Tarot deck that’s most familiar to modern users. Working with an American artist named Pamela Coleman Smith, Waite used a storytelling theme, utilizing characters from myth, legend and religion, allocating a group of symbols to each card that gives them unique meaning. His Tarot formed the foundation on which most decks that followed were based.
The next milestone in the Tarot’s history came in the 1920’s, when a Golden Dawn member named Paul Foster Case started a group in Los Angeles called Builders of the Adytum (BOTA). The BOTA deck is in black and white, created so that the owner could color the drawings themselves (it was a tradition in the Golden Dawn that each member had to make their own deck as part of their training). The group offers Tarot training to this day, although their interpretations of the cards are disputed by many divination experts.
Today, there are countless versions of the Crowley/Waite Tarot available, some with magnificent artwork, others less impressive. Whatever your choice of deck, using the Tarot as a divination tool is a personal experience, one that’s origins reach far back in history. Hopefully, knowing the background of this ancient art will enhance your connection to the cards, and to your own readings.
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Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
The teachings found in the Element Cards, the minor arcana—Ace to 10 only—focus on the lessons experienced in mundane or every day life. These lessons are presented as a “spirit walk.” As the spirit walk begins, we are standing at the foot of Tarot Holy Mountain. Each face or side of the mountain is connected to an aspect of ancestral wisdom and spiritual evolution.
We begin our spirit walk by climbing Tarot Holy Mountain one step at a time, learning to explore the four elements of our lives: mind, ego, emotions, and body. In the east we enter the landscape of the mind and meet the first holy element: air, represented by the Sword of Illumination. The suit of swords represents the Mind, the attitudes we hold in life. Emphasis is placed on learning to balance this masculine energy by centering it and begin “feeling” with the mind. The ancestral wisdom of air reminds us that life experiences, whether of a supportive or problematic nature, happen in pairs; if we can experience happiness, somewhere in our lives we will experience sadness; love-hate, success-failure, birth-death, gain-loss. By understanding this basic nature of life, we learn how not to “lose” our “heads” to any given situation, but remain calm and centered.
The second face of Tarot Holy Mountain is the lesson of fire/wands. Here we enter the landscape of ego- will power. Wands represents willpower/ego or little self, placing emphasis on the masks we wear and how we use our power. This suit teaches us the ancestral wisdom to be aware of our control issues, learning how to find balance between ego and Sacred Self, warning against using excessive control, as well as warning against surrendering personal power.
On the west-face of Tarot Holy Mountain we enter the landscape of the heart, connecting with the lesson of water/cups, which represents the emotional body. This feminine element is directed toward the heart center and relationships. The ancestral wisdom taught here is to learn to “think” with the heart, to achieve emotional balance, and move into sacred relationship with self-first before others.
Lastly, the fourth side of Tarot Holy Mountain is the suit of earth, the landscape of instinct—the body, containing the coin, or “Faery gold”. The suit of pentacles embraces the lessons of the three other Elements by merging them in the ancestral wisdom of cycles. Here we learn the natural law of giving and receiving, moving into a mode of abundance, one based on nature rather than extreme materialism. Through the natural laws of this physical realm, issues surrounding prosperity and poverty consciousness are explored, and respect toward nature and our natural resources emphasized. We are reminded to get back in touch with the primal land.
To understand Tarot Holy Mountain better, let us look at it as if it were a wheel, one that is connected to the seasonal year. Using the compass or a circle divided into four parts, each part is connected to one of the cardinal directions: east-south-north-west. Each Element suit has a place on this wheel, in connection to a cardinal point of energy. In the East we have the element suit of air/swords; in the South we have fire/wands; the West is water/cups, and in the North is found earth/pentacles. Using correspondences with Tarot is very helpful because they give additional material to draw from when giving a reading.
For example: if you wanted to know what season an event might take place, the Ace of each suit could be used to determine the season, i.e. Swords would be spring, Wands-summer, Cups-autumn, and Pentacles -winter.
A predominance of fire/wands cards in a reading could give an indication as to something happening around mid-day, with air/swords cards indicating early morning, water/cups cards indicating evening, and earth/pentacles cards indicating nighttime. Correspondences add depth to a reading. They become food for the mind. They prompt deeper psychic attunement.
The system of Tarot is ideally a system designed for self-transformation. As already reviewed each side of Tarot Holy Mountain pertains to our basic life. We learn the lessons of each Element suit and deal with what’s learned from our perspective of life, from “being there.” In essence each suit represents an aspect of human relationship, whether with self, others, the planet, or Spirit.
The air/swords is a suit that has gotten a bum rap because it is presented as the more negative cards of the lesser secrets. This suit contains messages of danger, warnings, frustration, sorrow, depression, death, accidents, hostile forces, and setbacks. Yet, the swords contain a very important teaching, which is why they are the first suit of the Tarot. While they are what we might call our “wake up call,” when an air card comes up it’s because we’re saying to ourselves, snap out of it. One is reminded that there is choice. One can either choose to experience the negative aspect of the card or look at options and make changes, thereby moving into a different direction.
