It could be argued that these cards are in the wrong order. In real-life situations, temptation often comes first and, if the Will is strong enough, abstinence follows as a condition of recovery. This might be a reasonable scenario if Temperance actually referred to redemption through behavioral moderation; but the old verb "to temper" meant to adjust the properties of something in a … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: Temperance and the Devil

If I were writing pulp fiction, I could not come up with a juicier scenario: sentence has been passed (Justice), the perpetrator has been hung (Hanged Man) and the unfortunate soul has been laid to rest (Death). Of course, we all know that tarot is not Lenormand, and these things never play out so literally. The Hanged … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Hanged Man and Death

These cards straddle the midpoint of the 22-card sequence of trumps. In the allegorical tale of the Fool's Journey, that divide represents a new "jumping-off place" into a more complex world. The Wheel of Fortune is commonly held to indicate a major change of some kind, auspicious or ill-fated according to the context of the question;  its … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Wheel of Fortune and Justice (or Strength)

This will be a split analysis because of the swapping of Strength and Justice that was performed by Arthur Edward Waite for reasons of astrological continuity. The Tarot de Marseille (TdM) that formed the model for later esoteric decks had no occult correspondences, so there was never an issue with the fact that Justice (Trump VIII) … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: Strength (or Justice) and The Hermit

The Lovers and the Chariot together signal a departure or a new phase, an opportunity leading to decisive movement that brings optimistic tidings. The Lovers is one of the most misrepresented trump cards in modern tarot art, with many artists seeing only "ecstatic love" in it, a kind of "soul-mate connection" (or is that "twin flame" these days?). But the … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Lovers and The Chariot

These cards depict the twin pillars of patriarchal authority, one secular and the other spiritual: the State and the Church. Taken as a pair, there is an undeniable aura of "Father knows best" about them. In less flattering terms, we might say they've "got you coming and going." I once created a simple allegory about … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Emperor and The Hierophant

Stacking these up a bit, but I'm afraid if I sleep on this I'll lose the inspiration. Here we have two dramatically different expressions of the feminine archetype. The Priestess has her head to the sky while the feet of the Empress are firmly rooted in the earth. The Priestess is virginal - even crystalline - … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Acana: The Priestess and The Empress

Now we dive into a card-by-card examination of the Major Arcana, which I'm taking two at a time since they are brief "thumbnail sketches" (supported by links to my previous posts). Since my approach to the tarot is esoteric in the main but with a practical slant, I've decided to begin each sub-section with commentary on the … Continue reading Tarot 101, My Way – Major Arcana: The Fool and The Magician