Origins, Mysteries, and Skeptics
Lesson Two – Deepen Your Study
“In the last 25 years, much has been learned about the origins of Tarot. However, bare facts may lead as much to a false picture of what occurred as do fantasy and speculation. For the card reader, ritualist, or meditator, the myth that Tarot is a remnant of an ancient wisdom tradition is a projection of the psyche in metaphor that speaks directly to the soul. It contains tremendous energy potential that can be channeled into personal meaning and used to inspire creative insights, Tarot art, and personal transformation.”
Mary Greer
In this Module we will explore a few of the most common beliefs regarding the Tarot. Ultimately you will decide which one of its herstories points to the “truth”.
Tarot Mysteries Past
The Tarot Couriers Secret, Sacred Truth
There are perennial story lines that repeat throughout the various theories on the history of the Tarot.
The theme that pervades most of these believed historical roots of the Tarot are remarkably similar,
- a spiritual and/or political elite and ruling classes of a society or tribe are the interpreters and proliferators of the Tarot deck,
- it is through the study, and publication of the Tarot Cards of this elite stratum of society that the esoteric wisdom of the Tarot thrives until it reaches the notice and consequent disparagement of opposing, established and powerful religious institutions, which then order it’s destruction,
- the persecuted, oppressed clan/tribe/mystical, secret society/nationality take this picture book (Tarot has for most of it’s known history been referred to as a “book”) to a new location to express and pass along their esoteric teachings,
- the wise and mystical secrets of an oppressed and persecuted people are depicted in a picture book that’s turned into a set of cards and “played with” to deflect it’s spiritual significance.
Societies comprised of members sworn to secrecy, and wide scale persecution of anyone seen to be working with the Tarot accompanied by mass scale burning of decks and books, have had an devastating impact on the Tarot’s recorded herstory.
To this day the Tarot remains marginalized from established, traditional religious institutions. But never before in its history has the Tarot blossomed to the global proportions and acceptance it presently holds. Historians continue to search for indisputable evidence of Tarot’s roots. I believe it is in the recognition of these repeating historical theories that the Tarot’s true history can be discerned.
Sacred Cards Versus Sacred Text
Rachel Pollack in her most recent book, Forest of Souls, Llewellyn, 2003, is a uniquely fascinating exploration of the Tarot as a spiritual journey. On page 262, Pollack hypothesizes in a whimsical style,
Let us imagine, for the moment, that the Tarot indeed comes from the God of Everything Worth Knowing. If Thoth (Egyptian God) had wanted to give his original disciples a fixed sequence of symbols, he would have handed them a single table, or a sewn book. Instead, he gave them cards, and cards, unlike most sacred texts and/or divine messages, do not have to remain in their original order. What new, or alternate Major Arcana might you get if you take the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, shuffle them, and lay them out in a new sequence?”
In fact, this is something we do every time we lay out a reading. A reading presents a different Fool’s journey every time it is laid out. The order is determined by the shuffling, cutting and laying out of the cards. This is what profoundly distinguishes the Tarot from other sacred texts. The Fool’s journey becomes personalized to the client at every reading.
A Tarot reading provides a unique perspective from which to regard our lives and our selves. In the moment that we lay out the cards to derive an answer to a question or issue troubling us, we are presented with a sequence of pictures that position us at this moment, in relationship to that question. It might validate a feeling we’ve been having about a situation that hasn’t been fully acknowledged. The barriers to acknowledgement may be related to having to make a difficult decision. The reading may be just the nudge we need to make that decision and act upon it.
In a reading I did for a new student of the Tarot, she asks, “Do I have a future as a professional Tarot reader?” The Ace of Wands is turned up. “Energy, strength, enterprise; principle; beginning.” The Tarot has answered that she is at the beginning of a new enterprise, which she’s approaching with strength and energy. This is where she’s located right now in her journey to becoming a reader. From this place she certainly possesses all the qualities that will successfully carry her through to successful completion of her goal.
A Tarot reading might suggest who we might trust to help us through this situation, or point to other influences that will ease our fears about loss and abandonment. A client asks, “How am I to deal with these difficult people at work?” The Tarot reading reveals the Queen of Pentacles. “Generous, intelligent, charming, moody married woman.” The Tarot has suggested that she’s having problems with her moods which is no doubt affecting her relationships at work. If instead of arguing with her co-workers, she approaches her “difficult co-workers” with intelligence and generosity, her difficulties will be resolved. She agreed that her struggles with menopausal symptoms had made her moody and she would seek advice from her Naturopathic Doctor for help with this problem.
The Tarot may also reveal how we are focusing our attention in the wrong direction. A client asks, “Will my finances get better over the next year?” The Tarot answers with the Ace of Cups. “Fertility, productiveness, beauty, pleasure.” The Tarot didn’t reveal a Pentacles card which pertains to the physical universe (body, money, objects) but rather a Cups card which pertains to spirit, intuition and love. The Tarot is suggesting that money won’t be her focus over the next year (or perhaps shouldn’t be!) rather, she will be rewarded in an unmaterialistic manner. Her focus has been in the wrong direction!
