Het Monster. TAROT
Lectures 1993:
- Tarot and the visible world
- Structure of the Major Arcana
- Minor Arcana
- Tarot and the invisible world
- Divination
1. Tarot and the visible world
History of Tarot cards
Let us first consider Tarot as a phenomenon of the visible world (from Ancient Greek phainomai, “to appear”), and as a certain fact of everyday life with which we have to deal. So, what is Tarot?
TAROT: special divination cards consisting of 22 Major and 56 Minor Arcana.
ARCANUM (Latin arcanum — “mystery”; cf. also Arabic “rukn” — “pillar, foundation of faith”): a secret body of knowledge or instructions, a recipe, “know-how.” Similar complexes existed in many cultures and communities (ancient Egyptian priests, Druids, the Knights Templar, Freemasons, etc.). In alchemy, and sometimes in homeopathy, “arcana” referred to the constituent substances whose ingredients were kept secret.
The Major Arcana are narrative or symbolic images, each with its own name and ordinal number that appeared later. They are often adorned with additional symbols: these may include plants, animals, planetary signs and zodiac symbols, geomantic figures, letters from the Hebrew and other alphabets. Accordingly, they can be interpreted in several ways (from the occult, astrological, numerological, and other perspectives).
The Minor Arcana, in essence, are prototypes of playing cards (and are still used as such for the game “Tarok”), as they have four suits — wands, cups, swords, and pentacles (coins) — consisting of number cards from Ace to ten and four face cards — the Pharaoh (King), Sibyl (Queen), Rider (Knight, Cavalier, Senior Valet), and Messenger (Junior Valet or Page).
Initially, the four suits symbolized four main social strata — commoners (Messengers), knights (Riders), priests (Sibyls), and princes or kings (Pharaohs); in India, these were the Shudras, Kshatriyas, Brahmins, and Rajas, etc. Over time, this symbolism was forgotten; the Spanish and German decks retained the King and two Valets but “lost” the Queen, while the French and Russian decks retained the King, Queen, and one Valet. The suits acquired other names: instead of swords, cups, wands, and coins (pentacles), the cards began to depict spades (pikes), hearts (worms), oak leaves (clubs), and bells (diamonds). In modern American decks, spades are sometimes replaced with stars, and diamonds with apples. Only the Joker (The Fool) remains from the Major Arcana in such decks. The illustrations on the Minor Arcana cards first appeared in 1910, created by artist Pamela K. Smith in collaboration with occultist Arthur E. Waite.
Variants of the cards
There are countless variants of Tarot cards. A hundred years ago, there were barely two dozen different versions worldwide, including handwritten museum decks from the 15th–16th centuries, but now their number has exceeded a thousand. The choice is vast: black-and-white and colored, austere and humorous, simple and wise, stylized to resemble India, Egypt, Ancient Mexico, Rococo, Classicism, Impressionism, and even Surrealism and Pop Art… Salvador Dalí paid homage to this genre by creating seventy-eight collages from old masters’ works with his own painted “commentaries.” His deck is, of course, very popular in Spain.
The choice of deck depends entirely on the individual — the main thing is that it “fits” the hand, that you want and enjoy working with it. Abroad, where the selection of cards in stores is quite extensive, people act accordingly. In our country, so far, only three sets of cards have been released, and their execution is rather poor. But, as the saying goes, “in the absence of parchment, they write on plain paper.”
However, there is hope. Several artists have already brought me sketches of cards, and the Sibznak consortium in Krasnoyarsk has prepared an entire deck for publication, featuring truly wonderful works by a Siberian artist. The cards are expected to be released by the end of the year. I have secured a promise from them to deliver some copies to Omega, so interested individuals will be able to purchase them.
For now, let us examine the existing variants of the cards.
Marseille Tarot
Let us consider the existing variants of Tarot cards, so to speak, in chronological order. First is the Marseille Tarot, which preserves the traditional design of the earliest cards from the 14th–18th centuries (“Museum” decks by J. Gringonneur, Visconti-Sforza, Fournier, M.A. Moran). The names and interpretations of the arcana are also entirely traditional. Only 22 Major Arcana are illustrated; the Minor Arcana depict only numbers and figures indicating the suit (wands, cups, swords, and pentacles). More details on working with this type of deck can be found in Michel Moran’s book “Marseille Tarot,” which is scheduled to be released in Russian by Interarc in 1993.
The Marseille deck can consist of Major and Minor Arcana or only Major Arcana. M. Moran believes that “the twenty-two Major cards already encompass the entire complex of cosmic vibrations, so at the initial stage, the Minor Arcana may hinder the study of Tarot more than anything else.” Therefore, his book describes only the Major Arcana.
