The earliest extant examples of Tarot decks are of Italian origin and roughly date back to the 15th century, when they were used to play the game of Tarocchi. In the course of its development it became connected to cartomancy and thence to occult studies. The set of 78 images, rich with symbolic meaning, is considered by students of this "occult" or "esoteric" Tarot (tarotists practising tarotism) to be independent of the particular representation as a deck of cards; consequently they focus on the study of the images (and their symbolic meanings) as distinct from any particular instance.
The relationship between Tarot cards and playing cards is often said to be unclear, but in fact the history is tolerably well documented. Playing cards are first recorded in 1321 in a Swiss monastic chronicle that notes their recent importation from the Orient; they thus predated the earliest Tarots by a century. They may have evolved by mutation from circular cards used in India to play a wargame called "Chaturanga" ("Four Kings"); some very early decks, including one preserved in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, were circular.
The first physical evidence of the Tarot dates from the 15th century. An elaborate, hand-made deck called the Visconti deck survives from Italy in 1440. More simply-drawn decks survive from Marseilles, France, from the early 16th century.
It is believed by many that the Tarot is far older than this. Based on similarities of the imagery and numbering, some associate the Tarot with ancient Egypt, or the Hebrew mystic tradition of the Kabbalah, or a wide variety of other origins. This is all, however, pure mythology. In fact, study of the iconography of the earliest tarots via standard comparative-historical methods suffices to pin their origin down to very near the time and place of the original Visconti deck; that is, Northern Italy in the early Renaissance period. We can, for example, place their origin after the Black Death, because the skeletal-death-with-a-scythe motif found on effectively all versions of Trump XIII does not predate the plagues. Before then, skulls in pictorial art were primarily a symbol of scholarship and learning.
In fact, the earliest Tarots seem to have been depictions of the carnival parades that ushered in the season of Lent. These elaborate productions layered then-fashionable Graeco-Roman symbolism over a Christian allegory of sin, grace, and redemption; notably, the earliest versions of the World card (the final Trump, XXI) show a conventional image known from period religious art to represent St. Augustine's "Heavenly City", and it is not coincidence that this closely follows the Judgement card.
Several other early Tarot-like sequences of portable art survive to place the Visconti deck in context. Later confusion about the symbolism stems from the Marseilles decks, which began a process of steadily paganizing and universalizing the symbolism to the point where the underlying Christian allegory has been almost completely obscured (as, for example, when the Rider-Waite deck of the early Twentieth Century changed "The Pope" to "The Hierophant" and "The Popess" to "The High Priestess") It is notable that between 1450 and 1500 the Tarot was actually recommended for the instruction of the young by Church moralists; not until fifty years after the Visconti deck did it become associated with gambling, and not until two hundred and fifty years after that with occultism.
The Tarot was not widely adopted by mystics, occultists and secret societies until the 18th and 19th century. The tradition began in 1781, when Antoine Court de Gébelin, a Swiss clergyman and Freemason, published Le Monde Primitif, a study of religious symbolism and its survivals in the modern world. De Gébelin first called attention to the unusual symbols of the Tarot de Marseille, and asserted that the symbols in fact represented the mysteries of Isis and Thoth. De Gébelin furthermore claimed that the name "tarot" came from the Egyptian words tar, meaning "royal", and ro, meaning "road", and that the Tarot therefore represented a "royal road" to wisdom. De Gébelin wrote before Champollion had deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs, and later Egyptologists found nothing in the Egyptian language that supports de Gébelin's fanciful etymologies, but these findings came too late; by the time authentic Egyptian texts were available, the identification of the Tarot cards with the Egyptian "book of Thoth" was already firmly established in occult practice.
It was first practically applied by a charlatan named Alliette, aka "Le Grand Etteilla", an ex-barber who reversed his name and marketed himself as a seer and card diviner in the Paris of the French Revolution. Etteilla designed the first esoteric Tarot deck, adding astrological attributions to various cards, altering many of them from the Marseilles designs, and adding divinatory meanings in text on the cards. The Etteilla decks, though now eclipsed by Smith and Waite's illuminated deck and Aleister Crowley's "Thoth" deck, remains available. Etteilla's best known successor was Marie-Anne Le Normand, whose cartomancy became fashionable during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, due largely to the influence Le Normand wielded with Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's first wife. After the fall of Napoleon and the restoration of the Bourbon kings, interest in cartomancy declined.
Interest by more serious occultists came later, during the Hermetic Revival of the 1840s in which (among others) Victor Hugo was involved. The idea of the cards as a mystical key was first seriously developed by Eliphas Levi and passed to the English-speaking world by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Levi, not Etteilla, is the true founder of most contemporary schools of Tarot reading; his 1854 Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (English title: Transcendental Magic) introduced a new system for interpreting the cards. While Levi accepted Court de Gébelin's claims about an Egyptian origin of the deck symbols, he rejected Etteilla's innovations and his altered deck, and devised instead a system which related the Tarot to the Kabbalah and the four elements of alchemy.
The breakthrough into mass popularity began in 1910, with the publication of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, which took the step of including symbolic images in the minor as well the major arcana. (Arthur Edward Waite had been an early member of the Golden Dawn) In the twentieth century, a huge number of different decks were created, some traditional, some wildly different.
Tarot and archetypes
Carl Jung was the first psychologist to attach importance to the Tarot. He regarded the Tarot cards as representing archetypes: fundamental types of person or situation embedded in the subconscious of all human beings. The Emperor, for instance, represents the ultimate patriarch or father figure.
The theory of archetypes gives rise to several psychological uses. Some psychologists use Tarot cards to identify how a patient views himself or herself, by asking the patient to select a card that he or she identifies with. Some try to get the patient to clarify his ideas by imagining his situation or relationship in terms of Tarot images: Is someone rushing in heedlessly like the Knight of Swords perhaps, or blindly keeping the world at bay as in the Rider-Waite-Smith Two of Swords. The Tarot can be seen as a kind of algebra of the subconscious, allowing it to be analysed at the conscious level.
Tarot and Kabbalah
Adherents of the Mysteries have long held the idea that the Tarot has its origins in the arcane system of the Kabbalah, though there is no firm historical evidence for this. The work of the 19th century French occultist, Eliphas Levi, was the catalyst for the study of the esoteric link between the Tarot and the Kabbalah, which became the main model for the development and interpretation of the Tarot. The most influential decks of the 20th century were founded on Kabbalistic principles, in terms of their structure, their symbology and their explication.
