The Tarot reading for June 16, 2012 through June 22, 2012 starts off with an indication that creativity will play an important role this week. However, this quickly leads to a warning against impulsiveness. This spread is the Celtic Cross Spread, a common spread used by Tarot readers around the world.
Card 1: The Empress — You need to allow your creative potential to take over this week. Stretch yourself, but be as gentle with your creative self as you would be with an infant. There is the potential to enjoy the abundance, beatuy,a nd joy of the material world. Creativity is priceless, so don't waste it.
Card 2: Two of Swords — Taking time out, of failing to, can block progress in many forms. compromise can easily turn to surrender or sacrifice. Forces will attempt to restore balance, so don't fight it. Get enough rest, for the conflict brewing will require all your energy.
Card 3: King of Wands — It is advised that you act immediately and dynamically to accomplish your goals this week. You should strive to exhibit all the qualities of the King of Wands. Be self-confident and explode into action when action is called for. Don't hesitate.
Card 4: Ten of Swords — Crucial to your current situation is your ability to cope with a potentially ruinous situation. Though the hopes and dreams of the past may have evaporated, new ones will arise if you give it time. Wounds may cut deeply this week, so seek help if you must.
Card 5: Queen of Pentacles — In the past, you learned the costs and benefits of protecting your good fortune and that of those you care about. This lesson should be applied to the present situation. The influence of another, possibly a very wealthy other, might be starting to wane. This is typically a positive sign, but it might take some getting used to.
Card 6: Ace of Swords — You will very soon find yoruself triumphing over lies, ignorance, or adversity. A new idea, goal, or major project will reveal itself and command your attention. Your unique purpose in life will become more and more clear, allowing you to access your own natural wisdom.
Card 7: Ace of Cups — Focus on presenting yourself as if you know how to give unconditionally and you'll find people respond well. Love is an important quality right now, so work at expressing it more often.
Card 8: Strength — Others see you as strong, courageous, and kind. You seem to have conquered your fears and weaknesses, and this makes you a valuable friend and ally. But don't let anyone take advantage of you.
Card 9: King of Pentacles — You hope that putting on a cloak of a pragmatic and powerful person will help you attain your goals, but you fear this may not be enough. You may also fear being liked for only what you possess and not who you are.
Card 10: Page of Wands — You will encounter or have to act like an ambitious person, and this may not sit well with you. Change is in the air, whether this change is at home or at work is still unseen. Stay calm and you will go far.
Using the Tarot takes many different forms. Some of these resemble counseling sessions, others are more like the traditional divination you see in movies. Tarot can be used for meditation, ritual, or even for games. Using the Tarot can allow you to gain appropriate insights into situations or your own self, and even encourages taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. Groups can also use the Tarot for similar purposes.
Tarot Counseling
The idea of Tarot counseling is becoming more popular. Tarot counseling can be understood, at least on a basic level, to refer to the act of giving counsel or advice utilizing the Tarot as a tool. This is usually done by a professional Tarot reader, hopefully someone who has experience in counseling. The reader has to be cautious, however, of administrating advice derived from a deck of cards, no matter how insightful that advice might be. The Tarot should not be used independently, but as a part of a greater counseling program. As a general rule, Tarot counseling should be only as a used by a professional.
Tarot as a Divinatory Tool
Divination is considered by many to be the primary purpose of the Tarot. Today, Tarot is used around the world to receive guidance and spiritual insight. Most experienced readers will tell you that the information received from the Tarot is not ‘otherworldly’ or ‘supernatural’ in any way. The information comes from within the reader and the querent (the person for whom the cards are being read). That information is from the ‘universal subconscious’ that everyone is connected to. The information was already available. The Tarot simply opens a channel through which that information can be revealed.
Tarot for Meditation and Ritual
The archetypal symbolism of the Tarot can connect on an inner level to the subconscious mind. This means that these symbols can be used in the practice of meditation. Successful meditation usually requires a degree of visualization, and the cards of the Tarot can provide the essence of that visualization. With a little practice, anyone can learn to entwine their own meditations with the powerful images of the Tarot.
In the same way, an individual card or a group of cards can be used as the visual and energetic focus of a ritual. The Tarot can be integrated into rituals from many different traditions. Take a look at your own rituals and look for ways to make the Tarot a part of your ceremonies. Perhaps use them during a meditation. Or select four cards to represent the four Quarters, if your ritual invokes them. You might also choose two cards, usually the Empress and the Emperor, to represent the Goddess and the God. Study the essence of your rituals for appropriate places to integrate the symbols of the Tarot.
