1) Reading the Tarot: The Counsellor and the Guardian Angel

Like all things spiritual, picking up this hobby seemed coincidental at the time, but when thought about later it seems as if there was a guidance of sorts. We were browsing in this shack of a bookstore selling “imported books” in Panjagutta, Hyderabad, where we were staying at the time. The books were piled up everywhere, mostly on the floor, and it was actually fun digging them up to see if we had found a gem! We were planning an early retirement and I was a little worried because my husband did not have any hobbies and was sceptical of all the spiritual stuff I was experimenting with at the time. I did not want him to suddenly have too much time on hand with nothing to do. I managed to excavate a large mauve packet with a pack of cards called Simply Tarot. The packaging went on to explain a little about Tarot cards and what they do. Had I shown great excitement and asked Rajeev to buy it he would have definitely screwed up his nose, so I just handed it to him with some books to check out. So he bought it even after my warning “buy it only if you will follow it because I won’t” (men!). Till date Rajeev thinks he initiated us into Tarot! Since then Rajeev has collected over 15 exquisite and rare Tarot decks from across the world. I am happy to use just two of them, which vibe with me, The Celtic Tarot and The Osho Tarot. At the end of this post I am giving a sample picture of a card and a brief back ground of each deck that we own (penned by Rajeev) to give an idea of the history and work that goes into the making of these cards.

Introduction to the Tarot :  The origins of the Tarot is a mystery of sorts and merits a separate post. Suffice to say that it was first used in 15th Century Italy but only for a popular card game. Later in the 18^{th century} the beauty and the imagery of the cards, in circulation then, caught the attention of some occult scholars who developed them, drawing inspiration from the Egyptian mysteries, the Kabalah and other esoteric and mystical systems.

 A Tarot deck has 78 cards which consist of 22 Major Arcana Cards and 56 Minor Arcana Cards. The term Arcana means ‘great secret’. Thus the cards combine to reveal great secrets of our life and the universe. The Major Arcana, as the name suggests, has more weightage in a reading. If a number of Major Arcana Cards come in a spread the Reader knows that the cards are communicating things of abiding and vital importance to the the Querent (the questioner).

The Major Arcana: The 22 cards of the Major Arcana denote a person’s (denoted by THE FOOL card no. 0) journey through life, from birth to self-actualisation.  Called the Fool’s journey, all of us go through it but at varying speeds and need for learning. The Fool is mostly denoted as a young boy carrying a bundle tied at the end of a stick, about to recklessly step into an abyss, a little puppy biting his ankle to warn him of his folly. This card denotes the innocence and the great potential for fortune and misfortune inherent in our nature. The querent or his situation is in the nascent state from where he/she can take it anywhere, with only his conscience or Higher Self to guide him i.e. it is ‘pure potential’.

The Fool encounters in turn 21 teachers starting with the Magician (card no. 1) who teach him valuable life lessons and bestow him with many gifts till he at last reaches a state of self actualisation the World (card no. 21).

The Minor Arcana : These consist of 4 suits of cards representing the 4 elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire, generally called Coins, Cups, Wands and Swords. The suits consist of cards Ace to Ten and 4 Court Cards ie. King, Queen, Knight and Page. 

The Spreads  For a reading, after the Querent has asked a question the Reader will lay out the cards in a certain way depending partly on the kind of question asked and partly the preference of the Reader. There are a number of established spreads of which the Celtic Cross is probably the oldest and the most common. Each position has certain significance and the Reader interprets the card that has appeared accordingly. I am giving below a picture of a reading through the Celtic Cross Spread and the significance of each position.

Celtic Spread

Position 1 Heart of the Matter

This is the Card in the centre (covered by card no.2)

Position 2 Opposing Factor Good or Bad

This Card is the one on top and across Card 1.

Position 3 What can be Achieved if the present conditions continue

This Card is above Card 1

Position 4 Root Cause

This Card is below Card 1

Position 5 Past and Passing Influences

This Card is to the left of Card 1

Position 6 Approaching Influence and Future

This Card is to the right of Card 1

Position 7 Querent’s Attitude

This is the bottom card to the right of the Cross.

