DIVINATION SYSTEMS

TAROT DIVINATION (SECTION)

Written by Nicole Yalsovac 

Additional sections contributed by Sean Michael Smith and Christine Breese, D.D. Ph.D.

Image and Meaning of the Cards of Tarot

Tarot is one of the most powerful magical tools ever created for the benefit of humanity, with uses for  divination and empowering meditation. The traditional Tarot consists of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, also called Trumps or Atu (hieroglyphics for “key” and still found in modern language in the French atoui, “superior”), 40 Minor Arcana, also called Pips, and 16 Court Cards. Each card has myriads of mystical correspondences enriching  its meaning, the most crucial of which are the Qabbalistic, astrological, and elemental. Tarotʹs power and meaning  are  bound  to  the Tree of Life. Without  astrology, which oversees the Major Arcana or Qabbalah  and  gives structure to the entire divinatory system, there would be no Tarot. The student who comprehends the basics of  astrology, the elemental forces and the Qaballah will be a good oracle. The Tarot is an excellent means to entertain and communicate with others while healing their problems and helping them through life. All divination with Tarot not only shows the most likely possible future, it empowers the querent to follow the highest and best  possible future for the benefit of all.

The Tarot is formulated to correspond to the five occult elements of aethyr or akasha, fire, water, air, and  earth in the cosmic scheme of the Tree of Life. The 22 Trumps depict primordial archetypes, each representing a path on the Tree of Life and possessing an astrological or elemental correlation. The 40 Minor cards represent the  four elements of fire, water, air, and earth positioned on the Sephira of the Tree of Life. These elements are the  four suits of the minor arcana, 10 cards for each elemental suit―wands for fire, cups for water, swords for air, and  discs for earth. The 16 Court cards demonstrate different levels of manifestation of the situation in a Tarot  divination, the maturity levels of the actual people involved, as well as the Celestial Forces manifesting influence in a querentʹs  life. The attributions of the Tarot cards can differ  slightly depending on the level of spiritual  maturity the deck is aiming for. However all creators of the Arcana agree that Tarotʹs cohesion and divinatory powers rely upon its interconnectedness with astrology and the Tree of Life as it emanates in the world. 

The Tarot is several hundreds of years old in its present form. It emerged at the beginning of the 15th  century when the Western secret societies of Europe became aware of the gypsy game Tarocco. It was composed  of the initiatory symbols of Egypt, potentially a 10,000 year old system of initiation and divination. Several Italian  torrochi decks were produced in the years between 1420 and 1450, all containing the mystical allegory of the  major arcana. The history of Tarot has its inception in Egypt, but subsequently spread across the world through the mystical societies such as the Golden Dawn, and new age worldwide Neo‐pagan movements up until today.  During this time the full range of mystical correspondences relating to every aspect of the tarot have been charted  as on our diagrams of the Tree of Life above. Our pictorial descriptions concerning the Atu are found in the Golden Dawn inspired Rider‐Waite Tarot (US Games 2004) and the OTO Thoth Tarot (US Games 2004). The entire range of metaphysical and yogic science is contained within Tarotʹs ancient symbols. These are the source texts for UMS Basic Tarot and recommended reading for the serious student: 

The Handbook for the Rider‐Waite Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite (1976, Magic Press), Art and Symbols of the Occult by James Wasserman (2000, Destiny Books), the Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley (Weiser, 1990), Book 4 edited by  Hymaneus Beta, Magister Templi (Weiser 2000) and The Herbal Tarot, by Michael Tierra (US Games, 1993). 

As we proceed toward divination and healing practices with Tarot, remember that all is set before us, yet nothing is completely pre‐ordained, as the Creator makes us, we create the beautiful abode where the Creator lives. While the gods assist us we give them life by acknowledging their ancient existence. Let us now look at the  meaning of each card in the tarot deck...

This is the opening paragraphs from the Tarot section of the book "Divination Systems" the book comprises many systems such as  I-Ching, Cartomancy, Dominos, Tea-leaves, Palm reading etc.