Evolution of the Tarot

As far as can be determined the word “Tarot” is a French word from the Italian “tarocchi” possibly meaning triumphs or trumps.  A deck of cards, probably Tarot, was made in 1392 for King Charles VI.  The earliest decks which are known to be authentic Tarot date to the beginning of the 15th century in Milan, designed by the Visconti and Visconti-Sforza families.  These early decks were the major arcana only (22 cards).  By mid 18th century the deck became standardized into 78 cards in the “Marseilles Deck” still in use today.  They could have originated in China since cards were in use there by the 10th or 11th century.  There is a popular myth that Tarot originated in ancient Egypt, but there is no mention of cards in their extensive writings.

            In 1910 Arthur Edward Waite designed a deck with images drawn by Pamela Colman Smith.  This Rider-Waite deck restored the symbols to their original meanings.  Waite blended ideas and symbols from true Kabbalah, and Hermeticism including the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in which Waite was a member.  This is still a very popular deck.

            Some believe that the major arcana, from 0 to 21 represents the soul’s journey to self-realization, the alchemical process of spiritual transmutation.  Zero, the fool, begins her/his journey with an openness that can be viewed as the absence of wisdom, or folly, but actually it is a leap of faith.  The fool is in reality, the wisest of us all, because the fool says, “I don’t know.”  The 21st card is the world.  By traveling through all the symbols represented by the major arcana, the fool learns what she/he needs to learn about the world.

            A reading is a reflection of the existing energies surrounding a person, so the entire layout must be considered as a whole.  A Tarot deck is another tool for seeing one’s life and present path from a different point of view.  Besides interpreting the cards by reading the information in an accompanying book, one must use intuition to receive the whole message.  Major arcana cards have been used for meditation and creative visualization to speed up one’s spiritual growth.  A Tarot reading is capable of shining a light on the darkest corners of the human soul.  It is also capable of guiding us into proper choices in order to avoid obstacles, as we move along the path.

            The types of Tarot decks one can buy now are nearly countless, since every time I enter a New-Age store, I see a new one.  In my collection I have Celtic Animal Cards (Ireland), Oracle of the Dreamtime (Australia), The Mythic Tarot (modernized medieval), The Book of Doors (based on Egyptian mythology), Medicine Cards (animal cards based on Native American mythology), Native American Tarot Deck (nuff said), The Halloween Tarot, Shining Woman Tarot, and Xultun Tarot (based on Mayan mythology).  I even have a Cat Tarot Deck which is humorous, but able to give guidance to a cat or its two-legged companion.

            One philosophical system wedded Tarot with the Kabbalah, a Hebrew system of knowledge.  The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, each having a complex value which in turn is attached to the 22 cards of the major arcana. 

            Most decks use the four suits: 

            Cups: also called chalices (now hearts in a regular pack).

            Wands: also called rods, batons, or scepters (now clubs).

            Pentacles: also called coins, disks (now diamonds)

            Swords: (now spades from Spanish espada, sword)

            Even those decks which have changed their visual symbols, such as Shining Woman, keep the underlying theme.  For example, in Shining Woman, Cups which incorporates the female element of water, is shown as Rivers.

            The first suit of Cups, as with the symbology of water, represents emotion.

            “It referred to the period of youth under the tutelage of the Mother, when pleasures of the senses figure most prominently in the life experience, while the cup of life fills up with feelings, consciousness, awareness of others.  The Tarot suit of Cups therefore was traditionally applied to the subject of love, family relationships, marriages, children, emotion: matters of the heart, or “hearts.” (from The Woman’s Encyclopedia)

            The second suit of Wands is related to the masculine element of fire.  Its symbol of the phallic wand or club stands for young adulthood, assertion of power, the height of our energy.  It represents the phallic lightning flashing toward the feminine waters.  This suit is applied to matters of status, power, and business.  The wand with fire is the torch.

