## My quest for understanding has led me to the Tarot. Every couple of years for a long time the Tarot has been highlighted on my path. I have had times of interest, been gifted two different decks and books, been told I should work with them and inevitably just brushed it all aside. I had tried a couple of classes or workshops to learn more but was ever disappointed with with lack of depth being taught. I knew it was deep which is why I sought some kind of teacher, but just using them for generic readings was not floating my boat and I got bored.

https://i.imgur.com/rv9mbSfh.jpg

More recently the Tarot & the Kabala have been presented on my path again almost akin to bait, and I took it. Realising that I was not going to get what I needed from the Love and Light brigade workshops, I have thrown my self into research. That has resulted in countless bookmarked websites, blogs, videos, and folded down corners of book pages. Here I have condensed what I have learned so far for ease of memorising key components for my self, and hopefully some of you will find it helpful too. [Image Source](http://minalstarot.com/blog/WhatareTarotcard.html) # Brief History of the Tarot The Tarot cards have captivated people for centuries. The oldest existing cards, of which there are 17 of the deck remaining, date from 1392. The oldest complete deck known to exist is dated 1422, and is the _only_ surviving deck of this time period. If the Tarot does pre-date the 1300's there is little evidence to support this, but there are many comparisons that can be drawn from ancient times. It is not ludicrous to ponder that the ideas, teachings and beliefs behind the Tarot's powerful images are much older than the Tarot itself. The cards can be spookily accurate at predicting the future, but invariably point to _possibilities_ over _probabilities_. If read correctly, they can guide one to the forces shaping their life path, presenting choices and suggesting certain points of action. ## Tarot Today A standard modern day Tarot deck comprises of **78 cards**, which are divided into two sections- the **Minor Arcana** (56 cards) and the **Major Arcana** (22 cards)- _Arcana meaning secrets or mysteries_. # Minor Arcana- _lesser secrets_ This section of the deck consists of **56 cards** which seem to mirror a deck of normal playing cards most of us are familiar with. The Minor Arcana are divided into **4 suits** which can be referred to in numerous ways. 1- **Wands**- _also known as Staves or Batons_ 2- **Pentacles**- _also known as Coins or Discs_ 3- **Swords** 4- **Cups** Mirroring a normal playing deck as follows- _Wands-Clubs, Pentacles-Diamonds, Swords-Spades, Cups-Hearts._ And further, each of these suits is made up of numbered cards- **Ace to 10**, & four court cards- **King, Queen, Knight/Prince**, & **Page/Princess.** ## Information/History Symbols used to represent the minor suits appear in several myths and legends. In Irish mythology, the legendary people of the Goddess Dana spoke of four magical treasures: a sword, a stone, a cauldron and a spear. Similar representations are seen in Hindu art: a sword, a ring, the cup and a sceptre (similar to a staff or wand). One of the stronger links lies with the Greek Goddess of fate Nemesis, who's symbols included- a sword, a wheel, a wand and a cup. Italians today continue to play a card game with the Minor Arcana called _tarrochi_. ## Astrology & Minor Arcana Very briefly, the Minor Arcana symbols are also connected with the elements of the ancient world: _earth, air, fire & water_, which form one of the foundations of Western astrology. Each of the 12 Zodiac signs are grouped into one of these 4 element groups, and each group has corresponding Minor Arcana cards. _Very Simply_- **Wands**- _**Fire**_ -Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. **Pentacles**- _**Earth**_ - Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. **Swords**-_**Air**_ - Gemini, Libra, Aquarius. **Cups**-_**Water**_ - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.

https://i.imgur.com/MftYZMRl.png

[Image Source](https://www.tarotica.net/the-minor-arcana.html) # Major Arcana- _greater secrets_ This section of the deck consists of **22 cards** numbered **0-21** _(headache right),_ which are more elusive in nature as they do not seem to correspond with anything recognisable today. Roman numerals/symbols are used on all of the cards, depending on how deeply you want to learn the tarot you may or may not want to wrap your head around this number system. _(headache turns into a migraine)_. Elaboration on these numerals is at the end of the blog if you do want to know. 0-10 | 11-21 ------|-------- 0-The Fool (0)|11-Justice (XI) 1-The Magician (I)|12-The Hanged Man (XII) 2-The High Priestess (II)|13-Death (XIII) 3-The Empress (III)|14-Temperance (XIV) 4-The Emperor (IV)|15-The Devil (XV) 5-The Hierophant (V)|16-The Tower (XVI) 6-The Lovers (VI)|17-The Star (XVII) 7-The Chariot (VII)|18-The Moon (XVIII) 8-Strength (VIII)|19-The Sun (XIX) 9-The Hermit (IX)|20-Judgement (XX) 10-Wheel of Fortune (X)|21-The World (XXI) ## Information/History The Major Arcana have puzzled and sometimes enraged scholars, mystics, psychologists and occultists alike. They do not appear to correspond with anything we understand today, as seems to be the case with the Minor Arcana with the standard playing deck, and various myths and legends. Yet, these 22 cards have been subject to an array of theories surrounding their origins. The notion that the Major Arcana is a book of esoteric teaching does not seem unreasonable given all that we know about the Tarot's history. Ancient Egypt is one area of speculation. The cards have been linked with the writings of the legendary mystic and sage Hermes Trismegistus, author of many magical manuscripts. The word _Gypsies_ is thought to derive from the word Egyptians, and it is thought by many that Gypsies took the tarot cards with them to India on their travels. Parallels can be seen by comparing ancient images of Egypt and modern day representations of cards. One example being the Egyptian image of Justice, showing a soul being weighed in the scales of justice by the jackal-headed God Anubis. Compared against modern day Tarot decks, almost every _justice_ card in different decks from different times also contain a sword and weighing scales.

