Tarot Overview & Quotes
Tarot Overview & Quotes
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 Tarot Overview & QuotesContents
The Tarot is a map of consciousness, especially its 22 Major Arcana. The Tarot...
 The 78 cards can be imagined as this symbol (the colours are insignificant), where:- ⭘ - Circle/Sphere/Dot = The Fool (0 from the Major Arcana) = Spirit △ - Triangle = 21 other Major Arcana = Soul ◻ - Square = 56 Minor Arcana = Nature (with its four Elements as Suits)  On Divination vs. Meditation In the 1980s and 1990s I was very into the Tarot. The two decks I designed - the Biblical and the LOTR - were made in the 1980s. However, I'd say I became too obsessed with divination in the 1990s after a relationship break-up. I also used the I Ching and Runes a lot. Over time I have freed myself somewhat from anxiety about the future. I prefer to live frugally on surprise. I prefer to control less, surrender more. I prefer to let go and trust. Like these quotes:-
I am far more into Being Here-Now or Being Love-Now. Now I'm only into the Major Arcana as archetypes, as repositories of collective knowledge. The words that I present here largely comes from my 1980s/1990s Tarot notes - and so divinatory meanings and guidelines are included.  Some History According to Wikipedia (accessed 16 July 2025): Scholarship has established that early European playing cards were probably based on the Egyptian Mamluk deck
invented in or before the 14th century, which followed the introduction
of paper from Asia into Western Europe. By the late 1300s, Europeans
were producing their own cards, the earliest patterns being based on
the Mamluk deck but with variations to the suit symbols and court cards.
Sean McEvoy in his book Shakespeare: The Basics (2000, p.25) says: …early modern [1500-1800]
audiences were familiar with a limited range of visual representations.
An emblem was a picture which symbolized, usually allegorically, a
piece of wisdom or a belief about life… In a society of
widespread illiteracy, cheap emblem sheets were as close as you got to
genuine popular literature.
My notes (it's unclear if they are accurate) suggest:-
 The Cary sheet (~30 x 22 cm
or 12 x 8.5 in) an uncut sheet from Milan, c. 1500. It shows 20
playing cards, some only partially. Eighteen are Tarot major arcana;
the four missing are The Hermit, Death, Judgement and The World. Six
trumps are entire: The Bagatto/Magician, The Empress, a female Bishop
(The High Priestess), The Emperor, The Star and The Moon. The twelve
fragmentary trumps: The Fool, The Pope (The Hierophant), Love (The
Lovers), The Chariot, Justice, Fortune (The Wheel of Fortune),
Fortitude (Strength), Temperance, The Devil, Fire/Tower (The Tower) and
The Sun. The style of all cards is closely related to the French style
of Tarot decks known generically as Tarot de Marseille, but without
their characteristic names and numbers. The Tarot de Marseille style
originated in Milan, Italy, and this deck appears to be the earliest
surviving example of that family of Tarot decks. It is part of the Cary Collection of playing cards, in the Beinecke Library at Yale, USA. The artist is unknown. (Wikimedia Commons)
Tarot Notes & Quotes If a card (any card, Major or Minor Arcana) is reversed - or put more precisely "inverted" - then, generally speaking, the meaning is weakened, delayed, or even reversed. But supposedly the cards were never meant to be interpreted "upside-down." A preponderance of Major Arcana in a large spread (a spread is a set pattern used in Tarot readings, typically ranging from one to ten cards) can mean:- - Powerful forces are at work which are beyond the inquirer's control. - The inquirer is at a major point in self-development, it’s a time of major changes. "The Tarot (or any other means of getting in touch with the unconscious, e.g., dream analysis, I-Ching, astrology, runes) offers us its most effective help when we approach it less in search of advice as to outer choices, and more with the idea of deepening our platform for making these choices. They are of less use predictively, better used as an aid to getting in touch with what we want at a deeper level of our being." (Unknown source) "The great strength of the Tarot is its organic vitality, its ability to adapt to the needs of those who go to it." (Unknown source)   Final Thoughts "You cannot escape or bypass divine laws. That is why it is useless to consult astrologers, as some do, to be warned of accidents or illnesses to which they will be exposed. Whatever you do, you cannot avoid anything: you cannot escape fate with tricks. The only thing you can do is work to reinforce yourself so as to better put up with the hardships when they arrive. Let’s say that your horoscope indicates that a serious disease is coming. Well, by leading a reasonable life, by purifying and reinforcing your body, you prepare the weapons to fight it off. You will not be able to avoid this disease, but the day it breaks out, you will be able to minimize its ravages. This law applies in every domain: the efforts you make to reinforce and purify yourself will always enable you to face hardships in the best conditions." (O.M. Aïvanhov) "Everyone is curious to know their future, it is only natural, but they do not have to go and consult clairvoyants to find out about it. It is very easy to know one’s future and I can show you. You will not know who you will soon meet, the money you’ll lose or win, future illness, accidents, success, and so on. But what does that matter? The most important thing for you to know is whether or not you’ll move ahead on the path of evolution, if you’ll find freedom, light and peace. And that is very easy to know. If you love everything that is great, noble, just and beautiful, and you work with all your heart, all your mind and all your will to achieve it and make it a reality, your future is already mapped out for you: one day you will live in conditions that match your aspirations and your ideal. That is all you need to know about your future. The rest is secondary because it can be given to you and taken away again. When you leave the earth, all that will truly remain is what matches the aspirations of your soul and spirit." (O.M. Aïvanhov)  Sources The deck that I have used to illustrate my notes is the widely popular Rider-Waite Tarot deck. The original version is in the public domain and is basically copyright-free. The words that I present here largely comes from my 1980s/1990s Tarot notes - and so divinatory meanings and guidelines are included. Unfortunately, at that time, I wasn't so meticulous about references, so the material that I present is unlikely to be my own words and more likely to come from the many sources I studied including:-
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Also see:- Major Arcana Minor Arcana Tarot Maps of Consciousness articles |
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