Position 8 Querent’s environment

This Card is above Card no. 7

Position 9 Guidance

This Card is above Card 9

Position 10 Final Outcome

This Card is above Card no.9

The Reading

The Reader needs to do a reading in a respectful manner. It is important that the reader is calm within and focused. It is also pertinent that the reader approaches the cards with an open attitude and is receptive to all that the Cards are trying to disclose. It is my experience that unless I am calm and focused the reading comes confused and vague. It is never a good idea to do a reading during a party especially if you are also the hostess!  Once all the cards are laid out in a spread and the Reader starts interpreting them in relation to their position in the spread and to the surrounding cards, a story starts emerging pertaining to the Querent’s life. It is truly amazing how it happens. Interpreting cards is an art which one acquires with some study and some intuition. I have been doing Tarot readings for over 4 years now but after every reading I still have this feeling of disbelief and amazement at the way the Cards gently show the way. Anyone wanting a firsthand experience can ask me one question through email on sumitachaudhry@yahoo.com, for a free reading.

The Decks
(Researched and written by Rajeev Prasad)

•      The Pierpont – Morgan – Bergamo Visconti – Sforza Tarocchi Deck:

This card appears on the face of the Tarot card packet containing the card pack. This card is the Magician or Juggler Card from the Pierpont – Morgan – Bergamo Visconti – Sforza Tarocchi Deck. Notice that all the suits of the minor Arcana (secrets) are represented at his table.  There is a knife (representing the suit of Swords – Air), two coins and a white loaf (representing the suit of coins or pentacles (Earth), in his hand he holds a rod or baton (representing the suit of Wands or Staves – Fire) and a cup (representing the suit of cups – water). 

 This deck is believed to be the first near complete Tarocchi card  Deck ( 74 cards are available from an original set –  with the Devil, The Tower, three of swords and the knight of coins as the missing cards) ever produced and dates back to 1450 (fifteenth century). These and other such decks produced around that time are all hand-painted by renowned artists. 

There is a considerable amount of debate about whether the Visconti Sforza deck is the oldest deck, with the 67 deck Yale card pack, 48 card Brera Gallery, Milan pack, et al vying for that distinction. Be that as it may, this 74 card Deck (later completed to 78 cards by artists) is believed to be one of the oldest and was commissioned to celebrate the assumption of Francesco Sforza to the ducal crown of Milan in 1450 or as the tenth anniversary present to Bianca Maria from Francesco Sforza. Accordingly, I acquired this deck for my Tarot mystic library from a seller in the USA.

An interesting story linked to this Tarot Deck is that the “Papess Card” from this deck represents Maria Visconti, a “female pope” who was also known as Pope Joan and she disguised herself as a man and became a priest. She became a Bishop, then Cardinal and finally Pope, taking the name of Johannes or John. The story further goes on to say that John fell in love with a priest and bore his child, and went into labour during an Easter procession on discovery of which fact she was lynched by the crowds and tore to pieces and her records expunged from the Church’s history. Another similar story is that of a woman name Guglielma who taught that women should be given equal status in the priest hierarchy and should be appointed as popes also. In 1300 A.D, she was burned at the stake by the Church. Her name was Maria Visconti. While, the true facts are still debatable, it appears that the Papess Card was commissioned by her descendants to look like her, based on her existing portraits.

•   The Arthurian Tarot: by Caitlin and John Matthews Illustrations by : Miranda Gray.

This deck is the first Arthurian Tarot in the World and was acquired by me at the “Mysteries” shop in a narrow street in Covent Garden, when we were visiting London in the Christmas vacations of December 2006. I purchased this deck for two reasons: one, King Arthur is my favourite since I was a kid and I had been gifted a Classics Illustrated comic (which is still in my collection) by my mother in the 1960s and a vast amount of literature on him and his knights and the period they lived in, and secondly, because I have read a lot about Celtic history and the historical development/evolution of the United Kingdom of that period. 