            The third suit of Pentacles, or coins, stands for material wealth and possessions.  It reflects middle age when we collect our fruits from years of labor.  The feminine Earth is associated with riches in Indo-European traditions, and so the Goddess’ pentacle became a diamond.  The diamond is a Far-Eastern earth symbol whose name means “Goddess of the World”.  One of the oldest forms of money was a cowrie shell (a female, genital representation).  Therefore, it is reasonable that this suit of Pentacles became associated with money and property.

            The fourth and last suit is Swords.  Linked with the masculine Air element, it signifies the soul released from the body.  The Sword represents death.  Although this stage of life is to learn about death without fear, Swords has been linked with death and destruction with fear, such as difficulties in life, disasters, threats, etc.

            The word arcana is from ‘arca’ meaning box.  It was used as a synonym for secret.  Thus, the arcana gives us the secrets of the Universe.  The terms major and minor, or sometimes higher and lower arcana do not refer to superiority.  The minor arcana gives us information concerning everyday occurrences, the mundane, where the major cards deal with underlying motivations, the psychological and spiritual movements within our lives.

THE MAJOR ARCANA

                           ENCAPSULATED MEANINGS OF THE MAJOR ARCANA

FOOL (00):  The Fool is full of potential, the innocence of childhood.  The Fool tells the truth which gives her/him the energy for the journey to attain the knowledge of Magician or Sorcerer.

MAGICIAN (01):  The Magician has the will to begin.  She/he stands in front of the unknown, and although the Magician sees it, feels it, and uses the unknown, she/he is unable to explain it.  The Magician is not of the mind, but of the silence of the mind

PRIESTESS (02):  This card represents consciousness of ego and awareness of the dark part called the unconscious.  The Priestess inspires dreams and visions that reveal the existence of life beyond our sensory perceptions.  This card refers to the duality of the world; illusion, that which one likes and calls reality, and that which truly is reality.

CONSORT (03):  The Consort (this can refer to male or female) brings about spiritual awakening.  She is the Earth Mother who brings about through love, a conciliation of the opposites found in the last card.  The Fool can now see outside her/himself.

EMPEROR (04):  The Emperor represents creation by way of power and will.  He is balanced with self-mastery, realization in action, compassion, and stability.  He acts without reacting (which is a gut response based on remembered results of past actions).  Since creation requires both construction and destruction, he knows the most enduring action is a combination of equal forces.

HEIROPHANT (05):  The Hierophant, Priest, has one foot in the man-made world and one foot in the world of Nature, so he can point the way without leading.  He is the bridge builder.  He is the guru, the teacher, the scientist, the investigator and the holder of tradition.  The Fool learns that she/he cannot say, “I will be such and so”, but must say instead, “I am such and so.”  Then, must act accordingly.

LOVERS (06):  This card represents the closeness of the Fool’s ultimate aim.  It is a harmony of the inner and outer life.  The Fool must recognize the duality of her/himself and the choices available.  When there is no separation between the lover and the loved, then seeing becomes clear.  Seeing is action which is love.  The Fool now loves her/himself and stands in awe, but the journey has just begun.

CHARIOT (07):  Now the Fool begins to see the results of the choices made.  The Warrior is completely at one with the environment and knows that every act could be her/his last act, therefore acts impeccably.  This is also a card of health.  The fool sees that she/he has not been changing so far, just exchanging one thing for another.

STRENGTH (08):  Endurance to see an action through to its completion.  The Fool has control, but it is passive, which makes order to her/his life.  This endurance gives the Fool the ability to pass through trials and overcome them.

HERMIT (09):  The Hermit knows silence is required in order to hear the inner voice.  The Fool has thought that Freedom is ‘freedom from fear, sickness, financial oppression, etc’, but the Hermit teaches that True Freedom does not have degrees, either we are Free or we’re not.  Having a great deal of money does not free us from poverty because poverty is a state of mind.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE (10):  Life and death, being and non-being turns on the Wheel of Now.  The only freedom on the Wheel is to enjoy the laws and motion, and to live in harmony with these laws.  Chance favors the one who is ready.

JUSTICE (11):  This card teaches how to handle energy.  The Wheel showed the operation of chance in culture, Justice shows that all culture is decision.  This is the last card of the mental realm.  If the Fool is in the position of judge, then she/he must define need, not equality.  The sword of decision has two edges, creation and destruction, division and release.

