The Tarot: A Hidden Book of Magickal Wisdom

The Emperor (Trump IV ) from the Thoth deck

Recently, I decided I would start studying the Tarot seriously. I had a deck since I was 16, but I never really took the time to really *study* it...like card by card...and I was heavily dependent on the Little-White-Book that came with the deck. I read some earlier posts in this blog with regard to Tarot, and it's true, every, little DETAIL on the card is important: from the colours of clothing, to symbols, to the positioning of the characters in the scene, the Tarot is a Deep Well of Knowledge. It looks like a simple tool...a deck of cards, one may wonder of what spiritual use is it? How can it guide you to make better choices in your life, and help you develop spiritually, emotionally, etc.? However, I have seen that the Tarot is a very powerful tool, one that shouldn't be taken lightly. It's a hidden book in my opinion...of course this is my opinion, and there are no facts concerning exactly WHERE/WHY/HOW/etc. the Tarot originated...there are many theories, and all of them may have some truth in them. All I can say for sure is that wherever Tarot originated from, or who created it, and whteher or not it was a actually a simple deck of playing cards that became a spiritual tool or vice-versa, the Tarot is a repository for the Wisdom of the Ages. It is a spiritual tool and should be respected as such...the symbols and images on them are sacred. I have realized that in studying the 78 cards of the Tarot, it leads you into other fields of the Occult arts: Astrology, Numerology, Symbology, the Kabbala as well as other fields of study such as Mythology, Psychology, etc. The deeper you go the more you realize you have to learn...you can spend your life studying the Tarot.

I have also heard of people using them in Magick spells, to predict outcomes for spells and how it'll affect you, for timing etc. I find this to be particularly interesting as I have never considered how Tarot cards can be used in spells. But the images on the cards are very powerful and they contain very deep occult symbology...you could meditate on them for hours and come away with so many spiritual riches. Some decks are more redolent in spiritual imagery than others...the Thoth deck which was done under the direction of Aleister Crowley is a fine example. Also, each card has it's own "energy"...Aces for example are pregnant with the qualities of their elemental suits....and that's another amazing thing. The Magician in the Major Arcana can probably be considered the role model for those that practise magick everywhere: he stands for a willful, confident, strong person who bends the forces of nature to his will: he makes it happen...Air, Earth, Fire, Water all conspire to materialize his goals. The Suits of the Minor Arcana all bear the imagery of 4 predominantly used Magickal tools: Swords/ Daggers/ Athames, Pentacles, Wands/ Staffs, Chalices.


Anyway...I just thought I would make this post here because I think this is a great topic to discuss and I hope it will stimulate some discussion around here, becuz it's been way too quiet as of late. What are your thoughts, opinions, views and experiences?For those of you who have already started studying the Tarot in depth, how are you progressing, and what are some of your insights?

Great Tarot Site

Hey guys, found this great Tarot Site that I thought I would share with you. I got into the Tarot, not as a means of divination, but because its rich symbology intrigued me. The Tarot represented a resource of human emotions depicted by pictures, and the items, elements and composition all have meaning. Imagine, on the same Tarot Card, say the fool, there is a hidden meaning in whether the figure faces left or right. There will even be different meanings in whether his shoes are red or green.

As an artist, I am excited by its pictoral references, as I learn to convey an emotion with one image, and I can use these in my paintings....then again I was always visual. (attracted to pictures before any other sense)

I find though, that Tarot readings give you results that are in your mind. That is if you are depressed, you tend to pull depressing cards, which doesn't help you get out of the mood funk.
I use Tarot as a self development tool. (google pathworking with the Tree of Life)

Any where, here is a great link which will explain the symbols and their meanings.

http://www.tarotteachings.com/meaning-of-tarot.html

When your paradigms fail.

Along my Magickal path I have discovered a hurdle. What do you do when the paradigms you previously used, no longer deliver the belief that your goals are possible?

To explain.... in Magick, you pick a paradigm (belief system) which can support your goals. So you work with this paradigm, get to know it, understand it, and begin to believe in it. Somewhere along the line, you begin to see its imperfections, when its direction no longer supports your own. Your faith is shaken, your belief falters and all faith in the Magick dissappears.

How can you develop, or create your own paradigm for your mind which evolves with you as you need it? The paradigm has to constantly change to support your desires. It cannot be a model which speaks to a static result, and is not open to possibilities.

Currently, the paradigms of horoscopes, cards, and other divination methods have me feeling like the Universe is premandated, and any desires I have are futile. My "free will" feeling has been removed. I have gone from feeling expectation and possiblility, to loathing the pain to come in the future. Positivity is difficult to grasp. Very difficult.

I suppose this is the dangerous path, the dark side of Magick that comes to you after the intitial fervour of the naive (oh gosh I cyah spell) mind has gone, and you realize that your mind has reached the end walls of the maze that it has travelled on for a long time. I feel like I am at nine, the number of completion. This cycle is over, and there is need for new growth. My card is now the World......

However, lets take a look at The World.....it is the abstract doorway. Imagine you are standing at a door of a room. You know what is behind you. You know the feelings, the energies, the emotions that are housed there. Here is the door, and at that point you and only you can decide what you want behind that door. Hold the doorknob, and be really, really clear about what you want. Because what ever is in your mind, will manifest as soon as you touch that doorknob and be there at the other side when you open it.