A Crash Course in Tarot For Newbies
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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.
The Fool (0)
Choices offered, folly, going in circles
The Magician (1)
Creative energy, psychic power
The High Priestess (2)
Mystery, hidden influences, female supremacy
The Empress (3)
Abundance, fertility, motherhood
The Emperor (4)
Leadership, control, fatherhood
The Hierophant (5)
Convention, society, restrictions
The Lovers (6)
Love, relationships, intimacy
The Chariot (7)
Mind over matter, conflicts, war
Strength (8)
Courage, power, stamina
The Hermit (9)
Wisdom, spirituality, connection with Higher Self
Wheel of Fortune (10)
Unpredictability, changes of luck for good or bad
Justice (11)
Legal issues, balance, karmic return
Hanged Man (12)
Withdrawal, study, rest, waiting
Death (13)
Change, physical death, an ending
Temperance (14)
Moderation, adaptation, patience
The Devil (15)
Temptation, the material world, evil
The Tower (16)
Conflict, problems, devastation
The Star (17)
Hope, inspiration, happiness
The Moon (18)
Unseen troubles, black magic, female sexuality
The Sun (19)
Marriage, success, male sexuality
Judgment (20)
Awakening, renewal, the result of good or bad actions
The World (21)
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
This suit deals with emotional matters, love, sex marriage, fertility and creativity.
The Pentacles (may also be called Disks or Coins)
This suit pertains to matters such as wealth finance commerce prosperity, career and economic security.
The Swords
This suit refers to legal matters, the wheels of progress, heartbreak, betrayal, opposition, breakthroughs and the need to impose order on chaos.
The Wands (also called Batons or Staffs)
This suit represents 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 of Wands
Beginning of fortune, passion, inspiration
Two of Wands
Business success, partnership
Three of Wands
Help offered, charity
Four of Wands
Rest after labor, a compromise
Five of Wands
Struggle, competition
Six of Wands
Startling news, invention, applied science
Seven of Wands
Courage in the face of difficulty, futility
Eight of Wands
Swift action, a message, good news
Nine of Wands
Overcoming obstacles, poverty
Ten of Wands
Unwise use of power, too much force
Page of Wands
A messenger
Knight of Wands
Starting or finishing of an issue, a proposal
Queen of Wands
Mother, artist, creative woman
King of Wands
Man of authority, an entrepreneur
Cups
Ace of Cups
New love, union of souls, birth
Two of Cups
New friends, new love, soul mate
Three of Cups
Abundance, health, prosperity
Four of Cups
Discontent, dissatisfaction
Five of Cups
Regret, disappointment
Six of Cups
Happiness from the past
Seven of Cups
Unrealistic dreams, delusions
Eight of Cups
Things thrown aside, waste, addiction
Nine of Cups
Material abundance, financial progress
Ten of Cups
Family life, excess, indulgence
Page of Cups
The arrival of good news
Knight of Cups
Proposals, invitations
Queen of Cups
Romantic woman, vain woman
King of Cups
Romantic man, sensitive man
Swords
Ace of Swords
Victory, swift justice
Two of Swords
Indecision, uneasy compromise
Three of Swords
Separation, love triangle
Four of Swords
Changes, improvement
Five of Swords
Success without happiness
Six of Swords
Difficulties resolve themselves, medical attentiont
Seven of Swords
A failed plan, unmet goals, disappointment
Eight of Swords
Restriction, rigid thinking, evil
Nine of Swords
Sorrow, agony of mind
Ten of Swords
Ruin, despair, betrayal
Page of Swords
Upsetting message, a meddler
Knight of Swords
End of a problem, a swift resolution
Queen of Swords
Strong willed woman
King of Swords
Man of military authority
Coins
Ace of Coins
Beginning of wealth, a great idea
Two of Coin
Two situations at once, commerce
Three of Coins
Skills in the arts, steady work
Four of Coins
Material possessions, gifts
Five of Coins
Loneliness, abandonment
Six of Coins
Charity, desperation
Seven of Coins
A pause amid growth
Eight of Coins
Employment
Nine of Coins
Enjoyment of wealth
Ten of Coins
Family money, promotion
Page of Coins
Good financial news
Knight of Coins
Patience with business and financial matters
Queen of Coins
A rich woman, an independent woman, a matriarch
King of Coins
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 who these people are coming up in your reading, here's 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
Tarot For New Witches - Part 2 will be about basic spreads and layouts for divination.
By: Sam Stevens
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