Central to the Western Kabbalah is the glyph Otz Chiim or the Tree of Life. This consists of ten spheres or sefirot connected by 22 paths, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The sefirot themselves are also considered to be paths, giving a total of 32 paths in all; but in discussing the associations between the Tarot and the Kabbalah, it is simpler to consider the Tree as 10 sefirot and 22 paths, as these groupings correspond respectively to the Minor Arcana and Major Arcana that make up the structure of the Tarot. Some occultists offer slightly different attributions. Aleister Crowley, for example, transposes the Star and the Emperor, so that the Emperor corresponds to the Hebrew letter tzaddi, and the Star to heh. This is in keeping with the Thelemic teaching of Crowley's Liber AL vel Legis (The Book of the Law), where it is written "All these old letters of my Book are aright; but Tzaddi is not the Star" (chapter 1:57).
Just as the sefirot follow a sequence from the new beginning or creative impulse in the first sefira (Kether) through to completion in the tenth (Malkuth), so the numbered cards in each suit follow this pattern from the Ace through to the Ten. Each path expresses the interaction between the pair of sefirot it connects. As a quick, much simplified example, Trump XXI, the World, concerns the successful completion of one phase and the start of another, as well as ideas of synthesis and crystallization. The interactions of sefirot nine, Yesod (Foundation), and ten, Malkuth (Kingdom) mirror these ideas, with the generative aspects of Yesod finding their fulfillment inMalkuth. The process of Creation ends in Malkuth, and the return begins through Yesod. The path and the World both correspond to the Hebrew letter tav, and again this is highly appropriate as it is the final letter of the alphabet and means 'cross', a symbol associated with the manifest world.
Kabbalists view the Tree as acting on or through four worlds: Atziluth, Briah, Yetsirah and Assiah. So the system can be further refined, as each of the suits of the Minor Arcana corresponds to one of the four worlds. For example, Assiah is the manifest world, corresponding to the element Earth and the Tarot suit Pentacles. So the Six of Pentacles corresponds to Tifereth in Assiah. Tifereth is the sefira of balance and beauty, and Assiah the manifest, material world; hence the Six of Pentacles in the Tarot deck has meanings associated with putting money to good use, generosity, nobility and deserved success. The correspondences between the Kabbalistic worlds and the Tarot suits are as follows:
Tarot Suit Element Kabbalistic World
Pentacles Earth Assiah (Manifest World)
Swords Air Yetsirah (Formative World)
Cups Water Briah (Creative World)
Wands Fire Atziluth (Archetypal World)
The court cards of the Minor Arcana are also placed at important positions on the Tree:
Court Card Sefira
Page Malkuth (Kingdom)
Knights Tifereth (Beauty)
Queens Binah (Understanding)
Kings Chokmah (Wisdom)
Also, entire suits may be allocated a position, just as the four worlds are sometimes expressed on a single Tree:
Tarot Suit Sefira
Pentacles Malkuth (Kingdom)
Swords Tifereth (Beauty)
Cups Binah (Understanding)
Wands Chokmah (Wisdom)
Tarot cards have been used for divination pretty much throughout their known history, and this is still their main application today. It is by no means their only use, however. Their esoteric links, particularly with the Kabbalah, allow them to be used for spiritual study and meditation. They also have psychological applications and are a valuable tool in the important search for self-knowledge. s really show the future?
Some believe the cards mirror a future set in stone, others that they show likely future trends and problems that can be worked with or avoided, and still others that the cards fall by chance and that reading any meaning into this is empty superstition.
If you choose to believe that the cards do foretell future events, the obvious follow-up question is whether events suggested by the cards are set in stone, or whether they can be avoided. This applies equally to positive predictions as to negative ones, because if it were possible to avoid some foretold disaster, then it may be equally possible to miss out on some predicted windfall or opportunity.
If the cards mapped out a fixed future then there would be little value in consulting them. The most positive approach to a reading is that the cards show trends and potentials: what will happen if you do nothing consciously to change the course of events. Most readings deal with the current situation and events leading up to it precisely so that the cards can suggest how the questioner has got where they are, and how best they can go forward. If the cards suggest future problems, they will also suggest the causes of these difficulties and how they can be avoided. If they suggest pleasurable future events, then they will also suggest how to make sure that these come to pass, and how to avoid wasting the positive phase approaching.
If you are of the school of thought that there is nothing mystical or presaging about the seemingly random selection of cards, then the Tarot works by providing a framework for the reader to analyze a given problem or situation and explore future options by reconsidering the past that has created the present. Meaning may emerge even from purely random patterns, as chance selections force you to consider concepts that you'd normally ignore, and the density of meaning is great enough that meanings can emerge from almost any selection of cards. Applying the meaning of a card in a given position to the question in hand means that the mind has to look for meanings and links that it would not ordinarily consider, and in this way fresh insights are found.
Those who believe that cards specifically foreshadow future events need to look beyond present-day science for an explanation. The mechanism by which the cards work may be looked at as an instance of the ancient mystical maxim, "As above, So below", where the seemingly trivial fall of cards somehow mirrors the greater machinations of the heavens, and the future is glimpsed. Others may turn to theories such as synchronicity, theorized by Carl Gustav Jung. Synchronicity is the coincidence of events that appear to be meaningfully related but cannot be explained by accepted mechanisms of cause and effect. The random selection of cards detailing future events would be a very good example of this.
The true art of Tarot interpretation lies not only in the cards chosen, but where they fall, how they are grouped and related, and how all this fits in with the questioner's concerns and the reader's experience, and this does require a gifted, human reader, though this reader need not be sitting across the table from you. Tarot diviners generally believe that Tarot cards simply allow them to exercise an innate psychic ability to see the future. It's popularly believed that the cards take on the "aura" or "vibrations" of someone who touches them. The cards are therefore "insulated" by wrapping them in silk or enclosing them in a box, and only touched by the diviner and person for whom the reading is done: the "querent".
The Tarot is normally used to provide a reading in which a particular question is explored or the questioner's life in general is considered.
The simplest form of reading is the selection and interpretation of a single card, but a greater number of cards is usually employed to allow a fuller exploration of the subject. In order to provide a framework that allows a greater richness of meaning, the reader employs spreads: layouts of cards in which the position of a card in the spread modifies the interpretation of the card.
Spreads offer many more refinements to interpretation than positional considerations alone. For example, each card can be related to other cards in the reading to clarify particular points and bring an additional richness to the interpretation. In some spreads, certain positions have strong links with others, and cards in these corresponding positions are interpreted with reference to each other. Spreads allow the use of techniques like synthesis, majorities, dignities, resonance, dissonance and combinations. Broadly speaking there are two main stages to the reading process: preparation and interpretation.
Preparation involves determining the nature of the reading (general or specific) and consequently the particular spread to be used. Some spreads are better suited to answering particular questions, whereas others lend themselves to more general readings. Once the spread has been determined, the cards are selected at random and arranged according to the strictures of the spread.
After the cards have been selected and laid out face-down, each card is turned over in sequence and interpreted according to its position and relation to other cards in the spread. Some readers prefer to lay all cards face-up from the start, but the more useful method is to allow the cards to unfold the story of the reading as they are turned up one by one, then to reassess the reading as a whole once all cards are on view.
