Tarot Diva, page 9
or control the conscious mind on unseen levels. Someone asks
you to describe the worst day of your life. You may be able to recall memories of that day, but the actual trauma or physical pain may be completely repressed within your unconscious. In
this way, the unconscious works as a protector for us. This is
also why to be knocked unconscious is to lack awareness and
capacity for sensory7 perception. The unconscious mind exists
without conscious control or awareness.
Y O U R S P I R I T + I N T U I T I V E C O N N E C T I O N +
U N C O N S C I O U S + S U B C O N S C I O U S +
O R D E R E D C O N S C I O U S N E S S = Y O U .
N A T U R A L STATE + E N E R G Y + S I L E N T +
A C T I V E + O R D E R E D = Y O U.
Intuition is the facility—the direct line, the highway—that
links the unconscious to the subconscious to the conscious
mind. You can easily understand this process by examining the
first five cards of the Major Arcana and how they add up to
waking consciousness.
You can read more about the intuitive process later in this
book. For now, understand that the power of an archetype rests
in its ability to reach into the depths of the unconscious and retrieve meaning via a symbol. A handsome boy offers you a folded piece of paper. You open it up to discover a red heart drawn upon it. You look up into his sparkling eyes with a shy smile.
Message received.
You may also understand the use of archetypes in advertising.
Advertisers and companies work very hard to create archetypal
advertising. Think of the power of the Nike swoosh symbol, the
Mercedes three-pointed star within a circle symbol, McDonald’s
giant yellow M. These companies have invested enough time,
energy, and advertising dollars so their symbols are internationally recognized. More intriguing, in a glance, their symbols contain emotional implications. The Mercedes symbol implies
l u x u r y / s t a t u s , while the McDonald’s symbol implies fast food.
A company able to convey its message within a symbol, without
words, has struck an advertising gold mine. They express their
messages, meanings, and associations without any words at all.
Psychic advertising!
AW ESO M E ARCHETYPAL A ID IN TAROT REA D IN G S
An added benefit of archetypes comes to our aid when we
read tarot for other people. Have you ever gone for a psychic,
tarot, palm, or other reading and been disappointed and frustrated because the reader didn’t truly grasp the scope of your situation, the gravity of your questions, or the nature of your
life? The challenge of providing an excellent tarot reading is to
understand the person sitting across from you. The problem is
we each come equipped with our own personal filter—a filter
through which we understand and view the world and other
people. We sit down with preconceived notions that we inadvertently apply to the person sitting across the table from us. Our filter can diminish, distract, and mislead us in understanding
our client. The only way to avoid making this mistake is to
speak within the context of archetypes. Archetypes are universal
and apply to each and every one of us regardless of our social,
financial, or sexual standing.
Using archetypal language, you need not explain to your client
what an archetype is, unless you feel compelled to. Simply apply
the symbolic meaning of the card archetype that arrives in their
tarot reading. The same way a horoscope will apply to anyone
who reads it, your client will bring their own meaning to the
table. Reading in this fashion, you needn’t go out of your way to
wow your client with details from your “psychic” abilities. Your
job as a tarot reader is to stick to the archetypes, not zoom in too
close to the client and inadvertently place your values or opinions upon them. For one client, “a trip" means venturing across state lines; to another client, a trip is three weeks in Thailand.
Stick to the archetypal bones of a tarot reading and your client
will walk away feeling understood.
The lasting benefit of understanding archetypal symbols within tarot is that, once you have a firm grasp, you can throw your tarot definition book away. Understanding archetypal symbols,
you instantly access the meanings of the cards while adding
your personal associations. It is the space offered between
archetypal understanding and intuitive reasoning that, when
combined, makes for a powerful, personal reading.
[contents]
Know Your Majors and Minors
There are only twenty-two Major Arcana cards, while the remaining deck is composed of fifty-six Minor Arcana cards. So, what and where is the difference between major and minor?
What is the difference between the Fool, who implies opportunity, and an ace. who offers opportunity as well? How does the Empress, who expresses creativity, carry more weight than
the Three of Pentacles, which also expresses creativity?
The ability to distinguish the difference between a major and
a minor card is an important one. Major Arcana cards represent
major life lessons, soul issues, and turning points. The Minor
Arcana cards speak of mundane, typical, day-to-day issues we
encounter. Minor Arcana moments, combined together, add up
to a Major Arcana experience.
Understand tarot as the Fool’s journey. The Fool moves
through the cards, one by one, gaining experience, learning
lessons at each one, until he reaches the last card, the World.
He then begins the cycle afresh, carrying his lessons learned.
