A short introduction to Tarot--Discussions and feedback.

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A short introduction to Tarot--Discussions and feedback.

Post by TarotModerator » Tue Feb 01, 2011 4:53 pm

Welcome to our first Topic on your study of Tarot.

This thread is dedicated to "A short introduction to Tarot"

The main doicument is hosted on Google; to find and download, follow this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tip ... edit?hl=en

Please post your self-study on this topic, in this thread.

:smt006
Last edited by TarotModerator on Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.

sassylady9
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Post by sassylady9 » Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:51 pm

Today I was reading about the beinging of Tarot and the different groups that made tarot.
I learned the meaning of the different suits and court cards.
To me the golden dawn and crowley worked together at one time and then the
golden dawn distanced themselves from crowley and there teachings. The Temple of Set followed
the teaching of crowley. Aleister crowley based there teaching on the princess of the planets or angels
ruling certain aspects of the zodiac. They were the ones that made the tarot decks and teachings for the beinging.

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Payewacker
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Post by Payewacker » Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:49 am

Hi sassylady,

It is great to work with you, and be able to help you along. Although the Golden Dawn still exist, they are not as active as they were earlier, or perhaps not as much on the news.

I wonder if you could perhaps look on the net, how Crowley and AE Waite became involved with them? Just "in short" as you have done the above.

Blessed be.

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cedars
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Post by cedars » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:27 am

That was a good input Sassylady....

Keep it up please.:)

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George
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Post by George » Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:10 pm

2/3/11
A Very short introduction of the Tarot.
I’ve read some Interesting things that about the Tarot history.
Straight from the book “Reading The Tarot” by Leo Louis Martello:
“During the dark ages they were called the “devil’s pasteboards” when The Inquisition made reading of them crime punishable by death by burning at the stake.”  (Pg 1.)
“In 1404, The Catholic Church forbade their priests to even touch the cards. Yet it was during this period that card making became a regular trade in Germany. This country even had its own Card Maker’s Guild.”  (Pg 1.)
“In 1440 Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany invented movable type. “  (Pg 1.) This made the printing of Tarot cards, among other things, easier and more affordable with this new form of mass production in Europe.   The Tarot cards became more popular.  
To skip a lot of history known and not known we have the Tarot cards today.
Some of the history and images of the card help us read them better.   Like the picture symbolism for the RW deck.  Ex: A recent discussion between me and Payewacker about the images of the Caduceus and the Rod of Asclepius on the II of Cups.  Knowing what those are and mean will help you read the cards..  I see the Caduceus or Rod of Asclepius and I think of healing because that is the history behind them.  Therefore in a reading I just might read that healing maybe close if my intuition was telling me that.  (Although I would be very careful not to do any medical prediction what so ever) .
I don’t use color symbolism or Number symbolism in my Tarot readings yet but keep in mind the colors in the cards and the numbers have meanings too.  Those meanings including imagery of the cards come from the history of the Tarot moving through country to country, century to century etc.
Common sense dictates there is no such thing as common sense.

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cedars
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Post by cedars » Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:24 pm

I just wanted to share with you all some of the material I have read and researched on the tarot cards.
These are excerpts and not my own words.

The information given here consists mostly of conclusions that recent tarot historians have drawn from studying the evidence of written documents and cards that have come down to us.  Other interpretations might be drawn from the same body of evidence.  Readers interested in examining the evidence for themselves and drawing their own conclusions are directed to the references listed at the end of this sheet for useful starting places.  Readers should also be aware of the limitations of relying on documentary evidence alone.  Although written records are our most reliable contact with centuries past, they do not preserve everything that people thought or did, especially pertaining to an aspect of popular culture, such as the tarot.

About time and place of the origins of tarot.
Current Historical Understanding: The tarot originated in northern Italy early in the 15th century (1420-1440).  There is no evidence for it originating in any other time or place.  The earliest extant cards are lavish hand-painted decks from the courts of the nobility [see illustration, above].

About the origins of the word ‘Tarot’.
Current Historical Understanding: The earliest names for the tarot are all Italian.  Originally the cards were called carte da trionfi (cards of the triumphs).  Around 1530 (about 100 years after the origin of the cards), the word tarocchi (singular tarocco) begins to be used to distinguish them from a new game of triumphs or trumps then being played with ordinary playing cards.  The etymology of this new word is not known.  The German form is tarock, the French form is tarot.  Even if the etymology were known, it would probably not tell us much about the idea behind the cards, since it only came into use 100 years after they first appeared.

About tarot symbolism.
Current Historical Understanding: The symbolism of the trumps is drawn from the culture of Medieval and Renaissance Europe.  Most tarot subjects are distinctive to European Christendom.  Illustrations virtually identical to each of the tarot subjects can be found in European art, and such precise analogism are not found in other cultures.