For example, the Nine of Cups is a card of contentment and fulfilling relationships. If this card appears in a spread in a position indicating the future, then it suggests that a time of well-being and fulfillment is on the way. If it appears in a position that shows current difficulties, then it warns that complacency, taking things for granted or stagnation are problems that the questioner must avoid.
Reversed Meanings
As well as modifying the interpretation of a card according to its position in a spread, there are a number of further refinements that may be employed to adjust a card's meaning. One of the most common, and arguably the least useful, is that of reversed meanings. With this method, the cards are kept or shuffled so that they may appear either upright or reversed (upside down) in a spread. When a card is reversed, the meaning is modified, usually either tempered or reversed.
As a simplistic example, the Wheel of Fortune appearing in an upright position would indicate the felicitous intervention of Fate through a lucky break or good fortune. A reversed position would be more suggestive of bad luck and a downturn in fortune. Many readers do not use the system of reversed meanings at all, largely because it is a rather clumsy and inelegant mechanism, and there are better ways to refine the interpretation of a card.
Synthesis and Majorities
All but the simplest spreads contain positions that can be considered together for a richer interpretation. Spreads like the Celtic Cross are arranged so that cards in certain locations explicate and refine the meanings of cards in related positions. For example, the Covering and Questioner positions are closely related, as are the Root and Past positions and the three positions dealing with future influences. The House and Inside positions show the external and internal influences on the matter in hand, in an analogous way to the Covering and Crossing showing aiding and opposing influences. There are many ways, some obvious and some subtle, in which the positions in a spread work with each other, and this synthesis of cards is a very powerful way of bringing a reading together as a whole.
Majorities are a way of getting an overall sense of a reading and are another prism through which the interpretation of individual cards may be refracted. In most readings there will be a dominant suit of the Minor Arcana, and this is termed the Primary Majority. The attributions of the suit involved indicate the tenor of the reading. For example, Wands or Pentacles might suggest that the reading largely concerns objective events or objects respectively, and Swords or Cups could indicate subjective thoughts or feelings respectively.
The Secondary Majority is the next most prevalent suit in a reading, and this can impart a subordinate, weaker influence. The compatibility or otherwise of the suits in the Primary and Secondary Majorities.
The other significant majority that readers look out for is the proportion of Major Arcana to Minor Arcana cards. An important time with long-term consequences is suggested by a relatively large number of Major cards. If the cards are mostly Minor, then a less critical time is indicated where events are unlikely to have lasting significance.
Dignities, Resonance and Dissonance
Almost all spreads have positions that explicate other positions, or positions that may be considered sequential or neighboring in some meaningful sense. Some spreads even have multiple cards in each position for a deeper interpretation. In all of these cases, cards are easily linked to others through physical or interpretational proximity, and the meanings of these linked cards can be modified according to a system of dignities.
For this to work, certain suits of the Minor Arcana are considered as being beneficial and strengthening to each other (resonance), whereas others are considered to be antagonistic and weakening to one another (dissonance), and the rest remain neutral to each other. Resonant cards are well-dignified and dissonant ones ill-dignified. Suits of a similar nature strengthen; suits of opposite nature weaken. Cups and Pentacles are neutral towards each other, and the remaining resonances and dissonances are as follows:
:
Suit Resonances Dissonance
Wands Wands, Swords,Pentacles Cups
Cups Cups, Swords Wands
Swords Swords, Wands, Cups Pentacles
Pentacles Pentacles, Wands Swords
Combinations
When a reading produces groups of identically numbered or titled cards - for example, three of the Eights or all of the Queens - then those groups or combinations may be given further significance. For example, all four Aces appearing together in a reading would be indicative of a momentous time of great energy and new beginnings in which the questioner must take care to make the most of opportunities in a positive way.
Timing
Getting a sense of the time scales involved in a reading is notoriously difficult. Some spreads have positions dealing with the 'recent' past, 'near' future, 'distant' past, 'eventual' outcome and so on - all rather nebulous phrases. As a rough guide, the 'present' may be considered as a few weeks either side of the current date, 'near' and 'recent' refer to a small number of weeks or months, and 'eventual' and 'distant' may be months or years away. Some readers employ mechanical methods of suggesting timing, using formulae based on such things as the suits involved in a reading, but these are usually less than helpful. Spreads like the Calendar Spread are constructed around specific time scales, and these may be employed when timing is important.
Certain cards, notably Judgement, can have an accelerating or decelerating effect on a reading. A well-dignified Eight of Wands, for example, can bring an end to delays and move things on at a pace, but if the Eight is ill-dignified it can slow matters down and herald delays and cancellations.
The greatest influences on the time scales involved, however, are the questioner's own actions. They may choose to go with the trends shown by the cards and speed things up, or they may oppose them and slow things down or avoid the predicted consequences altogether. The Tarot is actually an empowering rather than a fatalistic system - it helps to put a person in control of their own destiny, as long as it is approached in an intelligent way
Tarot cards serve many purposes, and this leads to a variety of Tarot deck styles. Some decks exist primarily as artwork; art decks often contain only the 22 cards of the Major Arcana. Esoteric decks are often used in conjunction with the study of the Hermetic Qabala; in these decks the Major Arcana are illustrated in accordance with Qabalistic principles while the numbered suit cards (2 through 10) typically bear only stylized renderings of the suit symbol. In contrast, decks used for divination usually bear illustrated scenes on all cards. The more simply illustrated Marseilles style decks are used esoterically, for divination, and for game play. The Marseilles style Tarot decks generally feature suit cards which look very much like modern playing cards. The numbered cards sport an arrangement of pips indicating the number and suit, while the court cards are often illustrated with two-dimensional drawings.
The most popular deck today is probably the fully-illustrated deck confusingly known as the Rider-Waite-Smith, Waite-Smith, or simply the Rider deck. The images were painted by artist Pamela Colman Smith, to the instructions of academic and mystic Arthur Waite, and published by the Rider company. According to many accounts, Aleister Crowley also had substantial creative input. While the images are deceptively, almost childishly simple, the details and backgrounds hold a wealth of symbolism. The subjects remain close to the earliest decks, but usually have added detail. The chief aesthetic objection to this deck is the crude printing of colours in the original: several decks, such as the Universal Waite, simply copy the Smith line drawings, but with more sophisticated colouring.
Probably the most widely-used esoteric Tarot deck is Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot (pronounced tote). In contrast to the Thoth deck's colorful artistry, the illustrations on Paul Foster Case's B.O.T.A. Tarot deck are black line drawings on white cards; this is an unlaminated deck intended to be colored by its owner. Other esoteric decks include the Golden Dawn Tarot which is based on a deck by SL MacGregor Mathers, the Tree of Life Tarot whose cards are stark symbolic catalogs, and the Cosmic Tarot which is unusual for an esoteric deck because it is fully-illustrated.
