Back to the Minors this month; let’s talk about the Five of Wands. The typical image on this card shows five men, each holding a long and unwieldy wand at a different angle, as if each man was saying, “no, do it my way!” I always smile when I see this card, and think about the many times I’ve gone camping and the difficulties just my husband and I have when putting up our tent. I then imagine how it would be if three other people, each with their own way of doing the job, were to try to help us. The Five of Wands is a Minor Arcana card,…

I’m in a Major Arcana kind of mood, so let’s talk about The Wheel, also known as The Wheel of Fortune. First, let’s review some terms. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a generic, idealized model of a person, an object, or a concept which can be copied, patterned, or imitated. The term archetype often refers to one of two concepts: a “stereotype,”…

Time to head back to the Minor Arcana; let’s talk about the Seven of Pentacles this month. As stated above, the Seven of Pentacles is a Minor Arcana card, so we know right away that the message offered by this card will most likely be more immediate in nature, or will most likely be connected to more day-to-day issues. We should remember however that every message, no matter how insignificant or mundane on the surface, can also possibly be a symptom of a deeper or wider issue; nothing in the Minor Arcana is in any way minor in nature. The image on the Seven of Pentacles can give us valuable…

Last month we talked about The Empress, one half of the Sacred Feminine within the Major Arcana. If you have not already read that essay, please do so now. The other half of the Sacred Feminine in the Tarot is The High Priestess, and we will talk about her this month. First, let’s review some terms. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a…

This month, we will turn back to the Major Arcana, and talk about The Empress. We haven’t talked about a Major for a while, so let’s review some terms. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a generic, idealized model of a person, an object, or a concept which can be copied, patterned, or imitated. The term archetype often refers to one of two…

Well, I think it is time to talk about the Fours of the Minor Arcana. Last month we talked about the Three of Cups; if you haven’t read that one yet, take a few moments now to check it out. This month we will talk about the Four of Cups, and attempt to understand what happens to the energies of a card when we move forward from the Three. The Four of Cups is a Minor Arcana card, so as we know, the message offered by this card will most likely be more immediate in nature, or will most likely be connected to more day-to-day issues. The easiest way to…

Since we are at the time of the Spring Equinox and new growth, let’s talk about a Minor Arcana card that tells of new growth of the heart: the Three of Cups. The Three of Cups is a Minor Arcana card, so we know right away that the message offered by this card will most likely be more immediate in nature, or will most likely be connected to more day-to-day issues. The easiest way to get a decent understanding of a Minor Arcana card is to examine its number, or in the case of Court Cards, its rank, and to examine its suit. In this case, we are dealing with…

Today we are going to talk about the Ace of Swords, the last of the four Aces to be considered. Aces are different from the other Minors, as they are seen as being the seeds of their suit and element, rather than the manifestation of their suit and element. Aces are not material, and there is no evidence that they exist or affect us, because they don’t. Aces are tendencies that are the foundation of the manifestations of their suit; the Ace of Swords, our card for this month, is not Air, but a tendency to become Air! How do we “become Air”? Let’s begin our process of breaking down…

I love comparing cards! This month we will look at the Major Arcana Strength card and then come to understand it even further by comparing it to The Chariot, the card we examined last month. If you haven’t yet read last month’s column, please do so now. Next, a quick review. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a generic, idealized model of a…

I love comparing cards! Let’s begin a comparison of The Chariot and Strength by looking at The Chariot of the Major Arcana. First, a quick review. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”) is a generic, idealized model of a person, an object, or a concept which can be copied, patterned, or imitated. The term archetype often refers to one of two concepts: a “stereotype,”…