In this deck, the 22 major arcana cards are referred to as the “Greater Powers” , while the four suits are represented as  “Sword” (Air), “Spear” (Wands), “ Grail” (Cups) and “Stone”(coins or pentacles). It is a deck that seeks to inspire you to find the “treasures” within yourself and thus is a deck of spiritual empowerment (symbolically represented by the “Hallows” or “holy things”).  Many characters and stories of the Holy Grail legend come alive in this Deck. It is a very powerful deck, if one is seeking spiritual guidance for the way forward on issues confronting a querent.

This card shows “Merlin” (the Magician) representing the Magician Card in the Greater Powers. Merlin sits before a stone table (in the likeness of the Stonehenge stones) having the map of Britain before him and the four hallows representing the four suits –a sword (representing the suit of swords – Air), a spear (representing the suit of Fire), a cup (representing the suit of cups – water), and the stone table (representing the suit of coins or pentacles or disks – Earth). The red and white dragons intertwine to represent the sign of infinity or the perpetual changing of events over time. This is one of the most powerful decks that I have done readings with for querents seeking answers of a spiritual kind.

•   The Arthur Edward Waite Deck popularly known as the “Waite Tarot”.

This is the Magician card which appears on the front of the Arthur Edward Waite Pack.  Arthur was a member of the” Hermetic Order of the  Golden Dawn” a secret society founded in 1888 by a small number of Freemasons who  sought to unite the different disciplines of Western and Eastern Philosophies of occult and magic.  

In 1909, the Rider Company of England published a Tarot Deck that was designed by Arthur Edward Waite and the cards were painted by Pamela Colman Smith. The significance of this Deck lies in the revolutionary minor arcana cards of Pamela in which for the first time an actual scene was depicted by the cards. This opened the cards to more complex interpretations. The Rider Deck became the bestselling Tarot of all time with Card readers looking for a deeper meaning, particularly in the minor Arcana pictures. A large number of contemporary decks have since based their minor Arcana on the pictures given in the Waite Deck. The minor arcana suits are mentioned as Swords (Air), Wands (Fire), Cups (Water) and Pentacles (Earth).

•   The Thoth Tarot: Designer: Aleister Crowley; Painter: Lady Frieda Harris.

This is the card given on the face of the box containing the cards and is the two of Disks, representing change/transformation among other characteristics. The picture on the left is the back of the cards.

This is the second most popular Deck brought out by another well known member of the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn”. Aleister Crowley designed the Deck and teamed up with Lady Frieda Harris who painted it. The resultant Deck is as remarkable for its elegant images as for the complexity of its ideas. The pictures appeared first as illustrations for Crowley’s book on Tarot “The Book of Thoth”(meaning the ancient revelations of the Egyptian God of Magic – also called Hermes in Greece, Mercury in Rome, and Odin in Germany), published in 1944 ( a copy of which we have in our Tarot library) .

Both the creators of this beautiful Deck died before the Deck was first published in 1969. 

Crowley was a gifted poet, a famous Himalayan mountain climber, a playboy and an extremely brilliant and educated man and died in 1947 in relative poverty. It is said that during his secret sessions with the Hermetic Order and elsewhere, he dabbled in the occult Arts, being an atheist. 

Lady Frieda Harris was a gifted artist, who also had an Indian connection towards the later part of her life after her husband’s death. In India, she lived through making paintings, articles and short stories till she died relatively poor in 1962. 

The three Magi or Magician cards:

A particular point of interest of The Crowley Deck is that there are eighty cards instead of 78, mainly because there are three “Magician” or “Magi” cards. Lady Harris had painted three Magi cards out of which Crowley had accepted only one. But a man named Werner Ganser while visiting the Warburg Institute in London discovered that there were 80 cards on display there and suggested that all 3 Magi cards be added to the Crowley Deck, leaving it to the Querent/Tarot Reader, which one to use for that particular reading.