HANGED MAN (12):  The first card of the emotional realm.  The mind is at an impasse, values are topsy-turvy.  The Hanged Man is shown tied, usually only by the foot or feet, showing that he can free himself if he wants to.  This card says to look at things a new way.  The Fool must totally surrender in order to understand the ‘cosmic order’.

DEATH (13):  Death is not an idea, but an action, not an end in itself, but a part of one’s life.  The Fool cannot turn back.  Death gives perspective to the Fool’s life.  With Death for a friend, it is hard to threaten the Fool.  The Fool has reached the foundation upon which his mind has built its ‘palace of illusions’.  The only way out is UP.

TEMPERANCE (14):  Now, the Fool knows her/his responsibility to every pebble, every plant, everything, because the powers demand it.  The Fool respects the balance of the natural world, and knows that a temperate society must first exist within.  The Fool’s skin is sensitized to the harmony of the Universe.

DEVIL (15):  Also called Bound Man, the Fool is bound by the flesh and appetites.  Reason is the Fool’s bondage.  Reason has no place in the realm of emotions.  This is a dangerous place for the Fool, since she/he must face the dark passions, the ability for evil and blindness which hide in us all.  If the Fool wins the battle, then the forces of darkness are transformed into the powers of light.

TOWER (16):  The interpretation book I’m using calls this card Released Man, but still shows a lightning-struck temple as in other decks.  This is where the Fool’‘s beliefs, logic, are struck by lightning and burned to the ground.  All systems of logic that have gotten the Fool this far must be let go.  All dependency must go.  Understanding cannot be learned, but happens in the moment and lights the darkness.  The Fool knows she/he cannot stop the ocean, but must be willing to listen to the music within the waters and relax in the splendor of the inevitable.

STAR (17):  The Star is a planet in the making.  There is no longer two divisions, acceptable and not acceptable, just being in the moment.  If there is no separation, then the Universe is One.  The light of consciousness reveals the hidden, the secret.

MOON (18):  Here the Fool learns that the body is not just a vehicle for the spirit, but the Fool’s link with Ordinary Reality, the source of power.  The Fool’s mental faculties have reached their limit.  She/he must surrender completely to the totally non-rational influences of her/his inner light.  To not surrender guarantees entrapment in sleep.  To surrender assures clarity of purpose that world likes and will reward.

SUN (19):  The Sun is the symbol of psychic wholeness.  The conscious and the unconscious are united and all illusion evaporates in the light of the Sun.  Up to this point the Fool has obtained energy  from the excitation (battling) of the opposites.  Now, because there is no division, energy is derived from the opposite functioning.  In other words, the Fool ‘sees’ and the real world is REAL.

JUDGEMENT (20):  The book I’m using for these interpretations calls this card Planet Venus.  Divine nature is manifest in the Fool.  The Fool has cast off her/his old ways, the past is dead, and growth, symbolized by the Sun is at an end.  The elements of the psyche has achieved full integration.  THE FOOL IS FREE AT LAST.  The work has just begun.  Life simply . . . IS.

WORLD (21):  In this deck it is called Planet Earth.  The journey is over, success belongs to the Fool.  The mind is no longer a tyrant.  The Fool is integrated with all creation and with Divinity.

            “The earth is a mystery.  What the Fool sees is not all there is to the Earth, for it has bonds that tie it to all other planets and bonds that tie it to the sun.  There is much more to the Earth, so much more in its vastness that it is endless.  It is not separated from its kin, and neither is the Fool.  The Earth is his mother.  She nourishes and supports him.  The journey is ended and just begun.  There is oneness with divinity and separation is no longer possible, for it is not conceivable in the new cosmos of the Fool.”  From: The Flight of Feathered Serpent

Information from:

Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience

            by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets

            by Barbara G. Walker

Major Arcana encapsulations loosely taken from:

The Flight of Feathered Serpent book for The Xultun Tarot Deck

            by Peter Balin

Compiled by: Jeanne (Pythia) Leiter