This book is also valuable because it includes descriptions of the meanings of card pairs. Additionally, it outlines rather unique approaches. Moran also places great emphasis on the colors used in the cards. The color palette of the Marseille deck is very simple, consisting of seven colors without shades:
white, red, blue, green, pink, black, yellow
Each color is associated with certain associations. Everyone has a general idea of what they represent: white symbolizes light and purity, blue femininity, red masculinity, and so on. In each card, one color or a pair of colors predominates, providing additional information and allowing one to sense the “mood” of the card. Since the colors of the Marseille Tarot are entirely traditional and almost always consistent, the group of decks following the Marseille model represents a complete and coherent system that should be studied and applied separately.
Etteilla’s Egyptian Tarot
Second is the “Egyptian” (also “Gypsy”) Tarot by the French occultist Etteilla (18th–19th centuries), which was once very popular in Russia. There were even cards with inscriptions in Russian and the book “The Mysterious Book of Thoth” about them, published in Moscow in 1861. The numbering of the Major Arcana, as well as their illustrations in Etteilla’s deck, differs significantly from the classical versions, naturally leading to a somewhat different interpretation.
Little is known about his life. Etteilla (Etteilla) was a contemporary and student of Antoine Court de Gébelin. It is quite possible that, influenced by his teacher, Etteilla himself joined a Masonic lodge. After seriously engaging in occultism, he abandoned his barber shop and changed his real surname, Alliette, to the esoteric pseudonym Etteilla, which was his surname spelled backward.
However, after trying to divine with Tarot cards, Etteilla quickly realized that their intricate Kabbalistic interpretations, favored by Masons, repelled rather than attracted clients. Masonic Tarot was too complex. So, Etteilla began creating his own system step by step.
He developed and refined it throughout his life, testing numerous layouts and several card variants. The final form of this system, along with the cards, was established by 1780 (according to other sources, by 1783).
The first version of his cards (Grand Etteilla, “The Grand Deck”) was still too complex: it included not only illustrations but also Masonic symbols, planetary signs, zodiac symbols, and other markings incomprehensible to the uninitiated. The French Revolution put an end to the activities of most Masonic lodges and other secret societies; the Constituent Assembly silently approved the arrest of Cagliostro, Count Saint-Germain either died or fled to Germany, and Etteilla’s fate after 1789 remains unknown.
As often happens, fame came to Etteilla only after his death, yet now it is eternal. French sources indicate that even during Napoleon’s lifetime, first in the provinces and then in Paris, a large Etteilla deck began to be sold with explanations “according to the Egyptian Book of Thoth.” Most likely, these were not the same cards Etteilla himself used, but they preserved the main thing: the system.
What has reached us are the cards printed during the reign of Louis-Philippe, that is, in the 1840s. In 1848, Louis-Philippe abdicated the throne, and the provincial publisher Baptiste-Paul Grimo, whom we have already mentioned (“Playing Cards Tarot,” No. 12/92), who made his fortune publishing playing and divination cards, moved to Paris. He printed first the large, and then the small—now the most popular—Etteilla deck (1850), also called Egyptian Tarot. The same publishing house still prints them today, along with the large and small Lenormand, Marseille Tarot, and many other decks.
Let us recall the main principles of the Etteilla system:
1. For divination, all 78 cards are used—both the Major and Minor Arcana. Those who possess a complete Etteilla deck in any version can follow this principle; those without it may limit themselves to the 22 Major Arcana.
2. Before divination, one card is designated as the Query Card or “blank”: in Etteilla’s system, this is the First and Eighth Major Arcana. The First, Chaos, represents a man and corresponds to the XXI Arcana of the general Tarot (World), while the Eighth denotes a woman and corresponds to the II Arcana (High Priestess). The blank is drawn from the deck and placed at the beginning of the divination.
3. A distinction is made between upright and reversed positions of the cards.
The spread devised by Etteilla himself is highly complex and is rarely used today, as simpler versions are preferred. These cards are described in my article in “Nauka i Religiya” (Science and Religion), No. 6 (7? 8?) for 1993.
General Tarot
The third, now most widespread type can be called “General Tarot”: here, illustrations are provided for all Arcana, both Major and Minor. Their interpretation also follows tradition, though today it is usually supplemented with esoteric commentary. This includes decks by Dr. Gérard d’Anthropos (Papus), Max Heindel, D. Raman, A. E. Waite, Aleister Crowley, Salvador Dalí, the “Masonic,” “Aquarian,” and most other decks. Typically, each deck’s author also wrote their own commentary, expressing their understanding of the cards and their philosophy.
In general, it can be said that each century has its own cards. In the 20th century, esoteric philosophy entered another phase of development, and the need to construct a new model of the universe demanded a fresh interpretation of the Tarot. In Russian, the best works of this kind include books by P. D. Ouspensky, V. Shmakov, and G. O. M.
The main principles of modern or “general” Tarot are:
1. Illustrations for all Arcana, both Major and Minor, facilitate the diviner’s “attunement” to the querent’s space-time continuum (or “cosmic vibrations,” as M. Moran puts it);
2. Intuitive interpretation of the cards, meaning not adherence to a rigid, once-and-for-all interpretation set by some authority, but a free flight of thought, working with the cards in a meditative state, allowing for unique, individual, and often unexpected answers to the question posed;
3. The use of cards not only as divinatory symbols but (and often exclusively) as tools for understanding the world, philosophical contemplation of the macrocosm and microcosm.
