When you hold a tarot deck in your hands, you have an additional tool at your disposal-one that can make your job as a creator infinitely more rewarding. That's because the tarot is both a cosmic model of the universe and a map of the human experience. The cards reflect the physical world and the landscape of spiritual life. In other words, tarot offers a holistic view of humanity's place in the larger scheme of existence.
The cards also dovetail perfectly with other western mystery traditions, such as astrology, numerology, alchemy, and Kabbala, an ancient form of Jewish mysticism. You can find parallels between tarot and modern psychology, sociology, and anthropology, too.
Don't think the tarot is too complicated to master, though. Once you learn a few basics, you'll be ready to work with the cards-and you'll find that the tarot is flexible enough to mold and adapt to any story you have in mind.
Major Issues
Open up a new box of tarot cards, and two things will probably strike you: First, there are a lot of cards in a tarot deck-seventy-eight. Second, those tarot cards are probably bigger than playing cards you're used to handling. There are two reasons for the bulk. Individually, the large size of the cards makes it easier to spot details and symbols within each image. Collectively, the sheer number of cards makes it possible to incorporate an entire cosmology, or model of the universe, within a single deck.
A standard tarot deck has two sections: the Major Arcana, which is Latin for "greater secrets," and the Minor Arcana, or "lesser secrets." The Major Arcana cards are the big-picture cards. They're dramatic: the characters are larger than life. These are the figures you'll probably recognize from the media, or from readings you may have had in bookstores and psychic shops. You've seen the Grim Reaper, for example, in horror movies and murder mysteries. You've met the goddess of justice standing larger than life in courthouses across the country. And you've experienced the spinning Wheel of Fortune firsthand, as you've cycled through highs and lows of personal fortune.
The figures on the Major Arcana cards are archetypes-cosmic stereotypes that serve as a framework for our understanding of the world. Archetypes transcend the limits of time and place-and for centuries, artists, writers, and musicians have used archetypal imagery to streamline their work. In classic myths and legends, archetypal heroes like Odysseus encountered archetypal villains like the one-eyed Cyclops. Today, archetypal characters like Frankenstein's monster or Star Wars' Luke Skywalker are the mainstays of popular books, movies, and television shows.
Technically speaking, an archetype is a primal pattern of thought-inborn, instinctive, and imprinted on every human's subconscious mind. Carl Jung, a psychotherapist and a colleague of Sigmund Freud, was the first person to popularize the theory of archetypes. He studied dreams, myths, and legends, and concluded that we're all born with an innate ability to understand archetypes. In fact, he said, we're all pre-programmed to look for archetypes in our everyday lives, because they serve as a framework for our understanding of the world. Jung's descriptions of commonly recognized archetypes include the hero, the maiden, and the wise old man. Other archetypes include the anima, the feminine aspect of a man's personality; the animus, the masculine aspect of a woman's personality; the mother, which typifies a nurturing, emotional parent; the father, a physical, protective parent; the trickster, or rebel; and the shadow, the hidden, antisocial dark side of human nature.
Every card in the Major Arcana embodies an archetypal figure.
0. The Fool is the happy wanderer who sees the world through the eyes of a child. Most tarot experts agree that the Fool represents each of us-naive travelers through life, off on a grand adventure, out to learn whatever experience the tarot can teach us.
1. The Magician is the skilled and cunning master of all he surveys. He represents an individual in control of life's tools and techniques, like those on the table in front of him. Typically, they include a cup, sword, pentacle, and wand-the four symbols of the Minor Arcana.
2. The High Priestess is the enigmatic keeper of spiritual secrets. Secretive and guarded, she knows the secrets life holds-but she shares them only with the wise.
3. The Empress is the archetypal mother who nurtures and protects all of her creation, including humankind.
4. The Emperor is the authoritative protector and provider who rules the known world. A father figure, he brings order out of chaos so that civilization can prosper.
5. The Hierophant is a symbol of traditional authority and influence. He's the head of a hierarchy, determined to maintain his religious and cultural traditions.
6. The Lovers embody the twin principles of opposition and attraction. While an appearance by this couple could encourage any hopeless romantic, the card also signifies a choice to be made between two equally strong desires.
7. The Chariot is a vehicle for forward motion and change. The young charioteer is in command of his physical and emotional drives, even when they seem to oppose each other.
8. Strength is the lovely lady with the heart of a lion. She gently holds the jaws of a powerful wild cat, patiently controlling a force that could otherwise eat her alive.
9. The Hermit is a recluse, far removed from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. He reflects on spiritual concerns, and carries the light of wisdom as a beacon for others to follow.
10. The Wheel of Fortune is the spinning wheel of destiny and fate. Because nothing is certain but change itself, the Wheel of Fortune reminds us all that what goes up must also come down.
11. Justice is both the giver and enforcer of laws. As the ultimate arbiter, she holds a two-edged sword-a reminder that fairness cuts both ways.
12. The Hanged Man sacrifices his comfort and passions for a time, knowing that better things will occur as a result. He is the visionary who sacrifices one life to be rewarded with another.
