There is a common assumption that the Aces represent a new beginning, the first step in any activity; but they more properly convey the urge to take that step rather than its execution. They carry the potential energy of a suit up to the point of "pulling the trigger" on its promise of action. In … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: The Aces
Tarot Resources
Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: An Overview
Any discussion of the Minor Arcana - or "pip" cards in traditional terms - must start with a discussion of numbers. Before there were tarot cards with illustrated scenes, the familiar "small" cards bore only suit emblems in the appropriate quantity, along with a few decorative details. These rather mute cards are still the bane of … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Minor Arcana: An Overview
Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Pentacles Court
The members of the Pentacles court (also called Disks or Coins depending on the deck) are the "planners" of tarot royalty. They are for the most part orderly and regular, not prone to flights of fancy and wasted motion (or for that matter, emotion). Give them a set of rules and they will follow it … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Pentacles Court
Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Swords Court
The members of the Swords court are the "thinkers" of tarot royalty. Their domain includes anything to do with mental pursuits, from education to arguments and legal disputes. In the simplest terms, they often involve a decision the seeker is facing or a quandary that will soon appear, and can suggest the proper "angle of attack" in confronting … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Swords Court
Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Cups Court
The members of the Cups court are the "emoters" of tarot royalty; I would have said "feelers," but it's too passive a word for the more assertive side of elemental Water (and it seems a little too tritely mystical in a "New-Age-y" way). They may choose to keep their feelings to themselves but are just as likely to … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Cups Court
Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Wands Court
The members of the Wands court are the "doers" of tarot royalty. In business settings they personify the risk-taking entrepreneurs and adventurers, in social terms the "movers and shakers" who can be more style than substance. They symbolize the human qualities of ambition, enthusiasm, enterprise, initiative, inspiration, excitement, boldness, opportunism - in short, just about any attribute that embraces vigorous and spirited … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: The Wands Court
Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: A Brief Introduction
Any detailed examination of the tarot court cards will inevitably encounter the confusion surrounding the different titles given to the cards over their 600-year history. In early decks like the Tarot de Marseille, it was transparent: the cards showed the members of a medieval royal hierarchy. The Kings were seated on thrones, variously bearded and suitably august in … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Court Cards: A Brief Introduction
A Moment’s Reflection
I have now completed my detailed instructional material for the cards of the Major Arcana. In going back over it, I realized just how much of a personal connection I've made with them over the last four decades, and how seriously I've taken Aleister Crowley's advice to heart regarding the best approach to the cards: … Continue reading A Moment’s Reflection
Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: Judgement and the World
Although Judgement (the archaic spelling of judgment, as spell-check keeps reminding me) has a biblical origin, showing the Archangel Gabriel summoning souls to their final reckoning with his trumpet, it is fundamentally a card of individual renewal and regeneration. It is the final bend in the road on the Fool's Journey, a "wake-up call" that presents an offer that can't … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: Judgement and the World
Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Moon and the Sun
We have now come to what might be termed the Dark Side and the Bright Side of the human experience. The Moon comes first, marking the treacherous path to its opposite pole, the Sun, with signposts of dubious reliability. The Moon does not offer a clear view of anything that comes under its dim rays; its realm … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Moon and the Sun
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 