a non-magical guide to Tarot

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The Hierophant

The Hierophant: a muggle guide to tarot

A Hierophant, now there is something you don't see every day. Never actually. A Hierophant is a high priest or the pope as this card is sometimes called. Not exactly something that is part of our everyday life. It reminds me of a photograph on the mantelpiece of the house I grew up in, showing my grandmother and pope John-Paul II (pope from 1978 to 2005) from when he visited my home town in 1985. My grandmother told me it was the best day of her life. So we are obviously dealing with a religious figure here, with some authority but the meaning of the card goes way beyond that. This card is fairly simple though, so don't panic.

> ltr: Renaissance Tarot; Rider-Waite; Wild Unknown Hierophant

Symbolism

The Hierophant is almost always an elderly man adorned with the symbols of one or other religion, most often Christianity. You will see headdresses, robes, staffs representing guidance and power. He is mostly seated (thus stable) and accompanied by two pupils who seek knowledge and advice from him. He is flanked by two columns representing the gateway that this card challenges you to pass. In the Renaissance tarot the pillars are topped by acorns, making them obviously penis-shaped and indeed representing fertility as the acorn carries in itself the potential of the mighty oak tree. In the Dutch language they go even further: the Dutch word for acorn also means glans of the penis or head of the penis. A deep manliness exudes from this card. We also notice the all-seeing eye representing arcane and other knowledge.

Upright meaning

The Hierophant has several layers. The first one is the most obvious: the authority of institutionalized religion or believing what is in a certain old book or what old men tell you. The second is institutionalized knowledge as in formal education, taking lessons at a university for example. It's less about learning and more about the transfer of knowledge from a smart or wise person to another person. Thirdly it concerns rituals, ancient rituals to be exact: baptism, marriage (the ceremony, not the feelings), funerals but in a smaller sense also your everyday rituals and habits. On the deepest level this card is about conservatism in its purest sense.

> The beautiful and abstract Soul Cards Hierophant with both a key and some religious references if you can spot them.

Now I know a lot of you people out there have a deep dislike for conservatism because of the association with right or far-right politics or fundamentalist religion. Try to wipe that of the board for a second, we'll talk about that later. In it's purest sense conservatism cares about keeping what is valuable intact. I believe that to be equally valuable to changing things for the better. Everyone wants to change certain things in their life or in the world and everyone wants to keep certain things exactly as they are. Probably more than you imagine, because we tend to take a lot that is for granted and only notice it when it's gone.

> Hierophant from the True Black Tarot, my newest set. 

So far in our tarot journey we have encountered a rather progressive bunch: the fool asks us to be ourselves without any compromises, the magician asks us to use our abilities to shape the world as we like and the high priestess grants us all the new and exciting knowledge our curious heart desires. With the emperor we encountered a figure that is a little more conservative, asking us to make a structure or habit out of some of the good things we do. The hierophant asks us to make rituals out of those habits. The difference between a ritual and a habit is that you know why you made a habit about of a certain action (let's say to brush your teeth every day). A ritual is a repetitive action where the meaning of the action has become obscured and unquestioned or has transcended For instance forcing your children to brush their teeth even when they don't give a rats ass about mouth hygiene, it becomes a ritual they blindly follow. And they better do, especially since the cakes made out of poo incident. Or to put it another way: where a habit reflects a practical value you adhere to, a ritual is based on your deeper beliefs about right and wrong and the meaning of life.

Often, the key in life – and the key is a symbol often shown in this card – is to follow your deeply anchored and relatively unchanging core values. Look at it as you own personal bible, your own never changing truth. When confronted with a dilemma I find it often extremely helpful to consult my core beliefs. Of course this does not solve all dilemma's because once you think you have figured something out, life will kick you in the face and laugh at you. And obviously core values change over time, but that is not what this card is about. This is about clinging to them, believing them and applying them.

As an advisory card this one asks us not to rush into things, to think of what we could loose. To wonder if this is really something that aligns with what you stand for. It asks us to look at the present and truly see what has led to this and if that is really a bad thing. To the hierophant change is bad, unless embedded in tradition, ritual and a clear, uncut continuity with what has gone before.

> the Hierophant by the talented Kaylee Pinecone from her webcomic Tales of the Tarot, see the Hierophant here and the full series here

If this card represents a person it is mostly someone older and wiser, a teacher or professor perhaps. He dislikes change and likes tradition, old knowledge, he likes talking but considers listening to you a waste of time. Listen to him and take his advise seriously.

> the enigmatic Keymaster Tarot Hierophant: an imposing figure in formal robes and staff

Reverse meaning

When the Hierophant appears upside down things tend to get tricky. It can mean a number of things that are drastically contradictory so be careful and consider all possible meanings. Pick the one that feels most uncomfortable contemplating.

Opposite: craving change for the sake of change, being an iconoclast, a naive rebel, being against things without having a sound or realistic positive alternative. This all sounds bad but sometimes we need to get rid of things before we can see clearly where we want to go. A typical meaning is rebelling against your parents' religion or core value system. It can be very hard to shake beliefs you have grown up with but no longer serve you. But there is a warning though. As the iconoclasts in the 16th century destroyed valuable pieces of art in churches across Europe, so you are capable of inflicting irreparable damage to valuable elements in your life. If this card means you need to destroy tradition or if it warns against the possible disastrous effects of it, is up to you. Choose wisely.

Blocked: Authority and tradition are blocking you somehow. You revel in submissiveness to people in authority or to beliefs you might not even be aware you have. You might be redirecting responsibility in your life to things you see as uncontrollable or beyond your grasp. Ask yourself if they are indeed unchangeable. Drastic solutions are also solutions. What can you do yourself? Are these structures really what you believe in? Or is it simply wishful thinking.

Taken too far: now we enter the realm of reactionary reflexes, authoritarian power, a deep urge to reject everything new, challenging or uncomfortable. This is the realm of craving a past that never existed: when things were simple, truth was singular, change slow, identity reassuring and accepted. It is the realm of ultra-conservatism, homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, Romantic beliefs in a forgotten past when nature was pure, society a cohesive community and social relations fixed and comfortable. This past has never existed and never will again. It only leads to exclusion of anything and everyone that does not fit this ideal, which is ultimately everyone.  

> a rare female Hierophant by Casimir Lee, though it still has most of the traditional symbolic elements.

One cars spread – meditation on the hierophant

The hierophant asks us to awaken our inner conservative. To look beyond the modern idea of the individual capable of doing everything himself, free of all bonds of power or authority. It asks us to be passive, receiving in stead of transmitting or communicating. It asks us to be quiet, silent even and think of the past, tradition, rituals and if there is something meaningful in there for you. As homework the Hierophant asks you one thing: what do you want to conserve in your current position? How can you protect that?  What ritual (daily, weekly, monthly or yearly) can you put in place, or keep doing, that highlights that element? How can you truly embed that in your life so it never leaves?

No pop culture references this time, The Hierophant doesn’t go for that kind of things. Next episode: The Lovers

TLDR:

upright meaning: conservatism, formal education, core values reverse meaning: iconoclasm, submissiveness, ultra-conservatism

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The Emperor

The Emperor: a muggle guide to tarot 

It has been more than a year since I wrote on this blog but better late than never. I should have plenty of time from now on, because that is the reason for all this silence: lack of free time. But I handled that like a boss. let’s get on with it. We have finally arrived at an unapologetic male character in the tarot, which took us five cards into the Major Arcanum. So, without writing a paper on the patriarchy let’s dig into my nuanced view of the archetypical father, ruler and ultimately god. 