A Tarot reading can open the doors to our unconsciousness, allowing more information to flow between unconsciousness and consciousness. We may receive messages that suggest how we are sabotaging our success in an area, or ignoring something, which is putting enormous pressure on us internally or externally.
A woman asks, how her next year will go. The Five of Cups turns up as her greatest fear. “Loss in pleasure. Partial loss. Vain regret.” The reader suggests that she’s afraid of regretting selling her Bed and Breakfast. Yet she knows she should retire. She said she hadn’t thought about it before from this perspective. She’s terribly afraid she will regret making this decision to sell, which keeps her stuck in the mire of overwork, perpetual exhaustion and little pleasure in her quickly encroaching senior age. Later in the same reading the Outcome card is revealed as the Death Card: The sight of which freezes her into stillness and silence. The client has been profoundly brought face to face with death as “Outcome” – whatever the reader says at this point to alleviate her death fear (that the Death card points to death/rebirth, change, etc.) can counter the impact of seeing that card as the “Outcome” of the reading. The information flow from unconsciousness to consciousness zooms past any denial she’s affected to block this awareness from reaching consciousness. The client nods with confidence. “Yes,” she says, “I’m putting the B & B up for sale in the New Year and retiring. My children will be happy to see me retire. And I’m going on a cruise – to heck with it!”
The Skeptic’s Tarot
The Tarot is ideally suited for skeptics! Skeptics are motivated to delve beneath the surface of an issue to penetrate and expose the truth. They work to cut through superficial, designed-to-deceive masks.
The Tarot addresses the deeper sources of meaning which permeate our profoundest layers of consciousness. These deeper layers of consciousness (“unconsciousness” discussed in this Lesson 1) house energy complexes, which are universal, and have been named “archetypes”. Archetypal psychology is a well-respected approach to understanding the human psyche by social scientists, such as, anthropologists, social workers, and educators. Joseph Campbell’s phenomenal life-time work was a cross-cultural exploration through the archetypes and their impact on the psyche, society, culture, and evolution. A foundation has been established to continue Joseph Campbell’s prolific research work on universal symbolism, legend and myth. www.jcf.org.
The Major Arcana depicts a plethora of archetypes, and interpreters of the Tarot reveal how these Tarot archetypes teach lessons about human growth and development from a psychological/spiritual/physical perspective. When a skeptic challenges my choice of profession as being one of “simple fortune-telling”, I point to the “Fool’s Journey to Wholeness”, as the archetypal story revealing an ageless truth regarding the human experience. This is how the Tarot stands apart from the plethora of new cards published in the last 10 years, such as those depicting angels, slogans, and the like. I’m not a fortune-teller, I am a reader of an ancient, wise oracle that is designed to answer serious questions pertaining to love, health, and enterprise. When I’m asked if it actually works, I always confidently answer, “Yes it does! How could a system of divination survive all through the ages, if it didn’t’ work?”
The Credible Tarot
There are people who believe that the Tarot is a frivolous pastime at best, an evil pursuit or fraudulent practice at worst. Unless you live in an exceptional and somewhat isolated community, you will be confronted by people over the course of your Tarot reading career that steadfastly (and loudly!) hold to these beliefs. It’s important that you are able to effectively diffuse the negative energy these prejudices and accusations generate with facts that point to the contrary. Sometimes these accusations are harmless, depending on who has levied them, but there will be times when they can negatively impact on the growth of your practice as a Tarot reader and generally affect the public’s regard of the Tarot.
I’ve discovered in my own practice that a two-pronged response is the most effective counter to a negativity that’s rooted in ignorance. The first prong is what I’ve named, the “Skeptic’s Tarot”. The second is a discussion about the Tarot’s correspondences with other traditional mystical traditions, a few of which I’ve briefly outlined in this lesson. The operative word here is “briefly”. Any one of these mystical correspondences could comprise a volume series of work and in many cases already have.
Exercises
CRITIQUE READINGS
Find 3 sites offering free reading and get a reading done at each asking the same question at all of them. Note the cards the computer drew in your reading and how those cards were interpreted.
- Were the interpretations the same as you would have interpreted the cards based upon your understanding of the meanings of those cards?
- What were the differences and similarities between the readings? Which one was the best, and the worst? Why?
- Do a 4th reading for yourself.
Overall, what spiritual lessons did you learn in having 3 readings done for you and one for yourself? Share your insights with us on CHAT!
Exercise 2
Find a site on the Internet that denounces Tarot. Write a credible defense of the Tarot from your own perspective and submit an email to the author of this web site. Be respectful, factual, and open hearted. Come to CHAT and share your experience with the rest of your group and save a copy of this email for your own records.
Lesson Two – Deepen Your Study