Although many modern deck creators fall all over themselves in trying to display The Lovers as two people - usually male and female but that's no longer a given - in a euphoric state of amorous bliss, more often than not naked. In contrast, the Tarot de Marseille version, titled "the Lover" and not "The … Continue reading The Lover or the Lovers?
Trumps
“One Star in Sight”
In his masterful poem One Star in Sight, Aleister Crowley tossed out a few hints about the true meaning of the Star. Here is a non-contiguous fragment: "One star can summon them to wake To self; star-souls serene that gleam On life's calm lake. Behold within and not above, One star in sight!" The traditional … Continue reading “One Star in Sight”
The Trial and the Verdict
Those new to tarot have many symbolic puzzles to solve when confronting the archetypes presented in the Major Arcana, but one that arises promptly is why there are two trump cards that seem to be about the same thing: Justice and Judgement. One of the simplest and most satisfying explanations I've seen is that Justice … Continue reading The Trial and the Verdict
The Dark Side of the Sun
A perennial question that arises in tarot circles is "Can the Sun ever be a bad card?" In most of the historical literature, the answer to that is a resounding "No!" The Golden Dawn gave a nod in that direction by saying the the Sun with very bad cards can show "arrogance, display" (which I … Continue reading The Dark Side of the Sun
Devilish Details
The Devil is always a fascinating card to approach from an interpretive standpoint. As I understand it, the paragon of evil shown in early decks was intended to be a demon (or arch-demon), not the biblical Satan; its elevation came later. There is a modern tendency to see the Devil as "not such a bad … Continue reading Devilish Details
A Turn of the Wheel . . .
Had Omar Khayyam been a tarotist, he might have said something like "The moving Wheel spins, and having spun, moves on." Until fairly recently, the usual interpretation of the Wheel of Fortune was predominantly positive, given its astrological correspondence to the planet Jupiter, known as "the Greater Benefic." A sampling of keywords yields "Destiny; fortune; … Continue reading A Turn of the Wheel . . .
The Tower as Opportunity
In the realm of "It's all good!" affirmational self-persuasion, the Tower is a tough archetype to fit into the model. Traditional decks name it "The Blasted Tower" or "the House of God," relating it to the Tower of Babel as a symbol of divine retribution for human arrogance. It is customarily seen as a traumatic … Continue reading The Tower as Opportunity
Force, Strength or Lust?
The Lady and the Lion: Trump #11 in early decks and also in Aleister Crowley's Thoth but Trump #8 in decks based on A.E. Waite's model, this card has variously been titled Force (or Fortitude), Strength and Lust. Tarot de Marseille decks customarily show a woman opening the jaws of a lion, apparently without having … Continue reading Force, Strength or Lust?
Numerological Fun with the Trumps
I was thinking today about the ways that the Major Arcana cards tie together numerologically. Except for the Fool, all of them have what Phillip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm call "numerological counterparts:" trump cards whose numbers when subject to mathematical reduction result in a lower-numbered card with which the original card can be seen as having … Continue reading Numerological Fun with the Trumps
Trump Card Elemental Assignments
Among writers on the Golden Dawn's version of the esoteric tarot, there is general agreement that each of the twelve so-called "zodiacal" trump cards can be assigned one of four classical elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) according to the quality of the sign to which they correspond. The three trump cards associated with three … Continue reading Trump Card Elemental Assignments
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 