Major Arcana Meanings
Short Description
excellent major arcana tarot meanings...
Description
THE FOOL Basic Tarot Tarot Symbols Symbol s
The fool in colorful motley clothes, pack tied to a staff, a small dog, a cliff. See examples of different Fool cards here. Basic Tarot Tarot Story St ory
With all his worldly possessions possessions in one small pack, the th e Fool travels he knows not where. whe re. So filled with visions and daydreams is he, that he doesn't see the cliff he is likely to fall over. At At his heel, a small dog harries him or tries to warn him of a possi!le mis"step#. Basic Tarot Tarot Meaning Mean ing
At $%, the Fool is the card of infinite possi!ilities. The !ag on the staff indicates that he has all he needs to do or !e anything he wants, he has only to stop and unpack. &e is on his way to a !rand new !eginning. ut the card carries a little !ark of warning as well. Stop daydreaming and fantasi(ing and watch your step, lest you fall and end up looking the fool. Thirteen's Observations
)n the Tarot, Tarot, cards like The *agician or The &ermit can often stand for the +uerent or for someone in the +uerent's life. The Fool, however, almost always stands for the +uerent alone, no one else. )n standing for the +uerent, the Fool represents a time of newness, a time when life has !een re"started as it were. The person feels that they they are !ack at (ero, whether that !e in romantic affairs, or career, at their -o! or intellectual pursuits. Far from !eing sad or frustrating, the +uerent feels remarka!ly free, light hearted and refreshed, as if !eing given a second chance. They feel young and energi(ed. )n addition, they likely have no idea where they're going or what they're going to do. ut that doesn't matter. For the Fool, the most important thing is to -ust go out and en-oy the world. To see what there is to see and delight in all of it. /nfortunately, in this childlike state the person is likely to !e overly optimistic or naive. A Fool can !e a Fool. This is the card likely to turn up when a +uerent is thinking of investing his money in a new, sure fire !usiness. 0r when the +uerent is sure that it's love this time1 2ike the Fool, they're so !usy daydreaming of what might !e that they're ignoring what is. They're a!out to fall right off a cliff. )t's time for them to listen to that watchful little dog, which might !e a concerned friend, a wise tarot reader, or -ust their instincts. As a card, the Fool ultimately stands for a new start. When it turns up the +uerent might !e a!out to make a move, not -ust to a new home, !ut new -o!, new life. There's more than -ust change,
renewal, and a !rand new !eginning in the Fool, there's also movement, a fresh, exciting new time. REVERSALS: The Fool Reverse
This is part of an a n on"going study of reversed tarot cards. A reversed !asics. The Fool3 4enerally speaking the upright meaning of the Fool is that of !irth, new !eginnings, fresh starts, -ourneys and exploration. )t can also mean not looking where you're going, !eing naive, foolish, potential disaster if you don't wake up from staring at the stars stars and take a good look at what's directly ahead of you. )f we were to go for a simple, opposite meaning, the card might well mean an ending and5or wisdom. This is why opposite meanings don't really work for me. *ore apt is the !locked interpetation. )f the energy of the Fool is all a!out starting something new, going somewhere new, then !locking that energy means that the 6uerent is having difficulty starting anew, moving, seeing the world with fresh eyes. There is an implication of !eing stuck, uninspired. The Fool, if you will, is sitting at the side of the road with !listers on his feet and rocks in his shoes, una!le to go on o n his way. What if we turn the image upsidedown7 )'ll use classic 8ider"Waite 8ider"Waite here""!ut in reversing image, interpeation, of course, will depend on the deck. The cliff edge is hanging over the Fool F ool and his feet have n o real purchase. We might might say that he's falling, dropping off from under the rock to free fall through the yellow sky. 9verything, the sack, the dog, tum!le with him. We might might well interpet this as the Fool in 8ider represented !y Air#, getting completely