13. Death is the card of transition. Like the Grim Reaper, who clears away all that cannot survive, the card depicts the turning of a page, the completion of one chapter of life, and the exciting start of a new story.
14. Temperance is the archangel of balance. With dexterity and grace, Temperance demonstrates that moderation can serve as a bridge to wholeness.
15. The Devil is the dark and shadowy side of our existence. With tongue firmly in cheek, he demonstrates how a selfish devotion to material possessions and illconceived passions can tie us down and keep us from true happiness.
16. The Tower is a forceful clearing of pent-up energy that strikes like lightning. It's a bolt from the blue, and it can shake any overbuilt structure to its foundation.
17. The Star is a shining light in the darkness. Like the goddess of the night, she's the blithe spirit who offers hope, inspiration, and guidance.
18. The Moon is the ever-changing mirror of the sun, and a symbol of the unconscious mind. From its perch in the night sky, the moon represents secrets and mysteries that may not be understood-or even recognized.
19. The Sun is a symbol of consciousness and action. It's the center of the universe, and the source of heat, illumination, and life on earth.
20. Judgement reveals all, heralds the dawn of a new world, and stands as a reminder of the power of forgiveness.
21. The World depicts the never-ending, spiral dance of life. It's a card of completion and success-as well as the chance to start another round.
Minor Concerns
Set aside the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, and the remaining fifty-six cards in the deck make up the Minor Arcana-the "lesser secrets." These cards usually depict ordinary people going about their everyday lives.
Just as a deck of playing cards has four suits of clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds, the Minor Arcana is divided into the four suits of wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. (Sometimes, depending on the deck, the suit names can vary. Wands may be called rods, batons, or staffs. Cups may be called chalices, and pentacles may be called coins or discs. Usually, those subtle variations don't make much difference in how the cards are read.)
Each o
f the tarot's four suits has numbered cards that run from ace through ten. Some people call the Minor Arcana the "pip" cards: pips are the marks that indicate the suit or numerical value of a playing card-the six hearts, for example, or seven diamonds. In some tarot decks, the Minor Arcana cards are similarly illustrated with a numbered pattern of wands, cups, swords, or pentacles. For the most part, however, modern decks portray scenic illustrations of average people engaged in commonplace activities. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they fight. Every now and then, they take time to drink, dance, or sleep.
While the images might seem random at first, there's a method to the madness. Each of the tarot's four suits represents a separate realm of life experience. Combined, they offer a complete system for contemplating human existence.
• Wands symbolize spiritual experience. Remember that wands correspond to clubs in a playing-card deck, where the three-leaf clover design is sometimes said to represent a holy trinity.
• Cups represent emotional affairs; like hearts in a deck of playing cards, they're the very picture of emotion.
• Swords illustrate thought and communication; they correspond to spades, which have a point to make.
. Pentacles embody physical, material, and financial realities; they correspond to diamonds, which are always worth money.
In fact, if you go one step further and memorize the elemental symbolism of each suit, you'll find that it's even easier to interpret the cards.
The Elements of Style
For centuries, alchemists and philosophers believed that the entire world consisted of just four elements: fire, water, air, and earth. Many believed that the human body was made up of four elements, as well. Some people, for example, have always been considered "fiery," while others can be described as "earthy." Even though modern scientists have moved into twenty-first century physics, the ancient elements still constitute a useful psychological model-as well as a handy formula for understanding the tarot. The methodology is simple: each one of the tarot's four suits corresponds to one of the four ancient elements.
The Fiery Suit of Wands
Wands are the fiery cards of spirit and initiation, which typically refer to the driving forces of work, career, and special interests that inspire passion. In most tarot decks, wands look like freshly cut branches from leafy trees; that's your cue that wands can be set on fire and burned. You might want to picture each wand as a flaming torch that can be used for light and heat, or enlightenment and inspiration.
Where there's smoke, there's fire: the wand cards can indicate that sparks are about to fly, that passions may be enflamed, and that an affair is about to heat up. Wand cards may suggest that someone is carrying a torch or burning with desire. Wand cards might even reveal that an old issue will be rekindled, or that someone is playing with fire.
The Watery World of Cups
Cups hold the watery affairs of emotional life, and they're especially well suited to issues of love and relationships. Obviously, a cup can hold water, the essence of life. For that matter, a cup can hold any liquid that has sentimental significance, such as wine or champagne. The connection to emotion is clear: We use cups to toast each other in celebration, to commune with others during religious ceremonies, and sometimes, we use cups to drown our sorrows. Because cup cards correspond to water, they serve as a reminder that the well of human emotion runs deep. Just as the human body is 75 percent water, the human psyche is driven by an overwhelmingly emotional combination of wants, needs, drives, and desires.
Don't let the water metaphors slip through your fingers. Cup cards may indicate that emotions are welling up under the surface, or that still waters run deep. One of your characters may have ice water running in her veins, or her heart may seem to be frozen. When cups are in play, a situation may be fluid, or on the rocks.