Playing Tarot
Finally, there is Playing Tarot, which stands somewhat apart because it is primarily intended for gaming. For this reason, we consider it last, though chronologically it should have been first.
As we know, Tarot cards once served as the prototype for playing cards, becoming—despite royal bans—the foundation for a variety of gambling games. Initially, the full deck was used, with all 22 Major cards (called “trumps”) and 56 Minor cards divided into four suits of 14 each: in addition to the ten pip cards from Ace to Ten, there were not three but four face cards—Page, Knight, Queen, and King (younger valet, older valet, lady, and king).
Many new games emerged, from preference and bridge to “the Fool,” “the Witch,” and “the Drunkard.” Why the English prefer bridge and billiards, the Germans skat, the French écarté, the Belgians rams, the Austrians doppelkopf and Rams, and the Russians preference is a separate story worthy of dedicated research. However, the most interesting fact is that in Southern and Western Europe, the oldest card game still survives, based on the full Tarot deck and even retaining its name.
In Italy, Austria, and the southern German lands, it is called “Tarock.” The oldest trump is the Fool (joker, zero or twenty-second Major Arcana), also called “Sküs” from the French l’Excuse, because when it is played, one says: “Pray excuse me!” Other Major Arcana also serve as trumps (Italian Tarocchi), though only “The Magician” and “The Moon” have numerical values (eyes), while the rest simply “beat” any other card. Among the Minor Arcana, only the face cards have numerical values; the others are called “lattons” (blanks) and are discarded during play. The rules resemble poker, with “streets,” “slams,” and other similar combinations. In France, the game retains its original name (Tarot, “Tarot”).
Special decks are produced for enthusiasts of this ancient game. Take, for example, the Playing Tarot deck published by the venerable Parisian firm Grimo. The illustrations were created by artists E. Jeanin-Naltet and M. Garrive. In this type of deck, the Minor Arcana feature illustrations—they are identical to modern playing cards, except that instead of three face cards, there are four: Valet (Page), Cavalier (Knight), Dame (Queen), and Roi (King).
However, they can also be used for divination. The trump cards in Playing Tarot depict genre scenes from the era of Napoleon III—children playing, gentlemen conversing, peasants at rest, and so on. These scenes have nothing in common with traditional Major Arcana imagery. Yet this does not fundamentally change the matter: the illustrations, like any other symbols, can be used for divination. They are sufficiently informative to evoke a chain of associations even in the unprepared, and thus fully capable of answering any question.
Especially since each of the Major Arcana in this deck has not one but two different images, meaning they can be interpreted as either “upright” or “reversed.” For more on these cards, see my article in issue No. 12 of the journal “Nauka i Religiya” (Science and Religion) for 1992.
Origin of the Cards
There are various theories about their origin. The most popular is that the Major Arcana derive from 22 golden tablets kept in the basement of one of the ancient Egyptian temples.This belief was held, for example, by the renowned French theologian, linguist, and occultist Antoine Court de Gébelin (1725–1784), a member of the Masonic lodge “Les Neuf Sœurs,” which included Voltaire and Danton. He is best known for his multi-volume work, which he spent his life writing and never finished. It was published posthumously under the title “Le monde primitif analysé et comparé avec le monde moderne” (The Primitive World, Analyzed and Compared with the Modern World).
In it, he asserts that these symbols (arcana) originated in Egypt a century and a half after the Great Flood. The Major Arcana of the Tarot were compiled by the learned magicians of ancient Egypt to preserve the accumulated knowledge for posterity. They expressed it in the form of illustrations because, first, any language changes or is forgotten over time, and second, “virtues fade, they are transient, but vice is eternal”: it turns out the Egyptians hid their secret knowledge behind the mask of playing cards!
In reality, the first Tarot cards were brought to Europe by the Roma people in the 14th century, who were long considered descendants of the Egyptians (cf., e.g., English “gipsy”), which is why the version of Tarot’s Egyptian origin became widely accepted. Where exactly the Roma obtained them remains unknown, but occultists enthusiastically developed this version and eventually convinced the public of it.
It was not entirely clear where the ancient Egyptian priests themselves derived the Tarot Arcana. To this day, there are still disagreements on this matter. Some believe the priests created them themselves, others think they were a legacy of the Atlanteans or some other previous race, while a third group believes the Arcana were received through revelation.
Revelation
Revelation is a special method of receiving information, distinct from the channel of ordinary invisible communication (let us call it telepathic), which allows penetration into the space-time continuum from existing (living) subconsciousnesses—meaning, within our linear time, at best, a few centuries. The experience of the past lives on in the consciousness (or subconsciousness) of those who remember it. The experience of future generations, descendants who, in our view, have not yet been born, lives within us, their ancestors, whom they remember.
