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fortune_favors
For
the opening round of this fest, it's natural to begin with the Tarot deck that is considered the most well-known and widely owned. It is often called the first 'modern' Tarot deck because of its shift from Christianity and occult influences to a more abstract symbolism in its depictions. A. E. Waite thought up the concepts present in the deck himself, but Pamela Colman Smith was the one to illustrate them; putting his thoughts through her eyes. The deck was finalized in 1909 and is still massively popular today.How to Read the Tarot?
A Tarot deck can seem intimidating at first glance, but anyone can learn to read the cards. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to read. A great starting point is what strikes first. Is it the color, a symbol, the number? What is your immediate reaction or feeling? Do any words jump out in your head? Humans are beings that derive meaning from what we see. You don't have to search anything up. Rather, look within and listen to what your intuition is telling you.
A Tarot deck consists of 78 cards. These 78 cards can be divided into two categories: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.
Major Arcana:
MaA cards are treated with greater importance. They represent life lessons and long-term influences.
Minor Arcana:
The MiA come in four suits each associated with a specific element: Wands (Fire), Cups (Water), Swords (Air), and the Pentacles (Earth). As you can imagine, these suits take on the characteristics of their corresponding element.
They can also be divided further down into face cards (Court cards) and numbered ones (pip cards). Court cards can represent a person in the subject's life or the subject themselves. Shorter-term influences are present in the pip cards.
Reversed Cards: Optionally, cards can be read in their reversed state. Some people choose not to include this option. When it is part of a reading, the intended meaning is usually opposite the card's normal one. However it can also allude to the "meaning being 'diluted' somehow, or being present on a lower level, or blocked and not being able to express itself. Also, reversed cards may be related to not wanting what the upright card stands for. Maybe because you don't need it in your life anymore, or it's harming you, or it's something you see around you and reject, or it's something you should stop doing" (theseatheseatheopensea).
A reading usually comes with a spread or a number of spreads. A Tarot spread is a specific arrangement of cards prescribed with a specific intention. The meaning of the reading changes with the question(s) being asked.
Suits
Cups:
These cups are draped in religious imagery. They are used to represent a person or people you carry deep emotion towards. It's not necessarily a positive emotion or a romantic one; they only indicate people who stir up heavy and unavoidable feelings.
You can consider the cup to represent a heart. Whether empty or full, the heart is at the forefront in this suit. This is the suit of experiences and passions. It deals with what moves people, what people hold close, and those events in life we all unavoidably go through.
Water, the element of emotion.
Months or Autumn
Pentacles:
Can sometimes be referred to as the coins. This suit indicates the lower class: the people who are concerned with the day-to-day, who have no time to dream because they need to put food on their tables, to take care of their families. It represents our mundane worries and our daily grind. We look to this suit for the status of our finances, possessions, our home.
You can also look at the Pentacles as a long journey to build something long-lasting; whether that’s a relationship, wealth, reputation, or something else is up to interpretation. The things we put work into, that we expect to evolve and hopefully flourish over time are what's represented. Matters with material gain (that which enriches us or others) are what we pursue and maintain here.
Earth, the element of foundations. It’s a very physically orientated suit and in that way, it can also refer to the physical health of someone. It's the element of work, of labor.
Years or Winter
Swords:
In the time and place that this Tarot deck was conceived, Swords were really only available to the nobility and thus this suit takes on the characteristics of that social class. Intellectual pursuits were a path only open to the nobility: the sciences, philosophy, music. This is a suit driven by both logical reasoning and creativity.
This suit indicates control and power over others. They also represent change. We can also think of swords and what they bring about: abrupt and oftentimes violent actions/situations, revolutions (turbulent change). They represent driving motivations, big ideas.
Swords bring fear. Things we’re afraid of, things we don't want to face, this suit deals with all of that. Consequences, dread, anxieties all are brought out; these cards are motivated by these things. They're emotionally charged.
Air, the element of intellect.
Weeks or Spring
Wands:
A suit that hails growth. When I think about these cards, I think about journeys people take and how they affect them. The holder of a wand can bring forth change. Internal struggles, challenges, and hardship frequently spur on growth. It could mean the changing of a mindset, an opening to a different viewpoint.
Wanderlust is the primary emotion underlying these cards. There is a desired situation or horizon, and it is the adventure in trying to obtain that is illustrated.
The Wands signify passion, enthusiasm, desires, the pursuit of something; it's a very individually focused suit, but definitely one that leans in a positive direction.
Fire, the element of life, of nurturing and destruction. Characteristics like competitiveness and hot-bloodedness are indicated when signifying a person.
Days or Summer
Numerology
Numerology is the belief that numbers have meaning. Because we can understand the world through the scientific means of algorithm, geometry, and pattern, we can also use numbers to understand ourselves.
When a certain number or numbers keep coming up, you should pay attention.
1:
- creation and the self
- new beginnings
- ambition
- forward progress
- self-leadership and drive
- strength from self-reliance
The first step on the journey. The beginning of anything— the inception of an idea, an action, a venture. This number consists of raw energy— no form of substance to the energy. It is immediate and powerful, but new, uncontrolled, and unstable.
2:
- balance
- harmony
- diplomacy
- partnerships and relationships
- adaptability
- faith and trust
This is the number of relationships and the decisions we make. Twos are about the single becoming the pair; it's a joining together with another.
When there is Two, there is conflict— the struggle between the push and the pull. There must be harmony, but it takes effort to maintain the balance. It’s a shift from the egoistical One to the negotiation and compromise necessary for Two.