Let’s get the gender issue over with straight away. Like the empress, if in your life the archetypical father is not a man, no big deal, then that person can be represented. The Emperor is at its most basic a person who wields a lot of formal power in your life. Simple as that. My boss for example – which is a very typical interpretation of the Emperor card – is a woman and she has a lot of power over many aspects of my life. If it wouldn’t be for the large amounts of confidence I have in her, it would be scary how much power she has.

> Renaissance Tarot Emperor: secret 4 legshake and birds. 

Symbolism

The fact that the emperor’s card is numbered 4 is no coincidence, not only is the four figure the symbol of both the planet and god Jupiter, is also the number most strongly associated with stability (think legs of tables or chairs, limbs of mammals, the four corners of the world, a house has four walls, a year has four seasons, but let’s not get too numerological, shall we?). Some cards represent the emperor with one leg crossed, mimicking the number four, like in the Secret Tarot. There will be some birds, representing the sky gods of many cultures meaning power, royalty, strength and good fortune (think Roman, Russian or German emperors that all have bird symbols). Also: crowns, scepter, suits of armour (the protective side of masculinity), thrones and whatnot. Also horns, horns represent penises. 

Sometimes mountains are depicted which might be a bit confusing for some muggles. This can only be understood by understanding the emperor as opposed to and in harmony with the empress. Where the empress has wheat for fertility and growth, the emperor has mountains for infertility and stability. Growth is very nice but one needs a certain doses of stability in life. Fertility and reproducing are all fun and games but someone needs to protect all that growth. I think it’s a nice metaphor for masculinity: (temporary) power without fertility, defending what the empress creates and takes care of. 

> The Rider-Waite Emperor: mountains, penises, I mean horns and good old fashioned bearded ruler. 

I admit not only lack of time withheld me from writing about the emperor. As a deeply masculine card I - as a man who only reluctantly and not that often identifies as a man but can’t really pinpoint what to identify as, or indeed if I need to identify at all - I do not feel qualified to write about the man. But as is often the case: I couldn’t be more wrong. Due to my struggle with, contemplation, participation and perception of and some distance to masculinity I am perfectly placed to write about it.

Upright meaning

I absolutely believe that masculinity needs a new, positive, inclusive definition that inspires people (not just men) to do good. One such view that heavily influenced me was nurturance culture.  

A genderless world where no good (or bad) personality trait is gendered, is not anywhere in the cards (see what I did there?). So how do we as a society give a positive and inspiring content to the idea of masculinity? One of the possible answers are the 4 positive characteristics of the emperor: protection, practicality, authority and structure. 

Sure, I’ll argue against all four of them when talking about other cards, but the tarot is about exploring all sides of the human condition and these 4 have value as well and are all four historically associated with masculinity. Is masculinity in a crisis? Yes, it most certainly is; it has been reduced to a destructive cliché where it used to be kaleidoscopic concept. Not by feminists, but by men themselves. We have not emancipated ourselves. In stead of evolving like women did the last century, we have retreated into an ever more meager concept of masculinity. This is my attempt to reconstruct the notion of inclusive manliness. 

Pillar 1: protection

You gotta fight, for your right, to party. - The Beastie Boys

Know that feeling when you broke down, when you are at your most vulnerable and you find comfort and protection in someone’s arms? I could be talking about a man who protects you late at night in some shady alley from a knife-gang but honestly: how many times are we in need of that? And how much have we needed someone to just be around us, silently but firmly comforting us. Protection and defense imply some potential for destruction but that does not need to be a bad thing if the thing that is being destroyed is a bad thing. Be protective.

Pillar 2: practicality

Yes, I am talking about being able to handle power tools, finish an Ikea closet in 15 minutes and fixing your bike. Cliché much? Yes, but it’s a decent and good quality. While the empress listens to how you had a bike accident and fixes that bleeding knee, the emperor is silently repairing your bike in the shed without you knowing and what after the whole debacle and you find out, makes you smile again. Silent, humble work. Thinking of the small things, the pro’s and con’s and getting on with it. This is where the repressed emotions come into play. Not necessarily a bad thing if not taken too far. There is nothing wrong with temporarily repressing emotions to get shit done as long as you deal with them later on. Sometimes the trash just needs to be taken outside, a meal cooked, a kitchen cleaned or a day at the office endured. Postpone emotions, don’t bottle them up. Be practical.

> left: emperor by kindanddemon > right: emperor by skullsquid

Pillar 3: authority

Both having it/using it as well as dealing with it. Yes, I would also like to live on an island in a sea of mutual respect where there is no need for authority but let’s just wake up shall we? Authority is a thing and we need to deal with it. Easiest way is being an authority yourself. And I mean that in a good way. Standing for something, believing in something, without dogma or rigidness but open and evolving. You could also call it privilege, there’s a lot of it out there and like a sword it should be used and wielded for good, to shield (another symbol you will often find on the card) those who do not have it. Privilege is a real thing, you can’t get rid of it (by yourself or in a short amount of time) but you can use it for good. The emperor tells us to use our gifts (remember the magician?) for good, to be ambitious, not at the cost of others but to the benefit of all. Deserve respect. 

Pillar 4: structure

The stability in number 4 is also associated with structure, systems, procedures and ultimately rules and laws. They exist for a reason and should be there for the good of all. The empress negotiates and compromises, the emperor confirms this by making rules that sustain this peace. I honestly believe everyone can use some structure, some system, some good habits, some good routines, rules you live by. Maybe not 100% of the time, no one asks you to be perfect, no one asks the rules to be perfect. Even the apparent chaos of nature obeys the laws of physics. Constructing order from chaos has its benefits. Yes chaos nurtures – in an empress kind of way – the new and creative, order protects what is fragile and needs to be maintained. Construct systems that benefit you. 

> The Wild Unknown Emperor: The emperor depicted as a large tree overlooking the forest, growing by the bright light of the midday sun, deeply and firmly rooted in the soil. 

The emperor can be anyone or anything that radiates the qualities above, not just a person (your father, husband, boss or landlord) but also an institution: government agencies, large corporations, the army etc. 

Reverse meaning

"Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God?" - Tyler Durden in Fight Club

When the emperor appears reversed in your reading you are hugely and utterly fucked. At its base meaning this card represents power and now that immense power is turned against you in one of three ways:

Opposite: the opposite of manliness is not femininity, get that in your head as soon as possible. The opposite of power is powerlessness, not receiving the responsibility you need; the opposite of protection is getting hurt. The opposite of practicality is inertness, laziness, meddling without achieving, not really trying, not having the required skill without anyone around to help you. The opposite of authority is slavery, submission, believing yourself to be weaker than you are. The opposite of a stable structure that perpetuates good is destructive chaos, not knowing where to start, being confused, having to start over and over again because nothing is fundamentally anchored.  

cock-blocked: The emperor is blocked somehow. You are unable to assert yourself, maybe lost in a maze of regulations, rules and procedures. You are maybe protecting the wrong things or people. You might think you are practical but got something wrong (it’s mostly not the Ikea manual that is wrong or the piece that is faulty, it is most certainly, you). 

