A Bit About Tarot ~ And A Little Bonus

THE EDUCATIONAL PART ~

The History of Tarot ~ A Time Line in the Life of the Cards

* Master researcher on the subject of Tarot, Stewart Kaplan states that tarot started as a card game in the early 1400's. 

* In 1572, 'Tarocchi Appropriati' became something of a fortune telling game, the holder of a card created a narrative from it.

* 1770 Ettellia, a French occultist publishes a book about reading fortunes with playing cards.

* Court de Gébelin publishes his writings in 1781 making claims that tarot is the product of ancient Egyptian wisdom. Note: There is no evidence to support this. The Comte de Mellet also wrote about Hebew letters and thier association to the cards and this was included in Gébelin's published works.

* In 1775 Ettellia publishes a second book, but this time on reading tarot cards specifically. And in 1788 the first deck to be used specifically with divination in mind was published by Ettellia.

* In the mid 1800's Eliphas Levi would attribute the Kabbala to tarot. This information would be instilled into the workings of the Order of the Golden Dawn.

* Arthur Waite, a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn would collaborate with artist Pamela Coleman and create a deck that was first published in 1910 by William Rider & Son of London publishing company. This is the deck that has becomes the 'standard' and is the most well known of all tarot decks used for divination.

The second most recognized deck is the the Thoth created under the instruction of Aleister Crowley and the artist Lady Frieda Harris. This deck would not be published until 1969 even thought the project began in 1938 and was completed in 1943.

The Tarot Deck~ ‘What defines a Tarot deck?’

Tarot is just one of many kinds of divination decks in print today. Any deck that is used for divination can be called an oracle deck but not all oracle decks are tarot. Somehow people tend to use the word tarot to mean any deck of cards that are used for divination and that is just not the case. 

Tarot decks have a specific structure. 

There is the symbolism of the deck and the format of the deck. The format is 78 cards which are divided into two Arcanas; the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana is a small deck of 22 cards numbered 0-21. They are considered the Trump cards of the deck. The Minor Arcana is very much like a regular deck of playing cards, having four suits and a set of four court (face) cards. The Minor Arcana are numbered from Ace to 10 and have Page, Knight, Queen & King for the court cards. Some decks will give different names to the court cards and the Trump cards. The symbolism is rooted in the history of tarot used as a divination tool. Each suit of the Minor Arcana is associated with an element and each element associates with an aspect of life.

MINOR ARCANA SUITS

FIRE - WANDS - ENERGETIC (life force, inspiration, creation) 

EARTH - PENTACLES - MATERIALISTIC (work, finances, skills)

AIR - SWORDS - INTELLECTUAL (communication, thoughts, legalities)

WATER - CUPS - EMOTIONAL (feelings, memories, intuition) 

 

There is different schools of thought on the differences between the Major and Minor Arcana. Some say the Majors represent the different phases of spiritual growth. There is the idea that Majors are external, things outside of our control and Minors are internal, things we have control over. Majors are Spiritual and Minors are mundane. 

Any deck that veers away from this format in a significant way is not really a tarot deck. The main exception would be a Trumps only deck.
 

Besides Tarot as a popular deck for reading, there are Lenormand cards which is a deck of 36 cards. They made their appearance at the turn of the 19th century. Added to Tarot and Lenormand cards, there is a plethora of all kinds of different themed decks that come in a varied number of cards and these are simply called oracle decks. 

Myths of Tarot~ 
Two common areas of misconception are how one gets a tarot deck and who can touch it.

It is often said that you should be given a deck for it to work. I can personally tell you that the process of choosing your deck can be a wonderful experience. However, gifted decks are often found to be special in some way as well. As far as having a deck given to you as a gift, that is not necessary at all. Do not let this myth hinder acquiring your first tarot deck.

There are three different schools of thoughts about people handling tarot decks.
1- ‘Never let another person touch your deck, their energy will enter the deck and not work for you.’
2- ‘The person getting the reading MUST shuffle and cut the deck in order to put their energy into the reading.’
3- Energy is energy and it does not matter who touches them.... or not.
There is energy everywhere, that is a fact; energy does transfer from one object to another, that is life. Energy is constantly in motion. Everyone has a different experience with energy.
For some readers having the clients shuffle the cards is how they connect to the energy of that person. People who may be overly sensitive to other people's energy may want to keep their decks free of any energy that is not their own. 
What it boils down to is that you do what you feel is right for you, what works for you.

Lastly- 

‘OH NO- I got the DEATH card! Am I going to die?’

The Death card is often feared because so many think that this card means that they or someone close to them will die. This is rarely the case. If the Death card shows up in a reading, it is usually a card that reflects a message of change. Out with the old and in with the new. The Death card has an astrological association, Scorpio. Scorpio is the sign of Death and Rebirth, a card of legacy. A keyword often used for the Death card is 'Transformation'.

How Tarot Works~

Each individual card has a very specific root meaning to it and while it may be similar to other cards- it is still different.

For example, all Ace cards speak of new beginnings. If the card is a Cups card then it is about some emotional beginning and if it is a Swords card then it is some new way of thinking. The depth of the card's meaning just builds from there.