3:
- self-expression
- inspiration and creativity
- enthusiasm and spontaneity
- communication
- growth and expansion
- optimism
The Three might be considered to be the end result of an integration of forces. Two come together, and between them create the third, a creation which is wholly unique, and neither of the initiating partners would be able to create the same result with others.
4:
- patience, loyalty, and devotion
- pragmatism
- determination
- morals and values
- hard-work and diligence
- honesty and integrity
This is the number of foundations. Physically, structures with four sides are the most stable ones we can make. Four often comes up when we talk in terms of bases; important examples are the four elements, the cardinal directions, the suits, the phases of the moon, the blood-types, the states of matter, etc...
The foundations lays the groundwork for what follows, and therefore it is pragmatic, detail-orientated, and hard-working.
In culture, it also has an association with death [(1 + 3) = 4 / 死].
5:
- freedom and individualism
- the unconventional
- travel and adventure
- adaptability and versatility
- courage and vitality
- sensuality and pleasure-seeking
Five is the number of conflict and unforeseen obstacles. The lesson of Five is gaining perspective. With drive, ambition, courage, and daring, comes strife, uncertainty, fear and upheaval. How we deal with these ordeals is what defines us. The universe is composed of equal amounts order and chaos and we must be adaptable to rise to meet it.
When we emerge from the frustration that comes to the rigidity that is Four, we can take that freedom into excess. This number represents our struggle to come to terms with the particular demands and responsibilities of controlling and balancing our own lives. We are always approaching or passing through tests of character, of personality, of relationships. We are works in progress trying to make sense of our ever-changing surroundings.
6:
- unconditional love
- home and family
- selflessness
- nurturing and empathy
- problem-solving and seeing clearly
- responsibility and protection
This is the number of community and stability. It has come out of the unpredictable Five to rest and take a breath. It is Two multiplied with Three, a deep appreciation for the world around us; six can clearly see the fun, laughter, and beauty in the world and problems that seemed insurmountable before become solvable.
It is a bringer of harmony— to situations, to people, to plans, to environments. It is a responsible number, not only willing to bear its own share of the load, but often willing to carry burdens for others.
When this number refers to a person, it is an individual who always has time to help other people, who people look to with trust and affection in their hearts. They are warm, empathy-focused people who have a deep compassion for others.
7:
- spirituality
- intuition and inner-knowing
- the inner-self and introspection
- secrets and myth
- the loner, isolation, silence
- the knowledge-seeker
Seven is often regarded as a highly sacred number. There's the days of the week, the chakras, ROYGBIV (the rainbow), astrological planets, the Buddhist seven steps, the circles of hell, etc...
Seven deals with having faith and patience. This often signifies a situation where reflection and self-awareness are paramount. Waiting can be frustrating, but it’s also a necessary step on a journey.
We are evolving an appreciation of our physical isolation; our understanding and perception of our self is beginning to come to fruition. However, this is a solitary pursuit. We will tend, therefore, to be more conscious of our distance from the rest of humanity for a time. This separation is necessary. It is only once we begin to see ourselves clearly that we can identify a purpose in our existence.
8:
- authority and personal power
- self-confidence and inner strength
- ambition, achievement, success
- finances
- social status
- skills and talents
The Figure Eight is an important symbol in our consciousness. We can trace it for an eternity, and it will never come to an end. With Eight, we talk about progress. We look to where we are and evaluate what we need. This is a process that feeds into itself and continues because there are some things that will never end, and this is one of them. People will always strive further, will always desire more. Greed is a cornerstorne of our existence, but that is not always a negative characterisitic. So many inventions came to be because of that insistent desire for achievement. Ambition is endless.
However, we must always consider the Two that Eight comes from. Without balance, you cannot achieve as highly as you would otherwise. Consider how you are applying your time and energy. Is there an area you are neglecting in your life in the pursuit of another? It's important that you consider your goals with the full picture instead of focusing too much on one side or another.
9:
- endings
- humanitarianism
- destiny
- a higher perspective
- empathy and compassion
- self-sacrifice
The end of the journey. This is the manifestation of what was started. It allows us to see the rewards of our labors whether positive or negative. We reap what we sow.
Nine is also about the selfless giving to greater humanity, with no expectation of reward. When we reach our highest point, or as an analogy, the end of our lives, we reflect on what we have done and the impact we will leave behind when we depart. Did we act morally? Did we do the best we could have? We have to consider such questions as 'what do we owe to each other?' Did we fulfill our social responsibility? In other words, the end of a journey always comes with a reflection.
10:
- leadership
- confidence
- success
- determination and indivduality
Completion and a brand-new cycle. This number takes in both 1 and 0 and can reduce to 1. The situation, relationship, etc... has ended. But the end is never only the end. When one door closes, another opens.
11:
- enlightenment
- inspiration and intuition
- illumination
- the visionary
This number takes in two 1’s and can reduce to 2.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-04 03:22 am (UTC)I know exactly what you mean. That’s why I love it too 💛
I’m excited that it’s finally time for it to start. :D
Re: Reversed cards
Date: 2019-10-27 02:46 am (UTC)All your points are so great! I loved reading them and I definitely agree with you. Do you mind if I quote you when I update this section?
Hahaha, you're very welcome! Me too! I love the Tarot <3
Re: Reversed cards
Date: 2019-10-27 06:44 pm (UTC)I love listening to different interpretations of the Tarot. Things always carry different meanings depending on the individual. Everyone interprets things differently and that's part of what makes the Tarot so fascinating.
I hope we get a lot of discussions!
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 07:44 am (UTC)User-Friendly
Date: 2019-10-27 06:46 pm (UTC)