H IG H s c h o o l : a m a j o r e x p e r ie n c e
There you are: fourteen years old, fumbling with your locker,
hormones raging, hands sweaty, just ambushed by a social
studies pop quiz, nervous for tonight’s dance, embarrassed by
your mother this morning, laughing at the note you were just
passed, and ... don’t look behind you ... the love of your life is
standing l ight there.
We can understand the difference between the majors and
the minors by examining a collective experience most of us have
withstood: high school. High school is an excellent metaphor
for the Fool’s journey through tarot because it contains a definitive beginning (first day of ninth grade—the Fool) and an ending point (graduation—the World). You leave high school a completely different person than the one who entered it, thus
echoing the Fool’s journey of transformation.
Major Arcana moments are those big lessons and turning
points. Major Arcana moments contain more than singular issues, often standing out as a result of lessons, learning, practice, and self-realization. Major Arcana cards have broad implications. Minor Arcana moments are daily activities, touch-and-go moments, things we encounter or do regularly. Look
below to see if you can discern the difference between a major
experience and a minor experience:
•
Emotional anticipation of entering high school (the
Fool) versus selecting your outfit for first day of school
(Seven o f Cups).
•
Practicing and trying out for a team or squad (the
Magician) versus performing as a team member (Five
o f Wands).
•
Watching and waiting to see what the other kids are
like (the High Priestess) versus
meeting a new best friend (Two of Cups).
•
Shining in the classes you love (the Empress) versus
editing a term paper (Queen of Swords).
•
Grappling with authority of teachers/parents (the Emperor) versus getting away with ditching a class (Seven of Swords).
•
Teacher who inspires you to aim higher (the Hierophant) versus enjoying his or her class
(Page of Pentacles).
•
Your first love affair (the Lovers) versus locking lips
with a cute boy (Ace of Wands).
•
Practicing, studying, and acquiring your driver's license (the Chariot) versus nervousness on the night before the test (Nine of Swords).
•
Standing up for yourself against a bully (Strength) versus how the bully makes others feel (Five o f Swords).
•
Daydreaming, plotting, and imagining the future from
the privacy of your bedroom (the Hermit) versus
writing an emotional poem (Page of Cups).
Winning a scholarship for an exciting summer trip
(the Wheel of Fortune) versus meeting new friends on
the trip (Six of Cups).
Esteem and responsibility of first part-time job (Justice) versus saving your money wisely (Four of Pentacles).
Realizing the world is a much bigger place than you
imagined (the Hanged Man) versus day of community
sendee (Six of Pentacles).
Parents getting divorced (Death) versus visiting your
dad on the weekend (Eight of Cups).
Recognition of innate talent and repeated practice
(Temperance) versus a staged
performance (Four o f Wands).
Walking the line of rebellion (the Devil) versus your
first hangover (Five of Cups).
Realizing your boyfriend’s no angel (the Tower) versus
a teen love triangle (Three of Swords).
Feeling proud of yourself (the Star) versus acing a test
(Slx of Wands).
Strange, confusing issues (the Moon) versus a bad
breakup (Ten of Swords).
The glory of summer vacation (the Sun) versus sunbathing and flirting with boys (Queen of Wands).
Acceptance to the college of your dreams (Judgement)
versus touring universities (Eight of Wands).
Graduation day (the World) versus an awesome graduation present (Nine of Cups).
Notice how all the Major Arcana moments contain grand
themes? Major Arcana moments are those you will remember
long into adulthood, while the minor moments become hazy
and fuzzy with time. In a reading, an abundance of Major Arcana cards indicate important, life-changing events. The Major Arcana is the broad spectrum, while the Minor Arcana represents slivers of time.
M O R E M AJOR VERSUS M IN O R EXAMPLES
Dating: Imagine you are in a relationship and the object of
your affection has a nasty habit: he stands you up on dates
repeatedly. The random Friday night you get stood up is a
Minor Arcana moment. But you grow sick and tired of this
appalling treatment. The Friday night he stands you up and
you end the relationship, kicking his ass to the curb, is an
example of a Major Arcana moment.
Music: Imagine you are a music composer and conductor in
Carnegie Hall. You stand before your musicians, audience
seated behind you, breathlessly waiting the performance.
You lift your wand to begin. Each player, each instrument—
the horns, drums, the strings, piano—you gesture to play,
all represent the Minor Arcana. Each note is a Minor Arcana
card. The entire piece of music together—the chorus, the
crescendo, the overall emotional feeling evoked by your
work’s composition— can be understood as a Major Arcana
moment.
Painting: Imagine you are an artist, standing in your studio,
fresh paint on your palette. The canvas stretches before you
in possibility. Each brush stroke and every dash of color you
place upon your canvas can be conceived as Minor Arcana.