Taken too far: This is the domain of toxic masculinity. Yes this is a thing, I suffer from it every day. Masculinity is a prison. This kind is anyway. Defense becomes unwarranted offence, violence, abuse of physical strength, this is the bully knocking you a bleeding nose and your father raping you. This is thinking you can fix everything, that everything is logical and practical and being blind to the emotional, spiritual or natural things in life. This is abuse of authority, corruption, back chamber politics, chauvinism. It is structural sexism, racism and a system that only exists to benefit itself not the people in it. And it is all turned against you. 

One card spread – meditation on the emperor:

"Life seems so much simpler when you're fixing things." - Anakin skywalker in Attack of the Clones

The Emperor is the first break we get in a way. In a very – too – short version of our path up until now the fool asks us to unapologetically be ourselves, the magician asks us to be able, the high priestess begs us to be knowledgeable. The emperor asks us to consolidate that into a system, a structure so what we have achieved so far can be defended. It’s about creating habits that benefit you, assert yourself as you are, yourself, able and knowledgeable without shame or hesitation. Use your abilities as a weapon against injustice. But we’re turning too abstract, I know. Let’s be more practical. Answer all the following questions and jot down one action per question that you can do in the next four days:

Ask yourself what is going well in your life and how you can anchor that in your life. How can you make it last?

Who or what in your immediate environment needs protection (or comfort, or help) and how can you provide that? Does something need fighting and which weapon in your arsenal is best suited?

When were you last intimidated by authority? What characteristic was intimidating? Do you possess that characteristic? Imagine yourself unintimidated in that same situation. What is needed to get you there?

Do you own something that is broken? Try to fix it. (Just like there is an inherent value to growing things crf. the empress, fixing things is itself a healing action).

TLDR: Upright meaning: power, protection, practicality, authority, order Reverse meaning: powerlessness, impotence, confusion, chaos, abuse of power

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The Empress

The Empress: a muggle guide to tarot

> The Empress by Stephanie Davidson

Today we’ll be talking about The Empress a.k.a. your mother. I have tried very hard not to make this post a long series of yo mama jokes. As I wrote before, the tarot talks about some things that are universal, that apply to everyone. One such thing is: we all have a mother. A biological mother and no, Steve, I still don’t believe you were created in a clone tank by some unlisted government agency. Some of us are lucky enough to have had one or more mother-figures, fulfilling the role of the archetypical mother, which is our main subject today. What is understood as the archetypical mother will become clearer when we unravel the few symbols which often accompany the empress. Luckily, only a handful of symbols this time, in contrast to the three previous cards which have been quite heavy on symbolism. So grab the empress from your tarot deck and check if any of the following symbols occur on your card. 

Symbolism

> Rider-Waite Empres: regal figure, surrounded by nature.

There are three levels to the empress: 1. The empress: the mother of a nation 2. The mother: yes, your mother 3. Your inner mother: yes, you

A possible fourth, which I will leave out because of the muggle thing, is the mother goddess; plenty of other blogs and websites can tell you about her. A lot of the symbolism deals with the first level: a throne, a crown (often of stars, we know where you took that one, Mary), a scepter and damn fine robes. All this indicates that she’s the boss. She is also always right. She carries the heavy burden of balancing all the needs of the subjects and acts for the common good of all; seldom pleasing every single one. But someone must keep the higher perspective and guard the peace. Unlike the fool she can’t just be herself because she carries a lot of responsibilities. She can’t manipulate the world just for her own gain like the magician because she has to take care and provide for others. She can’t afford to dedicate herself to the truth like the high priestess, because she is neck-deep into managing conflict and needs to be pragmatic. The symbolism is quite clear: the empire = your family. 

> The Renassance Tarot Empress: rising from wheat.

Almost always the empress is accompanied by wheat. Wheat stands for fertility and abundance, think more food than you can eat. I’m thinking of a lot of pizzas right now. With cheese. So. Much. Cheese. In the bottom corners of the card we see the cornucopias - one of the few symbols with a phallic and receptive side - which represent the horns of plenty (of pizzas). The archetypical mother cooks and cooks well, provides all the body needs: pizzas, warm clothes without holes in them, a nice and clean home, warm milk with honey when we’re sick, you get the picture. Using what (mother) nature provides. But also our emotional needs: a shoulder to cry on when we’re sad (again). She will unconditionally take your side in any conflict with someone outside of the household. When the conflict is within the household, she will be the peacekeeper, reconciling the waring children. She also takes out the garbage, does the dishes, carries children through pregnancy, gives birth, waters the plants, feeds the pets, is the house’s pharmacist, psychologist, accountant, doctor, diplomat, interior decorator, and lover.

Fertility can be interpreted symbolically as creativity, etc. but it also stands for just that: having children. 

Often the Venus symbol is depicted on the empress card, originally a goddess of plants and cultivated spaces. You didn’t know that, now did you? It helped me dissociate the goddess with a brothel called Aphrodite’s Palace, which I pass on my way to work. Now, each time I see a ‘customer’ enter I imagine them receiving tutorials about growing house plants and which herbs are edible, by women in lingerie. It makes my life bearable. 

> The Wild Unknown Empress: Tall nightly tree illuminated by moonlight.

The empress is often portrayed outside to show her link with everything that grows and thrives, if tended to. If not outside, she’s often surrounded by plants. In the Wild Unknown Tarot, the empress is a majestic tree herself, standing proud in the moonlight. For me, this has a link to our inner mother. As an adult, I often find it challenging to take care of myself as well as my mother did: cook good food, dress appropriately for the season, go to bed on a decent hour, wake up early enough, take the time to care for my body, my house, my plants, my partner. And we need to be gentle and careful with ourselves. Society is constantly telling us to be The Emperor, but he’d be an unwashed, underfed baboon who hasn’t even been potty-trained if it weren’t for The Empress, which is why she is featured in the tarot before him. 

Upright meaning

First let’s get something out of the way: does the mother have to be a woman? No, if your father(s) or someone else took the archetypical role of the mother upon them (cheers for them), then the empress can refer to them. In the same way, if you are one of the partners in a family and another partner fulfills this role more than you, the empress can refer to them, no matter who is in possession of a (working) uterus or not. 

> FLTR: The Empress by Lesly-Oh, Drathe, Fluorescent Wolf

When this card comes up in a spread it obviously refers to either your mother (or someone who fulfills that role) or yourself in the role of the mother, with all the qualities listed above. It means this person, or these qualities are needed at this point in your life. Are you getting enough to eat? Is it decent, nurturing food? Do you drink enough water? Do you shower or bathe enough? Are you making sure you look decent? Do you need to sit down and talk to someone about your feelings? Is there an internal conflict that desperately needs a peaceful solution? Ask yourself these questions and give yourself time to answer them. Also the big motherfucker of a question: do you want children of your own? Already a mother? Then ask yourself if you are being a good mother to your children. What is a good mother? What mother would you like to have had? You can’t be perfect but what are the most important aspects you want to focus on? 

If the card refers to a situation and not a person (and yes, you need to deduce that yourself, but I’ll teach you how when we discuss our first spread, coming soon), it is a situation of abundance, safety, coziness and growth. Both material and emotional happiness. 

Reverse meaning

As always, there is a trinity of possibilities when a card appears upside-down. 

1. The opposite: lack of a mother-figure. Some of the most broken people I know - and I say this with gentleness – didn’t have someone who nurtured them, both physical and emotional. It often leaves a dark abyss in the middle of their heart, so insecure, like the roots of a plant that could never really take hold of the soil they grew up in. When this card is reversed it can mean (physical or emotional) poverty and hunger, apathy, feeling like you don’t matter, feeling like there is no need for you to exist. If there is no mother, you are left with only one option: be your own mother. It’s a lot of work. 

