Learn Tarot – The Hermetic Qabalah (Tree of Life)

This is a difficult topic to cover as the terminology used can be unfamiliar and discouraging to newcomers. However, here I try to present this in an accessible form. If like me you struggle with the terminology, ignore the unfamiliar names and instead view the tree, numbers, associations and card positions. This will enable anyone to start drawing on the Hermetic Qabalah to deepen their understanding of Tarot.

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Learn Tarot – Example Reading

I considered constructing a spread with chosen cards to demonstrate how a reading may work in practice.  However, I then had a question of my own and the resultant cards seem so perfect I thought it a great opportunity to not only perform a simple reading but relate the cards to the querent/question.

Ready?  First some personal background…

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Learn Tarot – Reversals

Reading reversals (when cards are drawn from the deck inverted) can be traced back as far as the earliest days of Tarot’s use as a divinatory system.  The earliest reference to reversals I can find is from Antoine Court de Gebelin in 1781.  Antoine’s writings formed the basis of Eliphas Levi’s system, later adopted with modification by the Golden Dawn which ultimately led to Waite’s re-interpretation with Pamela Coleman-Smith (the RWS deck).

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Learn Tarot – The Major Arcana

The 22 Major Arcana represent archetypes, these are clear statements, patterns and ideas that represent the human life / story.  We start our journey as the fool (innocent, adventurous, perhaps naive) and progress through the major arcana until reaching our destination; enlightenment (The World).

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Learn Tarot – The Numbers (Revisited)

In a previous article we listed the basic number associations of the minor arcana.

To keep things simple we used the traditional RWS associations as reference.  It’s important to note that this is not the only system in use and it can be useful to cross reference the RWS and Tarot De Marseilles in order to gain further insight.   Additionally, the associated card from the major arcana is also worthy of study in reference to the minors.

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The Four Aces of RWS

Learn Tarot – Introduction

On the many Facebook groups and forums you’ll regularly see people recommending the study of each individual card, using a mix of artwork interpretation and other references, over many, many months.  With 78 cards this is a considerable challenge;  if others learnt the hard way then you should too!  Right?

Wrong!  Let us show you not only the easy way – but the best way to learn the underlying associations.

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Learn Tarot – The Elements

Tarot, like all Western Magical Traditions has 4 core elements;  Earth, Air, Fire and Water.  Below we’ll not only outline the element/suite associations but also provide clues on how to commit them to memory.

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Learn Tarot – The Numbers

Now you know what the elements represent, let’s take a look at the number associations (1-10) then combine this with what we’ve already learnt to perform our first readings/interpretations.  See, we said this would be easy!

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RWS The 5s

Learn Tarot – Putting The Pieces Together

We now have an understanding of the elements plus the numerological associations.  How do we combine these to determine the meaning of a card?

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