The More Frivolous Uses of the Tarot
The Tarot doesn’t have to be used for anything as serious as counseling, divination, mediation, or ritual. The Tarot, with its vivid imagery, can be used as a source of inspiration. If you ever find yourself searching for your inner muse, pull out your favorite Tarot deck. Randomly select a small group of cards, perhaps laying them out in a spread. Study the cards before you and see if you can find a common theme that gives you a burst of inspiration.
Games are always popular, and the Tarot can be used for trick-taking games, just as it has been for centuries. Games using the Tarot are wide spread, especially in Europe, where the game tarot is quite popular in England and France. Also called Tarocchi in Italy and Tarock in Germany, this game is quite traditional, based upon rules established throughout the centuries. There are more modern games as well. Some of these are played with the divinatory usage of the Tarot in mind. Many are played purely for entertainment, others are used as team-building exercises or even spiritual development.
There are many different ways in which you might choose to use the Tarot. They don’t only have to be used for divination. You can choose to use the Tarot and their psychology in whatever way feels right to you.
It is unlikely that the origins of the Tarot will ever be accurately discovered. They have certainly existed for several hundred years, and they have been influenced by many different sources in that time. But it is almost impossible to determine exactly when they were created and how they were used. However, a general timeline can be agreed upon by most experts, though the debate regarding the specifics will probably rage for some time.
The Early Days of the Tarot
Playing cards appear to have originated in China and made their way to Europe around 1375 CE, probably by way of the Mamluk Empire. They spread throughout western quite quickly after that, bringing with them trick-taking games. While little is known about the games that might have been played with these cards, the Mamluk decks appeared to change very little and were eventually adopted by the Italians. It is also possible that Europe was introduced to Moorish cards around the same time.
The Mamluk decks had four suits which align very closely with modern Tarot suits. The suits were Swords, Polo Sticks, Coins and Cups. Each suit had three court cards, consisting of a King, Knight, and Page. This resulted in a 52-card deck. While this became the standard throughout most of Europe, variations started to develop. The Spanish turned Polo Sticks or Staves into Clubs and altered the design of the cards. German cardmakers came up with a number of new suit systems.
Little is known about the cards produced in the 14th century and earlier. From recorded descriptions, it appears that a variety of decks developed. Sometimes, the number of court cards and even the number of suits were increased beyond what was considered “normal.” Some decks featured female figures, gods, or animals, all of which were considered scandalous for the era.
Although there is no record of the Tarot before the 1440s, the suits the eventually became a part of the Tarot were already in common use by Italian playing cards. In addition, some Italian decks added Queens to the court cards, bring the card count up to a total of 56. This deck is generally considered to be the basis for the modern Tarot deck.
15th Century Tarot
The trump cards, also known as the Major Arcana, seem to have appeared in Germany around the 1420s. The earliest references to Tarot indicate that a full deck of both the Major and Minor Arcana may have developed in the following decade, probably in northern Italy. With the addition of the 22 trump cards, the standard 78-card deck finally emerged. When used as a card game, the 22 newer cards trumped the suit cards, hence the name. These cards began appearing at festivals throughout Europe.
According to most sources, it would appear that the designs of the trump cards were standardized from the beginning. Most Tarot decks from the 15th through to the 17th centuries share the same design. Though there are occasional variations, the basics remained consistent. In fact, these variations seem themselves to have been based upon the established archetypal symbolism. Most of the symbolism found on the earliest Tarot decks was probably a form of didactic Christian art, as was popular at the time.
Tarot quickly gained in popularity throughout Europe, most notably in Bologna, Ferrara, and Milan. Beautiful and expensive decks were commissioned by the wealthy, painted with gold or silver leaf backgrounds, while commoners had to be content with printed decks. As Tarot spread, the trump cards were altered bit by bit, both in imagery and sequence. In addition, sometimes the deck would be completely redesigned, resulting in new decks such as the Boiardo deck or the classical Sola Busca deck.
Tarot in the 16th - 19th Century
By the early 1500s, the new Tarot had spread from Italy to France, then to Switzerland, Germany, and the rest of Europe. A book was published in Venice around 1540 by a man named Francesco Marcolini detailing the use of cards to tell fortunes. Though the cards used in this book were not specifically Tarot cards, the seeds were sown.
It would be two centuries before the idea that the Tarot might be useful as a divinatory tool took root throughout Europe. Around 1750, the Tarot was modernized. The French suits of Spades, Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds became more popular than the traditional Italian alternatives and the Medieval allegorical archetypes that had been so prevalent in Tarot was replaced with more arbitrary images. Numerals were added to the trump cards to avoid having to memorize the order decks were created with many different themes. You could find decks portraying animals, people, battle scenes, and many others. During this period, the popularity of the Tarot in France and Italy was in decline, but in other areas, the Tarot was exploding.