The finer details are found in the numerous symbols that are seen in each card, as well as how several cards interact with each other when arranged in a spread. Each position in a spread has it's own focus. A commonly used and simple example is the 'Past, Present, Future' spread. The card falling into each of those positions speak of that time frame. Note: Future positions do not speak in absolutes. What is seen is a potential future based on everything else. It may be a desired future or one that might be best avoided. It is up to the one receiving the reading to take proper action and either encourage or change that future.

'How does a person read for another if they are not sitting with them?'

This is again about energy, the collective unconscious, the Anima Mundi which means World Soul. There are many who believe that we are all connected in spirit. It is this place of connectedness that a psychic will reach into and gather the information that is needed. Some use guides to help them through the Ether, others will use runes, tea leaves, what ever.

THE PROMOTIONAL PART

~ Who I am as an Intuitive Reader of Tarot ~

My love of playing cards started when I was very young. I was a challenging player in any game taught to me.

My interest in card reading started when I was 12 and my aunt read for me with a regular deck of playing cards. It would be a few years before I had an actual Tarot deck, that was in the summer of 1991.

When I do readings, all I want is the question or focus for the reading, I can also do a ‘general’ reading where no question is asked and the cards are just drawn and the message from spirit is relayed. 

The card images and symbolism triggers my connection to the Anima Mundi. It may be a vision, a smell or some other impression I feel that brings more depth to the reading.

BONUS - I'm giving free readings

I am building a library of actual readings that I use to demonstrate my reading style. I have several different spreads that I do not have samples for, and I would like more than one for each spread as well. You may have a situation that you would like a little insight on and fits the bill for what I need, if so, you are in luck! I do want a few general reading samples as well.

If you would like to be considered for a free reading, KNOW THIS: your reading will be presented to the public. NO names, locations or other personal/specific information will be included in the reading, so it is totally anonymous. If you are good with that, please fill out THIS FORM.... I will choose those I read for based on 1) the question asked; like it is a unique subject that I do not already have. 2) It's a subject that fits the specific spread I need samples for, and 3) my time availability, as some questions are time sensitive.

My Pagan Way - Ramble Pt. 1

When someone says, "I'm Pagan", it does not really describe that person's beliefs. During the early years of Christianity, 'pagan' was mainly in reference to the old polytheistic traditions of the people in the area. Today being 'pagan' does not offer such a clear picture.
Today, every pagan is different from other pagans in some way. Pagan is an umbrella term as well as a fixed term. One who is Wiccan is considered pagan, but someone who is pagan is not Wiccan. Some Native Americans and Buddhists accept being under the pagan label, and some do not. Some who are Atheists feel pagan. Some see Paganism as a religion, and some are, and some see Paganism as just a sense of spiritual being that is in string connection with the earth and nature.

So what exactly is a Pagan? Ultimately that is up to the individual. No matter how much a 'liberal' pagan may explain the fuzzy parameters to a 'fundamental' religious person, that person will hold on to their own definition....well, that's not entirely true. There are people who will listen and learn. However, I'm speaking about those who are just sticks in the mud.

For me, being pagan is about the natural world, what we know and what we don't know. My father was a scientist who worked to preserve a part of the Amazon rainforest. My affection for earth and life upon it must be in the blood. The animals, the plants on this planet and the rocks and gasses that are light years away, yet can be seen, all fascinate me. It is life, it is energy, it is creation- the Universe and everything in it is my 'god'.

I honor and am an observer and of the Universe and all that is within it. I like to say that the only laws I follow are the laws of Nature, they are the only ones that can't be broken. I am an unofficial scientist who loves and is curious about my subjects. But it goes beyond formal science, beyond modern science, and even back to ancient science....and lets not forget Alchemy.

There is the tangible, the physical; what we can see, touch, taste and so on. There is the unseen physical that we do see evidence of, atoms, cells, viruses, radio waves.

But then there is the unseen, the non-tangible, yet, often encountered, consciousness, love...and Spirit.

Sometimes there is a conflict between science and religion, or religion and science (might be the better way of phrasing it).

There must be something more if for thousands of years humanity has created all kinds of concepts that link physical us with something unseen that is 'out there'. I think at the core, and when true to the faith, religion has a good grip on the Spiritual. But it is man and his mind that muddles things by throwing in stories to prove a point. Someone misses the point and looks to make a point out of a different part of the story. 

I think science is on the right track towards figuring it out, but they are not seeing it from the right angle and there are areas that are not put together, ignored or disregarded that are part of the science of Spirit.

The alchemists had the right idea for their time. To perhaps paraphrase what a spokesman for the association of alchemists would say, had there been one, "We know the Ether (spirit/god) exists. We do not understand it and are likely never meant to understand it because it is so big and vast we could never fully comprehend it, but we still accept and acknowledge its existence."

Spirit was a part of science at one time. Many of the early scientists were also astrologers. For many years astrology was accepted as truth. Then modern science came along and said 'no way, not possible' but astrology endures and survives through the criticism. We have been learning that planetary energy does have it's effects over great distances. Hard to imagine for some that a round ball of elements floating millions of miles away could effect earth. Why? Why is it hard to imagine. We see the effects of the Moon. Yes, it's closer. It feels more within our physical realm because we can see it. There is no reason why another stellar body would not also have an effect on us, in ways we cannot see....the astrologers see it, but they are looking at the tangible; the planets and their positions, and determining from years, centuries of observations and writings, what these effects are. 

....to be continued
Part 2 of My Pagan Way