Some Thoughts on Tarot
by Alex Lukeman
The Tarot is unusual in that
it is one of the genuine mystery school teachings readily available
to anyone who seeks it out. Of course it takes more than simply
buying a deck of cards to gain any value from the deck. Like
every path into the unknown, the Tarot requires time, dedication
and a lot of practice before it will give up its secrets.
The Tarot in something like
its current form first appeared in European culture around the
12th or 13th Century, at the same time as the emergence of the
Arthurian legends and the rise of the Troubadours. It is designed
as a book of wisdom, and is said to contain a full description
of the path to higher consciousness. I have been reading Tarot
for over 40 years, and I have come to the conclusion that it
does indeed reveal our human condition and struggle for spiritual
realization.
The value of the cards has
been obscured by the “gypsy fortuneteller” image
and intentional suppression by historical and contemporary religious
authorities. Further confusion comes from the endless proliferation
of theme decks that reflect their designers’ unconscious
or intentional agendas, decks that have little or no basis in
the ancient teaching. Such decks are interesting mainly because
they reveal the character and unconscious dynamics of their creators,
but they do not carry the wisdom that holds a potential for self-discovery
and progression on a spiritual path. Of all the decks available
I prefer the Ryder deck, with its medieval symbology and structure.
It is the only deck that still carries the old colors and structure.
It was created about the turn of the last century, but is quite
consciously based on the earliest decks and seems to me to have
the least distortion. One warning, though, if you receive this
deck. Do not read the little book that accompanies it, for it
will ruin your ability to understand the cards. Throw the book
out!
The Tarot is divided into
two parts, the Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana represents
transpersonal forces affecting all of us. The symbols on the
cards relate to different aspects of those universal forces.
The position and orientation of such a card within an individual
reading tells the student something he or she needs to know regarding
a relationship with that particular archetypal energy. The Minor
Arcana represents our human condition and our relationship to
some aspect of it. The dance of Masculine and Feminine, the contrast
between natural and “mental” forces, obstacles of
the ego to the realization of spirit and all the stages of life
are seen in the Minor Arcana. It is a book of our life on Earth.
The symbology of the cards
is very complex, but one need not know all the symbols to gain
a good, intuitive feeling for the meaning. There is a big catch,
however. In order to get a clear sense of what any given card
is saying, the reader must have learned how to set aside his
or her unconscious projections upon the images. Each time a card
is seen it must be seen anew. This is the most difficult task
when learning to read Tarot, and it is exactly this obstacle
that prevents most people from understanding the cards. It is
a kind of built-in test for entry into the Mystery School.
The symbolism of the cards
is rich and detailed, with a golden thread of spiritual truth
weaving its way throughout the deck. By definition, a symbol
stands for something other than itself. The meaning of any card
is found by contemplating the symbols and going within oneself
to understand what is signified.
Take, for example, the image
of a rose. What is a rose? As a symbol it has become associated
with love (Valentine’s day) and passion. Why? The red is
for passion, the green for vibrant life and the thorns for the
pain that often accompanies love. That is a very brief and incomplete
symbolic reading for the rose. On a deeper level it represents
the energy of unconditional love, the esoteric heart, the essence
of God, the feminine and masculine in perfect union. These words
only begin to touch the meaning one can find in the image of
a rose. On many cards, the rose is seen as one of the symbols.
I wish you well on the quest,
if you choose to seek the wisdom of the Tarot.
Copyright 2004 by Alex Lukeman,
Ph.D. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint is granted.
Alex Lukeman is a Rolf Practitioner
in Nevada City, California. He is a published author with several
books on dreams and sleep. He has spent over twenty-five years
working and teaching in the field of alternative and conscious
healing modalities, including the Tarot. He can be reached at
(530) 277-9884 or (530) 639-2539.