Other decks vary in their conventionality. Cat-lovers have the Tarot of the Cat People, a fairly standard deck complete with cat in every picture. The Tarot of the witches and Aquarian Tarot retain the conventional cards with varying designs. The witches deck became famous/notorious in the 1970s for its use in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die.
Other decks change the cards partly or completely. The Motherpeace Tarot is notable for its circular cards and feminist angle: the mainly male characters have been replaced by females. The Tarot of Baseball has suits of bats, mitts, balls and bases; "coaches" and "MVPs" instead of Queens and Kings; and major arcana cards like "The Catcher", "The Rule Book" and "Batting a Thousand".
A very spiritual Tarot deck is the Isis Tarot also known as Tarot van Isis, Tarot d'Isis, etc., by Erna Droesbeke, using archetypical symbols.
Computing professionals might find the Silicon Valley Tarot most intelligible, which offers online readings. Major arcana cards include The Hacker, Flame War, The Layoff and The Garage; the suits are Networks, Cubicles, Disks and Hosts; the court cards CIO, Salesman, Marketeer and New Hire
The standard Tarot deck is a pack of 78 cards divided in two categories: the major and the minor Arcana. The word Arcana is the plural of the Latin word arcanum meaning "deep secret, the occult". Alternate names are the Minor Trumps and Major Trumps, or simply the Minors and the Trumps.
The images on the Major Arcana are often very heavy with symbolism; in more occult decks, there is far more to the illustration than a mere depiction of the card title. The Major Arcana are usually regarded as relating to matters of higher purpose or deep significance, as opposed to the Minor Arcana which relate to the everyday world and matters of immediate significance..
The Major Arcana (Trumps Major, Minor Trumps) of the Tarot deck consists of 22 cards. Each depicts a scene, mostly featuring a person or several people, with many symbolic elements. In many decks, each has a number (usually in Roman numerals) and a name, though not all decks have both, and some have only a picture. The earliest decks bore unnamed and unnumbered pictures on the Majors (probably because a great many of the people using them at the time were illiterate), and the order of cards is not standardised.
There are 22 major Arcana, also known as Trumps, Triumphs or Keys. Each of them symbolises some universal aspect of human experience. They represent the archetypes, the universal transcultural psychological symbols present in everybody's subconscious and accessible by all through the collective unconscious.
For example, the Emperor symbolises all the qualities and defects embodied in the concept of the Father; security, protection, structure, order, despotism… The Empress represents all the qualities that we attribute to the Mother; fertility, abundance, fecundity, futility, whim…
The major Arcana are given numerological, astrological and cabalistic correspondences. Each card has its own large, complicated and disputed set of meanings. Altogether the major arcana is said to represent the Fool's journey: a symbolic journey through life in which the Fool overcomes obstacles and gains wisdom.
In order we have:
The Fool or le Mât
The Magician or le Bateleur
The High Priestess or la Papesse
The Empress
The Emperor
The Hierophant or le Pape
The Lovers or L'amoureux
The Chariot
Strength
The Hermit
The Wheel of Fortune
Justice
The Hanged Man
Death
Temperance
The Devil
The Tower or la Maison-Dieu
The Star
The Moon
The Sun
Judgement
The World
The Minor Arcana (Trumps Minor, Minor Trumps) of the Tarot deck consists of 56 cards, which are closely related to the deck of 52 playing cards used in most modern card games. It is comprised of four suits, most commonly named Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, though there is a wide variety of different names and suit symbols used in different decks.
Each suit has 14 cards, being Ace (One), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Page, Knight, Queen, King. These last four are called the court cards, and often have different names in different decks.
Modern decks often have the card named and numbered, though many resemble early decks in that there are no titles or numbers on the cards. The numbered cards usually have the appropriate number of symbols for the suit depicted, and the court cards usually have the corresponding person depicted holding the symbol of their suit. Modern decks will often have a symbolic scene depicted on the numbered Minors, though this was never the case before the early 20th century when the Rider-Waite-Smith deck was published. Before this, the numbered cards of the Minors showed merely a geometric arrangement of the appropriate number of suit symbols.
The interpretation of the Minor Arcana is more practical and refers to the issues, problems, concerns that compose our daily life.
The four suits are associated with the four elements: Swords with air, Wands with fire, Cups with water and Pentacles with earth.
Wands, staves, rods or batons, representing creativity, action, business and movement. They correspond to the Fire element.
Pentacles, coins or discs, representing down-to-earth matters, practicality, material concerns and especially financial issues. They correspond to the Earth element.
Swords, the suit of reason, thought, mind and the intellect. They correspond to the Air element.
Cups representing emotions, feelings and spirituality. They correspond to the Water element.
Fool
With light step, as if earth and its trammels had little power to restrain him, a young man in gorgeous vestments pauses at the brink of a precipice among the great heights of the world; he surveys the blue distance before him-its expanse of sky rather than the prospect below. His act of eager walking is still indicated, though he is stationary at the given moment; his dog is still bounding. The edge which opens on the depth has no terror; it is as if angels were waiting to uphold him, if it came about that he leaped from the height. His countenance is full of intelligence and expectant dream. He has a rose in one hand and in the other a costly wand, from which depends over his right shoulder a wallet curiously embroidered. He is a prince of the other world on his travels through this one-all amidst the morning glory, in the keen air. The sun, which shines behind him, knows whence he came, whither he is going, and how he will return by another path after many days. He is the spirit in search of experience. Many symbols of the Instituted Mysteries are summarized in this card, which reverses, under high warrants, all the confusions that have preceded it.
The conventional explanations say that the Fool signifies the flesh, the sensitive life, and by a peculiar satire its subsidiary name was at one time the alchemist, as depicting folly at the most insensate stage. The Fool fearlessly begins the journey into the unknown. To do this, he does not regard the world he knows as firm and fixed. He has a seemingly reckless disregard for obstacles. In order to explore and expand, one must disregard convention and conformity. Those in the throes of convention look at the unconventional, non-conformist personality and think "What a fool". They lack the point of view to understand The Fool's actions. But The Fool has roots in tradition as one who is closest to the spirit world.
In many tribal cultures, those born with strange and unusual character traits were held in awe. Shamans were people who could see visions and go on journeys that we now label hallucinations and schizophrenia. Those with physical differences had experience and knowledge that the average person could not understand.
The Fool is God. The number of the card is zero, which when drawn is a perfect circle. This circle represents both emptiness and infinity. The Fool is not shackled by mountains and valleys or by his physical body. He does not accept the appearance of cliff and air as being distinct or real.
When you receive The Fool in a reading, you are ready to begin The Fool's Journey into the unknown. The Fool's originality, enthusiasm, sense of adventure and faith in the world are yours.
