Tarot Cards

An exploration of individual cards, pairs and groups.

Journey Through The Major Arcana – Part 2

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The Fool’s Journey as 3 X 7 Theory

In my Part One of Journey Through the Major Arcana, I talked about Rachel Pollack’s presentation (in Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom) of the Major Arcana Trumps as a sequence, or progression, of an individual’s journey to individuation and enlightenment. The Trumps (minus the Fool, who represents the individual taking the journey, hence the system’s other name of the Fool’s Journey) are divided into three lines:  

  • cards I-VII are seen as consciousness (the outer concerns of life in society)
  • cards VIII-XIV are seen as subconscious (our inward search to find who we really are)
  • cards XV-XXI are seen as superconscious (development of a spiritual awareness and a release of archetypal energy).

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Journey Through The Major Arcana – Part 1

3x7 theory header

The Fool’s Journey as 3 x 7 Theory

I think that everyone understands that the journey through the archetypes of the Major Arcana is a journey of individuation, of personal growth and enlightenment. There are several different ways in which the journey can be broken down. In the companion book to the “Universal Marseille” deck, author/Tarotist Lee Bursten discusses the 3 X 7 theory, which is based on Plato’s theory of the soul being divided into three parts:

  • The Soul of Desire
  • The Soul of Will
  • The Soul of Reason.

According to this theory:

  • Trumps I-VII represent the Soul of Desire
  • Trumps VIII-XIV represent the Soul of Will
  • Trumps XV-XXI represent the Soul of Reason.

Read moreJourney Through The Major Arcana – Part 1

Tarot Court Cards – Kings, Knights & Fathers

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Whether known as Fathers, Kings or Knights* in your own Tarot deck, this final group of the Tarot Court will almost always be a senior male to yourself, in rank and/or age. They will represent your father, your uncle, your bank manager – the mature males, and generally the ones we look up to in life. Being a King instantly reminds us of hierarchies, be that at home, at school or university, or in the workplace, and as such he will always be seen as ‘patriarchal’.

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Order In The Court

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Guest post by Barbara Moore.

Do you think about the number of Minors, Majors, and Court Cards and thank the tarot goddesses and gods that there are only sixteen Court Cards? I know I did. Even today, after almost two decades of studying and reading tarot, I still cringed when Court Cards turned up in readings. Court Cards are usually considered among the most difficult cards to interpret. I can think of several reasons why this is true.

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Tarot Court Cards – Queens & Mothers

tarot court cards queens and mothers

All four queens of the Tarot Court Cards are instantly recognisable – we know them up close and personal as invariably they are our mothers. Generally associated with mature women, this age range I feel is becoming wider as more and more younger women become mothers too. It’s safe to say though that we accept the Tarot Court Card queens as emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and generally more mature through life experience.

As inner processes, and events they represent creativity, the creative process and ideas, and seeing the fruits of the efforts of those ideas. They bring a warm, nurturing element to a reading and can also be seen as a right of passage for a woman – embodying and accepting womanhood, femininity and sexuality.

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How To Finally Conquer The Tarot Court Cards

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For many years I was troubled by the Tarot Court Cards. I had trouble remembering them, their personalities and attributes. The bigger picture was missing for me, not to mention the finer details! I tried many methods in an effort to assist in my learning and remembering of them, but I had one fairly large hurdle to overcome – my memory! It’s just not up to speed, it doesn’t matter which way I look at it – I have a flaw!

All joking aside though, it has hindered me somewhat; though learning and memorising the rest of my tarot decks was easier for a couple of reasons:

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