2. Something is blocking the empress. Maybe you no longer talk to your mother for some reason. Re-examine those reasons. I’m not saying you should re-establish contact, just re-examine thoroughly. Maybe something is holding you back to be a mother? What is holding you back? Especially for men: why are you not nurturing your own inner mother? What aspects of it are difficult but necessary? How could you progress in those traits? Additionally, the card can mean infertility, symbolic or not. 

3. YES MOTHER, I KNOW MOTHER, PLEASE MOTHER. Sometimes, a lot of the times, mothers try too hard. Nurturing becomes controlling, caring becomes overprotective, keeping the peace becomes keeping up appearances. The card can refer to a mother that wants a say in everything, can’t let go of her children, either because she has reduced her self-image to simply motherhood, a fear of uselessness or simply by caring too much. In this perspective it can also mean a mother-in-law, for obvious reasons. Think of questions like ‘You are buying GREEN curtains for your apartment? Really? Sure, if that is what you WANT.’ Somehow there still is a symbolic umbilical cord that needs cutting. Time to get the scissors. Snip snip.

> The Empress by MA ilustraciones and Spero Spera

Meditation on The Empress

In a one card spread or when using a card to trigger meditation, the empress asks us to be more like her. No matter who you are, try to be a mother to yourself and those around you. Grow stuff and cook it for them. Make them a cup of tea. Get them a blanket when they are cold. Listen to them when they need to talk. Try maintaining the peace or resolving conflict situations so that everyone can have something. Try focusing on basic physical needs like warmth, food, safety and enough sleep. If this meditation keeps taking you to your mother, you have what professionals call mother-issues. A lot of people have those. Mothers are not perfect and for every good thing they gave us, they probably also gave you a scar somewhere. If possible, try to find forgiveness; being a mother is hard. If possible accept the scar. If not, there is seldom a need to confront her. It’s your scar, your own. Take care of it. 

TLDR Upright meaning: abundance, nurturing, fertility Reversed meaning: poverty, overprotectiveness, infertility

Hollander, P. Scott, Tarot voor beginners, ‘s-Gravenhage, 2004. P38-41. Lyle, Jane, The Secret Tarot, New York, 1998. P24-27. Krans, Kim, The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook, New York, 2016. P163-164.

[brokenforecast]

The High Priestess

The High Priestess : a muggle guide to tarot     - People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.               Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

The high priestess is often the point where tarot manuals start getting really esoteric, but in my view, it is quite the straightforward card, just like the fool and the magician. The high priestess is all about teaching. I’m sorry this update took so long. I’ve been busy, well, teaching.

Symbolism

The high priestess is accompanied by a vast array of symbols that are not intuitively understood. Especially the Rider-Waite card looks like an LSD-induced hallucination instead of a tool for self-realization. 

> The Rider-Waite version of the high priestess aka space-witch

Let’s start with them pillars, shall we? A lot of tarot cards feature two pillars left and right. They always symbolize a gate you do not have to go through, a concept found in a lot of spiritual traditions. The trick as they as they say, is to become like the guardian of the gate. You will have found out by now that the tarot challenges you to become like the figure in the card. Here, the pillars are black and white, symbolizing lies and truth. Hence, it challenges you to learn the difference between the two. 

> The Renaissance Tarot version of the high priestess, symbols galore

The high priestess is almost always depicted with a moon somewhere, a symbol of the feminine principle if ever there was one. After two intrinsically androgynous cards we encounter a distinctly feminine card in the high priestess. (It’s ok men, we will have plenty of male cards later on) A lot of manuals drown you with all the symbolism of the female principle when talking about the priestess but that simply doesn’t make any sense. There is not one card that yells WOMAN. All that is associated with the female principle – which is far from exclusive to women, luckily – is divided among different cards. The moon symbolizes independence (it regenerates all by itself by waxing and waning), the mystery of night, the silence of the night and the delicate light of wisdom. In fact the moon is such a complex symbol that it has a card of itself, which will be one of the most insane posts of this blog.

Often there will be a cat, also representing the feminine and the nocturnal. I love cats. Also a serpent, an ancient symbol for secret knowledge and the secret of eternal life. Yes, sneks are immortal. The doves atop of the pillars represent the soul, this is indeed not a card of the material realm but one of the inner world of the soul, if you believe in that kind of thing. You can also call it your mind. 

She is also holding a book or a scroll, which obviously refers to knowledge, at least there is one straightforward symbol. 

> The Wild Unknown version where a fierce tigress sits serenely in contemplation of the world. 

A subtle symbol is her composure. However the high priestess is depicted she should always seem calm, serene, silent and reserved but vey powerful. Her mouth will be closed and she won’t seem inviting. That’s because she doesn’t just teach anyone, only those deemed worthy. 

Oh my god I almost forgot the damn pomegranate. The fabled fruit that is the only one that can grow in the underworld. Dramatic much? It’s sweet and bitter, just like knowledge, there you go. 

Upright meaning

I strongly believe we humans all share some characteristics, like the fool’s individuality and the magician’s urge to change to the world around us for the better. That is why I like tarot, it speaks of the human condition. To overcome this gate, we need to acknowledge the teacher inside all of us. 

When this cards appears in a spread it asks us to slow down and ask some questions first. Not everything is at it seems. There is something more profound going on and we need to discern what. It asks for silence, patience and above all understanding. We might need to go looking for a teacher, a book or deeper inside ourselves. The biggest problem here is the illusion of knowledge, thinking you understand the situation. It is difficult to know that you don’t know something, until someone shows it to us. That is why teachers are so important. A good teacher will not only transfer knowledge to you but challenge you to go looking for it yourself, and guides that process.

> Some more examples of high priestesses (because she is rarely white) from left to right: - by Sabrina Glik - by R.Black - by Maria Morales - by Valeria Araya Go visit their websites and blogs, they are amazing artists.

When this card represents a person, it will often be a teacher of some sorts, or a dedicated pupil, or often both because a good teacher is almost always a pupil herself. It is someone reserved and serene, certainly not someone mansplaining stuff to you. You will need to convince her to share her knowledge with you; that you are prepared to listen and make an effort. You have to be prepared to open yourself to new knowledge, to challenge what you think you already know. Get ready to be pushed around. The knowledge you gain might not be the answer you were expecting or hoping for; the truth seldom is. 

Reverse meaning

1. Exactly the opposite: the high priestess reversed can mean someone who has valuable knowledge but refuses to share it with anyone, mostly out of fear of losing the power that comes with possessing any kind of rare knowledge. Instead they will deceive you, give you false information or confirm your faulty beliefs. But they seem trustworthy. Ask yourself if a person is afraid to loose their status their knowledge brings them and if they can truly be trusted.

2. Blocked meaning: something or someone, most likely you yourself, is keeping you from looking for the truth. You are stuck in superficial ideas, supposed truths or you are surrounding yourself with people that deceive you, but you refuse to question their validity. Ignorance is bliss but in this situation, you might need to overcome your fears and face the deception of your own making. Yes, you are being a superficial brat, stop it. 