lost in his head, in hopes and imagination, in talk of what he's going to do, completely surrendering to the sky, with no way to actually walk toward anything, even disaster. This, we might say, is the Fool doomed to Foolishness that makes sense on ly to him. &e is not in the real world and whatever he proposes cannot !e made real. The Reversed Reversed Fool Fool is no longer longer spontaneous spontaneous and carefree. carefree. He can’t easily go forward forward in what he wants to do. He is having trouble being impulsive, joyful and happy-golucy. He may be undependable and running away from responsibility....the dog indicates someone in the Fool’s life who is trying to caution him from maing the wrong choice ! doing the wrong thing"but in the Reversed Fool, the person probably has got fed up trying to warn the Fool
#$%&'&$(
renewal, and a !rand new !eginning in the Fool, there's also movement, a fresh, exciting new time. REVERSALS: The Fool Reverse
This is part of an a n on"going study of reversed tarot cards. A reversed !asics. The Fool3 4enerally speaking the upright meaning of the Fool is that of !irth, new !eginnings, fresh starts, -ourneys and exploration. )t can also mean not looking where you're going, !eing naive, foolish, potential disaster if you don't wake up from staring at the stars stars and take a good look at what's directly ahead of you. )f we were to go for a simple, opposite meaning, the card might well mean an ending and5or wisdom. This is why opposite meanings don't really work for me. *ore apt is the !locked interpetation. )f the energy of the Fool is all a!out starting something new, going somewhere new, then !locking that energy means that the 6uerent is having difficulty starting anew, moving, seeing the world with fresh eyes. There is an implication of !eing stuck, uninspired. The Fool, if you will, is sitting at the side of the road with !listers on his feet and rocks in his shoes, una!le to go on o n his way. What if we turn the image upsidedown7 )'ll use classic 8ider"Waite 8ider"Waite here""!ut in reversing image, interpeation, of course, will depend on the deck. The cliff edge is hanging over the Fool F ool and his feet have n o real purchase. We might might say that he's falling, dropping off from under the rock to free fall through the yellow sky. 9verything, the sack, the dog, tum!le with him. We might might well interpet this as the Fool in 8ider represented !y Air#, getting completely lost in his head, in hopes and imagination, in talk of what he's going to do, completely surrendering to the sky, with no way to actually walk toward anything, even disaster. This, we might say, is the Fool doomed to Foolishness that makes sense on ly to him. &e is not in the real world and whatever he proposes cannot !e made real. The Reversed Reversed Fool Fool is no longer longer spontaneous spontaneous and carefree. carefree. He can’t easily go forward forward in what he wants to do. He is having trouble being impulsive, joyful and happy-golucy. He may be undependable and running away from responsibility....the dog indicates someone in the Fool’s life who is trying to caution him from maing the wrong choice ! doing the wrong thing"but in the Reversed Fool, the person probably has got fed up trying to warn the Fool
#$%&'&$(
Basic !ar Symbols
8ed : White coloring, the lemniscate infinity sym!ol#, a small wand, a ta!le displaying a chalice, a pentacle, a staff wand# and a sword. See examples of different *agician cards here. Basic Tarot Tarot Story St ory
Traveling on his way, the Fool first encounters a *agician. Skillful, self"confident, a powerful magus with the infinite as a halo floating a!o ve his head, the *agician mesmeri(es the Fool. When asked, the Fool gives over his !undled pack and stick to the *agician. 