Tarot Study
About the Deck
We decided to study tarot as a way to expand the limited space in which we’ve been trapped. Our understanding is based primarily on the book, The Way of the Tarot: The Spiritual Teacher in the Cards by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Marianne Costa, 1997. The deck of cards that accompanies this book is a reconstruction of the Marseille Tarot, created during a period of religious tolerance in the 11th century.
Our method is to pose a question or dilemma, then draw one card from the Major Arcana (a character to serve as a guide), and one card from the Minor Arcana (a symbol to serve as a path). For a longer reading we lay out the Major cards in order and then walk through them, drawing one card from the Minor to pair with each.
This is the list we wrote summarizing the meaning of each card.
Major Arcana
The Fool and The World are the Alpha and Omega of the set. I-X are more earthly beings, performing upwards motion, XI-XX are more celestial beings, performing downwards motion.
The Fool: Zero. Journey through the earthly and celestial.
I. The Magician: Encode. Work with light and shadow, special tokens and containers.
II. The High Priestess: Incubate. Understand through the body, and the cardinal directions.
III. The Empress: Birth. Burst with potential after being so well-nurtured.
IIII. The Emperor: Prepare. Learn the rules of the material world, and skills for survival.
V. The Pope: Ideate. Find hints of the celestial in the earthly.
VI. The Lover: Blend. Understand the cosmic through androgyny.
VII. The Chariot: Travel. Let an earthly vehicle take you somewhere new.
VIII. Justice: Compromise. Learn to negotiate social contracts.
VIIII. The Hermit: Retreat. Be alone, reflect.
X. The Wheel of Fortune: Recycle. Bring the lessons of the past into the future.
XI. Power: Trust. Rely on your educated body to take the best course of action.
XII. The Hanged Man: Meditate. Descend into the abyss of the unconscious.
XIII. The Nameless: Transform. Dig your scythe deep into the darkest, richest soil.
XIIII. Temperance: Unify. Repair the balance across an internal or external rift.
XV. The Devil: Indulge. Retreat from the cosmic and back into the earthly.
XVI. The Tower: Fall. Tumble from the cosmic back to the earthly.
XVII. The Star: Source. Find your rightful place on earth, commune with the cosmos.
XVIII. The Moon: Receive. Consider the secret process of gestation.
XVIIII. The Sun: Construct. Eliminate shadows, deliver light and warmth.
XX. Judgement: Reconcile. Create the cosmic androgeny.
XXI. The World: Realize. Complete the journey through the earthly and celestial.
Minor Arcana
Cup: Loving, Emotional Energy, Water, Torso
Sword: Being, Intellectual Energy, Air, Neck & Head
Pentacles: Living, Material Energy, Earth, Legs & Feet
Wand: Making, Creative Energy, Fire, Arms & Hands
One symbol fills the whole card, immense potential ready to be implemented.
Two large symbols seek union.
A third symbol emerges, explosively.
Four symbols at each corner for stability.
A new point of view emerges through a fifth symbol in the center.
Two columns of symbols wave together.
Three symbols act as the spirit within the matter of four more.
Two symbols in all four corners, for perfect harmony.
The ninth symbol emerges like a newborn
The tenth card transitions to the next suit.
The Page doubts, hovering between action and inaction.
The Knight is an emissary of their suit.
The Queen unites their suit.
The King takes large action in the world, with their suit backing them.
The Colors
White: Purity, ecstasy, immortality; Mortal chill, egotism
Light Blue: Receptivity to the celestial; Dependence on father
Deep Blue: Receptivity to the earthly; Despotism, tyranny
Light Yellow: Active awareness; Aridity, cruelty
Deep Yellow: Receptive awareness; Madness, destruction
Tan: Human life, carnal pleasure; Materialism, repression
Light Green: Plant life, celestial ties; Dependence on mother
Deep Green: Plant life, earthly ties; Engulfment, absorption
Red: Animal life, activity; Criminal violence
Violet: Impersonal, wisdom; Sacrifice, death
Black: Creative magma; Chaos, regression