3. Taken too far: the high priestess is the first card we encounter that is intrinsically altruistic. She teaches her secret knowledge out of the goodness of her heart, to those worthy and prepared. When asked to teach, you need to guard your own altruism and not exhaust yourself. Helping others to realize their full potential should never damage your own self-realization. 

The path of the high priestess

Every card in tarot poses a challenge. Just like the magician challenges the fool to not just aimlessly wonder around but to do something and take control of his own life, so does the high priestess challenge the magician to not just acquire knowledge for the practical sake of it, but to really understand the world. To seek knowledge for its own sake. 

I believe real knowledge is a long-term thing. When I look back at my studies I regret not truly engaging with all that knowledge. Sure I had a friend with whom I spent hours drinking coffee going through our 20th century philosophy and medieval history classes but in the end my goal was to pass exams and not gaining a real understanding of history as should be. But it’s never too late. Understanding takes time and patience. Once you gain understanding, the high priestess simply asks us to share that understanding with those who are prepared to listen. 

Take this with you: Use your position of power not to put others down or get ahead in the rat race, but use it to lift other people up, as you should do with any privilege. 

TLDR Upright meaning: hidden knowledge, your inner voice, secrets Reversed meaning: deception, superficiality, exhausting altruism

Hollander, P. Scott, Tarot voor beginners, ‘s-Gravenhage, 2004. P34-37. Lyle, Jane, The Secret Tarot, New York, 1998. P20-23. Krans, Kim, The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook, New York, 2016. P161-162. Pollack, Rachel, Tarot de complete gids, Köln, 2001. P74.

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The Magician

The Magician : a muggle guide to tarot

     - Through the dark of futures past, the magician longs to see. One chants out between two worlds … Fire Walk with Me.                David Lynch’s Twin Peaks

I realize it’s hard to convince you of my view that tarot doesn’t have anything to do with magic per se, when the title of the card we are discussing is ‘the magician’. But it is perhaps the most worldly, practical, unmagical card in the entire deck, so bear with me. Today we’ll be talking philosophy and raw action. The magician caries the numbered one. So take out your magician card, or your favorite magician card if you have more than one. The magician is a card for which I feel a profound affection; I identify deeply with it (along with two others: the chariot and the king of swords). You could almost say that in this early stage of the tarot’s journey I have halted and stopped at the first step and there is some truth in that. 

Symbolism

We see a figure with one arm pointing upwards, sometimes holding a staff or a wand and one pointing downwards. This represents the ancient phrase “as above, so below”. The idea of a macrocosm and a corresponding microcosm is an old one. We know the ancient Greeks philosophized a lot about this and the idea has spread across big parts of the world ever since. Plato believed in the existence of a perfect world of ideas, next to our world of imperfection. Christianity believes in a temporary existence here on earth and an eternal existence close to god. 

On a more mundane scale we can see the outer world of everyday life and our inner world of hopes, dreams, ideas and fantasies. And in each one there is something that bridges these two. I have always found it intriguing that moons revolve around planets and planets around suns in a colossal void, very much like electrons revolve around the nucleus of an atom, also mostly in void. In short, it symbolizes that the stuff that makes up the universe can be found inside ourselves.  Between the above and the below is the magician, us, at the center of all this. It is a profoundly anthropocentric card; we are, each one of us, the god of our own universe. 

Did I just call you a god? Yes, I did. 

In front of the magician is an altar with four objects: a sword, a wand, a cup and a pentacle (or coin). These four objects represent the four elements, the stuff the universe is made of, in a symbolic way. The altar and the four objects represent everything, the world (the macrocosm) but right in front of us, small and tangible, symbolized (the microcosm). They are there for the taking. In certain decks the magician is called the juggler, the capable artist that keeps all four elements in the air at the same time. The altar is a miniature world under the control of the magician. 

Another crucial symbol is the infinity symbol above the head of the magician, symbolizing the unity of male and female principles. In my post-gender worldview, I don’t like male and female stereotyping, but the tarot is rife with it, luckily in a very nuanced manner. Tarot isn’t inherently patriarchal if that’s what you are wondering. The magician, like the fool, is an androgynous figure, uniting male and female principles. To be an able person, one does indeed need a mix of both, lest we are hollow, ridiculous clichés. The infinity symbol lives on in the character “&” often used on marriage invitations when a couple puts an ampersand between their names, indeed a union of two.

Is there no end to this symbolism? Jesus. We’re almost there; I know it’s a lot; it’s not an easy card concerning its symbolism but I’ll make it up to you later, because its meaning is real simple, I promise. In the Renaissance Tarot we recognize the symbols we talked about (the up and down arms, the altar with the four elements is a plinth here, and we see the infinity symbol). The figure is very androgynous, one leg is straight and muscular, one is almost that of an elegant ballerina. There is a hint of breasts and that hair is long and yet short. 

Some extra symbols are added like the two caduceui (still used by pharmacists as their symbol) but also by the alchemists of old. The two intertwined snakes represent – can you guess it? – the intertwined male and female energies. Between the snake heads is the symbol of the planet Mercury, a blend of (surprise) the male and female symbol. The wings on the arm and feet (like the ancient god Mercury) refer to his ability to ascend and descend in the world above and below.  I’ll shut up about the magician’s belt which represents the ouroboros, you can google that one if you’re really into the ouroboros. I am seriously done with its fucking endless symbolism. 

In the wild unknown card we recognize a few things: the four elements and the infinity symbol but the magician has been replaced by a wildcat. Which brings us seamlessly to its meaning (finally). A lot of cards in tarot are about contemplation but this one is all about action. A wildcat runs and runs fast, it runs gracefully, it is made for running. This card says only one thing: go! 

Upright meaning 

     - Knowing is not enough; We must apply. Willing is not enough; We must do.                Goethe

Just as the magician manipulates the four objects on the altar in front of him (remember, representing the microcosm), so can we manipulate the world around us. The magician is able, he knows his shit, he doesn’t sit idly by, he acts and transforms A into B, he makes changes as he sees fit, he shapes the world around him to his liking. He is whole, male and female combined, confident in his abilities. 

If this card represents a situation it tells us to believe in ourselves and act. Do it! Go for it! Stop doubting, stop thinking and just fucking do it already. 

If it refers to a person, it is someone confident, someone with abilities that bring about change in the real world in any possible way. Someone who knows his trade always seems like a wizard to an uneducated outsider. The things my IT-guy does to my computer look like magic to me; how my pharmacist prepares medicine that heals me looks like magic, how poets juggle and play with words, is magical to me. 

The magician is always someone who believes in themselves and has real skill and influence, not some cog in a machine but maybe an independent employee or anyone with a specific skill set. Or simply someone who works a little practical magic for you. See what I did there?  If you know yourself well, it helps to know the world; if you can change, so can the world. In contrast with the fool, the magician knows really well what he wants, he has a plan and he’s already working on it. The magician is deeply androgynous, he knows when to use his male and when her female side to best reach the goal. 

> The Magician by Stephanie Davidson

Reversed meaning

When reversed it can mean one of three things:

1. Exactly the opposite: inactivity. Someone is sitting on their lazy ass. Maybe thinking, dreaming, fantasizing or calculating risks, weighing options, whatever it is, now is not the time! Just get up and start working. Yes work, you will get tired. Stop talking, stop complaining. Work.