REVELATION (Lat. revelatio, Gr. apokalypsis): a manifestation or information, as it appears to human perception, emanating from a higher power (God) and perceived through extraordinary (non-sensory) means—such as in dreams or a state of trance. This mode of communication can span centuries and millennia of linear time because it is not based on the egregorial memory of generations but on cosmic information fields, where, like computer files, the subconsciousnesses of those who no longer exist (or have not yet come into being) are “archived.” From a cosmic perspective, the concept of time does not apply.
It was through revelation that great prophets and visionaries received their knowledge (Old Testament prophets, Muhammad, Dante Alighieri, Michel Nostradamus, Daniil Andreev).
Almost every nation considers revelation the source of its Sacred Book, at least in its original form. It is no coincidence that each “People of the Book” retrospectively reconstructs the history of its Sacred Book—and, by extension, its own history—extending it to a fantastical antiquity (tens or even hundreds of thousands of years).
The time of Sacred Books flows in reverse. Here is a classic example of involution: the texts themselves do not evolve from the moment of their canonization. While peoples do evolve—relatively quickly, over two or three thousand, or even a few hundred years—losing any connection—kinship, external resemblance, language, place of residence, or way of thinking—with their ancestral people to whom, if at all, the Revelation was given.
Time is a mysterious thing, and its linear concept is an extremely inconvenient construct for philosophers, let alone occultists. It is no wonder that occultists, seemingly throughout all ages—and in our historical memory, since the 18th century—have sought the Book of Books, that primordial source which was revealed to humanity before it fragmented into different nations, each declaring only its version of the Book to be true.
“All religions preserve the memory of a single primordial book, written in hieroglyphs by the sages of the first centuries of the world. Its symbols, later simplified and vulgarized, served as the basis for the alphabet, the Word’s categories, and the occult philosophy’s mysterious signs,” wrote Eliphas Levi (Dogme…).
LÉVI, Eliphas (Eliphas Lévi, b. Alphonse-Louis Constant, 1810–1875): a French theologian, philosopher, and occultist. He studied at a seminary and served as a deacon in the Parisian church of Saint-Sulpice; he was defrocked and expelled from the church community for preaching “heretical doctrines.” In 1840, he published *La Bible de la Liberté*, in which he demanded a return to the “truly communist” principles proclaimed by Jesus Christ, calling the official church a “courtesan of the rich and tyrants.” The book was banned, and the author served six months in prison. However, he gained fame not as one of the first “communists” but as a profound theorist of occultism.
Works:
– *La Bible de la Liberté* (Paris, 1840).
– *Le Dogme et le Rituel de la Haute Magie*, vols. 1–2 (Paris, 1856, 1861); Russ. trans. *Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic*, vols. 1–2 (St. Petersburg, 1910).
– *L’Histoire de la Magie* (Paris, 1860).
– *La Clef des Grands Mystères* (Paris, 1861).
– *Fables et Symboles* (Paris, 1864).
– *Le Sorcier de Meudon* (Paris, 1865).
– *La Science des Esprits* (Paris, 1865).
He believed that the 22 Major Arcana of Tarot were once letters of a proto-alphabet used by Enoch, Hermes Trismegistus, and Cadmus—”the sages of the first centuries of the world.” Thus, it was not the letters of the first (ancient Egyptian) alphabet that unfolded into the Arcana, but the Arcana that were condensed into letters (another example of retrospective reconstruction).
ENOCH (Henoch, Heb. “Initiate”): an Old Testament patriarch, son of Jared and father of Methuselah. In the Quran, he is mentioned as Idris, “The Knowing” (19:57b, 58); he is credited with founding science and inventing writing. Historians of occultism often equate him with Hermes-Thoth. For his righteous life, he was taken alive to heaven (Gen. 5:21–24). According to legend, he wrote a book that his great-grandson Noah saved from the flood. The apocryphal *Book of Enoch* contains 108 chapters and recounts angels who married living women; their children, born of these unions, were taught astrology, magic, and other esoteric sciences by the angels. Textual analysis suggests the book originated before the 2nd century BCE. It was published in Russian in 1888 in Kazan. See also Porfiryev I. *Apocryphal Tales of Old Testament Figures and Events* (Kazan, 1873).
CADMUS (Kadmos): son of Agenor, king of Tyre (or Sidon), and founder of the city of Thebes in Boeotia. At the site indicated by the Delphic oracle for founding the city, he killed a dragon (or serpent), from whose teeth soldiers sprang up. Almost all of them killed each other; five remained and became the founders of the noble Spartan clans. He is considered the inventor of the Greek alphabet.
HERMES TRISMEGISTUS (Gr. Trismegistos, “Thrice Great”): a name by which the Greeks identified Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom and writing, whom they equated with their god Hermes. Originally, this (or a similar) name belonged to a magician and scholar of pre-dynastic Egypt (mid-3rd millennium BCE), possibly a priest of the lunar cult, later deified. The center of the lunar cult of Hermes-Thoth was the city of Hermopolis. Later, the Gnostics revived Hermes as a scholar and master of secret knowledge. Clement of Alexandria (3rd century CE) considered him the author of 42 works on astrology, cosmography, and religious themes. Surviving Greek and Latin texts include *On the Nature of the Gods* (*De natura deorum*), *Poemander or On the Power and Wisdom of God* (*Poemander sive de potestate et sapientia Dei*), and the famous *Emerald Tablet* (*Tabula smaragdina*). For more, see, e.g., Agapova Z. *Hermes: God of Earthly and Celestial Knowledge*. Almanac “Hermes,” Moscow, 1992.
