The Tarot
The Tarot first appeared in Europe in the late fourteenth century. Its origins are unknown. At that time, few people could read or write, and pictures were used as educational tools. Most of these were religious paintings, such as the frescoes by Giotto. People meditated on these to gain insight and spiritual understanding. It is possible that the symbolic images of the Tarot were developed to help people reach new levels of consciousness. The symbolism of the Tarot was one of the main ways in which occult knowledge could be passed on when it was dangerous to talk about such things.
The Tarot is full of symbolism, much of it relating to love and romance. In fact, the Tarot could be considered a symbol system that leads to enlightenment. Many of the symbols can be interpreted using what we have already learned. The plants and animals in the various cards are examples. The numbers of the cards can also be interpreted using numerology. The color choices are also rich in symbolism.
The Tarot deck consists of seventy-eight cards, divided into two sections known as arcana. The word arcana is the Latin word for secrets. The Major Arcana consists of twenty-two cards. This has led many people to believe that the creators of the Tarot deck were familiar with the Kaballah, as the Hebrew alphabet contains twenty-two, highly symbolic letters. According to the Kabbalah, these twenty-two letters represent the entire universe. Twenty-two is also considered a Master Number in numerology. The cards of the Major Arcana could be called the paths to initiation. The Minor Arcana contains the remaining fifty-six cards, divided into four suits of cards: wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. These correspond to the suits of a normal deck of playing cards. Seventy-eight is the sum of the first twelve cards (1 + 2 + 3, etc.).
Major Arcana Cards that Relate to Love
The High Priestess
Feminine insight, intuition, mystery
The High Priestess card symbolizes the virgin or maiden. The archetype of the feminine is the triple-faced goddess: the virgin, mother, and hag. The High Priestess card symbolizes the first of these. The High Priestess sits between two columns, one black and one white. These symbolize night and day, summer and winter, and consciousness and unconsciousness. Each is of equal importance to the High Priestess who sits between them. The crown she wears symbolizes the three phases of the Moon—waxing, full, and waning. This allows the High Priestess to dream, and gain intuitive insights. The screen behind the high priestess contains pomegranates, a symbol of fertility. In this instance, the fertility is likely to be the birth of new ideas, rather than pregnancy.
The appearance of the High Priestess in a spread of cards indicates that you need to look inside yourself to find the answers to your questions. Often these answers are learned through setbacks or disappointments. Consequently, when the High Priestess card reveals a romantic relationship, it is unlikely to be a happy one.
The Empress
Fecundity, motherhood, nurture, life force, creativity
The Empress symbolizes fulfillment. In most decks of cards, the Empress wears loose-fitting robes, symbolizing pregnancy. In the Universal Tarot, the empress wears green, which is the color of nature, life, renewal, and fertility. Beside her is a heart-shaped stone that has been engraved with the astrological glyph for Venus. The river and the forest behind her also show The Empress symbolizes fertility and fruitfulness. Water symbolizes life. The trees behind her are cypress trees, which were sacred to Venus. All of these symbolize the sensual aspects of the Empress.
The Empress can be related to Demeter, the Greek goddess of the fertility of the earth. She also looked after marriage and social order. Demeter was involved in ensuring the fertility of both people and the earth.
The appearance of the Empress in a spread is a positive sign, indicating fruitfulness, fertility, and expansion. It also symbolizes love, happiness, and sexual satisfaction.
The Emperor
Virility, fatherhood, power, leadership
The Emperor symbolizes fatherhood, virility, worldly power, and male authority. He frequently carries a scepter, sword, or wand. These indicate sovereignty and leadership, but can also be considered a phallic symbol. In the Universal Tarot, the scepter resembles an ankh, which the ancient Egyptians considered a symbol of life. The armrests of the emperor’s chair show two ram heads. Two more decorate the top of his throne. These are an obvious symbol of virility and procreation. The ram’s heads also symbolize Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. Aries is governed by Mars, which relates to fiery energy, ambition, lust, and desire.
It is always a good sign to see the Emperor card in a spread, as it means you are on the road to success.
The Lovers
Union, marriage, passion, desire
The Lovers card usually relates to love and romance. It always means that something pleasant is about to occur. Traditionally, the Lovers card showed three people, a man with a woman on each side, indicating that a choice had to be made. This shows that hasty decisions must be avoided, as the consequences could be disastrous.
Arthur Edward Waite reduced the figures to two in his Tarot deck, and most modern decks have continued with this. The two main figures in the Lovers card symbolize Adam and Eve, the first couple. Behind Eve is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, complete with serpent and fruit. The apples on this tree symbolize temptation and the ability to determine right and wrong. The tree behind Adam appears to be the burning bush. In the background, between the two lovers, is a mountain that symbolizes climaxes and the ultimate in happiness.
The archangel Raphael looks down on the two lovers. Raphael represents the Air element, and this is symbolized by clouds in the Universal Tarot.