8aising his wand to heaven, pointing his finger to 9arth, the *agician calls on all powers; magically, the cloth of the pack unfolds upon the ta!le, revealing its contents. And to to the Fool's eyes it is as if the *agician has created the future with a word. All the possi!ilities are laid out, all the directions he can take. The cool, airy Sword of intellect and communication, the fiery Wand Wand of spirituality and am!ition, the overflowing # 0pposite3 0nce again, there are negatives in the card that a reader might save for reversals. )n this case, secrets are kept, not revealed, the answer is searched for !ut not found, instincts are wrong. )n a more presonal sense, there is a cold streak to the &=S. She refuses to open the door, withholds her secrets except when they're hurtful. She's that nasty maiden aunt who lives alone and knows the dirt on everyone and uses it -ust to watch them s6uirm. She can also !e that unpredicta!le teacher or woman""!rilliant !ut her mood changes are downright scary. ou don't know if she's going to coldly answer your 6uestion""or !ite your head off. # locked3 The !locking here really focuses on the instinctual or psychic energy. There is -ust nothing coming through. 0nce of those days when you do a tarot reading and the cards are -ust cards. They don't speak to you, you see nothing in them. 2ikewise, making a decision a!out anything seems impossi!le. The two wands look the same and you cannot tell the difference !etween them. B# /psidedown3 There would seem to !e little difference if we turn the card upsidedown, !ut like the su!tle meaning of the &=S, the difference is similarly su!tle. Taking the 8ider"Waite image, she has the crescent moon at her foot and a well"spring of water !egins there that runs through other cards. Turn her upsidedown and the water falls and runs dr y. The moon hangs a!ove rather than at her command. The curtain of pomegranates, shrouding the mysteries falls open and all that people should not see""that might !e damaging to see, they see. The =illars are on their crowns not on the !ase and cannot support themselves. There is, in short, a loss of control. And the &=S, who holds opposites in delicate !alance, needs that control. )f all this is lost, then there is a kind of madness. # 0pposite3 )f we take opposite to mean the negatives of the card then we can view the reversed card as all the evil stereotypes of hermits. The mean old man, isolated, misanthropic, paranoid. )n this instance, isolation does not !ring insights and epiphanies, !ut rather turns the person sour and against the world. We might well get reversed &ermit for men like the /ni!om!er, using their isolation to fomulate crimes and distruction. 0ther opposite of the &ermit is the Fool. )n this instance, a teacher who uses his position to do foolish or childish things rather than to impart wisdom and insights. 9ither way, this is not a trustworthy teacher or sage. # locked3 The power of the &ermit, his energy, is in his lantern. The &ermit has keen insight, and a!ility to see what is hidden to others, to look !eneath the surface. )f this is !locked, then we might well say that the &ermit's lantern has !een shuttered. )t o ffers no light and the &ermit is left in darkness. Thus, if reading this card as !locked, a reader might say to a 6uerent that the 6uerent is having trou!le shedding light on a pro!lem, that they're alone in the dark in this situation. To get out, they must find a way to rekindle their lantern. The lantern is em!lematic of their keen mind, sharp eye, and analytical a!ilities. Though currently in da rkness, the hermit has the means to shed light on things if he'll -ust rekindle his lantern. B# /psidedown3 the most telling thing a!out the &ermit upsidedown is that he loses his lantern. This is similar to the !locked interpetation, only worse. )n the !locked interpetation the lantern can !e re"illuminated. ut upside"down, the lantern is gone. The &ermit is totally in the dark...and all alone. &e has lost all a!ility to find his way and is going to have to stum!le on home if he can. ) would see this extreme example in the case of people having some mental pro!lems""they can't concentrate, they can't think, they can't remem!er or see things clearly anymore. An elder who is foolishly giving away his money, for example, might well !e a &ermit reversed. A once wise and canny old fellow who seems to have completely lost his lantern, his a!ility to make intelligent decisions.
TH) /H)) F FRT0()
Basic !ar Symbols
A wheel turning clockwise with rising5falling figures or !easts on it. Waite also includes a good many &e!rew letters and alchemical sym!ols. 0ften there is a sphinx perched atop the wheel.