The 18th century also saw the Tarot return to a more symbolic role, though it was still used as a game as well. In 1770, Etteilla published the first real book on cartomancy. He and two other French writers began to piece together occult lore and fortune telling methods, developing a system that would lead to the total reinvention of the Tarot in the late 1800s.
These men had a great influence on the future of the Tarot. The interpreted the images of the Tarot as it made the most sense to them. They saw the 22 cards of the Major Arcana as relating to the 22 letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This was the beginning of a connection between the Tarot mysticism. Kabalistic thought became entwined with the Tarot as well, and the occult nature of the Tarot was born, or reborn, depending on your point of view.
Though the Tarot was used for fortune telling from the late 1700s onward, its more elaborate abilities had yet to be rediscovered. However, in the mid-19th century additional layers of correspondences were added that appealed to occultists all over Europe, particularly in England and France. Still, Tarot remained of interest only to those who were truly engrossed in the exploration of the occult. In the early 20th century, however, that changed completely.
The Tarot in the 20th Century and Beyond
The 20th century saw mystic Arthur Edward Waite take the stage. He completely reinvented the Tarot, creating eclectic but tightly integrated representation of the universal consciousness. Waite’s focus was on the Major Arcana. The first half of the trump card illustrated the descent of the Fool (the first card of the Major Arcana), while the second half revealed with ascent. This journey encompassed the entire spiritual cycle of man. Waite was also the first to use detailed images on the suit cards, also called the Minor Arcana. These images were designed to facilitate the interpretation of the cards when they’re used in a spread.
The creation of the Rider-Waite deck spurred a renewed interest in the Tarot. Suddenly, New Agers, Pagans, occultists, and everyday people were attracted to the Tarot and its symbolism. This deck also served as the inspiration for hundreds of other decks, though there are still few with detailed images within the Minor Arcana. The beauty of Rider-Waite and its derivative decks is that it is more intuitive than other decks. This reduces the need to memorize large amounts of information.
The evolution of the Tarot meant that it could now be used for many more applications. It has been frequently utilized as a tool for meditation, soul-searching, psychological healing, personal growth, and brainstorming. There are even psychologists and psychoanalysts who use the Tarot for therapeutic techniques. Tarot has become commonplace in the modern world.
The known timeline of the Tarot is full of holes and misinformation. What’s truly important is that the archetypal symbolism of the Tarot has become universal. As the cards have grown and evolved, more people have been able to relate to the imagery and message they present.
Carl Jung was the first psychologist to attach any real importance to the Tarot. He may have regarded Tarot cards as representing certain archetypal symbols. These archetypes are fundamental to the human psyche and embedded in the subconscious of all human beings. The Emperor, for example, represents the father figure. The Empress might represent the mother. The Magician represents a spiritual guide, and on and on.
The Tarot as Archetypal Symbols
The assumption of Tarot as representing archetypes leaves the door open to explore several psychological uses. Some modern psychologists use Tarot to identify how a client views himself by asking him to select a card that he identifies with. Others might try to get the client to clarify his ideas by imagining important things in his life in terms of the images seen in certain Tarot cards.
A professional might ask many different questions to aid the client in selection this card. The Tarot can be seen as a kind of map of the subconscious, allowing a seasoned professional to interpret this map on a conscious level. Some of these questions might include:
- Do you see yourself as blissfully ignorant, like the Fool?
- Are you perhaps rushing heedlessly into something, such as the Knight of Swords?
- Which card do you think is most like you?
Older Decks vs. More Modern Decks
You might think that the older deck such as the Visconti-Sforza and Marseille would offer more insight into the human psyche. However, the reverse seems to be true. Most psychologists and Tarot experts view those older decks as crude and limited when compared to some modern ones, such as the ever-popular Rider-Waite deck. This is probably a reflection of the common belief that Tarot symbolism has evolved, especially since A.E. Waite created the deck that has influenced almost all Tarot decks produced in the 20th century. In essence, the Tarot became more universal in the latter half of the 20th century, so the newer decks may be seen as applicable to all people in all places.
There might be some validity in this claim. Waite definitely had the largest influence on Tarot as a whole, at least in the modern era. He expanded the symbolism of the Tarot in a way that allowed it to connect to more people from more walks of life. Most decks created even today follow the Rider-Waite system, at least to some extent, and this symbolism was probably given a more universal feel on purpose; it is unlikely that Waite would have created such a highly symbolic yet applicable deck by accident.
With this is mind, it is probably accurate to state that modern Tarot decks are less limited and more applicable. They have the ability to connect more freely to the universal subconscious, and so to connect with everyone, everywhere.
