Karen Seinor - Tarot: Foundations for the Journey

TAROT

Foundations For The Journey

Anintroduction to the Tarot with meanings for all 78 cards.Foundational Tarot Card Spreads, How to Care for your Cards,Picking the right Deck, the Court Cards, Tarot as Healing andmore.

BY KARENSEINOR

Copyright2013, Karen Seinor

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may bereproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronicform with outpermission except in the case of brief quotations embodied inreviews

ISBN 978-0-9922959-3-6

Table ofContents

TarotResources

Introduction

The Tarot is like a road to adventure.At times colourful and bumpy, sometimes silent and serene, andalways around every bend there the lies the possibility of a newrevelation that can open us up to an understanding of the innerworkings of our own psyches, and this of course is the greatestadventure of all.

Your intention in reading this book maybe to learn the Tarot with a view to setting up a successful TarotStudio or to read for friends and family or perhaps for your ownpleasure. Regardless of the reason, you can be assured that as youdip your fingers into the deep waters of the Tarot that you willundoubtedly bring up droplets of valuable knowledge andunderstanding about yourself and the world around you.

I have been most fortunate in myteachers, Anne Shotter who first opened the door for me, and thenthrough ongoing training or their written works, teachers likeJames Wanless, Rachel Pollack and Mary Greer. Heartfelt gratitudeand thanks to each. Heartfelt gratitude and thanks to each. Specialthanks to Aileen Purantatameri for her stories about makingweather, talking to trees and for telling me in no uncertain terms You sing em.

For me, learning the Tarot is likelearning a new language, it is rich and organic and each personthat you meet in this world will add their own unique nuances toyour understanding of the language.

So doing the journey, know that it cantake you as deep as you wish to go. It can take you beyondinformation and into a place of profound knowing which bringsknowledge and acceptance of self and quite possiblypeace.

Enjoy.

The Cards

The Tarot deck has 78 cards which are divided into the Majorand Minor Arcana, or major secrets and minor secrets.

The 22 Major Arcana cards can bedescribed as representative of the 21 steps, lessons or paths thatthe Soul moves through in each incarnation, or it can be explainedas the 22 archetypes, essences or aspects of the self.

The Minor Arcana is made up of fortynumber cards and 16 court cards (page, knight, queen and king) allof which are divided into four groups or suits which are called thesuit of wands, pentacles, swords and cups.

These Minor Arcana cards offer us thedetails about our lives as we live them, that is, who you are orwhat part of your Self is involved in the situation.

A LittleBackground

We know that the Tarot is a tool used fordivination. Its colour and imagery, the symbols embedded within thecards, these have spoken to the hearts and minds of peoplethroughout history. The earliest physical evidence of the Tarotthat still remains is the Visconti deck which was in use in 1440and can be found displayed in galleries throughout Europe. It isgenerally accepted that Tarot cards were in common use until beingbanned by the Church in the 15th century. It is interesting to notethat at this time which was prior to the development of theprinting press most people were not literate, nor would they haveowned a bible, so communication occurred via the spoken word,through drawings, acting and plays. It makes sense, therefore, thatthe Tarot cards were used to gain wisdom and guidance so part ofthe power of the Tarot has been that the images have sidesteppedthe need for scholarly education making it available toall.

There are many myths surrounding the Tarot,as well as rumours and fears. The most often heard is that theTarot is evil, or is an invention of the Devil. The fact that Tarotcards were once used for divination, strongly suggests that theywere also once considered holy and the use of the word divinationis important in relation to its use because only sacred things weresupposed to have prophetic powers.

Some propose that the knowledge of the Tarotwas held by a secret society, that it may have been used as asecret code, or a message of what happened to the holy family,others see the Major Arcana or the 22 Trump cards of the Tarot as amap of the growth and journey of the Soul within.

In this wee book we will address the Tarot asa map, one that we can use for spiritual guidance, for clarity indecision making and for obtaining a deeper knowledge of the self.So let us begin!

The normal 78 card tarot deck can be brokendown into chunks. The Major Arcana consisting of 22 cards and theMinor Arcana with forty number cards, and sixteen court or familycards. The 56 minor arcana cards can be further segregated intofour suits, namely, cups, swords, pentacles and wands.

The Major Arcana

The Major Arcana cards are numbered zerothrough to twenty-one. With The Fool as zero we have the soulleaving the world of spirit to incarnate into physical existence,where he is born into this world to explore, learn and grow. TheFool enters a world of duality where what was previously one hasbecome separated into masculine and feminine. Each of the cardsnumbered 1 through 21 represent lessons or initiations for the souland finally at card 21, he is able to return to a state of balancehere in the physical world and success has been achieved. This isthe journey of the soul.

The Minor Arcana

The minor arcana cards show aspects of lifeas we actually experience or live them, of how we are dealing withlife on a daily basis, on a mundane rather than spiritual level.Together the minor and major cards form a mosaic of our lives.

The Four Suits

The four suits represent the four elements,earth as pentacles, air as swords, fire as wands and water as thesuit of cups. Alternatively you can look at them as the feelings,material world, skills and thoughts of the major arcana card withwhich they are numerically aligned; the Aces relate to theexpression of major arcana card number one The Magician, the Twosrelate to major arcana card number two The High Priestess and soon. The exception to this rule is The Fool which is numbered zeroas he represents the soul and stands alone as the journey orthrough this life. It is he who has these experiences.

The suit of wands represents the element of fire. When expressedpositively, fire is a creative force. Creativity = Courage.Negatively expressed, fire is selfish, fool hardy and egotistical."I know". People who embody the energy of wands, have an intuitiveawareness of life, and are looking ahead to the future. The cardsin the suit of wands can convey action, movement, new beginnings,inner struggle, an adventurous spirit, and an upward and onwardmind set.

The suit of swords represents air. It is about thinking, and thethinking function, the mind. This energy is very quick, and in itthere is both clarity and cloudiness. When expressed positively, weanalyse, evaluate and process information in order to makedecisions. Expressed negatively there is mental conflict, worry,fear and paranoia. Cards in this suit can convey, working outmental conflict or inventiveness. This energy can exacerbateemotional states, but it can also be used to increaseunderstanding.

The suit of cups represents the element of water and is about ourfeelings. We cry when we are sad, we laugh when we are happy. Whenexpressed positively, cups energy shows understanding andcompassion. The function of feeling can also be used to manipulateothers even if unconsciously. Cards in the suit of cups can conveyour ability or need to access the subconscious on a feeling level,as well as the ability or need to process the human experience fromthe feeling level.