Magician
A youthful figure in the robe of a magician, having the countenance of divine Apollo, with smile of confidence and shining eyes. Above his head is the mysterious sign of the Holy Spirit, the sign of life, like an endless cord, forming the figure 8 in a horizontal position {infinity symbol}. About his waist is a serpent-cincture, the serpent appearing to devour its own tail (ouroboros). This is familiar to most as a conventional symbol of eternity, but here it indicates more especially the eternity of attainment in the spirit. In the Magician's right hand is a wand raised towards heaven, while the left hand is pointing to the earth. This dual sign is known in very high grades of the Instituted Mysteries; it shows the descent of grace, virtue and light, drawn from things above and derived to things below. The suggestion throughout is therefore the possession and communication of the Powers and Gifts of the Spirit. On the table in front of the Magician are the symbols of the four Tarot suits, signifying the elements of natural life, which lie like counters before the adept, and he adapts them as he wills. Beneath are roses and lilies, the flos campi and lilium convallium1, changed into garden flowers, to show the culture of aspiration.
When you receive The Magician in a reading, you will have the ability to create. Directed visualization is an effective means to manipulate your reality. To do this, imagine yourself as you would like to be. Doing this on a regular basis will open up situations that will lead you to your goal. Communication by writing and speaking will allow you to influence others. These are your tools as a Magician.
High Preistess
She has the lunar crescent at her feet, a horned diadem on her head, with a globe in the middle place, and a large solar cross on her breast. The scroll in her hands is inscribed with the word Tora, signifying the Greater Law, the Secret Law and the second sense of the Word. It is partly covered by her mantle, to shew that some things are implied and some spoken. She is seated between the white and black pillars--J. and B. (Jachin and Boaz)--of the mystic Temple, and the veil of the Temple is behind her: it is embroidered with palms and pomegranates. The vestments are flowing and gauzy, and the mantle suggests light--a shimmering radiance.
She has been called occult Science on the threshold of the Sanctuary of Isis, but she is really the Secret Church, the House which is of God and man. She represents also the Second Marriage of the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of Eden. She is, in fine, the Queen of the borrowed light, but this is the light of all. She is the Moon nourished by the milk of the Supernal Mother.
In a manner, she is also the Supernal Mother herself--that is to say, she is the bright reflection. It is in this sense of reflection that her truest and highest name in bolism is Shekinah--the co-habiting glory. According to Kabalism, there is a Shekinah both above and below. In the superior world it is called Binah, the Supernal Understanding which reflects to the emanations that are beneath. In the lower world it is MaIkuth--that world being, for this purpose, understood as a blessed Kingdom that with which it is made blessed being the Indwelling Glory. Mystically speaking, the Shekinah is the Spiritual Bride of the just man, and when he reads the Law she gives the Divine meaning. There are some respects in which this card is the highest and holiest of the Greater Arcana.
This card often appears when you are just beginning to explore occult mysteries. The High Priestess opens your third eye or inner vision and teaches you on a subconscious level. Her chant is the voice of intuition.
When you get The High Priestess in a reading, you should listen to your inner voice. The High Priestess has opened the door to enlightenment. Reading and studying new information would be a good idea. You will pursue knowledge that may not be accepted by the status quo and by doing so will become a richer human being.
Empress
The Empress personifies the inexhaustible power of nature, with which she continues to bring forth new life. She therefore represents liveliness, fertility, growth, and the birth of something new. She is the infinite source of all life, which expresses our creative potential and our ability to absorb impulses and let something new arise through them. This means growth and fertility on the physical level, artistic creativity on the psychological level, imagination and ingenuity on the level of the intellect, and an increase in perception on the level of consciousness. The continual birth of the new means the constant transformation of our life, as well as the necessity to bear the pain of these births.
Emperor
The Emperor represents the structure-giving element, our desire for stability, security, and continuity. He shows our striving for independence from the conditionality of nature in all of its incalculability. He is the equivalent of our drive for civilization with which we build houses, heating and air conditioning systems to protect ourselves from heat, cold, and rain; cars and airplanes so that we can travel more comfortably and quickly than is possible on foot; and schools in order to secure a certain level of education. That too much of a good thing is sometimes done here should not stop us from appreciating properly the positive sides of this often distrustfully regarded card. The Emperor points out our sense of order, sobriety, discipline, responsibility, and pragmatic conduct, as well as the exaggeration thereof in the form of rigidity, lifelessness, perfectionism, a thirst for power, and an iron show of strength.
Depending on the location of this card and the surrounding influences, The Emperor will either mean that you are leading others or that someone has arrived to lead you. It often suggests that the subject needs to accept that some things may not be controllable, and other may not benefit from being controlled. The focus is on participating in society and adhering to laws and the government. You may also be in a position of responsibility and need to base your decisions on the feeling of fatherly love and what you know is right.
Hierophant
The Hierophant stands for the world of belief and a deep trust that stems from this conviction of faith. In older times, he was considered one of the three protective cards of the Tarot, which basically gave the course of a matter a favorable tendency. There is much to be said for this understanding of the card, since the power of trust that it expresses can be related to the trust we have in ourselves as well as the trust we have in a deeper sense in our personal lives and the resulting trust in our future. Moreover, this card shows the path of ethics and virtue and stands for the personal resolve resulting from our fundamental moral values.
Lovers
This card combines two topics. It indicates a great experience in love, yet also presents us with the perception that this step is connected with a necessary decision: the renunciation of the previous framework of life (the parental home, the bachelor existence, the many flirtations) and the clear avowal of one love. Only this step will lead to the overwhelming experience shown by the Lovers. This card therefore used to be called "The Decision." It can also indicate necessary decisions that have little or nothing to do with love. In such cases, it means that we must decide with our whole heart, without rancor, and without keeping an escape route open. Which of the two themes this card emphasizes can only be determined according to the background of the question asked. In any case, it means the great unconditional "yes
Chariot
The Chariot stands for the great leap forward. It shows that we can detach ourselves from our familiar surroundings and go our own way. In doing so, the desire for freedom, ambition, the search for paradise lost, or simply our own need for recognition are driving forces. The Chariot is the only Tarot card that shows the departure to be full of confidence and joy. In all other cases, parting is shown to be characterized by feelings of heaviness and fear. Here, however, is a vigorous, undaunted push forward, initiative, and a great willingness to take risks. The card shows a vast amount of skill (steering the chariot), but also inexperience (entering an unknown world). It must therefore be additionally understood as a warning not to overestimate one's own powers and act too self-confidently and euphorically. Instead, we should, in good time, gain the insight that we still have much to learn.
Strength
The card Strength has a certain kinship to the card of the Magician (I). Similar to that card, Strength also touches upon the extraordinary power of the secret of a deep, inner harmony. If the great influential strength of the Magician is founded upon the harmony of conscious and unconscious powers, then the vital energy, courage, and passion of this card is an expression of the reconciliation of the civilized person with his or her animal nature. In mythology, this is impressively portrayed by the friendship between Gilgamesch and Enkidu, his previous bitter enemy. This card makes it clear that we cannot aim to hide our instinctual nature behind pallid virtue but should open ourselves much more to encountering the living, sometimes terrifying archaic powers existing in each of us, in order to gradually tame them through loving acceptance and gentle force. When we do this, not only these primordial powers are available to us, but also all of the reserves of strength that we have used up until now to repress these instincts.