See examples of different Wheel of Fortune cards here. Basic Tarot Story
From out of hiding comes the Fool, into the sunlight, as if !eing pulled up from some low, dark point on a wheel. )t is time for a change. Staff in hand, he heads !ack out into the world, expecting nothing. ut, strangely, things seem to happen to him as the hours go !y, good things. Wandering !y a water wheel a woman offers him a drink in a golden chalice, and then urges him to keep the cup, -ust !ecause she likes him; as he wanders !y a windmill, he stops to watch a young man swinging a sword; when he expresses his admiration of the weapon, the young man presses it into his hand, insisting that he take it. And finally, when he comes upon a rich merchant sitting in a wa gon, right over one of the wheels, the man hands him a !ag of money. ) like giving away money, explains the *erchant, and ) decided, -ust randomly, that the tenth person who walked past me today would get this money. ou're the tenth. The Fool hardly thought he could still !e surprised, !ut he is. )t is as if everything good that he ever did in his life is !eing paid !ack to him, three"fold. All luck this day is his. Basic Tarot Meaning
With Cupiter as its ruling planet, the Wheel of Fortune is all a!out !ig things, luck, change, and fortune. Almost always good fortune. Almost every definition of this card indicates a!undance, happiness, elevation, or luck; a change that -ust happens, and !rings with it great -oy. Thirteen's Observations
As much as the Tarot is a!out what a +uerent can do to chang e their life or self, there are cards that admit that sometimes you -ust get lucky. This card can mean movement, change an d evolution, !ut its primary meaning always seems to say that such changes will seem to come out of the !lue, a stroke of good, unexpected fortune. The person you're reading for is going to get that money, that -o!, that promotion, that special person, that !reak they've !een waiting for. # 0pposite3 3sually the Wheel is read positively as moving up. There is luck and good fortune in it, the implication that we are going to !e moving up deservingly# while someone else deservingly# moves down. Thus, the opposite would !e, 6uite simply, !ad luck, misfortune. )nstead of heading up to the top of the wheel, we're going to !e hitting the !ottom. @adir instead of Henith. Someone else will !e getting the promotion or position we want, and we, alas, might well !e getting laid off or transfered. As with good luck, there is nothing to !e done a!out it !ut accept it and make the !est out of it. # locked3 )f we read the energy as !locked, then we have to assume that the wheel WA@TS to move up, wants to turn, !ut isn't !eing allowed to. &ence, in this reading, the wheel is stuck. )t is moving neither up nor down. 8ather like a when a Ferris Wheel comes to a stop, wherever you are, there you are and there is no change. ), personally, find this more distressing than if the wheel were moving down. An unmoving wheel means no changes, no going anywhere. The pro!lem is, that the +uerent might not !e a!le to alter this as the Wheel's energy usually comes from without""so if the company that a person works for is free(ing all -o!s, no promotions5demotions, then that's the way it is and there's nothing the employee can do to change that. They can leave the -o!, !ut they can't forced the company to unfree(e and start promoting5demoting again. B# /psidedown3 There seems, on the surface, little different if we turn this card upsidedown""it's a wheel, a circle, with no top, no !ottom. And yet, using 8ider"Waite, we can see a change. The Sphinx is at the !ottom. The Set creature chaotic5devilish# is at the top. The Serpent switches sides and is moving up instead of down. To understand, think of it this way. The Sphinx is at the top, hovering a!ove the Ferris Wheel. ou ride up to talk to the Sphinx. Then you ride down and have to deal with Set. Then !ack up again. 8everse the card and the implication is that when you rise to the top, you meet Set instead of the Sphinx1 What ought to !e good luck is going to !e !ad. )n this case, the promotion that should give you what you want, that ought to !e good fortune, lands you in hell instead. This is a !it worse than -ust !ad luck. The idea here is that the external forces creating that luck are unrelia!le; you can't trust the luck you're getting to !e what it seems
10+T&')
Basic Symbols
The Custice figure seated or standing, scales in one hand usually left#, upraised sword in the other hand. Sometimes !lindfolded. See examples of different Custice cards here. Basic Tarot Story
