Tarot cards
The Major Arcana
The Major Arcana stands for the most fundamental energies of life. They are symbol for our inner forces and motives.
One could say that the Major Arcana is a psychological and spiritual study of an individual in his relations with the spiritual and physical world.
The 22 cards are numbered from 0 to 21. They all have a specific name as you can see below. Every card represents a certain principle or force. They help the individual in his quest for further wisdom. With this wisdom he can control his passions and transform them in higher values.
Remark
There is a connection between Tarot, Kabbalah and Astrology. I only want to mention this here without going in detail. Perhaps I'll write an article on this topic later.
Images of the Major Arcana
0. The Fool
I start a new journey knowing that I am protected
1. The Magician
I master the Elements
2. The High Priestess
The knowledge is deep in myself
3. The Empress
I am creative and love my true nature
4. The Emperor
I rule with wisdom.
5. The Hierophant
I look for higher values.
6. The Lovers
My relations are harmonious and made with free will.
7. The Chariot
Here I am.
8. Strength
I accept all my instincts and bring them in harmony.
9. The Hermit
It's time for an introspective retreat.
10. Wheel of Fortune
I can't escape the fate that I made myself
11. Justice
I can see dualities and harmonize them
12. The Hanged Man
I must take a new direction and accept the ups and downs
13. Death
I must stop this because something new is waiting
14. Temperance
I found harmony after my transformation
15. The Devil
I have a confrontation with my shadow
16. The Tower
My old structures are destroyed
17. The Star
I am regenerating knowing that I am a part of the Cosmos
18. The Moon
I am overwhelmed with my inner emotions
19. The Sun
The world is beautiful
20. Judgement
In understand that I am part of a bigger whole and am grateful for it
21. The World
I belong here
The Minor Arcana
As said before, show how the principles of the Major Arcana manifest in our day-to-day life.
The Minor Arcana consists of 4 colors with each 16 cards. Every color is composed of 10 numbered cards and 4 court cards.
Every color of The Minor Arcana in Tarot represents one of the elements: fire, earth, air and water:
- Wands represent the element Fire and show action and dynamic behavior.
- Cups represent the element Water. They are about your emotions and empathy.
- Swords represent the element Air and show your rational and communicative possibilities
- Pentacles represent the element Earth and stand for how you go along with tangible things.
In the past - and many still do today - Tarot readers interpreted the court cards as representing real people: a blonde woman, a dark man... Myself I only very rarely see a Tarot card as corresponding to a person. Every reader can decide for himself how he sees this. There is nothing wrong with that.
I see the court cards as follows:
- Kings represent the active properties of their color. They are symbol for the spirit of the color.
- Queens stand for the passive properties of their color and are symbol for the soul of that color.
- Knights express moods concerning the properties of their color
- Pages shows opportunities, concerning their color, offered to you. It are the opportunities that cross your path.
More info:
The 2 of Cups is the card of love in Tarot
Two is a number of polarity. Here we see this polarity in a kind form: as an attractive force between two opposites. When in a love Tarot spread you see the two of Cups in good company, then romance is in the air.
In the Rider Waite Tarot deck we see a man and a woman standing in front of each other. In the background a house is visible between the two persons. The man touches the cup of the woman. Where the cups touch each other, we see a caduceus with the head of a lion.
The two snakes on the caduceus represent cosmic energy, the kundalini. The head of the lion shows passion. The caduceus is the staff of Hermes who was the messenger of the gods.
Here we can see the caduceus as the messenger of passion and love.
The woman seems to give her cup to the man who accept it. The cup can be seen as the heart of both persons. The man will give also his cup to the woman. Love is exchanged, it comes from both sides.
The house we see on a distance between both persons, shows that it is love with a future. It's not a one stand meeting.
When you look at the card you don't see any other people or possible obstacles. This could suggest that the romance can develop in a smooth way.
When you don't see this card in a love Tarot spread, you must not conclude that love will not be your part. Tarot has many ways to say that you will meet romance and love. The 2 of cups is only the most straightforward card to show this.
Above I explained the two of cups from the point of view of a love Tarot spread. But the card can also represent another kind of relation between two people. It will then show people who like each other, who have sympathy for each other and who enjoy the company of each other.
It can even be explained in a more spiritual way. You could see it as the reconciliation of consciousness and unconsciousness. Or a meeting between the Lower and the Higher Self. Though this is more the realm of the Major Arcana.
It all depends on what the person in question wants to know from the Tarot reading.
Daily Tarot Card
Perhaps you already heard or read about the daily tarot card. This is an excellent tool to get a better feeling for the cards.
The idea is that you draw one tarot card every day. That card is then matched with the events and experiences of that day. That way you’ll get a better feeling for the meaning of the tarot cards. You can even keep a tarot diary that way.
This is particularly useful for beginners. They learn to feel and understand the cards without having to memorize them.
And the idea of the daily tarot card is really very good.
- for beginners it is one of the best ways, perhaps the best, to learn to feel the tarot cards
- more experienced people can use the tarot diary to see trends in their daily life
- you can also use that card as a subject for reflection.
Almost always you are advised to draw the daily tarot card in the morning. One could call it the morning tarot card. You can then connect that card with what happens and with your feelings during the day. And here I find that a possible danger is around the corner: wishful thinking. Something happens and you day: “that’s it, that is the meaning of the daily tarot card”. That can be because you like the event (positive wishful thinking). But it could also be because you don’t like it at all; you might even be afraid of it (negative wishful thinking). Anyway, that moment you don’t look anymore at what happens during the remaining of the day.
What do think about this story. It is invented by me. But it could be reality.
A man doesn’t feel well on his current job. Like every day he draw his daily tarot card early in the morning when he gets up. Today it is the Six of Swords. He already studied a bit of tarot and read that this card can mean something like: moving away towards something new. A bit later he takes the newspaper and by accident it falls on the floor. And it has opened on the job offerings. This is no coincidence he days. I must go for a new job. And the first thing he does when he arrives at his work is demission.
That same day, while the man is at work, his wife is shopping and she finds a new shop where they have delicious coffee. From now on I will buy the coffee in that shop she says.
What is now the meaning of the Six of Swords? It doesn’t matter here as this is a fictive story. But would it have been real, then perhaps the man toke the wrong decision. Or he toke the right decision but on the wrong moment.
But this is of course no reason to step away from the daily tarot card. After all, it is a very good method to feel the tarot cards. Only, certainly for beginners, I advise to draw the daily tarot card in the evening. I call this the evening tarot card. On that moment you can easily reflect on all the events of the day. Granted, the risk for wishful thinking still exists. But I think that this danger is much smaller now.
By the way, the story above shows also something else. Don’t ever let tarot cards take decisions for you. Tarot cards can only help you. They can show you possible opportunities or dangers. They can show you things to think about. But you have to take your own life in your own hands!