Hermit
The Hermit is the card of seclusion and turning within. It characterizes an introverted phase in life, during which we shield ourselves from outside influences. We find repose and, above all, are separate from bustling activity and crowds of people. The Hermit therefore stands for an important experience within, through which we can perceive who we are, what we want, and how we can get there. He unites two valuable extremes: the depth of experience and the heights of perception. This card is often wrongly feared by many people. It is only when its qualities are misunderstood that fears of loneliness and abandonment arise. The person who follows the call of the Hermit willingly will find enrichment through clarity, strength, and the joyful experience of being able to be alone with himself.
Wheel Fortune
According to the way in which we approach our destiny, we experience the Wheel of Fortune either as an expression of our powerlessness and helplessness or as an indication of a knowledge of life through which we can grow and mature. On the level of events, the Wheel actually often shows situations over which we have no influence at first. The downswing of the Wheel then means that our plans simply don't work out. The weather, the traffic, an air traffic controller's strike, the malice of an object, or some other "higher power" ruin our plans. The Wheel then shows us that the time has not (yet) come to put our plans into effect. This card in the other positions can be a valuable indication of how we can get to the other, ascending portion of the Wheel. It stands for a happy, pleasant, even surprising turn of events.
Justice
The card justice contains a number of interrelated topics. It stands for clear, objective knowledge, for conscious and decisively reached judgment, for incorruptibility, balance, and fairness. It shows that we will get what we deserve. On the everyday level it says that we experience our surroundings as our echo and will be confronted with the results of our actions, be they good or bad. If we behave in an upstanding and fair manner, our actions will be recognized and properly rewarded, but when we try to gain advantages by questionable means, we will fail. This card expresses a high degree of personal responsibility. It shows that nothing is given to us, but also that nothing is kept from us, so that we alone carry the responsibility for everything that we receive and experience.
Hanged Man
The Hanged Man, superficially seen, primarily means that we are stuck and in a dilemma. However, with more thorough consideration we can see that in the external immobility there is a forced repose, as well as the necessity and opportunity to achieve a transformed view of the world and change one's life. The passivity to which we are condemned in such phases is at best illustrated with the image of an illness, which is often actually indicated by this card. C. G. Jung says of the experience that the Hanged Man expresses: "To hang can ( ... ) even be a positively seen 'hanging on', which on the one hand means apparently insurmountable difficulties, yet on the other hand presents that unique situation that requires the greatest effort, and therefore calls the entire person into action.
Death
Death means parting, the great letting go, the end. It then also prepares the way for the new, for that which is to come. However, the card itself first presents us with the end. This can be positive when it relates to a long wished for, liberating ending, yet it is also natural that we have our most painful experiences with the theme of this card. In contrast to the 10 of Swords, which indicates the random and thereby premature ending, this card always stands for the natural end. This means that it is time to let go of something. The Death card is unjustly one of the most feared. The eternal embellishers, who do not understand it, read the card only to be the proclamation of something new and want to deny us the deep experience of parting and the related life-accepting experiences. "We have separated living from dying and the interval between them is fear" says Krishnamurti, and: "You cannot live without dying."
Temperance
The meaning of the Temperance card is easier to understand if we call it "Moderation." It personifies the healthy opposite of the next card in the Tarot game - the Devil (XV), which stands for immoderation. Harmony, balance, composure, and peace of mind are the elements that characterize Temperance. This card, then, portrays the joyous experience of being healthy and inwardly balanced, liking and treating ourselves well. This results in our coming into harmony with our surroundings. Connected with the corresponding questions, this card stands for healing and recovery.
Devil
Of all the Tarot cards, the Devil is the most difficult to comprehend (in keeping with his nature), since he wears an individual face for each person. The experience that he characterizes is marked by dependence, loss of will, the failure of good intentions, as well as courses of action that go against our convictions. The Devil corresponds to the dark side of many Tarot cards: in contrast to the Magician (I), he is the Black Magician. He is part of the dark side of the High Priestess (II); the insincerity and worship of materialism shown in the opposing principle of the Hierophant (V); the side of the Lovers (VI) that has degenerated to a power struggle or soulless lustfulness; and the corruptible or self-righteous shadow of justice (XI). He embodies the unbridled greed of Strength (VIII); intemperance in contrast to proper Temperance (XIV). He is the ruler of wide portions of the Moon (XVIII) landscape. The Devil naturally appears to us in his most enticing form as the Tempter. The card shows that we are playing with fire and have to be as careful as hell (!) not to burn our fingers in the process. On a deeper level it means that the background of the question brings us into contact with our own shadow side.
Tower
The Tower shows that we have walled ourselves into an area of supposed security that suddenly starts to waver. This is very much a matter of structures and dimensions that have become too small and narrow for us. Convictions and basic principles of life could be affected by this, as well as our thoughts of security in the professional and financial sense. Last but not least, our personal friendships and other partnerships could also be influenced. In every case, the Tower stands for a concept that used to give us a reassuring measure of security, perhaps even a feeling of safety. But now we have grown out of it. These old concepts are usually toppled by surprising experiences, sometimes even true flashes of genius. Since this is a matter of the supposed basis of our security, these sudden changes are often first experienced as catastrophes. It is only when the first shock has been overcome that we sense with relief that we have been freed from old burdens. This breakthrough can be triggered through our own perceptions as well as external events. The I Ching says in this regard: "The storm with its thunder and lightning overcomes the disturbing tension in nature."
Star
The Star is the card of hope, wisdom, and insight into higher correlations. It shows that we are planning or starting things that will reach far into the future. We can rightfully place our hopes in their positive development. At this early stage we are often not even aware of the far-reaching consequences of our actions. It is only when we look back that we realize how the course has been set during the times characterized by the Star. Similar to a newly planted seed, some time is necessary before the fruitful effects of our actions become perceptible. In traditional card reading, the Star is seen to be one of the three protective cards that proclaim joyful success.
Moon
The Moon card leads us into the mysterious realm of darkness and night; into the image world of the soul; to our premonitions, desires, and dreams. The bright side of the Moon means romantic dreaminess, lively fantasies, and a strong sensitivity. Yet this card tends to show the dark side, the depths of the soul, gloomy foreboding, and the dread of the invisible and intangible. It is the terror that we feel when we walk through a deserted forest at night, although we don't think twice about crossing it during the day. It teaches us the nature of fear in the dark. Or it is the ancient dread of the demons that have now received new names in our enlightened times: bacteria, viruses, millirems, becquerels, lead-polluted air, and acid rain.