The final painting—the feelings and associations expressed
and evoked gazing upon it—is Major Arcana.
Film: Imagine you are a movie director at the helm of a saucy
independent film. Your assistant rushes to get you coffee,
the star actress weeps in her trailer over tabloid gossip, costume designers barrage you with choices, background players await direction. All the elements coordinated to make a film can be understood as Minor Arcana elements. The final
film as it premieres at the Sundance Festival—the work as a
whole and the feelings it evokes—is a Major Arcana experience.
Food: You set out to bake a red velvet chocolate cake. You pull
your ingredients together—sugar, flour, butter, etc. These
are all examples of Minor Arcana elements. You combine
them, bake it, and your gorgeous iced cake is an example of
the Major Arcana.
The major moments of our lives are created by lots of minor
experiences. Understand this difference and you’ll understand
how to distinguish between a major and minor card.
A deep lesson is echoed throughout the majors and minors.
When you want to invoke a major change in your life—when
you want to embrace a new way of being, whether it is to become healthier, happier, improve your finances, or completely reinvent yourself—do it in minor steps. Lots of minors add up
to a major—that’s a math equation you can’t argue with.
[contents]
Time to Suit Up
I’m summoning you back into my parlor. You enter through
lush red velvet curtains; a faint scent of cinnamon drifts in the
air as a sense o f secrecy surrounds the two of us. Candles blaze
upon a table I've spread with tea, dark chocolate, and sweet
treats. I want to explain the four suits of tarot. I want you to
grasp their meaning with complete certainty. I want you to
know exactly what they mean when they appear in a reading.
But, to do so, you must trust me. Do you?
To deconstruct tarot is to understand the delicate interplay of
the four suits of tarot—pentacles, swords, cups, and wands—
and how these four suits apply to your life.
Allow me, for a moment, to become your guide, your personal
assistant on a journey through the worlds of pentacles, cups,
wands, and swords. By the time we are through, you’ll understand exactly what each suit represents. Take my hand ...
PENTACLES
We approach a sparkling golden door with a five-pointed star
emblazoned upon it; the world of pentacles. I open the door and
gesture for you to enter. Your eyes are bright with excitement
and curiosity. Spread before you are piles and piles of coins and
cash. Sitting in front of the mountains of money is your investment banker. He grins, sifting, calculating, and counting out your riches.
Beyond the stacks of silver extend racks and racks of clothing—more sumptuous clothing than you could wear in a lifetime. Past leather shoes, crisp shirts, pants, and dresses extend more rooms. Venturing in, you discover they contain furniture,
appliances, and every imaginable convenience. Rooms splay to
the side like wings of a museum. These are the rooms you have
created in your life. Amazed, you walk into your childhood bedroom, your beloved toys strewn about it. Your teenage room, stacked with books, papers, and posters, sits next door. Your
adult bedroom, living area, and assorted rooms of your current
home lie before you. Laughing, you notice a parking lot through
the window. It contains all the cars you have ever driven, the
cars you have owned, lined up, waiting for the flag to drop.
You continue to explore room after room. An alcove contains
all the art projects you have ever created. The ceramic ashtrays,
the valentines, and every present you have ever wrapped and received. A delicious scent captures your attention, finding a chamber where every imaginable food has been laid out for
your delight.
Circus music—strange, haunting—lingers up and down an
eerie corridor. Wandering through the twists and turns, you
enter a mirrored funhouse. The image of yourself a hundred
times over dizzies your eyes. You, numbering in the thousands.
The minors catch every angle of your body. Arms, legs, butt,
chin, every7 piece of you is reflected. Haphazardly, you walk forward. Bumping here and there, you notice the mirrors are reflecting you closely. You are magnified. It is not just your hand tossed back from the glass, but your skin— close, elastic, etched,
and stretched across your bones. Blood. Muscles. Tendons.
Closer, molecules divide, dance, disappear, and reemerge.
Dashing into a dim room, something brushes the side of your
nose. Strands of dangling DNA suspend from the ceiling. Soft
tufts of hair follicles, trimmed and cut through the years, rise in
piles before you. Buckets of sweat, running and playing sweat,
scatter the floor. Nervously, you look at me, and I bring you to
the final room. An audience is before you, alive, electric. A person in the front row catches your eye, looking familiar. It is a close friend. Relieved, you see all your friends are sitting in the
front row. Your family sits behind them. This gathering contains every person you know and have ever met. Your jaw hangs open in amazement. Drawing you close to me, I explain:
Pentacles and the element of earth represent all of the things in
your life you can touch, feel and see: objects, people, money. It