Playing cards and the tarot.
Current Historical Understanding: Playing cards came to Europe from Islam, probably via Muslim Spain, about 50 years before the development of tarot.  They appeared quite suddenly in many different European cities between 1375 and 1378.  European playing cards were an adaptation of the Islamic Mamluk cards.  These early cards had suits of cups, swords, coins, and polo sticks (seen by Europeans as staves), and courts consisting of a king and two male underlings.  The tarot adds the Fool, the trumps, and a set of queens to this system.  Some time before 1480, the French introduced cards with the now-familiar suits of hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds. The earlier suits are still preserved in the tarot and in Italian and Spanish playing cards.
The Joker originated in the United States around 1857, used as a wild card in poker and as the highest trump in Euchre. It appears to have no direct relationship to the Fool of the tarot.



Hope this was useful.
Last edited by cedars on Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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cedars
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Post by cedars » Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:27 pm

Hi George
Some of the history and images of the card help us read them better.   Like the picture symbolism for the RW deck.  Ex: A recent discussion between me and Payewacker about the images of the Caduceus and the Rod of Asclepius on the II of Cups.  Knowing what those are and mean will help you read the cards..  I see the Caduceus or Rod of Asclepius and I think of healing because that is the history behind them.  Therefore in a reading I just might read that healing maybe close if my intuition was telling me that.  (Although I would be very careful not to do any medical prediction what so ever) .
I followed that same discussion and, like you, I am inclined to see the Two of Cups as well as healing amongst its usual meaning, also as I see Temperance and even the Sun as some form of healing.

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Post by Payewacker » Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:56 pm

Hi Guys,

The inputs are great, and a lot of it not even known to me??? To do this course is absolutely teaching me a great deal more than I thought.

George, there is an important message in the colors as well as the numbers. I'm putting together a short guide to the numeric sequence. Once this is explored, Tarot takes on a new meaning altogether.

Interesting about the reference Cedars made about the imagery being relative to Christianity. This actually went as far as having "The Papess" which was replaced by The High Priestess. There are also references to "Pope Joan". believed to have been a woman "Pope" who was "caught out" while in a procession "in Gestatoria" and gave birth to a baby boy????? This is obviously a very contentious issue. When we get to High Priest, I have a long discussion on this. You will also see the importance of colors on this card.

I have an article on the Rod of Asclepius, I want to research more on the caduceus and include in this article. When reading the 2 of Cups, as reader, you have your interpretation, and there is absolutely nothing wrong in applying the symbol on the card as you deem fit! Looking at Temperance, it bears enough symbolism pointing to alchemy, what does chemists do?

I am sure we have a lot to benefit from these discussions, thx Guys.

Blessed be.

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cedars
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Post by cedars » Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:31 pm

I am sorry guys, the course is becoming confusing to navigate through.
There are several locked threads.....

Why did we jump to the Ace of Pentacles?
The next topic was going to be the Magician..... then the High Priestess and then the Empress.....

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Post by TarotModerator » Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:11 am

My apologies Cedars.

The order in which you expected the tutorials to be done, is how we want the topics, The Ace of Pent. was a "test-run" to see how we can post it. PW wants all the docs with the images as it is on his documents. We are now going to convert the entire document to jpg, post it, and the tutorials will be locked to keep it in proper order. The feedback and discussions threads should not be locked?

All the cards and relevant info will be in order as wee see the deck and the ruling Majors and will be stickies.

Is this agreeable?
We run a self study course in Tarot...please sign up..work together with your fellow students...and if further help is needed...ask for help....

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Post by cedars » Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:26 am

Oh... yes.. of course it is.
I thought the whole course had taken a different route.... It is a good idea to leave the Stickies locked...

Cheers.

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Post by Mandimedea » Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:39 pm

Hello,

I started and almost completed this course 2 years ago, but then life's obstacle got in the way and I was away from the boards for some time.  I truly missed my time on these boards and my study of Tarot.  I am starting the class over and want to pursue and complete it fully this time.  It is good to be back.

The last time I took this course I stuck with the Rider-Waite deck, however I have also started studying the Crowley Thoth, which I think are beautifully made.  

The intro to Tarot was a review for me on the suits and their meanings and some history of Tarot.  I am very interested in Astrology and love how they play into Tarot and to me are symbolized more in the Crowley Thoth deck.  

I am looking forward to continuing the course and moving on to the next step.

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Post by Payewacker » Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:06 pm

Hi MM,

It's great to have you participating. We all have our sidetracks, even me.

At MB, we primarily look at RW, but wouldn't want to constrict any of our members to a certain deck.

I think the amount of knowledge given by Waite is lacking in his "Pictorial Key to the Tarot", but you may find as many links to Astrology as in Crowley's deck. It is important for you, not to be pigeonholed by Astrological associations by any author.

