Symbolism in Tarot

[Dj I.C.U.]

The Tarot has a complex and rich symbolism with a long history. Such history is not impenetrable. Contrary to what many popular authors claim, its origins are not lost in the mists of time. In fact, much of the fog around the symbolism can be dispelled if one studies sources other than occultists with a vested interest in the occult interpretation of Tarot. We will do some dispelling further on; in the meantime, the most important thing to note is that modern, occult readings of the cards often have little to do with their meaning in their original context.

Some people find that modern Tarot decks are more interesting, expressive, and psychologically resonant than their ancestors. Interpretations have evolved together with the cards over the centuries: later decks have "clarified" the pictures in accordance with meanings assigned to the cards by their creators. In turn, the meanings come to be modified by the new pictures. Images and interpretations have been continually reshaped, in part, to help the Tarot live up to its mythic role as a powerful occult instrument and to respond to modern needs.

See, for example, the Rider-Waite-Smith Strength card. We can know more about the symbolic intentions of the designer here, since he conveniently wrote many books on the subject on occultism and symbolism and a handbook specifically for this deck titled The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910). As with its Marseille-deck ancestor, the Strength trump shows a woman holding the jaws of a lion, but this picture is far more elaborate. The woman's hat of the Marseille card has frequently been interpreted as a lemniscate: the sideways-figure-eight representing infinity, or, according to Waite, the Spirit of Life. In the newer card, this symbol appears explicitly. Other symbols are included: a chain of roses symbolizing desire or passion, against a white robe symbolizing purity. The mountains in the background demonstrate another kind of strength. Even here there is room for interpretation: the card is sometimes considered as showing intellect triumphing over desire, sometimes as the equal union of intellect and passion, sometimes just as a symbol of mental strength or endurance.

The twenty-two cards in the major arcana are: Fool, Magician, High Priestess [or La Papessa/Popess], Empress, Emperor, Hierophant [or Pope], Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement, World. Each card has its own large, complicated and disputed set of meanings. Altogether the major arcana are frequently said to represent the Fool's journey: a symbolic journey through life in which the Fool overcomes obstacles and gains wisdom. This idea was apparently first suggested by tarot author Eden Gray in the mid-20th century.

There is a vast body of writing on the significance of the Tarot. In many systems of interpretation based on that of the Golden Dawn, the four suits are associated with the four elements: Swords with air, Wands with fire, Cups with water and Pentacles with earth. The numerology is usually thought to be significant. The Tarot is often considered to correspond to various systems such as astrology, Pythagorean numerology, the Kabalah, the I Ching and others.

[Paulette]

Hi DJ,

Did you write this article or is it from another source?

If you did write this, can you explain to me how Tarot & I-Ching are connected? I mean I know they are both methods of divination but I cannot see how they correspond to one another. I have tried to see a connection but do not.

Regards,

Paulette

[Dj I.C.U.]

The I Ching is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. It describes an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy which is at the heart of Chinese cultural beliefs. The philosophy centers on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change (see Philosophy, below). In Western cultures, the I Ching is regarded by some as simply a system of divination; many believe it expresses the wisdom and philosophy of ancient China.The I Ching symbolism is embodied in a set of 64 abstract line arrangements called hexagrams (卦 guà). These are each composed of six stacked horizontal lines (爻 yáo); each line is either Yang (unbroken, a solid line), or Yin (broken, an open line with a gap in the centre). With six such lines stacked from bottom to top in each hexagram, there are 26 or 64 possible combinations and thus 64 hexagrams.

Each hexagram is considered to be composed of two three-line arrangements called trigrams (卦 guà). There are 23, hence 8, possible trigrams.

Each hexagram represents a state, a process and may represent a change happening. When a hexagram is cast using one of the processes of divination with I Ching, each of the lines may be indicated as moving or fixed. Moving ("old", or "unstable") lines have a polarity in the process of reversal; a full reading will consider the hexagram that would result from the lines changing polarity.

The traditional methods for casting the hexagrams use biased random number generation procedures, so the 64 hexagrams are not equiprobable.

There are a few formal arrangements of the trigrams and hexagrams with a traditional context. The bā gùa is a circular arrangement of the trigrams, traditionally printed on a mirror, or disk. According to legend, Fu Hsi found the bā gùa on the scales of a tortoise's back.

The King Wen sequence is considered the authoritative arrangement of the hexagrams
So they are both metods of finding the future,that's the link between them.

[cybee]

Hi DJ,

Did you write this article or is it from another source?

If you did write this, can you explain to me how Tarot & I-Ching are connected? I mean I know they are both methods of divination but I cannot see how they correspond to one another. I have tried to see a connection but do not.

Regards,

Paulette

Hi Paulette,

I am not sure your questions were answered so maybe I can help you out here. Obviously knowledge is a powerful tool or weapon depending on how the individual wishes to use it, but ignorance is bliss.

I can't answer the first question, only the author can answer that, but I can certainly answer your second one. I-Ching is of course a very, very old divination system used by the Chinese for hundreds if not thousands of years and has no bearing in the past certainly, or in the present on Tarot. Yes I agree to a point that designers of cards have used the symbols of I-Ching and many other systems such as Runes on card decks, but it is only a reflection and not inherent to Tarot. Tarot is very symbolic in its use and so those users and designers, not wishing to copy previous designs have used symbols from their own knowledge of that system to design their own decks. Even the celebrated Mr Arthur Edward Waite has used certain symbols in his cards, which Tarot readers have accepted and proffer to this day. Colours, numbers, archetypes as Carl Jung describes, are all part of the Tarot makeup, but in all my research and studies of the Tarot I have never come across I-Ching as part of the Tarot.  

I do hope this has answered at least one of your questions.

Regards

Cybee

[fraudprod]

I like to think of the Tarot in the way that Karl Jung and Brian Eno do, it is "The Picture Book of the Human Soul."

[jyotimirpuri]

i think the connections explained by you are very complex it will take time to follow them

[Vishwas]

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