The Fool is looking for a new path, a new aspiration and inspiration for his life. Sitting uncertain at a cross"roads, he notices a !lind wise wo man listening to two !rothers argue over an inheritance. They have come to her for -udgement. 0ne !rother has the whole inheritance, the other has nothing. ) ask that all of it !e given to me, the poor !rother demands, @ot only !ecause ) have a !etter right to it, !ut !ecause ) will not !e wasteful with it, as he is1 ut the rich !rother protests, )t is rightfully mine and that's all that should matter, not what ) do with it1 The woman listens, then awards half of the rich !rother's inheritance to the poor !rother. The Fool thinks this only fair, !ut neither !rother is happy. The rich one hates losing half his wealth, and the poor one feels he ought to have gotten all. ou were fair, he remarks to the woman after they have left. es, ) was, she answers plainly. With only half the inheritance, the rich one will stop !eing so wasteful. And the poor one will have as much as he needs. 9ven though they cannot see it, this decision was good for !oth. The Fool thinks on this, and new insight on his own life comes to mind. &e reali(es that he has spent his life achieving worldly am!itions, physical goods, while leaving his spiritual self to starve, primarily !ecause he didn't want to make the sacrifices necessary to feed his spiritual self. @ow, he sees that this is necessary, the only path he has not walked, one he must walk to regain his e6uili!rium. Thanking the woman, he heads out with new purpose. )t is time to !alance his own inner scales. Basic Tarot Meaning
With 2i!ra as its ruling sign, Custice is a!out cold, o!-ective !alance through reason or natural force. This is the card that tells the +uerent that they can 't keep smoking and drinking without conse6uences to their health. )t is the card that advises cutting out waste and insists that the +uerent make ad-ustments, do whatever is necessary to !ring things !ack into !alance3 physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually. )n a more mundane sense, this card may signal a court case, legal documents, ad-ustments in a marriage or partnership. The outcome of all of these may not !e exactly what the +uerent wants, !ut it will !e a scrupulously fair outcome. )f the card is reversed, it can indicate !ias, o!struction of the law, or legal complications.
Thirteen's Observations
) think Custice is a good card as compared to Strength# to stand as the first of the next ten cards of the *a-or Arcana. The reason ) think it right is !ecause with it we move from the physical world first ten cards# into the metaphysical world next ten#. When ) look at Custice, ) a lways see the two worlds !alanced on her scales. ou've spent all your time in one, she seems to !e saying, time to move into the other and !alance things out. 0ne thing to remem!er a!out the Custice card is that it is not a!out punishment, good, !ad, right or wrong. )t is a!out ad-ustment. The sword suggests that sometimes this won't !e pleasant. Custice pares things down with that sword so that the scales en d up e6ual. The message is to do what's necessary, no matter how hard, how disagreea!le, in order to gain, or re"gain e6uili!rium. )t is not a nice card, !ut in its way, it is a very wise card. REVERSALS: &stice Reverse
/pright, Custice is all a!out creating a !alance, legalities, fairness. )t involves the a!ility to split, cut !ack, share. 8eversed.... ># 0pposite3 Custice is 6uite clear in this instance. 8eversed it is in-ustice. /nfairness, im!alance. @o matter if it refers to a court case, a family situation or spirituality, the card is clear that things are fair and !alanced here. The 6uerent is getting too much, or too little of what they need. This interpetation is 6uite consistent with the other interpetations as well3 # locked3 The only real difference here is that the e nergy of Custice is that it wants to make things !alanced and fair. Something is keeping that energy from succeeding. Again, thing are un-ust""!ut only !ecause there is something preventing that. )t ma y !e as simple as one person !eing selfish, or it could !e that certain evidence5legal documents have not come to light. B# /psidedown3 Again, we have un-ust !ut this goes a !it farther. Turn Custice upside down and she loses her scales, her sword. This could well suggest a co rruption of -ustice. )t is not merely an accident, or something !locking -ustice that might !e removed. &ere the whole system is suspect. The scales of !alance are gone. The sword to slice things right down the middle is gone. Fairness cannot !e achieved !ecause the tools of -ustice are missing. The Cudge is !ias, the lawyers and witnesses corrupt, the evidence tampered with. 0riginally =osted !y cris(rg a 7be carreful what you wish for8 card( and 7you won't like where this is going by the end of it8 ( ) think what the person meant was more along the lines of wishes relating to -ustice. 2ike Someday that so"and"so will get what he deserves for trying to cheat me1 This sort of thinking