Helena Petrovna Blavatskaya even claimed to have found this book. She called it the *Book of Dzyan* (Dzan, Dzhan, Ch. Chan/Zen, Skt. Dhyana, “meditation”) and cited its texts. What this book is or whether it even existed is irrelevant in this context. Blavatskaya was mistaken, as were many others before and after her, falling victim to the same paradox of human thought (involution): the Book is reconstructed retrospectively.
Retrospective reconstruction is a trait shared by nearly all, if not all, human theories. Take, for example, the Big Bang theory: to understand the history of the Universe, humanity needed a hypothesis about some initial moment. Nothing can exist without a beginning. Thus, in the history of the Universe, time also flows backward: the Big Bang does not actually mark its beginning but its culmination, retroactively constructed into something comprehensible. The end became a prosthesis for the beginning.
Arcana and Icons
Similarly, the cards have been retrospectively reconstructed. In reality, they have little in common not only with ancient symbols but also with their predecessors: even in the 19th century, the Major Arcana were understood differently than in the 20th, let alone the 13th or 17th centuries.
It is clear that each person understands them in their own way, according to their own thesaurus, personality traits, and even their mood. And the artist who paints the cards also expresses themselves within them. True, Tarot cards, like Russian icons, have their own canon; yet there are artists who adhere to it (Salvador Dalí).
However, the cards do not lose anything because of this. Whether in one deck the Strength card is numbered eight and in another eleven, whether the Lovers card in the Rider-Waite deck depicts two human figures, in Papus’s three, and in Aleister Crowley’s four—its general, so to speak, monad remains unchanged.
Yet each new figure, each change in number or color introduces variations in detail and adds new meanings to the card. Once you begin working with the cards, you will find that each new situation or thought arising in connection with a particular card also contributes something, enriching not only your own thesaurus but also its egregore.
Finally, each card is “multi-layered” and even “multi-dimensional”: it can point to specific events and the significance of those events, to processes occurring in the subconscious, consciousness, and superconsciousness, at the level of the physical, astral, or mental body. It can relate to the fate of one person, a family, a company, a region, a country, an entire continent, the whole globe, the Solar System, and even the galaxy.
Thus, a Tarot Arcanum is not a dogma, and working with them is not a ritual. The Arcanum is not merely an object of the material world, nor even a symbol in the everyday sense, but a complex of symbols akin to Russian icons—windows into the spiritual world. As Pavel Florensky wrote, “The iconostasis is the boundary between the visible and the invisible worlds.” Through icons we see images of saints, that is, essentially, the deeds of the individual; through the Arcanum we see images of ideas that exist just as truly. The word “icon” (eikōn) in Greek means “image.”
Florensky continues in the same article (“Iconostasis,” 1922): “The iconostasis is the saints themselves, and if all who pray in the church were sufficiently spiritualized, if the sight of everyone praying in the church were always clear, there would be no other iconostasis in the church except the future witnesses of God…” Likewise, the Tarot Arcanum serves only as an aid, a temporary support for those who find it difficult to see with spiritual vision. Those whose vision is developed can use plain sheets of paper or even simply visualize “laying out the cards,” that is, turning to the ideas they embody.
But we will discuss this another time.
Literature
There is an enormous amount of literature on the Tarot. See, for example:
– G.O.M. Course of the Encyclopedia of Occultism. Vol. 1–2. St. Petersburg, 1911.
– Larionov I.K. Arcanum Tarot. Moscow, “Prometheus,” 1990.
– Monster. Tarot ABC. Moscow, “Interark,” 1992.
– Moran M. Marseilles Tarot. Moscow, “Interark,” 1993.
– Papus. The Divinatory Tarot. St. Petersburg, 1912; reprint, Moscow, 1991.
– The Mysterious Book of Thoth, or The Art of Divination by 78 Ancient Egyptian Cards, Collected by Etteilla. Moscow, 1861.
– Uspensky P.D. The Symbolism of the Tarot, in: Uspensky P.D. A New Model of the Universe. Moscow, Chernyshev Publishing House, 1993.
– Shmakov V. The Sacred Book of Thoth: The Major Arcana of the Tarot. Moscow, 1916; reprint, Moscow, 1992.
– Bauer, E. Tarot: Quelle therapeutischer Wandlung. Munich, 1982.
– Pollack, R. Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot. Wellingborough, 1983.
– van Rijnberk, G. Le Tarot: histoire, iconographie, ésotérisme. Paris, Éditions de la Maisnie, 1981.