•   Simply Tarot: by Amanda Hall:

This is the first Tarot Deck that we bought for our research in Tarot card, at a time, when we had no idea about Tarot decks. Amanda Hall has “simply” represented the pictures of the Arthur Waite Deck and given a couple of basic interpretations on each card for the beginners to familiarize themselves with the main quality represented by the Cards. Not a very useful deck for comprehensive readings, but very good for beginners to acquaint themselves with the cards.

•    The Haindl Tarot: Designer:Hermann Haindl:

This is among one of the most beautiful decks ever created and has a beautiful story behind its creator. We brought this deck from the “Mysteries” shop at Covent Garden along with the Arthurian Tarot, during our trip to London in December 2006. Hermann Haindl as a 17 year – old in 1945, was captured as a German soldier by the Russians, in World War II and held as a Prisoner of War by them for four years. 

There were some occasions when he was almost shot and at least one occasion when he had to dig his own grave, but he was saved by strangers as well as Russian Army officers taking into consideration his young age. Prisoners trying to escape were brought back and shot before the inmates as examples. 

These near-death experiences shaped his life in a manner where inner growth was possible. He discovered a tiny birch sapling outside the fenced perimeter of the Concentration camp where he was held prisoner. He watched the sapling grow into a tree through the changing seasons, and amidst the miseries of the POW camp, it held out to him as a symbol of rebirth and life, giving him a self-belief to endure the hardships. 

He was released in 1959 and after several years of hardship, including working at a theatre, he brought out an amazing deck from his experiencing various cultures and traditions during his travels across the World which ranks among the best ever created in the World.

The Haindl Tarot contains much esoteric information, including Hebrew letters, Runes, astrological symbols, I Ching anagrams etc. It is not an occult based tarot; it is one which links back to the ancient spiritual traditions of many cultures.

The card given above depicts “The Wheel of Fortune” card from the Deck. In this card, the Wheel is set against a field of stars symbolizing the cosmos. Below, looking upwards is the Mother, the Earth. At the upper left is the sky Father Zeus. At the upper right is an androgynous child who represents humanity and our ancestors. Inside the Wheel, there is a mushroom, a snake, the cycle of rebirth, an eye etc. symbolizing that everything is encompassed in the Wheel of fortune which is constantly turning with the passage of time.

I have chosen this card to represent the Haindl deck here, because, in a sense, it represents his life’s experiences.

•   The Osho Zen Tarot:

These two cards “Creativity” and “Beyond Illusion” are from the top of box containing the  Osho Zen Tarot Deck, also sub-titled “The Transcendental Game of Zen”. As the name suggests, the Osho Tarot is a transcendental experience of Zen mirroring the present without judgment or comparison, leaving the querent to reflect on the outcome of the reading and seek a spiritual solution to his prevailing circumstances.

We acquired this deck for our collection since we stay at Pune in the neighbouring locality of the Osho Ashram, at Koregaon, Pune (India). It is our experience that this is a very powerful deck and the powerful images of the Osho Tarot speak to the querents in a language that helps them to recognize their deeper selves and to successfully tackle situations confronting them when they came to us for readings.

The unique aspects of this Deck include a 79^th card called “the Master Card”. Also, the four minor Arcana suit cards are called  Water, Fire, Clouds and Rainbows.

•   The Mythic Tarot:Text : Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene, Designer:Amanda Barlow, Illustrations: Tricia Newell.

This is an image of the ”Empress Card” which is also found on the cover of the box containing the Card Pack. It shows an image of Demeter (the Earth/Nature Goddess and mother of Persephone (wife of Hades, the Lord of the Underworld) standing in a field of ripening barley in one of her good moods. Her gown is woven from many plants, hemmed and with leafy boughs. Around her neck is a garland of 12 precious stones – representing the 12 signs of the Zodiac. As the goddess of Nature, she governs the cycles of the seasons and the laws of the cosmos. She has a crown of castles and towers on her head which represent security of homes, places of peace and safety. There are fertile fields and a waterfall behind her, which represent her bounty to the World when she is happy. When she is angry, the fields are laid barren and desolate and the seasons undergo an upheaval of sorts.

