'The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.
There comes a leap in consciousness,
call it intuition or what you will;
the solution comes and you don't know how or why.'

Albert Einstein

What is the Tarot?

Tarot is an ancient system of divination, the origin is uncertain, but for a long time they were used for card games rather than magic and divination. The tarot pack comprises seventy-eight highly illustrated cards, or Trumps as they were originally called, forty numbered cards in four suits and sixteen Court cards. The first twenty two cards form the Major Arcana (arcana means hidden wisdom) and many people use these alone, since they represent the main archetypes known to mankind in all times and places.

How does it work?

Tarot is really just a set of symbols for interpreting unconscious needs and wishes and anticipating future paths. The psychologist Carl Gustav Jung talked about the 'two million year old man' within us all. It is this repositry of wise counsel we reach through divination. Jung also put forward the concept of 'sycronicity,' arguing that nothing happens by chance and everything is governed by meaningful connections. This is how we end up with the 'right' cards. However, the 'web of fate' is contantly being woven and rewoven - our point of power is always in the present. Consequently, the tarot cards can only predict one of our many possible futures, and we are always able to take advice and change the course of our lives as we please. What divination is useful for is revealing unconsidered paths and guiding us to the best course of action or reaction, using our own deeper knowledge which is often just out of conscious reach. It is always our higher self that is giving us the information in a symbolic form which it undertands, not some outside force.

Asking the right questions and Interpreting the answers

The hardest part of divination is asking the right questions. To demand certainties or precise timescales is to ignore the complexity of the future. It also disregards our own influences on the future as well as external influences and other people. You may begin with one question but get an answer to a different question. Most often this will be the one that you need to ask but may not have acknowledged. If there is no question or one that cannot be easily formulated the cards can act as a focus for your unvoiced wishes and anxeties. It is always better to interpret the cards in a symbolic, metaphorical way, rather than too literallyand it is better to get an intuitive feel for the whole reading rather than concentrating too heavily on one card. Each card contains within itself the potential for creative of stultifying results, according to our future actions. Feminine and masculine cards apply equally to men or women as they represent a person's 'feminine side' or 'masculine side.' Occasionally the major cards can be identified as actual personalities - a mother figure or authority figure for example. However in a full pack reading Major cards tend to refer to qualities or courses of action, Court cards tend to refer to specific personalities and Minor cards to specific situations.

The Meanings of the Cards

Below are the 22 Major Arcana cards. Many packs are the Rider Waite tarot cards which may be the most straight -forward for a beginner. The Cards featured below are 'Tarot of the Old Path' cards, and are intended for people who practice Wicca. Therefore some of the meanings, symbolism and descriptions may be slightly different from the standard tarot cards. Click on any of the cards below to find out the meanings of the Major Arcana.

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