Although the two lovers are usually considered to be Adam and Eve, there are other possibilities. One is that the three figures tell the legend of Hercules who had to choose between two women, one symbolizing Vice and the other Virtue.61 Many older decks show the three people as a young man, his mother, and the woman he loves. It symbolizes the fact that he needs to leave the security of the family home to start a new life with his lover.
Temperance
Emotions, moderation, harmonious relationships
Temperance is one of the seven cardinal virtues. In medieval art, a woman pouring water from one container to another symbolized temperance. Sometimes a water pitcher and a burning torch were used. This showed the water quenching lust. In the Tarot, the Temperance card shows an archangel pouring water from one container to another. This is probably Archangel Michael as he wears a solar orb on his forehead. This symbolizes the element of Fire, which relates to Michael. Beside Michael are lilies, originally a flower with erotic connotations. In the Christian tradition, the Easter lily is known as the passion flower.
In a card spread, the Temperance card indicates a happy, harmonious relationship as long as the two people involved are prepared to cooperate with each other. It also indicates a time to open up and discuss your true feelings.
The Star
Hope, guidance, renewal, dreams, desires
This is one of the most optimistic cards in the deck, as it suggests hope and promise for the future. The maiden depicted in the Star card is young and naked, signifying innocence and purity. She has been associated with Inana, the Sumerian goddess of love and fertility. She has also been associated with Binah, the sephiroth of higher reason in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. The young maiden is pouring water. The water poured on the ground makes the earth fertile. With another pitcher, she pours water into a pool of water. This symbolizes abundance. The message is that the future is both fruitful and abundant.
The Moon
Subconscious, change, creativity, fertility
Ancient people observed the cycles of the moon and noticed the different effects it created in the natural world. They also noticed the female menstrual cycle took twenty-eight days, and as a result, considered the moon to be the Great Mother, responsible for fertility, pregnancy, and new life. This explains why the Moon has traditionally been associated with women.
At night we see things dimly, and the moon came to indicate the subconscious mind. Objects that look sinister or alarming at night cease to hold any fears in the daylight. Consequently, this card sometimes has negative overtones. It is also a card of creativity, as inspiration also comes from the subconscious mind.
The two towers symbolize a gateway protecting the path that leads to the mystical realms of the moon. This lunar path shows the way to intuition, insight, and feminine wisdom. The two dogs symbolize the fear and attraction of this mystical path. The crayfish possibly symbolizes the astrological sign of Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon. It is also possible that the crayfish, crawling out of the sea onto the land, symbolizes mankind’s evolution.
The Sun
Joy, happiness, optimism, enthusiasm
The Sun card does not have a direct relationship with love and romance, but when it occurs in a spread, it is a sign of warmth, happiness, and optimism. The sun can be considered the source of all life. In the Universal Tarot, some of the sun’s rays are straight, while others are wavy. This symbolizes the dual qualities of warmth and light. The naked boy on the horse symbolizes the start of a quest for spiritual growth. The red banner symbolizes energy and action.
This card is a highly positive one to receive when the question relates to love and romance.
The World
Wholeness, satisfaction, success, fulfillment
The World card indicates the end of a cycle of experience. The wreath surrounding the dancing figure in this card symbolizes the womb, and indicates that a whole new cycle of experience is about to begin. The wreath in the Universal Tarot deck is comprised of laurel leaves and red ribbons. The leaves symbolize success, and the red ribbon is a sign of achievement. Another intriguing possibility is that the wreath depicts a zero. The first Tarot key, The Fool, is zero. The World, Key twenty-one, is the final card of the major arcana. The zero in this final card could indicate that the end is the beginning, and the beginning is the end. The heads in each corner of this card are the four “living creatures” of Ezekiel: a man, an eagle, a bull, and a lion (Ezekiel 1:10). They symbolize the four elements, the four directions, the four seasons, and the world itself. The naked woman in the center of the card holds two wands that symbolize the positive and negative energies that make up the world. Some writers have hypothesized that the woman is a hermaphrodite, but in the Universal Tarot, she is gloriously feminine, and is possibly Eve, dancing in a young, new world where perfection was possible.
Color Symbolism in the Tarot
Tarot cards are brightly colored in most decks. The color symbolism from the previous chapter can be used to uncover hidden meanings. In addition, there are also other symbolic interpretations that are unique to the Tarot.
Pink, for example, symbolizes anything human or relating to humanity, such as people and buildings.
Blue relates to secrecy, emotions, and the feminine.
Conversely, red symbolizes the masculine qualities of strength, energy, and power.
Yellow symbolizes the intellect, and is also used to depict the Sun and the earth.