I bought this Deck in Bengaluru (Old name Bangalore, India) during a visit to the city, primarily because it is based on Greek legends and characters , being an avid reader of Greek Mythology since childhood. 

The text is very lucid and gives the querent a very deep insight into his/her psyche at the same time giving suggestions/information on the way forward. Whenever there is a confusing lay of two/three diverse cards in a Spread, this deck has the capability of interweaving a meaning to the cards.

•   The Da Vinci Enigma Tarot: Caitlin Matthews: Illustrations: Paintings/Works of Leonardo Da Vinci:

We have included the images of two cards here from the Deck. The second card in the Macrocosm cards or “Enigma” (the High Priestess) which is a study of the Mona Lisa and the 21^st card of the Major Arcana “The Vitruvian Man in a Squared Circle” (The World).

In the Da Vinci Enigma Tarot, the minor Arcana suits are not called  by their traditional names i.e. Swords, Wands, Cups and Coins or Pentacles, but by their basic Elemental names, i.e. Air, Fire, Water and Earth. The major Arcana cards are referred to as the “Macrocosm cards”, while those of the minor Arcana are called the “Microcosm cards”. Also, it is a unique feature of this deck in that, Leonardo was given to the habit writing in the margins of his notebooks “dimmi” or “tell me”, whenever he tried out a new pen-nib as if challenging it to tell him the answer to something he had omitted or not seen . In each of the card interpretations, a “dimmi” question has been included for the querent, challenging him to look at the situation confronting him/her anew.

•    The Elemental Tarot: Caroline Smith and John Astrop:

This is the card representing “The Fool” (Potential as named in this deck) Tarot Trump number 0. Here he is shown as a carefree youth leaning against a tree. The island symbolizes his individuality, safety as well as isolation. The tree-trunk is the same colour as the boy symbolizing that they are one entity and as the boy works with the tree, it gives him rich dividends in the form of fruits and shelter through its foliage. The branches indicate infinite choices of potential for the Fool whereas the fruits do likewise, being represented here through the infinite choice of symbols of the five elements – Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. In the surrounding sea are similar islands, each supporting a tree.

Interestingly, in 1945, near the Egyptian town of Nag Hamadi were discovered ancient papyrus scrolls written by early Christians. Included among the texts was a beautiful poem titled “The Thunder, Perfect Mind”. On the left and right margins of the Major Arcana cards is a small sentence from this poem representing the essence of this card. For example, the Fool card has the sentences “I am the unlearned” and “And they can learn from me”. Both are powerful messages aimed at the querent’s inner self.

The Elemental Tarot is a synthesis of the best interpretations taken from several obscure and sometimes incomprehensible decks and references  and the cards are symbolic interpretations of early forms of divination, philosophy and religious teachings which are archetypal from across the World.

•   Tarot of the Four Elements: Isha Lerner and Amu Ericksen:

“The Priest” (A representation of the Hierophant Card), is shown as seated under the “Bodhisattva tree” (where the Buddha sat to attain enlightenment). He is a man – one with Nature and is decorated with an emblem of power and wisdom. The design resembles the configuration of a labyrinth with an extended pathway that centres around the Heart chakra. The tree separates the sky, showing two aspects of our existence : the starry heavens of darkened mystery and the golden glow of consciousness.  The priest holds up his hand, which is mirrored in the tree below which he sits showing the eternal relationship between humanity and nature.

The card’s elemental message to the querent is that he is without any limitations and must respond like the priest to the subtle voice of nature, beckoning him towards his destiny.

The paintings in the Tarot of the Four Elements draw upon tribal folklore, primal and Earth-centred symbolisms, Earth Mythology and Human Magic that span many cultures, races and religions. The Deck carries the ancient mystical associations of the element whose name it bears. The Deck’s colour, designs and paintings embody a message that our existence is nothing short of a miracle and its imagery invokes the presence of the elemental energies represented by the cards. The minor Arcana are called the suits of Air, Fire, Water and Earth.

                                                                                                          SYMBOLS