https://i.imgur.com/5KHV0c6l.jpg

[Image Source](https://threehundredandsixtysix.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/day-295-justice/) Many images found on these 22 cards seem rather medieval, and based on key figures of that era- _The Fool, The Pope, The Magician, & The Day of Judgement_ would have been virtually every day features of that time. Medieval Europe was not a safe place for mystics/heretics, and recording philosophical secrets and teachings visually may have been a safe way to pass on this information without the risk of persecution. The Renaissance practice of using _memorativa_, which are pictorial memory systems, was integral to the occult movement of that time. Some propose that the Tarot is purely a medieval invention. **_However_**, this does not account for many many factors, such as the surreal landscape depicted on the Moon, and the High Priestess, and the apparent parallels with ancient depictions. Many of the cards point to much older belief systems than Christian times. Perhaps as with all things, evolution and development of society and concepts over the course of time has been reflected in the Tarot, just my personal thoughts. The Tarot could have easily been a highly sophisticated pictorial memory log which tapped into deep levels of consciousness, and is still used for varying levels of contemplation today. # The Golden Dawn Ritual magic, gnosticism, asrtology and the Kabala are all linked with the Tarot, influencing it's interpretations. Many of these interpretations were refined and/or devised during the times of the great occult revival in the 19th century. The Golden Dawn was a powerful, but short-lived magic order. _The Pictoral Key to the Tarot_ by Arthur Edward Waite, a member of this order, was published in 1910. Pamela Colman Smith, another member, under his direction designed the Rider Waite Tarot deck which is ever popular today. Aleister Crowley, also a member of the order, published his own guide and deck which I instantly fell in love with browsing online. The beautiful cards were illustrated by Freida Harris, and are known as the Thoth Tarot after the name of his book- _The Book of Thoth_. I am actually _very_ drawn to these cards and have them on my wish list. Earlier in the summer I was attending a local psychic development class which I eventually left, and the lady running the classes actually advised me not to use the Thoth deck as they are apparently connected with evil, based on Crowley's dodgy magical dealings and tendencies. I immediately dismissed her concern which came from a good place, but ill informed. With literally 100's of decks available do _your own_ research and get what _you_ are drawn to. The Thoth deck is a bit _different_ and visually pleasing for me personally, very colourful and not so boring!

https://i.imgur.com/jyZqRQw.jpg

[Image Source](https://www.psychics.com/blog/tarot-reading-history-thoth-deck/) # Roman Numerals/symbols Don't be afraid of Roman numerals! I have not delved into it in any depth at all, but I wanted to memorise 0-21 so I knew what number card that I was working with, as numbers hold relevance if you're going down the rabbit hole, e.g the connection with astrology mentioned above. Numerals are actually pretty easy to wrap your head around once you see the pattern. My own personal understanding of it was essentially they are like very simple math equations, and you only really need to know a few core numerals to be able to decipher the others. I'll explain how I interpreted them using 1-6 to demonstrate. I will list the numerals 1-10 first so you can see what I am referring to.

1=I, 2=II, 3=III, 4=IV, 5=V, 6=VI, 7=VII, 8=VIII, 9=IX, 10=X

The symbol for the number 2 is made from 2x the symbol for number 1, 2= II. The symbol for the number 3 is made from 3x the symbol for number 1, 3= III. The symbol for number 4 get's interesting- IV. Note that the symbol for number 5=V, and we already know that the symbol for the number 1=I. The symbol IV (4) in my head represents the equation 5-1=4, and I only made this conclusion when I realised that the symbol for the number 6 is VI, representing 5+1=6, it's a progression. _4= IV, 5=V, 6=VI_ When the number 1 symbol **I** is in front of the number 5 symbol **V** this essentially represents the - or subtraction action. When the same symbol is behind the **V** this essentially represents the + or addition action. **Thus: IV means (5-1=4) & VI means (5+1=6)** Some other examples of this pattern: **XIV** means **(10+4=14)**, **IX** means **(10-1=9)** etc etc. (_Migraine relief!_) **Links to some sites I have found useful/sources of my information:** [Tarotica.net](https://www.tarotica.net/the-minor-arcana.html#) [Teachmetarot.com](https://teachmetarot.com/) [Thecollectorsweekly.com](https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-surprising-origins-of-tarot-most-misunderstood-cards/) @jeremycrow has some amazing posts on his blog and a very informative website. **Wikipedia** has been helpful, although there is much debate about how trustworthy this is as a reliable information source. **YouTube** has also been helpful, lots of interesting people giving really in depth lessons, and talks about it's history and development. Two books I am using at the moment are: **Tarot for Your Self: A Workbook for Personal Transformation Book**. _Mary K. Greer_ **The Ultimate Guide to Tarot: A Beginner's Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Revealing the Mystery of the Tarot**. _Liz Dean_ Thanks For Reading MyIndigoInsight