Considering the Astrological Associations of the Minor Courts, let's have a look at the attribute of the "Star-sign". We have :--- Fixed, Cardinal and Mutable.

Who would be;
Fixed:
Cardinal:
Mutable:??????????


There are 52 weeks in a year and 56 Minor Arcanum Cards, who is where? Not wanting to complicate matters. 52 Minors excluding our royalty, 4 Royals....................... I repeat my question.
Having four Courts and only 3 "segments or signs", how are you going to allocate them? Is it not simple to use the attributes being fixed............?

In relation to this, it is important to look at where the cards are "placed". Aces are ruled by the Magician----Mercury, etc.

The most appropriate way to approach this, is to consider the element and it's structure in the Major Arcanum. Swords--Air, Cups--Water,,,,etc. Then the numeric value as well.

Although we may think it is extremely complicated, it's not really. Every Sun Sign has a ruling element and influence.

The most relevant use of "specific" astrological associations, is to predict an event in a certain "time-frame". Although Crowley may have given a "set of probabilities", you need to consider this as a theory to be tried and perhaps proven beyond doubt, which is impossible.

Tarot, Astrology and numerology run hand-in-hand, it is for us to find "our" connection between the three and feel comfortable with.

It is very important for you to find your own direction regarding astrological associations. We all have a different interpretation to each card, and this influences your "timing".

I hope you found this informative.

Hugz
R

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Post by Mandimedea » Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:42 am

Thank you for your response, it was very helpful.  I do however understand to not put too much emphasis in reading tarot with astrological signs, I meant that I am drawn to that Deck more for the Artistry and the astrological ties in the artwork, not so much for interpretation-the colors and the astrological symbols jump out more with that deck to me.  I will be studying the online class with the Rider Waite.  The last time I attempted the course, I was given the instructions to do with the Rider Waite as that is how it was taught.  I have been doing some of my personal readings for practice with the crowley deck before I decided to retake the course.  I just want to refresh my mind so I can be more confident with my readings.  I believe retaking the course will just strengthen everything I already know. I look forward to continuing the course. :)

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Post by crimsonstars » Thu Sep 01, 2011 9:36 am

Alright, a lot of the reading in the short essay about the introduction to tarot was a more straight to the point version of Israel Regardie's introduction to tarot in some of the Golden Dawn materials. This was easier to read, especially in the areas that describe the suits and compare them to both elements and playing cards. This was something I've been missing from a lot of books for years.

Self study discussion:

The Golden Dawn was a mystical order that considered the Occult to be something studied and organized to those who could be trusted with the information. It became a secret organization in England, after hearing some of the basics from their friends in Germany, and produced a long standing mystical order who eventually involved people like Regardie, Crowley, and even Dion Fortune. Over time, these individuals attempted to organize and fix their knowledge into a set format, beginning with work done by their predecessors in the field and other things that came out of distant places like Egypt. This wealth of information was passed along from student to student and eventually was matched up with the playing cards used by monks in Italy whom couldn't use other kinds of games to entertain their minds based on regulations. Over time, these images were written to be linked up somehow with the Book of Thoth, which was the Egyptian manuscript that the Golden Dawn and similar orders utilized in their workings. Eventually, after the adjustment of many no-longer famous people, tarot began to take the shape we're used to seeing now when Sir Arthur E. Waite took up the cause, changing the pictures from their previous Egyptology references or suit of cards, into what we've been seeing recently, the largely symbolic messaged pictures that we consider to be 'tarot' in these modern times.

Within the Golden Dawn, however, many people didn't seem to actually agree on how best to continue their studies, and Crowley seemed to spearhead the movements that sent the later rift down the center, creating the reflective 'right' and 'left' handed paths within the Esoteric Western Traditions as they are spoken of today. While this isn't the only sector of them, these later branched out into the greater sectors that people are most aware of to date. With places like the Temple of Set on the opposite sides to places like The Holy Order of the Rosy Cross, it stands to reason that this previous rift still stands. The Temple of Set was organized with creators like Crowley well in mind, and much of their material seems to come from his teachings. Many different individuals stand on both sides of this divide along with their own beliefs, organizations, orders, universities of magic, and practices.

Crowley's teachings started a new formation of Tarot that later became popular called 'Thoth tarot', which seems to not only utilize many of the considerations of the LHP, but to also incorporate elements of chaos and the considerations of liberties of social bindings. This 'rule breaking tendency' within the realm of tarot could indeed change much of the formatting, but I know very little about this section personally, so I'll be keeping my thoughts to this one somewhat quieter.


Considerations:

I seem to have fumbled across much of this in the last few years, so I feel like I'm right on track. All of my research has agreed with what's been posted already and I'm looking forward to the rest of the work specifically in this section.

A sincere thank you goes out to Payewacker and to the Tarot Mod for all the work they've done in this section.

Off to the next piece~

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