Tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore's personal and professional lives for nearly twenty years. Right from the start, tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, history, mystery, and magic. She has studied under...
Depending on who you ask, the meaning of any card can be summed up in a single word, a sentence, a list of key words, a paragraph, or an essay. In a sense, all of those answers are correct. A single word can be used to remind the reader of an entire lifetime's learning about a card. A lengthy article can open up new and fascinating layers of a card. What if I told you that you needed to know an essay's worth of information about a card before you start reading the cards? I know that would have put me off, and I might never have begun. I don't want to give you a word or an essay, but rather I want to give you a foundation so that you can begin reading quickly and thus gain experience, build confidence, and develop your own unique interpretations and reading style.
To do that, I will focus on core meanings based on the image on each card. Dreams and symbols are how our subconscious talks to our conscious mind. Similarly, the images and symbols on the cards build a bridge between our heart and mind. There is a reason we are so drawn to the art on the tarot cards. The images move our souls and trigger our imaginations, letting us see answers and possibilities that eluded us previously.
This book is illustrated with three decks. First, the Universal Waite Tarot, which is based on the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot (the 1909 deck that is the granddaddy of most decks designed today). This version is a very close copy but redrawn and recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts. Second, the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, the third deck created by Ciro Marchetti, an award-winning and celebrated tarot artist, perhaps one of the best known of our day. And third, Shadowscapes, a beautiful new deck by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law with a focus on fantasy, mythology, and the natural world.
The section for each card will begin with a core meaning that applies to the card in general, followed by commentary on the three individual cards and how the images relate to the core meaning. The text will point out how the images illustrate or express the core meaning as well as how they may show subtle (or not so subtle) differences in focus. By looking at three variations in the same tradition, you'll learn how to really look at and read any card images. Once you see how easy it is to do this—how the core meanings are simply another way to say what the image conveys—you can then combine the core meaning and the image of any deck to create your own divinatory meanings that make sense to you.
The core meanings provided here have been carefully crafted and should prove to be very useful as a foundation. However, your intuition trumps everything. If you do not see the stated core meaning in the image, don't use it. Use what you see. You, after all, are the reader.
Whenever tarotists talk about the cards, it is often difficult to leave personal judgment or philosophy or advice out of the discussion. For example, in regard to the Eight of Swords, I have been known to say that although the woman is bound, blindfolded, and surrounded by swords, she can easily walk away if she wants to (her legs are unfettered). However, the image does not really show whether she can easily escape or not—it simply depicts a precarious situation. The idea that she can "easily walk away" says more about my attitude toward difficult situations than about the card image. The core meanings in this book attempt to leave behind assumptions or judgments and simply present the situation pictured in the card. The inherent goodness or badness of it is, in the end, up to you and, ultimately, the querent.
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While it is very true that these core meanings are based on the images, there are a few quaint, old-fashioned fortunetelling meanings that simply delight me. Whenever these cards show up in readings, they always make me smile. They are not based on the images; indeed, I'm not really sure what they're based on besides old divination methods. But I will share these little oddities with you, which you can promptly forget or keep in your back pocket to use whenever appropriate. The Ace of Pentacles is one of my favorites; A. E. Waite wrote that this is the most fortuitous card in the deck. The Three of Wands means that good luck is on the way. The Nine of Cups was called the "wish card" and meant that your wish would be granted.
Learning core meanings for the cards will give you a good foundation upon which to build your own interpretations. As you go along, you will increase in confidence and develop your style. You will learn different techniques, some of which you will discard and some of which you will keep. Sometimes the cards will reveal a sense of humor; once, I read for a woman who wondered about pursuing a career in professional dance. I said something about if the World card shows up, we'll know she should, because the figure on that card is sometimes called "the world dancer." Wouldn't you know it ... the World was the first card we drew.
On the following pages, you will find three images of each card, the core meaning, an expanded meaning, and specific explorations of the three individual images. The cards are presented in the following order:
The Major Arcana, 0–XXI
The Suit of Wands, Ace–10
The Suit of Cups, Ace–10
The Suit of Swords, Ace–10
The Suit of Pentacles, Ace–10
The Pages (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles)
The Knights (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles)
The Queens (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles)
The Kings (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles)
The court cards are quite different than the Major Arcana cards and the numbered Minor Arcana. There are four cards in each rank, and these four cards share important characteristics. Instead of repeating the same information four times over, each set of cards will be prefaced by a little introduction that tells about the qualities of each rank.
It's almost time for you to meet the cards. You can turn the page and start reading, going in the order presented here, or you can shake things up a bit. Shuffle your deck, randomly pick a card, and then read about it. Go through your deck, pick cards that appeal to you, and read about them first. Or try the opposite and start with cards that make you slightly uncomfortable or a little nervous. Personally, I'd start with the pretty ones and save the less-fun ones for a later—but then, I am the type to eat dessert first.
The Major Arcana
Although usually considered the important cards in the deck—they are, after all, the "big" secrets—the Major Arcana cards are often among the easiest to interpret. This is because they are based on archetypes, which are kind of like stock
characters, like "good cops" and "bad cops" or "evil genius" or "gentle giant." Archetypes are similar to stereotypes but rather grander. They refer to mythological roles, such as the Mother, the Father, the Hero, the Wise Old Man. We can usually identify these characters when we meet them in movies or books. Even though these characters are individuals, we know something about them and about their nature because, on some level, we know and understand the archetype.
In addition to their core meanings, the Major Arcana cards bring an air of importance to a reading. They are, by name and nature, significant experiences, and their presence indicates a life lesson or experience. Like their historic role as trump cards, they can change the direction of the querent's life.