2. Something blocks you: you lack the confidence of the magician, you don’t believe in your own abilities. Maybe you compare yourself to people who do it better. But honestly with seven billion people out there, someone is bound to be better at no matter what you do. Maybe you believe you are worth jack shit. In any case: you are wrong. You are able. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

3. Taken too far: the magician holds the meaning of the charlatan, the imposter, the foul smell that drips from the word manipulating. This is someone who abuses his abilities in a way too selfish and harmful to others. He is a deceiver and quite good at it as well. 

The path of the magician

When you meditate on the magician, or if the magician represents you in a spread, it asks us to act. It is Yoda telling us to do or do not because there really is no try. It is Galadriel telling Frodo that this task was appointed to him and that if he does not find a way, no one will. 

It is Obama yelling at us ‘yes we can’ or Karl Marx telling us that the point is not to think about society, the point is to change it. Few cards are so straightforward. Just like last time, a little meditation exercise to let you grow, to step by step define who you are. Note down three skills that you possess that influence the outside world, grand or modest, doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be unique or super-snowflake-special. Skill is skill. Three things you are good at.

Next jot down three things you want to learn in the future. Like, before you die, preferably. 

Again, I’ll be open and honest; not out of some misguided exhibitionism but because as your guide I want to give the example. 

1. I am a decent enough librarian. I help my readers find the information they need, I teach them a skill set so they can find It themselves and analyze it’s worth in a critical way. I run a smooth library. 

2. I am verbally strong if I want to. I can communicate, inspire, analyze and I have a certain way with words. I write and guide roleplaying games as storyteller, which brings joy and excitement to people. I also use this for evil purposes. I have been known to bend truths.

3. Strategy, long-term planning, making plan B, C and D (and in secret E, F and G). Destroying resistance, guiding the process, improving along the way, optimizing, motivating and cheering at the end. 

Three things I want to learn before I die: to dance, speak German fluently, and sew clothes. 

TLDR: Upright meaning: confidence, action, skill Reversed meaning: passivity, lack of confidence, manipulation

Hollander, P. Scott, Tarot voor beginners, ‘s-Gravenhage, 2004. P30-33. Lyle, Jane, The Secret Tarot, New York, 1998. P16-19. Krans, Kim, The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook, New York, 2016. P159-160.

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meditation on the fool

Meditation on the fool: a muggle guide to tarot

I felt like there was something missing in the last post. As I am still searching for the right form of this blog, it didn’t feel right to skip this and immediately move onto the magician. To really imprint the meaning of the fool into your memory and set you on the path the tarot symbolizes, there is a little meditation exercise I want to propose. So get out your fool card, put away anything that might distract you, turn of the music, move to a quiet place and concentrate.

Look at the fool and wonder how much of it is already a part of you. Note down three ways in which you go against the common held beliefs of society and just do your own thing. They might be convictions or things you do every day but also small acts of rebellion. Not all of us are rebels or revolutionaries but no one conforms 100%. Take your time to find three meaningful ways in which you rebel. I’ll be open with you and tell you my three ways.

1. Not caring for material status or prestige. I don’t seek riches, nice cars, lots of things, brands, far-away holidays or anything else that people brag about, often between the lines. Especially as a man they teach you to show off your wealth on the outside. It is a measure of your masculinity and I just don’t play that game.

2. Let’s be honest here: I’m goth, for more than half my life by now. My wardrobe is 95% black, the music I like is 100% weird and I just can’t get rid of the deep-rooted Weltschmerz, melancholy, misanthropy and a love for all things rejected, ugly, ruined or forgotten. Especially at parties I dress androgynous. I like long, flowy clothes, simple but elegant.

3. I decided not to procreate. You can’t believe the social policing people do on this topic and women who made that choice have it even harder. I like kids, I really do but there are just a whole lot of other things that I’d like to do with my life.

Think about how these three things make you happy or make your life more fulfilling. Meaning is derived from difference. Who you are, who you really are, is in a large way defined by how you are not like the others. With over seven billion people out there, it is hard to feel special. But your identity is created by how you differ from your surroundings. Cherish these thoughts, beliefs, actions and attitudes that set you apart from your surroundings. Be proud of them; it always takes bravery, a leap of faith, just to be yourself.

Now think of three ways in which you can be more of a fool. Which three beliefs, attitudes etc. do you still cling to that might hold you back. We all conform in hundreds of ways but not all those things fit right. In what ways are you traditional? Do those beliefs really help you? Try to think of three ways in which you are holding yourself back, or society is holding you back and you don’t dare to go against it. Again, I’ll do the exercise with you.

1. I work full time. That’s 40 hours a week and that’s simply too much. This has been going on for almost five years. But if I didn’t agree to that, I would never have had the wonderful job I have now. Still, I seriously need to find a way around it and lessen my working hours because I am exhausting myself. Working full time is seen as normal and required if you have some ambition but it’s not making me happy.

2. As extravagant as I dress in weekends, at festivals or at parties, I dress down during weekdays. I still wear black and I am often seen as stylish or odd but I feel like I compromise. I just can’t stand not being taken serious. But I seldom try the leap of faith and tone down my style in everyday life.

3. I do like my comfort zone. I like staying inside. I like doing the things I always do: read, drink coffee, write, a videogame, a boardgame. Most things I like are happening inside and if not alone, then only with a few people. But doing exciting new things makes me feel truly alive. I just almost never do them on my own initiative. I need my friends for that; to take me outside and take me with them on an adventure. For that reason, I am eternally grateful to them.

Are those beliefs really making you happy or are you trying to find excuses? Like I said, we all conform to some degree but without a doubt we are conforming too much. It takes faith, courage and guts to go against society and just be yourself. Try to be aware of how you differ, recognize when the huge cliff on the card of the fool is looming ahead and you need to make a jump. A fool’s jump, but that’s who you are.

Next up: the magician. See you soon.

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The Fool

The Fool : a muggle guide to tarot      -Who's more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?                Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars episode IV A New Hope

Our first real post! Because let’s be honest, an introduction isn’t really a post. How exciting. This will be an in depth talk about one card: The Fool. It is one of the most enigmatic cards of The Tarot de Marseille; it is both the first and the last card in the Major Arcana. The what now? The tarot is divided into two parts: the Major Arcana with 22 numbered cards called ‘trump cards’ with one figure or symbol, and the Minor Arcana of 56 cards (4 suits of 14 cards each). The Fool is sometimes unnumbered, sometimes it has number 22, sometimes zero. The Fool is both the beginning and the end of the tarot, the alpha and the omega. Hence, this card is the first post of this blog and at the end I will talk about it again, in a new light. Confused yet? Let’s get systematic. 

In this blog we will talk about the tarot from two different perspectives, because you can handle that, you’re an intelligent person. One perspective isn’t enough:

1. The tarot cards with their meaning relating to the card in a spread, while doing a tarot reading. This is the most classic approach to tarot and will get the most attention. One of the goals of this blog is to make sure you can do your own tarot readings, both for yourself and for other people, because knowledge is useless if you don’t use it for something good. Today you will know what it means when the fool suddenly appears in a spread. If not then I’m a lousy teacher. 

2. The tarot as a metaphor for a journey, in which the Major Arcana functions as a path, starting with the fool (0), then continuing on with the magician (1), the high priestess (2) and so on, ending again with the fool when we make full circle. Each step poses different questions and challenges on which to reflect. It is a journey, a journey made by the fool. Today we will take the first step in this journey, because the fool, that’s us. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, believe me. In this way tarot can be a starting point (and nothing more) for meditation. A one card spread if you want. 