often leads to people @0T protesting when the so"and"so is wrong ly accused and ends up in -ail. And then, of course, others start to get wrong ly accused and end up in -ail, !ut the person is still !enefiting from this so they still don't protest. 9ventually, everyone's at risk of !eing -ailed and it's too late to protest. 0r, perhaps, a person in the -ustice system who cracks down on offenders !ecause of personal reasons A cheat once ruined my life. ) hate cheaters1# rather than !ecause it's really -ust. So, it's less a wish"gone"wrong as -ustice spinning out of control
TH) H$(%)2 #$(
Basic !ar Symbols
A man hanging !y one foot from a Tau cross " sometimes from a !ar or tree. &is free leg is always !ent to form a ?, his face is always peaceful, never suffering. Sometimes his hands are !ound, sometimes they dangle. Sometimes coins fall out of his pockets or hands. See examples of different &anged *an cards he re. Basic Tarot Story
The Fool settles !eneath a tree, intent on finding his spiritual self. There he stays for nine days, without eating, !arely moving. =eople pass !y him, animals, clouds, the wind, the rain, the stars, sun and moon. 0n the ninth day, with no conscious thought of why, he clim!s a !ranch and dangles upside down like a child, giving up for a moment, all that he is, wants, knows or cares a!out. # 0pposite3 as the &anged *an card usually involves sacrifice and insight, the inverse would !e a refusal to surrender what needs to !e surrendered, or see things from a new perspective. )n this regard, the reversed card is the assertion of the ego, stu!!orness, selfishness. The 6uerent is clinging to who and what they are, all that they have, refusing to give it up even though the exchange could transform them and help others.
# locked3 The energy of the &anged *an is a!out gaining a new perspective while in suspension. When a 6uerent gets this card, they feel separated from the rest of the world, viewing things differently. This, however, is usually temporary. locked, however, would suggest that the 6uerent cannot escape the suspension, the separation. They are stuck feeling apart from the world, una!le to !ring what they're learning and seeing from this perspective !ack into the world with them. B# /psidedown3 )ronically, the &anged *an upsidedown is right"side"up. &e's standing rather than suspended. There is no sacrifice, no n ew insight. This suggests that whatever the 6uerent is hoping to see, achieve, or do, or perhaps needs to do, they cannot do. )f we follow the mantra of no pain, no gain then the 6uerent is not willing to suffer the pain""or not a!le to suffer the pain...and so there is no gain.
.
2)$TH
Basic !ar Symbols
Skeletal Geath, !lack ro!es or armor, sometimes with a scythe or a flag featuring a white rose on a desolate !lack field. There is often a rising sun. Sometimes there are other figures in the field. The most common, reoccurring figure on Geath cards is a child. See examples of different Geath cards here. Basic Tarot Story
&aving left the tree from where he hung, the Fool moves carefully through a fallow field, head still clearing from visions. The air is cold and wintry, the trees !are. efore him, he sees, rising with the sun, a skeleton in !lack armor mounted on a white horse. &e recogni(es it as Geath. As it stops !efore him, he hum!ly asks, &ave ) died7 &e feels, in fact, rather empty and desolate. And the Skeleton answers, es, in a way. ou sacrificed your old world, your old self. oth are gone, dead. The Fool reflects on that, &ow sad. Geath acknowledges this with a nod. es, !ut it is the only way to !e re!orn. A new Sun is rising, and it is, for you, a time of great transformation. As Geath rides away, the Fool can feel the truth in those words. &e, too, feels like a skeleton, all that he was stripped away. This, he understands, is how all great transformations start, !y stripping things to the !one, and !uilding fresh upon the !are foundations. Basic Tarot Meaning