The fire/wands deal with the basic understanding of power—willpower, ego—politics, aspects of commerce. The wands represent conflicts, personality conflicts, successes and failures, winning or losing. Basically the wands represent the games of life, the face we show to the world, the mask we wear, our pretenses, attitudes that we sometimes use to cover-up our own sense of insecurity or fear.
The suit of water/cups deals with the heart, emotions, about love and good feelings. Yet, sometimes cups will also highlight imbalance within our emotions, where we’re sinking, where we’re wallowing in self-pity. They also deal with relationship with self, relationships with other people, all the way from familiar relationships through romance through work relationships—children, romance, sex, love, marriage, and so on.
Earth/pentacles move into the physical, the possession aspect of life, money, inheritances, real estate, gifts, giving and receiving cycle, as well as our stinginess, and our sharing ability. Understanding whether we function in abundance or scarcity consciousness.
Learning to Spirit Walk with the Tarot promises great insight into WHO you really are.
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Sunday, April 19th, 2009
The world of Tarot is a wondrous and fascinating place filled with mystical power and interesting legend.
How the various tarot decks evolved from their original form to that of the common deck of playing cards is one of the best stories in history, but let us take a look at some of the most well known cards that make up the old-fashioned tarot deck.
Remember, however, that many different tarot decks contain different cards from one another.
Especially in the case of the minor arcana, the suits can change from deck to deck. There is not any consensus right deck, they all have their own powers to help a trained reader divine the future.
1) The Fool
One of the best known cards in the tarot deck, the fool can symbolize many different things based on the question asked before the reading.
In most cases, the fool brings about such descriptions as immaturity, adventure, boldness, freedom and inexperience.
In history, the Fool has the special distinction of usually having the number zero. While that designation is not a uniform assignment across all decks, the Fool is usually seen as either the final trump card, the first trump card or even a completely separate card apart from the other trumps.
Modern interpretations of the fool vary from the context in which the card fits into the question asked and the reader, but in most cases, the fool is interpreted as standing for folly and inexperience.
It does not necessarily have to have a negative connotation, but it is interpreted that way in most cases.
2) Death
One of the most dreaded cards in the tarot deck, but also one of the most misunderstood.
The card is only interpreted by the most literal readers as meaning physical death. In almost all cases, the card stands for a change; usually a deep and through change in your life.
For some, the death card can be a positive if the change interpreted is the death of something negative. The number assigned to the card is 13, of course, an unlucky number in most Western cultures.
In modern decks of playing cards, the ace of spades is considered to be the descendant of the death card, and is still referred to as such by many card players.
3) The Devil
Card fifteen is also one of the most well known tarot cards. The devil, in most cases, stands for animal lust and vice. It can also be interpreted as a lack of morality and hedonism over other more moderate choices in life.
Most readers believe that the Devil card represents a lack of growth or the inability to stop behavior that harms oneself. The card, in most cases, is considered negative, but there is also a large amount of flexibility in the Devil card.
The subject receiving the reading may be caught in a particular behavior, but that behavior can change and the impact of the devil can be removed.
4) The Moon
Card eighteen of the tarot deck is the Moon. The card is usually associated with the ideas of tension, deception, confusion and anxiety.
The Moon is also thought to be associated with doubt, worry, unrealistic ideas and illusion. Most readers interpret the Moon as a lack of vision or purpose in the life of a person.
A need to find the right path back to goals and meaning is needed before all is lost. It can also mean that an adventure awaits and to be brave when facing unknown circumstances. In most cases, the Moon has a negative connotation, but not in all.
5) The Lovers
Card six in the tarot deck is The Lovers. The card is usually interpreted to mean union, passion and sexuality, as well as bonding, romance and heart.
The card is seen almost universally as a positive, a sign that the subject has a positive, warm and healthy relationship in their life.
There is a modicum of sacrifice with the Lovers card, the idea that the bachelor life will need to be jettisoned in favor of a caring and fulfilling relationship. The card is considered a positive building block when it comes up during a reading, a sign of good things to come.
6) Wheel of Fortune
Card ten is the Wheel of Fortune. It is thought to stand for opportunities, possibilities and destiny, as well as fate, activity and life cycles.
There is a strong karmic connection with the Wheel of Fortune card. The idea of what comes around, goes around is widely believed to exist within the Wheel of Fortune.
The card also represents random chance, with the Wheel most likely standing for all the choices one makes and their positive and negative outcomes.
7) Judgment
Card twenty in the tarot deck is Judgment. This is an almost universally positive card that most readers interpret to stand for hope, renewal, redemption and absolution.
Even though with Judgment, there is a positive and negative side, this card is almost always thought to be a positive.
The tarot deck is filled with dozens of interesting stories and interpretations. The cards listed here can mean many different things based on the question asked, the interpretation and if the card is reversed or not.
The energy and magic of tarot is eternal and it awaits your questions today.
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