Tarot 101 - What is Tarot?

Image: RosieLea https://bit.ly/2x75YFS

With so many decks of different styles available, and different techniques to learn, shuffle, spread and interpret them, along with other different approaches, I've been reflecting on what Tarot is and how I could possibly explain it all if someone asked me about it. The short answer would be Tarot is a divination method using pictoral cards. As with any subject however there is always more to it if you wish to go deeper...

 

Origins

Tarot cards are thought to have developed out of playing cards (which were used for divination for centuries) in the late 18th century. The most traditional meanings prescribed to each card that we see today are based on the teachings of the 19th century mystic Order of Golden Dawn (influenced by occultist and magician Eliphas Levi). Two of the members of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley and A. E. Waite created their own tarot decks which have been extremely influential in the design of subsequent decks, even today, and their decks are still very popular with Tarot card readers. There is some thought that Waite's deck was also based on the 15th century Sola Busca tarot.

By Rodrigotebani [CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Uses

When you say 'Tarot Cards' a common idea that springs to mind is fortune telling with an old lady sitting at a table with a crystal ball or other paraphenalia. Well it can be used to see if your life will hold fortune, but I think that's a very simplified way of looking at it.

Tarot cards are commonly used to find insight into the past, present or future, but they can also be used to find deeper meaning for example to seek spiritual guidance, an understanding of ourselves, or best path spiritual path to follow in life, or even as a meditation tool, or in ceremonial magick. Questions asked can range from everyday ones about career or love to finding out about political happenings or how best to approach a situation. If you have a question about something in your life, or events around you, tarot can help give clarity and insight.

Techniques

Photo ©Herkimer Blue, Tarot Card images ©Renata,ThelemaDreamsArt

Cards are shuffled and/or cut (think of a casino croupier), drawn and placed in a pattern or 'spread' with each position in the spread having a particular association of how in the querent's life that card comes into play,.e.g in a simple three card spread reading left to right you can have 'Past, 'Present,'Future'. In the classic Celtic Cross spread the card in position 10 denotes the overall outcome if the querent continues on the their current path. There are numerous spreads one can use, from the simple to the more complex, and you can also create your own.

Some readers like to prepare before a reading by saying a prayer or intent, or by cleansing the space, or setting up crystals nearby. Others will do nothing but dive straight into asking the question, shuffling and laying down the cards in a spread. There are probably as many variations of technique in preparing for and reading the cards as there are card readers. Although some would like to suggest you must always proceed in a specific way it is a very individual thing and you have to do what you find works best for you.

Yes, but how does it work?

So how does it work? I find this aspect most interesting. From the spread the cards are 'read' i.e. the imagery and symbolism present conveys to the reader the answer to the question(s) posed. Interpretations can be made on individual cards or the combination of card meanings together, depending on the spread used and the reader's own techniques.

There are differing opinions and approaches as to what is happening when a reader reads the cards, and these may depend on the readers own beliefs and experiences. Some see the cards as a tool to tapping into their own intuition and subconscious, which they may or may not believe is connected to a universal consciousness or spirit. Others see them as a way to connect with a universal force or spirit, or to spirits or guides who reveal information to them via the cards.

Image: Activeda https://bit.ly/2MtlK3y

Whatever the belief I would describe the core concept as one of 'connecting' to receive insight and clarity which we might not normally otherwise be open to receiving because of our own 'disconnectedness', whether from ourselves or a universal spirit; that we have a limited perception regarding reality and time, but through the cards and practice in exercising our intuition or connection with spirit/s we can access the unseen and find truth.

Tarot as a language

In my recent musings and explorations I've begun to see an analogy of Tarot as a 'language', and this makes learning decks seem easier to approach. Thinking of it this way fits with any of the above beliefs regarding what is happening when reading cards. The most popular type of Tarot decks are based on the traditional Rider Waite or Crowley Thoth decks (both influenced by Golden Dawn teachings), the imagery of which includes astrological, numerological,  Qabbaslitic, colour, personality and elemental  symbologies. Together these make up the language of Tarot, and it is through this language that our intuition/subconsious/universal spirit/spirit guides, is expressed. Alternatively you can create your own tarot 'language' or use a combination of the two.

Kabbalistic Tree of Life Image by Alan SyncBookPress [CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

However, it is possible to be able to read Tarot cards without great knowledge of these symbologies. Each deck has a guidebook with card meanings which you can refer to for interpretation, and you can even choose to assign your own symbology to the cards instead if you choose, or do a combination of both.

For the highly intuitive/psychic none of this matters as they can rely less on visual cues to tap into their intuition and insight. For those of us not yet at that level I do  think an understanding of the various imagery or symbologies provided can provide a 'richer' language for use though, just as when speaking English the more words you know the greater the possibility of expressing your thoughts, ideas and feelings. Having said that, when it comes to doing an actual reading you can often find that the language changes and you see or feel something different that what you thought the meanings were - I think that's okay, that's intuition.

Tarot Imagery and Symbology

Tarot decks, whatever their basis, all reference feelings, emotions, archetypes, ideas, concepts, states of being, and nuances of these that we can universally understand, for example strength, duality, love, hardship, joy, death, energy.  A.E Waite said:

"The Tarot embodies symbolical presentations of universal ideas, behind which lie all the implicits of the human mind..."

             A.E Waite, 1911, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot

Some of the non-tradtional decks express these in a different way, include different concepts, or may not follow the classic structure of 22 Major and 56 Minor Arcana cards. There are decks which do not reference astrology, numerology or the four elements. These will therefore have a very different Tarot 'language to express their card meanings compared to the classic decks.


A good comparison is the Dreams of Gaia deck and Rider Waite based decks. In the Rider Waite decks we find a King, Queen, Knight and Page as well as suits of Wands (relating to the element of Fire), Cups (Water), Pentacles (Earth), Swords (Air). In the Dreams of Gaia deck we still find suits of Fire, Water, Earth and Air but there are no Knights or Pages. Instead there is a figure which acts to 'align' or 'balance' the court cards of King and Queen. The major acarna cards have totally different names and imagery yet we can see similar underlying qualities expressed to that of the Rider Waite. This is no way makes it a 'better' or 'worse' deck than a Rider Waite based one. It has it's own 'dialect' and flavour which is just a valid and may suit some readers better.

Comparison of 3 different 'Ace of Water' Tarot Cards. Tarot Images (left to right) © Renata,ThelemaDreamsArt

Ravynne Phelan,Osho International Foundation

Going further with the analogy of language, one could view decks as having their own 'dialect', with the non-traditional ones having the most variation. For example the Rider Waite based decks can show the 3 of Swords as a heart with 3 swords piercing it,  or variations of this such as swords piercing a rose, or just the swords.  A non-tradtional deck however may convey the principle of 3 with the element of air, but present very different imagery without swords, and from this one might perceive other shades of meaning conveyed from the artist's own understanding and interpretation.The photo above shows 3 cards from 3 decks representing what is known as the 'Ace of Cups' or 'Ace of Water'. There is great variation between the imagery and each has a slightly different meaning, yet they still have a common root in the concept of water conveying emotion and an ace conveying the idea of pure potential, new beginnings.

I personally think it's valuable to remember that Tarot cards are just a tool to help the conscious mind to connect to the inner mind, intuition or spirit, whether using symbolic language inspired by tradition, the artists own understandings and beliefs, or your own intuitive interpretation. By all means learn the language of each tarot deck, but allow your own intuitive understanding and interpretations to flow through.