Sun
The Sun card expresses a great joy of living, vitality, warmth, and confidence. It also stands for the illuminating powers of the conscious mind with which we achieve clarity and overcome problems, annoyances, and uncanny fears. It is additionally a symbol of youthful freshness and the feeling of being reborn. It represents the sunny side of life. On a deeper level, it challenges us to overcome the darkness in ourselves, expand our sunlike nature, and free our "darkened" brother or sister and bring them into the light.
Judgment
The card of judgment is easily misunderstood when we consider its name. judgment, particularly the Last judgment that is meant here, is primarily associated with punishment, damnation, and therefore with fear and terror. However, the meaning of a card must always be derived from the picture and the emotional and mythological images that are behind it. The resurrection portrayed here shows the moving experience of releasing and liberating that which was buried or imprisoned before. It shows that the truth, the divine, is ascending from the dungeon and entering the light. This then gives the card a completely positive meaning. It shows the decisive step to becoming oneself, the successful process of alchemical transformation from which something higher is created from a base substance. On a more everyday level, this card signifies every form of liberation: from worries and need, from unthankful situations and bonds, from inhibitions and timidity. It can also be an indication that our "treasure" is inherent to the plans characterized by this card.
World
The World shows the unity that has been regained, the experience of greatest harmony, and the joyful conclusion of a development. Putting the beauty of this card into words means risking the danger of describing a mawkishly happy ending. On the journey of the hero it shows the blissful conclusion and paradise regained. Interpreted for our lives this means that we have reached our goal. Only in a few cases does this mean the goal in life has been attained - usually an important intermediate stage is meant instead. In terms of external experiences this means that we have found our place, the place where we simply belong. On the level of inner experiences, this card shows that we have taken a significant, perhaps even decisive step towards becoming who we are, towards true authenticity and wholeness. On the plane of events it stands for the world of happy times in which we enjoy our existence with openness and vitality. It can also mean that we maintain international contacts or plans to travel.
A spread is a preset pattern for laying out the cards that has its own particular interpretation and meaning. It defines how many cards are to be drawn, and what each one will mean. A spread is a template guiding the placement of the cards so they can help us get more insight into a given topic. Some spreads use only a few cards while others, many. Each spread is designed for a particular type of reading. Some are well-suited to general readings where no particular question is being asked, others work best when a specific question is being explored, and others are geared towards gauging the time scales involved in a reading.
The Triskele Spread
Just as the figure from which this spread gets its name consists of three branches radiating from a common center, so the Triskele Spread shows present concerns at the focal point of past, future and ultimate influences. This compact yet powerful spread can be used to address a specific issue, or it can be used for a more general reading. To prepare the reading, five cards are selected and dealt in the order shown. They are then interpreted in turn as follows:
1 The Covering
The important events, issues, attitudes or influences around the question or current situation
2 The Crossing
Current obstacles, problems, conflicts and opposition that the questioner must deal with
3 The Root
Past events or influences that have played a role in bringing about the current situation
4 The Future
Future events and fresh influences about to come into play that will operate in the near future
5 The Outcome
The eventual outcome of events shown by the other cards
The Horseshoe Spread
The Horseshoe is a simple spread of seven cards arranged, unsurprisingly, something like a horseshoe. This spread is often considered to be more applicable to a specific question than a general reading, though it may be used for either. To prepare the reading, seven cards are selected and dealt in the order shown. They are then interpreted in turn as follows:
1 The Past
Important events, issues or attitudes that have given rise to the current situation
2 The Present
The prevailing circumstances around the questioner
3 Hopes and Fears
The questioner's hopes, fears and expectations about the question or situation
4 Obstacles
Current obstacles, problems and conflicts that the questioner must deal with
5 Environment
The attitudes and actions of other people around the questioner
6 The Future
Future events and fresh influences about to come into play
7 The Outcome
The eventual outcome of events shown by the other cards
The Celtic Cross
The Celtic Cross (sometimes called the Grand Cross) is probably the most common spread used to read the Tarot, though it is not the easiest to master. It is often stated that this spread is only suitable for answering a specific question, but in actual fact it works very well for general readings, too. The Celtic Cross is usually (though not always) used with a significator, selected during the preparatory phase of the reading. The significator is placed face-up on the table and the selected cards laid out as above, with the first card being placed face-down over the significator, the second across it and the rest around it. Some readers opt to say the following phrases as each card is laid down in turn:
If using a significator, place the card in the center of the table, and lay the number one card for the reading immediately over it. Then proceed with the rest of the cards.
Card 1: The question
The first card to be laid down represents the question in the mind of the querent. This can be a question they are asking consciously, or it can be something that is in the back of their mind.
Card 2: What covers the question
The second card is laid across the first card horizontally, and can be interpreted to mean an obstacle to the querent's question, or it can be another factor in the question itself.
Card 3: Thought and expectations.
The third card is laid down on the table below the first two, and it represents an issue or element in the querent's past which has influenced him or her to become the person he or she is today. This can be a recent event or a long-ago time, and it affects how this person views the situation they are in which has prompted them to seek tarot counseling.
Card 4: The foundation.
The fourth card in the spread is laid directly to the left of the first and second cards, and represents the phase which the querent has recently been in and is just now leaving the influence of. This is the sub-consious. It can be either an emotional or mental phase, or it can show actual events or people in the querent's life which have been influential recently.
Card 5: The near past.
The fifth card in the spread is laid down above all the rest of the cards, and represents one possible outcome of the situation the querent is going through presently or something from the near past that is influencing the current situation.
Card 6: The near future.
The sixth card is laid out directly to the right of the first and second cards, and represents the phase the querent is going to be passing into, what will happen in the near future. Like the fourth card, the sixth can mean either an emotional or mental phase, or an actual person or event in the querent's life.
Card 7: The inner world.
The seventh card gets laid out to the right of the sixth card, and lower down, to begin forming a column on the side. This card represents the unconscious or subconscious feelings of the querent regarding the situation in question. It can be a person or an event, insofar as the querent is focused on them mentally, however, it is usual that the meaning is more about the emotion than an actual person or event.
Card 8: The outer world.
The eighth card is laid out above the seventh and represents an outside perspective on the situation in question. Usually this is interpreted as the way the querent's family and friends view the situation he or she is in. Things which are read in this position are to be noted strongly for the perspective which they can give the querent, however in no way do they reflect the actual oucome or events in the situation.
Card 9: Hopes and fears.
The ninth card is laid out above the eight and represents the querent's goals, hopes, fears and expectations regarding the situation in question. This can mean avoidance goals (things the querent wishes to avoid) as well as goals the querent would like to fulfill. This can be either emotional or mental, or an event. It is unlikely that an actual person will be represented here.
Card 10: The outcome.
