An Introduction to Tarot

Here is a small sample of a book on tarot I'm currently editing and hope to self publish.

 Introduction to Tarot

     Divination of one sort or another has been practiced as long humans felt a need to understand the hidden forces around them. Whether it was the village shaman invoking the spirits, court magi or religious clergy, all have sought to communicate with the divine. Tarot is another way to help you understand those hidden forces. Like any tool it takes time, patience and knowledge to use it properly. This book is not intended as an encyclopedic discussion of the subject, rather a handy and easy source to remind the reader of the cards meaning as you lay them out. It is for both the experienced as well as the beginner.

     In the 20 years of studying tarot, I was constantly fascinated at how the meaning and imagery of the cards shifted with each reading. Interpreting the cards is an art  because ultimately it’s not the cards you are reading but the subject-called a querent, tarot is merely an instrumental way to read their energy.

 A Brief History of the Cards

     The modern Tarot deck is composed of 78 cards, the minor arcana; ace to ten and four suits ( pentacles, cups, wands, and swords). The major arcana consist of 22 cards from 0 to 21 (or 1 to 22 depending on the deck). In most decks each card of the minor arcana is self contained and limited in meaning. The cards or the major arcana tell a deeper story that requires careful interpretation.

     There are many misconceptions about the tarot and their origins. The biggest is that the tarot is ancient, it’s origins shrouded in mystery. Historically tarot appeared in medieval Europe, via Islam c. 14th century in the form of lavishly painted  playing cards for the nobility. The earliest mention c.1332  is an edict from Alfonso XI of Spain banning their use as all playing cards were banned as a form of gambling. The word derives from the Italian tarocchi, meaning trumps; in French it’s tarot. The deck consisted of suits of cups, swords, coins and staves with the court cards; kings, knights and pages. The queens and the fool were included later.

     Another myth is that tarot, and by extension any divination, is sorcery. This belief was reinforced by religious propaganda as a way of discrediting personal divination. The Catholic Church singled out the tarot as the “Devil’s picture book” because imagery in tarot borrows from several occult practices such as numerology, astrology and Kabbala. Ironically, many cards also use Christian iconography; the tower (the tower of Babel) the lovers (Adam and Eve in Eden), the heirophant or pope card and so on. The tarot is not the work of the devil or sorcery but a tool for understanding and connecting with the divine as well as understanding oneself. The tarot as a form of divination may have been around longer but there is no scholarly evidence to support the claim possibly due to the need for secrecy.

     Artist David Hockney discovered that the great masters of medieval and renaissance art may have accomplished the high level of realism and accuracy in their paintings with the use of lenses and the camera obscura to project an image on a canvas and trace it. They kept such techniques hidden because of religious superstition about such devices.

     It was this same philosophy that kept early tarot practitioners exclusive and covert. King James II of England banned a book that revealed the secrets of street magicians because it was beneficial for the authorities to let people believe it was real as a reason for persecution.

     There were many who wrote of their study of the tarot, but it was a deck created in 1909 by Arthur Edward Waite and illustrator by Pamela Colman Smith that set the gold standard. Waite and Smith were prominent members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a Victorian era new age group. His fusion of various sources along with Smith's iconic images created a deck that is the most familiar.           

     Another misconception is that tarot can predict the future. Good luck with that. Prophecy is dicey business very few can claim success. The tarot is about understanding the aspects of personality and subconscious influences of the present rather than predicting the future.

     As Robert Place said in his book  The Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination  “Instead of predicting the future, the cards work best when they are used to help create a more fulfilling future.”

     Forget any cultural references you may have seen about tarot. Movies and TV are especially notorious for inaccuracy. They will for dramatic effect depict the death card literally (cue the ominous music) when the death card is in fact, a positive symbol in many instances.

     The cards aren’t the only thing suffering from an image problem. Readers are often portrayed as flaky hippies or women in Gypsy garb speaking with a Romanian accent. Please. This image is so entrenched a client was startled when I showed up in jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. In my experience readers have ranged from housewives to professional psychics.