The
Beautiful and Mysterious Tarot
I
am a writer of paranormal novels, and as a trained Spiritualist
medium, I have worked as a 'platform' medium in Spiritualist churches in the
UK and Europe.
Awhile
ago I wrote about my first experience of spirit as a young child in
my article for this blog, The Hanging Ghost, 4th December 2013.
Not
every medium can or wants to divine using Tarot. Like clairvoyance
the ability to read, and understand the messages given by the cards –
is a gift from spirit.
There
are many people who believe that Tarot cards are a creation of the
devil. How sad because in truth, we don't know where they did come
from but we do know they are very far from being evil. The cards give
hope, and up-lift to many people who are deeply unhappy, and in need
of spiritual help and guidance.
Tarot
is ancient, so much so that nobody really knows where it did come
from. It is certain that the ancient Egyptians were aware of Tarot.
Images of Tarot were found depicted in the pyramids. The moors were
said to have brought them to Europe, around a thousand years after
the birth of Christ.
It
is also thought that before the 14th century the art of Tarot was known, and kept hidden by secret schools of occult studies.
Although we do not know how old Tarot really is, or where it originally came
from, we do know that it is not evil. Unfortunately, there have been
practitioners that have misused the cards, and caused harm and
suffering to the very people they were supposed to be helping.
These
people always have to pay a high price for their sins.
Whatever
your reasons are for wanting to learn the art of Tarot divination,
you can be sure of one thing – you will gain a greater awareness of
yourself, and a deeper knowledge of the metaphysical world around
you.
There
is such a lot to learn and understand went it comes to Tarot that you
never stop learning about it. I have been a Tarot Master for several
years now, and I am still finding out new things about this wonderful
gift from spirit.
The
Tarot Deck
There
are 78 cards in a deck, broken down as follows -
22
Major Arcana
40
Minor Arcana
16
Court Cards
The
Arcana, means hidden or secret. Therefore, Major Arcana means big
secret, and Minor Arcana means little secret.
The
deck has 4 suits.
Wands
- Work and social activities.
Cups
– Love and emotions.
Pentacles
(coins) - Material wealth.
Swords
- Problems.
As
you become more adept at using your deck the above basic principles
will become intertwined with each other. Something that would
normally be associated with a problem, might be seen by the card as a
problem coming to an end. This is the reason it is important that you
tune in, and become connected with your Tarot cards, so that you can
'read' what the cards are telling you, and not just simply give a
message on the face value of the card.
The
Major Arcana Cards start with The Fool, his number is 0 and end with
The World, number 21.
The
Court Cards, are the Kings, the Queens, the knights and the pages.
The
Minor Arcana cards are the 4 suits.
Choosing
a Tarot Deck
There
are many different Tarot decks on the market and it is most likely
that as you become more familiar with your readings, you will want to
have more than one deck to work from.
One
of the most well known decks is The Rider-Waite deck. It was the
first deck I owned, and I still use it today.
I
would warn you against choosing a deck that is, materialistic or of a
base nature.
I'll
explain. I once saw a deck that had explicit erotic positions as it's
picture symbols, in other words using sex to sell the deck for material gain and not spiritual understanding. Such a deck will have
attached to it the 'base' side of human beings, and not the higher
spiritual side of Tarot. Any reader using such a deck, will in my
opinion, not have the best interests of the person they are reading
for, and the reading will not be accurate because of the materialistic,
and unwholesome ideology the Tarot reader starts with.
This
sort of deck, is to be avoided, it brings nothing good with it.
The
famous artist Salvador Dali, painted a Tarot deck in his own image. He so missed the point of Tarot. Tarot is not an ego trip. Famous
artist or not, this deck is definitely another one to be avoided.
Tarot
is a gift from spirit to be used wisely, with a true and honest mind,
and a pure heart.
The
best sort of decks to choose are those depicting, Angels or native
American Indians or animals of a spiritual nature, such as wolves.
Once
you have chosen your deck, you will need to 'connect' with it to
create a bond between you, the reader, and your spiritual guide who
will help you with your readings.
How
to connect with your chosen deck
I
am assuming that if you are interested in the metaphysics of Tarot
that you are aware of how to meditate.
If
you have not meditated before, not to worry, it's very easy and very
therapeutic. Meditation is a wonderful way to find a sense of calm and
peace, that can help us cope with the fluctuations is our modern lives.
Find
and quiet time and a place where you will not be interrupted.
The
major arcana, the minor arcana cards and the court cards of your new
pack of cards will be in sequence. It is easier to take each section
first before shuffling the deck into a random pattern.
Start
with the major cards, look at each card memorizing it completely. Do
this with the minor cards and the court cards. Once you have done
this, then shuffle your deck until all the cards are in a random
sequence.
Now
for the meditation part.
Before
I start any spiritual meditation I say a prayer for help and guidance
from my spiritual helpers.
Usually
when meditating you close your eyes but this is not the case when familiarizing, and getting comfortable with your chosen deck.
Firstly,
let all your negative energies flow out of you. Then, tell yourself
that you are calm, relaxed, and are at one with spirit. As you say
this, either out loud or quietly to yourself, sense your growing
affinity with your cards as you look at each card in turn.
Repeat
this process several times on different days. I think it best to do
this one day straight after the other. Another good idea is to keep
your cards with you as you go about your daily life. Once you have
got to know your cards, and you can remember the symbolic pictures of
each one, and the numbers relating to the Major Arcana cards, you are
ready to learn how to read them.
It
is rare but possible to buy a deck that does not respond to you or
you to it – don't give up – chose another deck and repeat the
process of tuning in to the other deck.
The
Major Arcana - Elements and Astrological signs.
There
are 4 elements that rule the major arcana. Fire, air, earth and
water. Each card is listed in numerical order, together with it's
element and along with the planetary/astrological sign they are ruled
by.
0
The Fool – Air - ruled by Uranus
1
The Magician – Air – ruled by Mercury
11
The High Priestess – Water – ruled by the Moon
111
The Empress – Earth & Air – ruled by Venus
1V
The Emperor – Fire – ruled by Aries
V
The Hierophant – Earth – ruled by Taurus
V1
The Lovers - Air – ruled by Gemini
V11
The Chariot – Water – ruled by Cancer
V111
Strength – Fire – ruled by Leo
1X
The Hermit – Earth – ruled by Virgo
X
The Wheel of Fortune – Fire – ruled by Jupiter
X1
Justice – Air – ruled by Libra
X11
The Hanged Man – Water – ruled by Neptune
X111
Death - Water – ruled by Scorpio
X1V
Temperance – Fire – ruled by Sagittarius
XV
The Devil – Earth – ruled by Capricorn
XV1
The Tower – Fire – ruled by Mars
XV11
The Star – Air – ruled by Aquarius
XV111
The Moon – Water – ruled by Pisces
X1X
The Sun – Fire – ruled by the Sun
XX
Judgement – Water – ruled by Pluto
XX1
The World – Earth – ruled by Saturn
The
significance of the elements will become clearer as you delve into
the deeper meaning of each card.
I
have also given the astrological signs for the cards, not because you
have to believe in astrology to use them but because each sign is
significant at the time of a reading.
Over
the next few articles I shall explain how to understand and read the
pictorial symbols of each suit of cards, starting with the Major
Arcana cards.
However, there are many books and lots of information
on the internet relating to Tarot that you might want to check out
whilst, at the same time, learning from my articles.
Next
time – the meanings of the
Major
Arcana
cards.
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