– Thierens, A.E. Astrology and the Tarot. Van Nuys, CA, 1975.
Het Monster
PLAYING TAROT
Once a man came to me, pulled a deck of cards from his pocket, and said:
— Someone brought me a Tarot deck, but I can’t make heads or tails of it: in Papus it says “Papess,” “Judgement,” “Emperor,” but here there are just some children drawn, ladies dancing…
There are countless versions of Tarot cards. If a hundred years ago there were barely two dozen different versions worldwide, including manuscript museum decks from the 15th–16th centuries, today their number has exceeded a thousand. The choice is vast: black-and-white and color, austere and whimsical, simple and profound, stylized to resemble India, Egypt, ancient Mexico, rococo, classicism, Impressionism, and even Surrealism and Pop Art… Salvador Dalí also paid homage to the genre, creating seventy-eight collages from old masters’ works with his own painted “commentaries.” His deck is, of course, very popular in Spain.
Yet despite the diversity of illustrations, the core meaning of the twenty-two Major and fifty-six Minor Arcana remains the same. Science and Religion has already written about them—see the articles by A. Vyatkin in No. 1/89 and R. Nikolaeva in No. 12/91. Moreover, there are Russian-language books where you can learn more about them, for example: Papus. The Divinatory Tarot. St. Petersburg, 1912; reprint, Moscow, 1991; Shmakov V. The Sacred Book of Thoth: The Major Arcana of the Tarot. Moscow, 1916; Larionov I.K. Arcanum Tarot. Moscow, “Prometheus,” 1990; Monster. Tarot ABC. Moscow, “Interark,” 1992; and others. So today we will not be discussing the Arcana.
In general, all existing Tarot decks can be divided into four main types. Let us list them “in chronological order” according to the time of their emergence.
First, the Marseilles Tarot, which preserves the traditional design of the earliest cards from the 14th–18th centuries (the museum decks of J. Gringonneur, Visconti-Sforza, Fournier, and M. Moran). The names and interpretations of the Arcana are also entirely traditional. Only the 22 Major Arcana are illustrated; the Minors feature only numbers and suit symbols (wands, cups, swords, and coins). For more on working with this type of deck, see M. Moran’s Marseilles Tarot, the Russian-language edition of which was planned by the firm “Interark” for 1993.
Second, the “Egyptian” (also “Gypsy”) Tarot of the French occultist Etteilla (18th–19th centuries), once very popular in Russia. There were even cards with Russian inscriptions, and The Mysterious Book of Thoth about them was published in Moscow in 1861. Etteilla’s numbering of the Major Arcana and their illustrations differ in many ways from the classical, which naturally leads to a somewhat different interpretation.
Third, the most widespread type today can be called “General Tarot”: here, all Arcana—both Major and Minor—are illustrated (the Minors first received images in 1910 in the deck of the American artist Pamela Colman Smith, reproduced in issue No. 1 of the journal for 1989; since then, all versions of this type have included illustrations). Their interpretation fully adheres to ancient tradition, as in the Marseilles Tarot system, though it is supplemented with commentary in the spirit of modern esoteric cosmology (20th century: decks by Papus, M.A. Heindel, D. Roman, A.E. Waite, A. Crowley, S. Dalí, the “Masonic,” “Aquarian,” and most others).
And finally, the fourth and least studied type among us: Playing Tarot. It was the Tarot cards that originally served as the prototype for playing cards, becoming—despite all royal bans—the foundation of a whole series of gambling games. Initially, the full deck was used, with all twenty-two Major cards (called “trumps”) and 56 Minors, divided into four suits of 14 cards each: in addition to the ten pip cards from Ace to Ten, there were four face cards—not three as today, but four: the Page, Knight, Queen, and King. They originally symbolized the four main social strata—commoners (Pages), knights (Knights), priests (Queens), and princes or kings (Kings); in India, these were the shudras, kshatriyas, brahmins, and rajahs, and so on. Over time, this symbolism was forgotten; the Spanish and German decks retained the King and two Knaves but “lost” the Queen, while the French and Russian decks retained the King, Queen, and one Knave. The suits took on different names: instead of swords, cups, wands, and coins (denarii), they depicted spades (pikes), hearts (worms), oak leaves (clubs), and bells (diamonds). In modern American decks, spades are sometimes replaced by stars, and diamonds by apples. Of the Major cards, only the Joker (the Fool) remains in these decks.
Many new games have emerged, ranging from preference and bridge to “fool,” “witch,” and “drunkard.” Why the English favor bridge and billiards, the Germans—skat, the French—écarté, the Belgians—rommé, the Austrians—Doppelkopf and Rams, and the Russians—preference, is a special story deserving separate study. However, the most interesting fact is that in Southern and Western Europe, the oldest card game still survives, based on a full Tarot deck and even retaining its name.
