CHAPTER 1
THE TAROT
You cannot be aware without interpretation for what you perceive is yourinterpretation.
—A Course in Miracles
The tarot is a collection of 78 pictures presented in the form of a deck ofcards. It is divided into three sections: the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana,and the Court Cards.
For a long time, most people weren't sure what the pictures represented. Therewere plenty of theories, and opinions abounded, but as far as there being anytangible evidence or any sort of general consensus, the meaning of the tarot,except to a scholarly few, remained elusive. What was clear, however, even fromthe beginning, is that in some way the tarot was a picture compilation ofuniversal imagery and symbology. It contains the symbols found in everycivilization—ancient and modern—in the form of paintings, sculptures, drawings,icons, legends, myths, religions, and to make a very long story short, in everyphysical, mental, emotional, and spiritual form people have ever been able tomold, dream, imagine, express, or squeeze them into. The tarot is cosmogonal. Itis a collection of symbols that crosses all boundaries of culture, time, andspace; a compilation of inexorable imagery which has existed for eons, andcontinues to reside in the collective unconscious of all human beings. No oneknows exactly how old the tarot is, nor do we know for sure who created it. Itis possible that it originated in Egypt or China. It has been associated withthe gypsies— descendants of the Egyptians who eons ago migrated to Europe, thusthe derivation of the name, gypsies. There is also evidence it may be associatedwith the ancient Taoist philosophy of China. Tao means "the way" or "the path"which is what tarot also means, and there are parallels between the ancientwritings, meditational practices, and teachings of the Tao and tarot. However,we do not know for sure where, why, or how the tarot originated, and the onlything we can say positively is that it is, without doubt, extremely old.Officially, the first tarot deck goes back to the 14th century, andunofficially, to pre-dynasty Egypt.
In addition to its two factors of universal symbology and enduring antiquity,another significant factor noticed about the tarot is that the Minor Arcana andCourt Cards are basically the same as a modern deck of regular playing cards. Noone knows how or where playing cards originated either, nor why they aredepicted and arranged the specific way they are. Even though at one time,whoever created the tarot and playing cards obviously knew what they were doing,it hasn't been until the 20th century that a prevalent consensus has beenreached on what the pictures actually represent. It is now generally acceptedthat both the tarot and playing cards, each in their own fashion, arerepresentations of the archetypes. The archetypes, as they are found in thetarot, and in religion, are divided into a trinity.
MAJOR ARCANA
The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards depicting the 22 major archetypes; hence,their etymological root with the words arcana and archangels. They are calledMajor because they are the archetypes which are contained within the collectiveunconscious of humanity and all of life, and thus they are universal in contentrather than individual.
MINOR ARCANA
The Minor Arcana is a total of 40 cards which show the various ways the 22archetypes of the Major Arcana are experienced in day-to-day living. C. G. Jung,the father of humanistic psychology, believed that archetypes tend towardmanifestation. This being the case, it may be said that the Minor Arcana is theMajor manifesting itself on the physical plane, or that universal consciousnessis displaying itself in individual consciousness.
COURT CARDS
The Court Cards are pictures of the sixteen different personality types. You mayask why sixteen types, rather than 10 or 20, or any other number? Whyspecifically sixteen? It seems that, once again, whoever the creators of thetarot were knew exactly what they were doing. Between 1913 and 1917 C. G. Jungwrote his now famous book, Psychological Types, first published in 1923. In hisbook Jung describes eight different personality types. Later, Katharine Briggsand Isabel Myers expanded Jung's original theory of eight psychological typesinto sixteen. Briggs and Myers devised a test, or type indicator, now called theMyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is so uncannily precise that today itis considered by many to be the most accurate tool available to ascertainpersonality type, and is used in companies, universities, and counseling centersaround the world. The MBTI is based on sixteen personality types according tothe four Jungian functions of sensation, emotion, thinking, and intuition, andit is these sixteen archetypal personality types which the Court Cardsrepresent. Although, as far as we know, Jung and Myers-Briggs were in no wayconnected with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which in the early 20thcentury also described the sixteen court cards, the Golden Dawn's descriptionscorrespond with eerie precision to the personalities established by the MBTI.
The Major Arcana are universal invisible archetypes, sometimes calledArchangels, Angels, Spirits, High Selves, Inner Guides, or the superconscious.The Minor cards show how the Major Arcana are displayed in individual archetypalevents, situations, or in issues that take place on Earth. And the Court Cardsindicate archetypal behavior and personality.
Realizing that the tarot is 78 depictions of archetypes does not, however,enlighten us as to what an archetype precisely is. Psychologists, esotericists,and theologians talk about archetypes without providing us with cleardefinitions. Archetypes form the backbone of modern psychology. They are theimages from whence derive the angels and devils of all religions. The heroes andvillains of fairy tales, myths, modern novels, and movies, the good guy in thewhite hat and the bad guy in the black hat, the good guy's trusty steed, and thehapless heroine waiting to be rescued are all archetypal. Archetypes are paintedon cathedral walls and holy temples, and corporations unwittingly structuretheir hierarchy in their image. They appear in the works of Leonardo DaVinci,Michelangelo, Salvador Dali, and all artists and musicians everywhere.Archetypes form the basis of every book ever written, every movie ever made, andevery song ever sung. Archetypes are found around us in every form and motion.
To discover what archetypes are in actuality, it is perhaps useful to look at afew of the various ways different scholars over the ages have...
