Hello, dear followers!
As some of you know, one of my pet peeves is reading a book (or watching a TV show, or movie) and catching a character bring up Tarot cards and display their meanings incorrectly. Drawing XII: Death does not mean you’re going to die, that’s silly. I have rambled about it in the past. But I thought, I keep telling people what the cards DON’T mean, but have I done anything to educate people on the Tarot? No. So, I thought I would change that! :D
Above you will find a photoset of the Major Arcana, and their general meanings. This is just a cheat-sheet, that is why I have decided to exclude the Minor Arcana (it also happens to be like 50+ cards) and the Reversed meanings (because they tend to be pretty straight forward except for a few exemptions). In the future I may make a longer post with a more detailed explanation c;
So, what is the Tarot?
Tarot is a deck of playing cards, made of two sets. The Major Arcana, which is what most people associate with the Tarot, and The Minor Arcana (from which the modern playing card deck evolved).
Over the centuries (particularly the 18th century) the use of the deck shifted, and nowadays the deck is used as a tool for divination, or as a tool of encouragement. The use of universal symbols such as: the father (The Emperor), the mother (The Empress), the young man (The Fool), natural change (Death), temptation (The Devil), etc, allow people to tackle their life problems from a greater point of view.
Regardless of this, the Tarot is commonly seen in books, television, and movies, as an occult tool for obtaining guidance from a greater power, or for gaining insight into the near future.
DISCLAIMER: The above are just general meanings behind the symbolism of every card. Additionally the cards are open to interpretation, the above are the meanings I have come to associate with them over the years. Do not take these meanings as gospel, they are just my interpretations. If you would like to learn more, there are plenty of resources! Here, and here are two good places to start :D
Also, the images you see are from this nifty website. You can find more Tarot decks and information there~ ♥︎
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