The tenth card is laid out at the top of the column and represents the Final Outcome as it pertains to the querent's situation at hand. All of the cards leading up to this card should be considered as lending their own meaning to its context; in other words, this card represents the sum total of the reading and all the other information gathered. As with any outcome, if the querent changes the path he or she is on, this outcome's probability also changes. It can be used as a warning or an alert to watch for certain kinds of activity in the querent's life, or as a form of advice as to how to handle a certain situation in question. A few readers consider that if they feel the tenth and final card does not indicate the ultimate culmination of the reading, another reading should be performed using this card as significator, for clarification.
15 card layout
Also known as The English Spread
Cards 2-1-3: Here and now.
1 is the querent's general state.
2 is the internal aspects of the querent's environment (i.e. mental/intellectual influences).
3 is the external environment (i.e. physical/material influences).
Cards 4-8-12: Events and influences in the 'near future'
8 is the querent's general state.
4 is the internal influences or ordeals.
12 is the external influences or ordeals.
Cards 13-9-5: Events and influences further into the future,
but not so far as to be blind. Maybe a week or a month at the most.
9 is the querent's general state.
13 is the internal influences or ordeals.
5 is the external influences or ordeals.
Cards 14-10-6: Influences or events. These cards represents the mode of the influences or events in either or both the near future and the further future.
10 is the querent's general state.
14 is the internal influences or ordeals.
6 is the external influences or ordeals.
Cards 7-11-15: Likely outcome. This is the likely outcome of these events, if things go as they currently are and the appropriate methods or influences are perceived and employed.
11 the querent's general state or state change.
7 the querent's internal state or growth.
15 the querent's external result or manifestation
6 card layout
Card 1: The past. Represents a portion of the past that is the basis of the question.
Card 2: Emphasis. This card also represents the past and is an emphasis card telling more about what led up to present situation.
Card 3 and 4: Energy surrounding the question. Factors in play at the time of the question which are important to be considered.
What the inquiring person feels about the present situation..
If it's about a relationship:
The cards represents male and female attitudes about the question.
It is NOT specified which card is male and which is female. You'll just have to know!
Card 5: What to work for. What needs to happen or be worked for, to attain the outcome.
Card 6: The outcome.
The outcome or immediate future.
5 card layout
It's a five-card spread for use with specific questions. The reader asks the querent to shuffle the cards. The reader takes the cards and asks the querent to chose five numbers; the first one has to be between one and 78, the second between one and 77 and so on. The reader picks the card from the deck (starting from the top) that corresponds with each number. Lay them out in a horizontal line from left to right.
The first card on the left is the situation as it stands now; what will happen if the querent takes no action and continues on the present course.
The second card represents what the querent could do to change that situation, whether for better or worse.
The third card represents why the querent is in this situation.
The fourth card represents forces (internal or external or both) that can help or hinder the querent.
The fifth card is what the outcome will be if the querent follows the changes represented by the second card.
THE ENGLISH SPREAD
The primary purpose of this spread is to provide information on choices in a querent's life. It is made up of five groups of three cards. The numbers on the cards show their order of placement. In the four quadrants, the spread is read from the outside cards to the inside cards.
When the cards are read, they are done so in a story book fashion. For example, if the following cards were present:
12: King of Swords
8: Two of Cups
4: Eight of Wands
These cards could be read: A man, one of thinking and intellect, will make a proposal to you in the very near future.
Card One: This represents the Querent, the problems surrounding them, their present situation and primary influences. This position is a card of summation, telling the nature of the entire spread.
Cards Two and Three: These in conjunction with card One, are the key cards of the spread. They give extended information on the situation of the Querent, and provide clues on the outcome of the paths indicated.
Cards Twelve, Eight, and Four (Upper Left): These show one direction in the Querent's life. If desired, the position can be the possibilities for alternate action, which may be desirable or un desirable, depending on the other cards in the spread.
Cards Thirteen, Nine, and Five: These show a another direction in the Querent's life. If desired, the position show the direction the Querent's life will naturally follow, unless some action is taken to change this course ("The Stars impel, they do not compel").
Cards Fifteen, Eleven, and Seven: These show what cannot not be changed. In all lives, there are events that are out of our control. To be aware of these events keeps one from wasting energy and time.
Cards Fourteen, Ten, and Six: These cards show where the Querent has leverage in life. This can indicate a strength, or provide a warning
THE WHEEL SPREAD
The Wheel Spread is used when there is no specific question. The strength of this spread is that it provides information about all areas of a person's life.
The twelve cards represent the twelve zodiac houses. When a card is interpreted, it is done so in the meaning of the house the card is placed in.
PYRAMID SPREAD
By James Schlesselman
This spread is based on the Tree Of Life glyph as found in the Kabalah. The cards are layed out in a sequence which follows the "path of the flaming sword", which is the traditional order in which each circle or, "sephira", is manifested on the Tree. The two lower sephira, numbers 9 and 10, are "raised up" to fit between the 7th and 8th sephira to form the pyramid configuration. The first card is refered to as the "key card", while the sixth is called the "core card".
The interpretation may then proceed from this literal "Tree of Life" format in which each card is referred to its corresponding sephira on the Tree, and is considered in light of the qualities thereof, or, once the spread has been generated, one may choose to "detach" from the "Tree of Life" format and introduce one or more of any number of possible configurations that form new patterns, or grids, based on various structural relationships.
Here is an explanation of the nine sample patterns by James Schlesselman
Wedge
The key card oversees. The three solid black cards represent influences descending from above that wedges in between the two three card pyramids that represent two different ways of receiving and dealing with the solid black cards.
Grand triangle
Three three-card pyramids placed around the core card.
Grid and wheel
The solid black cards represent solid, fixed, male, or yang energies. The white cards represent yielding, moving, female, or yin energies.
Double whammy
The key card oversees two six-card pyramids representing two possible outcomes, or yin and yang, etc. The three-card pyramid at the bottom center is an area where the two six-card pyramids overlap and are integrated.
Reducing
The key card, "x", absorbs or pulls up the two outer rows, "y and z", forming a single three-card pyramid comprised of "x,y,and, z". (all of the "component" cards are considered in this "reduced" pyramid.) This simplifies (reduces) the reading into two three-card pyramids consisting of "x, y, and, z" and the three "a" cards respectively.
3 pillars
This reflects a direct correspondence to the three pillars of Severity, Mildness, and Mercy found on the Tree of Life. (see either of the above mentioned books)
3 dimensional
As the name implies this pattern "pops out" at you, so the core (black) card is the uppermost point of a cone, while the six cards (grey) surrounding it are the central portion of the cone, and the three corner cards form the base. Or, the direction can be viewed in reverse, so the core card is furthest away, as if your looking into a tunnel.
Triple mesh
three three-card pyramids whose bases are represented by "A, B, and,C". the points of these pyramids can be outward pointing, represented by "X", or they can point inward and share a common point represented by "O".
Yod, He, Vau, He
Derived from the Tetragrammaton, this represents the sacred progression of manifestation. From the top of the layoout it's: the point, the line, the triangle, and the square.
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