Angels
Angels appear four times in the Major Arcana: The Lovers, Temperance, Judgement, and The Devil. Authorities on the Tarot have failed to reach agreement about the identity of these angels. Some people think the angel in the Judgement card is Gabriel, while others claim he is Michael. My view is that it is Gabriel, as this angel is blowing a horn and summoning the dead to rise up from their coffins. I think Michael is the angel depicted in the Temperance card. However, no less an authority than Gareth Knight feels that this angel is Raphael. I feel Raphael is the angel shown in The Lovers card. These apparent contradictions sometimes confuse people. The best way to identify these archangels to your own satisfaction is to meditate on the cards and see what insights and revelations come to you.
Angels are sometimes considered symbols of the relationship God has with his creation. They are more usually considered symbols of spiritual order.
The four archangels also symbolize the four elements:
Raphael symbolizes the Air element.
Michael symbolizes the Fire element.
Gabriel symbolizes the Water element.
Uriel symbolizes the Earth element.
Plants
The Tarot deck uses a variety of floral symbols. The rose symbolizes life. In the Tarot, a red rose symbolizes passion, and a white one, purity. It is interesting that a five-petalled rose is on the banner held by Death in the card of the same name. This is because the white rose on the black banner of death symbolizes life. The lily is another flower that symbolizes purity. Roses and lilies are part of the pattern design on the clothes of the tonsured monks in The Hierophant card. Roses and white lilies can also be seen in the foreground of The Magician card. These symbolize the integrity of the magician. The white lilies reveal the purity of his soul, while the red roses symbolize divine love.
The laurel symbolizes success and victory. The first and last cards of the Major Arcana contain laurel. The Fool has a laurel branch in his cap, and a laurel wreath frames the dancing figure in The World.
The pomegranate, symbolizing fertility, is found in both The High Priestess and The Empress cards. The pomegranate is related to the Greek myth about Persephone. Hades, God of the Underworld, kidnapped the goddess Persephone to make her his bride. Persephone’s mother, Demeter, was goddess of the earth’s fertility. She immediately made the world barren until Zeus forced Hades to set her daughter free. Before leaving the Underworld, Persephone ate two pomegranate seeds. This meant that she had to spend part of every year in the Underworld as Hades’ queen. The grain in the foreground of The Empress card symbolizes Demeter.
Animals
Serpents have had a negative image throughout history. It was a serpent who offered Eve an apple in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3: 1–5). The fact that snakes move without legs, live in holes in the ground, and hatch out of eggs has been a source of endless fascination. The forked tongue of a snake reminded people of deceit, yet the snake is also considered knowledgeable. Jesus said: “Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Snakes have always been a sexual symbol. Their sinuous movements appear feminine, but their shape is phallic and also reminiscent of the umbilical cord. They also have an engulfing stomach, which can be symbolically connected to pregnancy.
Anita’s Experience
I first met Anita when we were both teenagers. Almost forty years later, our paths crossed again when we both attended the opening of an exhibition of Tarot cards at my local library. Afterwards, I invited her for a coffee.
“You’re probably wondering why I came to an exhibition of Tarot cards,” she said.
“Not really,” I replied. “The Tarot is extremely popular nowadays.”
Anita nodded. “I used to have a boyfriend who was very interested in it,” she said. “I think part of his appeal was his interest in things like that.” She smiled. “That relationship finished years ago, but something he did with Tarot cards intrigued me.”
“What was that?”
“Well, he never read the cards for other people. But every day, he’d put one Tarot card in his pocket. Whenever he had a spare moment, he’d pull it out and study it. He said that during the day, ideas would come to him about the card. He also thought the card placed him in situations which helped him understand its meaning.”
“That’s interesting,” I said. “He didn’t have favorite cards that he used regularly?”
Anita shook her head. “No, no. When Don was learning the Tarot, he took each of the cards in turn, to help him learn their meanings. Once he knew all that, he just took a card at random.”
“Like a card for the day?”
Anita nodded. “You could say that. Well, anyway, after that relationship ended, I had a few boyfriends, and then nothing for ages. I remembered what Don said about the cards putting him in the right situation to learn what he needed to know about the card. So I chose The Lovers card. I put it in my purse, and looked at it whenever I had a spare moment. The idea was to use it so I’d end up in situations where I’d meet the right man.”
“And did you?”
“Well, I met a few duds first. Maybe they were lessons I had to learn.” Anita laughed and sipped her coffee. “But finally I met Jeff. He wasn’t like the others. He was quiet, almost shy, but he has a great sense of humor. The strange thing was that he carried a Tarot deck around with him all the time. It’s a miniature deck that his sister gave him. She told him it would bring him whatever his heart desired. He freaked out when I opened my purse and showed him The Lovers card!”
“Is the relationship still going?”
“Oh, yes. We’ve been together several years now. I still have the Tarot card in my purse, but now it symbolizes Jeff. We’ve both done courses on the Tarot, too. We figured that since it brought us together we had to learn everything we could about it.”
61. J. E. Cirlot (translated by Jack Sage), A Dictionary of Symbols (London, UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1962), 194.