In Italy, Austria, and the southern German lands, it is called “Tarock.” The oldest trump is considered the Fool (joker, zero, or twenty-first of the Major Arcana), which is called “Sküs” from the French l’Excuse, because when it is played, one says: “Accept my apologies!” Other Major Arcana also serve as trumps (Italian Tarocchi), though only “The Magician” and “The Moon” have numerical values (eyes), while the rest simply “beat” any other card. Among the Minor Arcana, only face cards (“pictures”) have numerical values; the others are called “lattons” (blanks) and are simply discarded during play. The rules resemble poker: there are also “streets,” “shelm,” and other similar configurations. In France, it retains its original name (Tarot, “Tarot”).
Special cards are produced for enthusiasts of this ancient game. The Minor Arcana in this type of deck lack illustrations—they are identical to modern playing cards, except that there are four face cards instead of three: Valet (Messenger), Cavalier (Knight), Dame (Lady), and Roi (Pharaoh). The Major Arcana feature genre scenes from the 1860s. These traditional images of the Major Arcana have nothing in common with the Napoleonic era. Instead, they depict children playing, dancing ladies, chatting gentlemen, resting peasants, and various other characters. They were created to give the cards a playful rather than ominous character. However, this does not change the essence: the illustrations, like any other symbols, can still be used for divination.
Take, for example, the deck of Playing Tarot released by the old Parisian firm Grimaud. The illustrations were created by artists E. Géant-Naltet and M. Garrive. The Major Arcana are numbered, so they could theoretically be interpreted like a standard Tarot, but this is difficult and unnecessary, as the Grimaud deck’s illustrations are strong in their own right. They are informative enough to evoke a chain of associations even in an unprepared person, and thus fully capable of answering any question.
Moreover, each of the Major Arcana in this deck has not one but two different images, meaning they can be interpreted as either the “Direct” or “Reversed” version. As with descriptions of other divinatory symbols, we will provide only some possible interpretations here; when laying out these cards, it is best to rely on your own intuition. You may have other associations—do not consider them “incorrect”; they are likely simply better suited to your personality.
The cards have been tested in practice, confirming their suitability for divination. The descriptions are based on a series of divinatory sessions. You can draw and lay out the cards in any way you know. The simplest method is to draw one card each morning, like runes, to learn what the coming day may bring.
1 (Direct). Columbine and Pulcinella. Melodrama. A clarification of relationships, possibly with pain and tears, but ultimately everything resolves. If asked about a sick person—successful surgery, recovery. Your worries are understandable, this card says, but the story has a happy ending.
1 (Reversed). Pierrot and Pantalone. Farce. A “false alarm,” an imaginary danger that nonetheless causes considerable anxiety. A summons to the police or tax inspection may be possible. Do not worry: first, the trouble is not as bad as it seems, and second, staying calm in this case is the key to success.
2 (Direct). Boys’ games. A person takes on too much, promises more than they can deliver. A “funny army,” empty threats. However, minor troubles (bumps, bruises) may arise, or rivalry, especially in the realm of sexual relationships.
2 (Reversed). Girls’ games. A pleasant acquaintance, but not serious—just entertainment, a fun company. Unusual sexual relationships may also arise.
3 (Direct). Gentlemen on a walk. Prosperity and leisure. A person with enough money to indulge any whim. However, be careful: you have too many envious people who could harm you. This card may also represent someone whose relatives or friends interfere with their union with a loved one.
3 (Reversed). A stroll with a favor. Rest after hard work. Nothing threatens you, so surprises can only be pleasant. This is a good omen, an unexpected stroke of luck waiting just around the corner.
4 (Direct). Scholarly pursuits. A long research project, investigation, or learning process. The role of the querent—teacher or student, leader or assistant—should be determined by adjacent cards.
4 (Reversed). Mother and children. Care for children. The birth of a child in the family, among close relatives, or acquaintances. It may also signify a single-parent family where the father has left or is away.
5 (Direct). Grandfather and grandchildren. A “sweet reward” for work or a performance that is actually unnecessary, though perhaps excellently executed. However, both sides pretend that “this is how it should be.”
5 (Reversed). Grandmother and grandchildren. Reading a letter or fairy tales: comfort, distraction. A person or people who support you in a difficult moment. A good home where the door is always open to you.
6 (Direct). Ladies at tea. Empty conversation, forced communication with someone you do not wish to see. Be careful: your interlocutor may later spread malicious gossip about you.
6 (Reversed). Peasants at work. Urgent work (“harvest time”). May also signify an engagement: two young people passing by, not hiding their relationship, unafraid of gossip.
7 (Direct). News. An unpleasant letter, summons; explanations. Accusations backed by evidence. A clarification of relationships with a husband, partner, or colleague. A court case may be possible.
7 (Reversed). Peasants at rest. A period of rest after hard work, a break, possibly a vacation. May also represent a wife or mother caring for her husband (son).
8 (Direct). A dinner party. A concert, success or a thirst for success; may also signify a public profession—actor, journalist, translator.
8 (Reversed). Family idyll. Peace, a father’s return, retirement due to age or illness. But it may also mean an offense or neglect (as in the older girl in the illustration, watching as the younger one is pampered): try to be more attentive to your loved ones.
