Blue702 Archive

« Jasper | Blue702 Archive | Let us pray... »

December 12, 2001

Tarot - Part 2

The Major Arcana:

The order and numbering of the Major Arcana has often been a subject of hot debate. The problems center around the placement of the Fool card and the placement of the Justice and Strength cards. The Fool card has been placed first, last, and between cards 20 (Judgement) and 21 (World) depending on the school of thought that the deck designer subscribes. The other debate is over cards 8 and 11. In some decks, these two cards are switched. Below is a list of the most common English, French and Italian names for the Major cards contrasted with the names in the Crowley deck:

*	ENGLISH	FRENCH	ITALIAN	CROWLEY
1	The Juggler	Le Bateleur	Il Bagatto	The Magus
2	The Lady Pope	La Papesse	La Papessa	The Priestess
3	The Empress	L'Imperatrice	La' Imperatrice	The Empress
4	The Emperor	L'Empereur	L'Imperatore	The Emperor
5	The Pope	Le Pape	Il Papa	The Hierophant
6	The Lovers	L'Amoureaux	L'Amore	The Lovers
7	The Chariot	Le Chariot	La Carozza	The Chariot
8	The Justice	La Justice	La Guistizia	Adjustment
9	The Hermit	L'Hermite	L'Eremita	The Hermit
10	The Wheel of Fortune	La Roue de Fortune	La Ruota	Fortune
11	Strength	La Force	La Forza	Lust
12	The Hanging Man	Le Pendu	L'Impicato	The Hanged Man
13	(Untitled Image)		La Morte	Death
14	Temperance	La Temperance	La Temperanza	Art
15	The Devil	Le Diable	Il Diavolo	The Devil
16	The House of God	Le Maison Dieu	La Torre	The Tower
17	The Star	L'etoile	Le Stelle	The Star
18	The Moon	La Lune	La Luna	The Moon
19	The Sun	Le Soleil	Il Sole	The Sun
20	The Judgement	Le Jugement	Il Guidizio	The Aeon
21	The World	Le Monde	Il Mondo	The Universe
0	The Fool	Le Mat	Il Pazzo	The Fool

Uses of the Tarot:

Tarot does not "Tell the Future." The cards give insight and meaning to what will likely happen if the present course of events is not altered. A Tarot reading is more like a counseling session than a time machine. It can be used to see the "big picture" of a situation, and offer guidance and perspective.

Questions usually fall into one of the following categories:

1. Love, marriage family situations
2. Money, business affairs, property
3. Personal accomplishment, travel
4. States of mind; problems encountered on the spiritual plane

When performing a reading for yourself or someone else, the person with the question (querent) should shuffle the cards while concentrating on the issue of interest. Notice I said "ISSUE" and not "QUESTION"... It is better to explain to the querent that they need to focus on _their issue_, because the phrasing of a question is tricky and crucial to the reading. If you ask a question based on an underlying assumption that is not true, the reading will come out jumbled. Also, questions that rely on other peoples' Free Will choice (who are not asking for a reading) are not acceptable. "Will John ask me to marry him?" may be what the querent wants to know, but in reality, that is a reading about someone who may not be present and has not given their consent to consult Spirit. A better way to phrase this inquiry would be, "The issue is my relationship with John." This way the focus is on the person present who is asking to consult Spirit by requesting the reading. If their relationship with John is the type that would tend towards commitment, it will show up in the cards. If it doesn't, the relationship may not go that way, or may not go that way just yet... When you are reading for someone or requesting a reading, remember to respect the Free Will of others - and focus the readings on those who are present and consenting. Don't try to "tarot spy" on anyone...and don't "tarot spy" for anyone. The invasion of privacy will come back to you ... times three...

Free Will vs Destiny:

Since each of us has Free Will choice, the Tarot is useful only for what is coming down the path in the near future. In many ways, the Tarot is very much like weather calculations. The further out you try to look, the more "iffy" the information becomes. Try to look at understanding a present situation more fully rather than trying to see out a branch of a tree that may fork off and not be followed. Most Tarot readings encompass one week to six months time. There are spreads to view the upcoming year, but those should be used sparingly. There are things that are within our choice, but there are also things that we (as yet to be born souls) asked for to deal with in our lives (for our own soul learning). The soul learning issues are usually ones that show up in the Major Arcana. The issues that involve our choices and day-to-day living are represented by the Minor Arcana.

Tarot and Meditation:

There are many ways in which the Tarot can be used for growth and meditation. You can select a card which embodies qualities that you wish to draw into your life and meditate upon the ways in which you can draw those energies to you. You can ask what issue your Higher Self desires to know more about ... draw a card and meditate on the qualities of that card. Or you can take each card sequentially and meditate on it. The Major Arcana embodies many archetypes which lend themselves readily to meditative thought.

Posted by BlueWolf on December 12, 2001 12:38 PM