Each time I will use different examples of cards, but I’ll make sure to include at least these three decks each time:

> a few examples of the Rider-Waite Tarot

1. The Rider-Waite Tarot: because it is very traditional in its symbolism and very simple. It was published in 1910, at the peak of the mysticism craze of pre-world war Europe.  I want to get you acquainted with the standard symbolism of tarot and its meaning. This is a very good deck to start with. You might fancy very artsy tarot decks that interpret card meanings differently and use different symbolism but let’s start with walking before we start running, shall we? If you can interpret the Rider-Waite cards, you can interpret 95% of tarot decks. If you are just beginning with tarot, this is the ideal deck to start learning. You can choose your own personal and favourite deck later, there is no hurry. First learn the meaning of the cards, look around, let it sink in and then decide on a deck that is truly you. Also, it’s quite cheap and you can find it anywhere, certainly online. In my days, before the internet, I had to visit a witchy shop and fearfully ask an elderly woman reeking of incense what would be a good tarot deck to start with. In silence and with a frown, she pointed one of her long fingers at the Rider-Waite deck. I paid her, didn’t wait for the change, and got the fuck out of there. The shop is now an expensive burger restaurant. I wonder what happened to the woman. 

> a few examples of the Renaissance Tarot, my favourite deck

2. The Renaissance Tarot: because it is the deck I use for readings. I love it completely. It is still quite traditional in its symbolism but deviates on several smaller details. It is a good compromise between a traditional deck with clear symbolism and a certain simple and elegant aesthetic that speaks to me. It works for me, and that is the only thing that matters in the end. Fun fact: people didn’t do tarot readings during the renaissance, it’s so totally an 18th century thing. Yeah, the age of Enlightenment has a few surprises in stall for you.

> a few examples of the Wild Unknown Tarot, drawn with freehand, featuring a lot of animals.

3. The Wild Unknown Tarot: as an example of a deck that still uses all the traditional names and numbers of the cards but with a completely new symbolism, created and interpreted by the artist Kim Krans. These days there are a lot of artists who take up the challenge of creating a tarot deck, which is a huge undertaking because you need to create 78 artworks. But beauty isn’t everything. There is a lot of the artist himself and how he or she interprets the cards in the artwork, which often occludes other meanings of the cards. There is something to be said for the universal, timeless symbolism of traditional tarot decks. It is very exceptional when an artist succeeds in making a new kind of universal symbolism that includes all different meanings of traditional cards. I will show you the pitfalls of such ‘personal’ decks and its often-surprising advantages. The Wild Unknown deck is the one all the well-dressed witches on Tumblr are posting pictures of, but it is truly beautiful nonetheless.

4. Four? You said there going to be three? At the end of this year I will include a fourth, stunning deck. It will be glorious. It will also be artsy as fuck. The eye wants something too. 

You can see I am inclined towards more traditional decks because I believe it is you who should be interpreting the cards and not the artist who made the cards. Once you have mastered the meaning of cards, you will soon be aggravated by the shortcomings of many of these ‘alternative’ decks. But if it works for you, great. Although I doubt a SpongeBob SquarePants themed tarot deck will serve its purpose of guiding you in your troubled existence. So, we will discuss a traditional card, a semi-traditional card and a new card. Other decks will make guest-entries to show you the vast diversity of decks and to inspire you. 

If you already have a tarot deck, it’s now the ideal moment to take out the fool and place it next to your screen or in front of you. That way you can see if your card matches any of the symbols we will talk about or if the artist interpreted things differently. Do it NOW. If you don’t have a deck, no problem, I included pictures. 

Symbolism

Most cards depict the fool as a young man on a journey, walking towards a cliff, looking up or backwards (at anything but the gaping abyss in front of him). He is often accompanied by a faithful dog that follows him wherever he goes and tries (and fails) to warn him. He is dressed in simple robes or sometimes in the complete attire of a jester or harlequin to emphasise his humorous take on life.

In the renaissance tarot we see some elements of the rider-waite return but the fool is surrounded by white roses, often signifying innocence, purity and renewal. He also carries a lute, referring to wandering minstrels (a figure that has a lot in common with the jester or harlequin) and the instrument of Orpheus, who took a journey to the deepest of abysses, the underworld. In general, it depicts joy, frivolity and optimism. 

Here we see the artist taking a spin on the symbolism, depicting a chick about to take its first flight. It is also young and optimistic and knows little but must dare the first leap into the air. It must start flying someday but it might be plunging towards its death as well. 

Remember the fool is a set of glasses you put on to look at things, it doesn’t predict anything. The fool doesn’t care about a lot of things, he has fun, sings, dances and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. In his jests there is often truth though. In Dutch we have a saying: al lachend zegt de zot de waarheid. Roughly translatable as ‘The fool tells the truth while laughing.’ As in Shakespearean tales it is often the jester who, hidden behind layers of humor and riddles, can criticize the ruling powers, but in order to do that he must be outside the established order. The fool is a non-conformist, a weirdo, a loner in some way, with his own frivolous take on life. He challenges common beliefs and cares not for them. 

Upright meaning 

When this card refers to a situation it speaks of new beginnings, the first step of a journey, releasing the inner child, play, instability, excitement and spontaneity. It shows a leap of faith without overthinking. 

When this card refers to a person it means he or she (or especially with the fool, someone in between or not on the gender binary spectrum altogether) is a non-conformist, unconventional in one or many ways, punks, rebels, activists. someone spontaneous and frivolous. A person who puts aside warnings like ‘you can’t’ and ‘you shouldn’t’ but just believes in themselves and continues on. The fool has no plan, no long-term vision or commitment and lives in the now with all its five senses. Whether that is smart or not, will end in a huge fall or not, will be made clear by the surrounding cards. 

Reversed meaning

When a card appears in a spread in the upside-down position it means something else completely. Some people tell you not to do reversed meanings but in my view, that renders the tarot an overly optimistic story (except for the suit of swords, which we will discuss much later). Reversed meanings offer a chance to give the negative in life a place and reflect on that. Life sometimes gives you lemons, sometimes it crushes you under a container of lemons. It’s no use denying the darker aspects of life like sorrow, loss, grief, sadness, anger, greed or hopelessness. They are as much a part of life as joy and hope. When a card appears reversed; it can do one of three things with the upright meaning:

1) It can mean the exact opposite of it, the shadow-side of things. 2) it can denote the positive of the upright meaning is blocked by something. 3) It can be the positive taken too far. (too much of a good thing) 

In this case this means these three things:

1. Here the fool is naïve, innocence is ignorance, not caring for anything is not caring enough about the right things. 2. It means you don’t dare to take the leap of faith, that you are beholden to old, dusty beliefs that no longer serve you, ideas that have outgrown their use. A choice is right before you but you don’t dare due to fear of the unknown. But sometimes not all knowledge is available or needed to take a decision. 3. This denotes the absolute fool, the untrustworthy, the one that takes it too far. You are losing yourself in excess and temporary escape. When pointing to some else he or she is the one that in its blindness and foolishness will also be blind to you. In this case, the abyss is right in front, one step away. 

The path of the fool

I promised you to also interpret the card as a start of a journey we will embark on together. Call it a spiritual journey, call it a self-awareness trip, personal development or whatever. At the beginning of this journey the fool asks us to trust ourselves without looking at the past, at shortcomings, at traditions or conventions (within society or within yourself). Doing something new is often difficult, not because we dislike new things but because we like the old far more. It asks to leave behind the life as we have known it thus far and go further. There is no clear destination (yet). It asks us to be fools and just dare to jump, to do something. This doesn’t have to be tarot but you need something to reflect on life, make choices, be silent and listen to yourself, not all the voices and noises around you. To truly be yourself, whatever that may mean (that’s for later). 

BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

If life is hard, and even if it isn’t, it doesn’t hurt to escape for a bit and relax. Sure, have a glass, smoke a cigarette if that’s your thing, watch your favourite series, party like there is no tomorrow, fuck a stranger, have an orgy, take a knitting class out of the blue. It’s ok not to face things right away. It’s only in excess that these things hurt. You can’t escape forever. Turning into an alcoholic, drug addict, bingewatching 5 seasons with nothing but junk food or procrastinating for months will inevitably plunge you into the ravine. As a wider view on life you can sometimes be the fool, wandering around without a plan, burdened by just what you take with you. It can be very refreshing. But heed the warnings and don’t fall into the abyss; it’s bound to be out there, somewhere. 

TLDR: Upright meaning: a leap of faith, innocence, non-conformity, spontaneity, frivolity Reversed meaning: plunging into the abyss, foolishness, naivety, ignorance

Hollander, P. Scott, Tarot voor beginners, ‘s-Gravenhage, 2004. P123-126. Lyle, Jane, The Secret Tarot, New York, 1998. P12-15. Krans, Kim, The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook, New York, 2016. P158.

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introduction

 Muggle Guide to Tarot

TLDR (too long didn’t read): This blog will teach you how to do profound tarot readings, even if you have a secular, godless, unmagical worldview, like me. It can and will help you think in new ways about who you are and what you are doing here.

     - For God’s sake, Jim, WHY?             Lieutenant commander Leonard McCoy

Why write a tarot blog? Why even write this introduction to a tarot blog? Is the world really waiting for this? Am I even in a position to teach you anything about tarot? My god, I didn’t even know you did tarot!? What is this arcane mingling? Weren’t you supposed to be the rational one of our troupe?  

All valuable questions. The answer is: fuck all that, I do what I want. And what I want is to teach you something about tarot, because I truly and honestly believe that I have a bunch of things to add to all that has been said and written about the subject. Especially to the critics, because yes, you too can use, and benefit from tarot. Maybe even especially you. Like me, you don’t have to believe in anything supernatural, spiritual, religious, wiccan, pagan or magical to use it.  Hence the title of this blog. This is a guide for us non-magical folk (who are called muggles in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books) but if you do believe, be it in magic, a god, saints or demons, predestination or any mix of all that, you will be able to use this guide as well. It’s not exclusive, far from, it will be practical, open-minded and to the point. I am - to be frank - exceptionally good at tarot readings and like our little green friend Yoda once said: ‘Pass on what you have learned.’

The use of tarot readings

Ever wondered what the fuck you are doing here? Ever wondered what you are supposed to do? Who or what even are you? Some might say the questions are more important than the answers, but I think that is vague hippie bullshit. Let’s get some answers. Let’s start digging, shall we? There are answers. You can’t live without those questions being answered. Better know them instead of subconsciously riding the wave of mediocrity and winging it as we go. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place; thanks a lot, ancestors. 

Does that sound audacious? Arrogant even? I haven’t even started. 

What is this blog about, then? I have read a lot about tarot and have practiced readings for over a decade; I think there is one thing missing: a down to earth step by step guide, that is practical without losing sight of the complexity of the symbolism, without the religious ideas, which I believe are optional. Tarot is hard. Life is hard. Not impossible though. There will be a lot of steps, each one fascinating in its own right. 

The question burning on the lips of some of you since you started reading this is: does tarot predict the future? Can it predict my future? (And If you say yes, I will stop reading this blog, you superstitious fuckwit.) The answer is YES but not in any magical way. It’s absolutely not hard to predict the future, any idiot can predict the future. When you look at where you are now, if you look where you were going up to this moment, it’s not that hard to see where you are going. It’s almost physics. You are a certain object in a certain condition and certain powers (your past, your beliefs, your environment) are pushing you in a certain direction, that is where you are going, that is what (with high probability) will happen. Need a little nuance? I studied history at university so I know reality is not as simple as mere cause and effect. Motivations, reasons, beliefs are not always explicit, what you think might be different from what you actually believe; there is an element of chaos and chance in everything. Patterns are disturbed, randomness occurs. The past, by its nature is unchangeable, set in stone; the future, by its nature, is changeable and hence by its nature unpredictable. But calculating the fact that we are merely very smart monkeys, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and state that with a very high degree of probability, taking time to list some insights in a dialogue with someone who looks at you with a certain distance, you are probably predictable as hell. Can tarot predict the winning lottery numbers? Of course not, what a preposterous idea. 

The first purpose of tarot – and this is actually the only thing I wanted to say in this introduction – , is not predicting the future, not by a long shot. The first purpose of tarot is gaining insight into yourself, your environment, your motivations, your questions, your own answers up until now to those questions, who you want to be, who you certainly don’t want to be, what to do, what is happening, why it is happening and most importantly: who you are. 

Raison d’être

We often think about ourselves. It is probably our favorite subject to think about. But – and some people will recognize this – you can overthink. Thinking is not always the right response to a problem: in fact thinking can make a lot of problems grow out of proportion. Thinking can be metaphorically cancerous and yes, it’s still Captain Rational speaking, my brain hasn’t been hijacked by a marijuana smoking optimist telling you to chill, stop and smell the flowers, and just let it go. No, I’m telling you to try harder. Challenge yourself to think in a new way. Open up to a totally new perspective on your raison d’être. That is what tarot does, it forces you to put on new glasses and look at yourself in a new way. In several new ways. It makes the brackish waters of you, constantly thinking the same things, from your own perspective, guided by your own experiences, flow again in fresh, rapid currents, spreading in all kinds of directions. That too poetic? It’s like a therapist, but a therapist who kicks you in the balls and hits you in the face and tells you to stop whining and use your brain, for once. 

By letting chance determine what cards you draw, you are forced to look at yourself in a unique way. For instance, in a ten card spread using the 78 tarot cards of the Tarot The Marseille, which is the most widespread and main set of cards we will be talking about in this blog, using both the upright  and reversed positions, there are more than 2.000.000.000.000.000.000.000 possibilities. Chances are your spread has never existed before and will not for quite some time. It is as unique as you are, right now. Feel special? You are special. Technically. 

Also important: what this is not: this won’t be a boring lecture on how you have to pronounce tarot without the last t; and no history lesson (only when it is super relevant). I won’t be patronizing. I will show you things, how you use them is up to you. I’m fine with that. But it won’t be you-can-see-in-the-cards-whatever-you-want. There are enough books, blogs and websites that try to sell you that nonsense. Tarot is hard; it’s rewarding, useful, daring, interesting and fascinating. But hard. I will be your guide, don’t worry.  

We will focus on all the cards but one card at a time, at different spreads, talk about different ways of using tarot, about choosing what is a good deck of cards for you. There will be all kinds of different posts, but in the end they will be one interlinked ensemble. There will be pretty pictures. There will be pop culture references. There will be some swearing. 

I also promise you to reveal my sources, refer to literature in footnotes and keep it short, because once I start writing I apparently can’t stop. But patterns have to be broken sometimes.

I wish you insightful readings. Now let’s get started.