es, the Geath card can signal a death in the right circumstances a 6uestion a!out a very sick or old relative, for example#, !ut unlike its dramatic presentation in the movies, the Geath card is far more likely to signal transformation, passage, change. Scorpio, the sign of this card, has three forms3 scorpion, serpent, eagle. The Geath card indicates this transition from lower to higher to highest. This is a card of humility, and it may indicate the +uerent as !eing !rought low, !ut only so that they can then go higher than they ever have !efore. Wang notes that Geath hum!les all, !ut it also exults. Always keep in mind that on this card of darkness, there is a sunrise as well. . Thirteen's Observations
The connection of sex and death in Scorpio the sign stands for !oth# is a strong indication of what this card is all a!out. We westerners see Geath as a frightening card !ecause we often see Geath as an end, and we hate for things to come to an end. &owever, in other traditions, Geath is -ust a natural and important, if sad part of an on"going cycle. )n a karmic sense, you die so that you may !e re!orn. Winter comes so that there can !e a spring, and we can only appreciate what we have when we know that there is loss. The Geath card signals such things. This is a time of change. Time for something to end; !ut time also for something new to !egin. The +uerent may honestly !e told that they may feel sad or empty, low, !ut that this will give him a way to rise again, like a phoenix from the ashes. Geath is not the end. )t is only the precursor to resurrection. REVERSALS: )eath Reverse
Ah, the Geath # 0pposite3 The easiest reversal here is to say that something does not come to an end, it does not die. ut this may not !e as good a thing as it sounds. 9ver have a favorite t.v. show7 ou watch it over three seasons, perhaps, it hits a pinnacle of !eing !rilliant and wonderful...and then it starts to go down. And as it sinks and gets worse, and stretches out you !egin to wish it had ended after that pinnacle. Sometimes, things need to come to a !lessed end. Anyone who's had someone in the hospital, alive !ut not alive, holding to life !ut not living, knows that not death isn't a desired thing. @ot death keeps people from grieving, and from starting over again when done. )t -ust stretches out a not"life. # locked3 /nlike the 0pposite, ) would say that the locked interpetation does allow for the death5ending of something. The real energy of the card here is a!out that time of grief and nadir leading to re"!irth. )f this is !locked, then the 6uerent can't grieve. They can't face or relieve the pain of loss. They remain at one end of the tunnel, refusing or una!le to transverse it. 8e"!irth is held at !ay as well.
B# /psidedown3 Turn the 8ider card upsidedown and the flag falls from Geath's hand. Geath falls off the horse. The horse is on its !ack and the corpses are out of their graves. A grim a!surdity. We might say that reversed, this card !ecomes a mockery of death. This upsidedown card hints at some very gri((ily things""desecration of graves, mocking someone's death. Someone dies and their end is cele!rated or laughed a!out rather than mourned. 0r, worse, someone dies and no one offers compassion or sympathy to the widow and children. This situtation, similar to the locked interpetation, makes it impossi!le to move on. 4rief cannot !e dealt with or overcome. ) imagine )'d get this card for people who were &olocaust victims or who lost so many friends and lovers du ring the A)Gs crisis of the I%'s. )t isn't -ust the multitudes of deaths they witnessed, !ut that no one cared, or helped or offered sympathy. They are left in eternal grief over the way death was disrespected. 0riginally =osted !y Lay Orchar aybe also, a sense of morbidity. )n unhealthy preoccupation with death. 0h1 @ice one. ) like this.
T)#*)R$(')
Basic !ar Symbols
An angel often female or genderless#, a pool or river of water. Two cups or !eakers, a fluid flowing !etween them. See examples of different Temperance cards here. Basic Tarot Story
# 0pposite3 trying to figure out the opposite of the *oon is pro!lematic. 2ogically, it should !e
The Sun. ut we already have that card. So let us say, instead, that it is the Gark of the *oon. )n this instance, ) would interpet the *oo n at its very worst, giving it's milder interpetations to the upright. y the light of the *oon, we can still find our way""even if wild things do happen !y that light. When the *oon is dark, however, dark things happen. We might well say that things are not merely wild, !ut primitive.
View more...
Comments