TAROT
by Antinous
The Tarot: is it just a deck of cards or a window to the future? In the last thirty years, Tarot has become one of the most widely recognized aspects of the Ancient Traditions and a cornerstone of the New Age movement. Its origins are confused and controversial. Some say that the Tarot is Egyptian in origin, containing hidden keys to lost mysteries. Some say that it came from the Gypsies; at least they seem to have some facillity with it. Some say that the Tarot arose with playing cards in the Italy of the Rennaissance.
What can definately be said is that in the nineteenth century, Arthur Edward Waite commissioned a new design for the 78 cards. This deck, known as the Rider Waite Tarot, has become the most popular deck in modern history. This can be attributed to the ease with which interpretations can be made.
The Tarot deck is a set of 78 cards whose random pairing and patterns are supposed to predict the future and provide advice. A deck contains four suits (cups, swords, pentacles and wands - or something similar) with 15 cards in each. These cards are called the Minor Arcana and are mixed in with a set of 18 archetypal or power cards called the Major Arcana. By randomly placing the cards in a predefined pattern a divination is made. For example, if the architypal card called The Tower is placed in the "future" spot, a great change is predicted. Other cards have different meanings, some more subtle than others.
Waite's deck became popular because it is easy to read the meanings by the illustrations on the cards. What is not always so easy to understand is the advice given by tarot readings. Some say it is a meditation tool, not an oracle of mystic truths.
Whether you see the Tarot as a reflection of witchcraft, or a utilization of Jungian archetypes, or as a silly parlor game, there's a ton of resouces on the Web. Here are a few.
ORBITALS!
|
|
ME