The Airy Suit of Swords
Because a sword moves through the air, the sword cards deal with the airy, heady realm of the intellect. They depict the way we think and communicate our ideas to others. The cards in the suit of swords should be near and dear to any serious writer. After all, swords cut through confusion, and they get straight to the point. They can pierce the veil of obscurity and pin down any concepts that seem unclear. The sword cards also demonstrate that language should be handled as a precision instrument. More often than not, the imagery of the sword cards demonstrates how words can be used as weapons of war. The sword cards also seem to depict the troubles we encounter when our ideas come into conflict with others, as well as the problems we impose on ourselves through negative thinking.
The imagery of the sword cards may suggest someone with a piercing glance, a rapacious wit, a sharp tongue, or a cutting remark. Elementally, swords could represent someone with his or her head in the clouds, an airhead, airy-fairy ideals, or someone who needs to come back to earth.
The Earthly Realm of Pentacles
Pentacle cards embody the tangible realities of physical and material life-the fundamental nature of earthly existence. They often represent money or property, as well as the treasures we hold dear on an emotional and spiritual level. In most tarot decks, pentacles look like coins with star-shaped designs. That pattern is symbolic of humanity's physical nature: when you stand with your arms extended and your feet apart, someone could trace the shape of a five-pointed star around your body, with one point on the top of your head, and the other four points on your outstretched hands and feet.
The suit of pentacles deals with issues that are serious and real-like real estate. The pentacle cards often refer to people who are earthy and grounded. They could suggest that a character is imbued with a certain gravity, or gravitas. The cards might even hint at grave concerns that haunt those of us on the physical plane. Don't forget the "physics" part of the physical equation, either. The pentacle cards also embody the dimensions of time and space; in readings, the pentacle cards may strongly imply that time really is money that should be well spent.
The elemental associations in the tarot don't stop with the four suits of the Minor Arcana. In the next section, you'll see that the court cards are linked to the four elements, too. Later, you'll discover that even the Major Arcana cards are assigned to the elements, based on their astrological correspondences.
The Four Royal Families
A traditional deck of playing cards includes three court cards in each suit: jacks, queens, and kings. The tarot maintains that tradition-but most tarot decks have four court cards in each suit. In addition to the kings, the queens, and the jacks-which are usually called knights in tarot-most decks also feature pages. (In some tarot decks, the court cards have other titles, like knave, prince, or princess-but those differences don't change how you'll read the cards.)
The four members of each royal family constitute an ideal family-at least on a symbolic level. They represent a father, a mother, a son, and a daughter. Some of the court cards are masculine, and some are feminine. Some are active, and some are receptive. Together, the sixteen court cards are well suited to reign over the four Minor Arcana realms of the tarot-spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical-and to describe the unique combinations of qualities and characteristics that make up a personality.
Pages are young and enthusiastic. They are students and messengers, children who must learn the fundamentals of the family's rule. During the Renaissance, pages were the youngest members of the royal court. It was their job to study-and to run errands, like ferrying messages from one person to another. The concept lives on in our everyday language: even now, congressmen use pages as messengers, and we can page other people when there's an important message. When pages show up in a tarot reading, they typically represent young people, students, or messages.
Knights have outgrown their roles as childlike pages: now they are young adults who must make their own way in the world. Traditionally, when pages grew to the age of knighthood, they were tested: they were expected to embark on a quest, master a challenge, and demonstrate that they were not only strong
enough and smart enough to succeed, but that they also could live up to the family's heritage. Essentially, knights were rescuers and adventurers. When knights show up in a tarot reading, they may suggest that a new quest or adventure is about to begin, or that rescue is on its way.
Queens represent women who have proved themselves; they have faced their demons and shown themselves to be mature and competent adults. Each queen symbolizes an ideal woman-a perfect wife, mother, or role model. The queens also embody the qualities we associate with femininity: they are compassionate, creative, receptive, empathic, and intuitive. They know how to exert their power behind the scenes, convincing-or cajoling-others to adapt their point of view. All told, the tarot's queens can tap into their feminine qualities to safeguard, nurture, and protect their realms. When queens show up in a reading, they often suggest that a similarly caring person will be working to safeguard, nurture, and protect her realm.
Kings are protectors, providers, and seasoned, experienced leaders, who succeeded in the missions and quests they undertook as knights. They are skilled commanders who have proven themselves on the battlefield of life, and they are confident in the knowledge and wisdom they acquired during their quests. Kings are also stereotypically masculine: they are authoritarian, assertive, and alert. They can even be aggressive. They guard their kingdoms with passion and force, and they're not afraid to make executive decisions. When kings show up in a reading, they may suggest that someone is willing to mount an aggressive defense or even wage war.
The Elements of Court
The four royal families of the Minor Arcana rule over the four elements.
The suit of wands corresponds to the element of fire, so the court of wands consists of fiery personalities who rule the fiery realm of spirit and initiation. The Page of Wands usually ferries messages of a spiritual nature; in his role as a student, he might also offer a spiritual lesson. The Knight of Wands suggests a spiritual adventure or rescue. The Queen of Wands nurtures and protects the spiritual realm, and the King of Wands provides spiritual leadership and defense.
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