New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
Forget those long, complicated spreads; try spending an hour or more with just one tarot card. With a little diligence you will receive more detailed information with one card than from a large spread read quickly. You will need a full deck with scenes depicted on all the cards, or just the twenty-two Major Arcana from any deck. Shuffle and draw one card while asking, "What do I most need to look at in my life right now?" Read the card upright using the following steps, trying all of them, in the order given, at least once. After that you can focus on the steps that suit you best. When reading a spread, use these techniques to ignite your own ideas and explore significant cards in ...
The Major Arcana comes to us in a numbered sequence, and over time that sequence has become a vital part of the cards' interpretation. Most tarot commentators do not look to the Magician only for its individual qualities but as card I, the beginning of the journey. For Qabalists, the order of the cards determines what pathway each one occupies on the Tree of Life. And yet, part of the glory of the tarot lies in the fact that these are cards and not a bound book. Instead of a fixed sequence, they actually form an entirely new order every time we shuffle and lay them out. Let us imagine, for the moment, that the tarot indeed comes from spirit guides (the Radiant Ones, or the Shining Tribe, ...
Although tarot and astrology are separate disciplines, occultists have drawn symbolic connections between the two systems. We can use this combined symbolism to suggest themes for contemplation and meditation. As the sun traverses each sign of the zodiac, we can attune ourselves symbolically to this solar cycle by reflecting on the Major Arcana cards associated with the current sign. We can refine this process by also considering the minor cards in each tarot suit that reflect the elemental nature (earth, air, water, fire) of the sign. Following the tradition of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, this article reviews each zodiac sign in succession, beginning with January of 2001. ...
It is not known exactly where and when the tarot came into existence. Some believe that it originated in ancient Egypt and was brought to Europe by the Rom, or "Gypsies," as they traveled to Europe from India. The oracle's first appearance in Europe appears to have been in the late fourteenth century, probably in Italy, either as a complete seventy-eight card deck or two smaller decks that were later combined to form the version we use today. Because the tarot was devised using principles of the Qabala, astrology, and numerology, it is possible that philosophical scholars of the day chose to encrypt esoteric secrets into the cards, to preserve those secrets during the impending atmosphere ...