9 (Direct). The traveler. A person who has long left their homeland, an emigrant—or simply a lonely, misunderstood figure who has distanced themselves from those who do not understand them. In any case, this is someone who has seen and learned much more than those around them, yet remains unappreciated.
9 (Reversed). A thief. A thief or lover sneaking into a house behind the owner’s back, or at least an unpleasant surprise for the householder. Be cautious and take necessary precautions in time.
10 (Direct). The shepherd. Freedom from worldly cares, surrounded only by mountains, sky, and a loyal friend—the dog. Or spiritual self-improvement, pastoral service, a vow. This is what your soul aspires to.
10 (Reversed). A quarry. Lack of freedom, punishment, labor “in the sweat of one’s brow.” Or a futile search for treasure, a wrong path, Sisyphean toil. Perhaps you yourself realize the futility of your plan or current endeavor, yet cannot abandon it—you must see it through to the end.
11 (Direct). A picnic. A waste of time, likely driven by a desire to “fit in”; also flirtation without love or an unprofitable investment.
11 (reversed). Rowing a Boat. Enjoyable time spent, desire to distance oneself from others, or—true love, profitable investment.
12 (upright). Ball. Refusal. Temporary retreat, a period of heartbreak. You were not accepted or misunderstood, but do not despair: the unfavorable period will soon end, and everything will be different.
12 (reversed). Dancing. A village festival, kermesse, or, as they say now, a “get-together.” Everything is going well, a favorable period has arrived, this card says. Relationships with a partner are improving.
13 (upright). Government Office. You will have dealings with some office, filling out forms, lists, possibly participating in elections; it may seem unnecessary to you, but it’s better to do everything required so as not to end up on the losing side.
13 (reversed). Shop. Bustle, concern for material gain, buying and selling. Financial difficulties, the need to carefully budget to feed and clothe your family.
14 (upright). Hunting. Searching for prey: if anything at all comes your way, that’s already good! Do not refuse anything, agree to any offer—your chances of winning are greater than losing.
14 (reversed). Fishing. The catch comes to you on its own, but the water is murky. What you pull up may be a fish—or it may be a tin can. So be careful: think things through before making a decision.
15 (upright). Artist. Creativity, work for the soul. Perhaps your labor will not pay off soon, but the main thing is that it is necessary for you: without it, your personality will be incomplete, your thoughts and feelings will remain unexpressed. So keep working without doubt.
15 (reversed). Photographer. Craft, commissioned work. Your labor pays off quickly, demand for what you do is high and continues to grow. However, it cannot bring you true satisfaction, so consider whether to change this job over time for something more creative.
16 (upright). Gardener. Labor for others or for the future: those who appreciate this work are not the people watching now but others, much later. No effort here can be excessive, and breaks are unacceptable, for plants require daily care.
16 (reversed). Sheep Shearing. The labor is undoubtedly useful, but you devote too much energy and time to it. Such people, who spare no effort, are called workaholics in America. Have mercy on yourself, take a rest!
17 (upright). Leaps. Excessive emotions, recklessness, risk of losing much without gaining anything—or even getting injured. Still, you clearly enjoy strong sensations and risky situations—well, that’s your choice.
17 (reversed). Haymaking. A calm, measured life and work whose results leave no room for doubt. Hence—emotional balance, harmony with oneself. But is the role of a couch potato not too gloomy?
18 (upright). Market. Be careful: do not let yourself be deceived, and do not deceive others! After all, as they say, persuasion is more expensive than money. Your line of work is that of a middleman.
18 (reversed). Threshing. Production that is quite organized, though perhaps not yet efficient (manual labor). Do not spare money—buy a computer and/or other equipment—not necessarily the most expensive, but the one best suited to your goals. Your line of work is that of an entrepreneur.
19 (upright). On the Ice Rink. A celebration, a feast without sufficient cause. An attempt to escape from problems, to forget, if only for a while. Family discord, misunderstandings between children and elders. Or—a very young person, a child.
19 (reversed). Weavers. Laying the foundation, the beginning of some work. Solidarity without pretension. Family well-being. Or—an elderly person, an old man.
20 (upright). Card Game. Loyalty to the traditions of “your circle,” old partners, the rules of the game. Or—a risky venture. The risk is high, but so is the possible gain.
20 (reversed). Bowling. Loyalty to ancestral traditions, customs, an informal group (friends, neighbors). The risk is small, but so is the profit.
21 (upright). Assembly. Masquerade. Memories of the past, returning to the old. Or—an unusual marriage: in mature years (“for those over thirty”), with a much younger (or, conversely, older) partner, a morganatic marriage.
21 (reversed). Parade. Trouble mainly related to military service: conscription or demobilization, relocation, possibly even military action. However, the presence of a jester among the soldiers suggests much noise but little benefit.
22 (0). “Skis” (The Fool, Joker). “Forgive me,” this card says, “everything may turn out quite differently from what you expect.” Most likely, there can be no definitive answer to your question, so do not rush and do not interfere in the course of events.
By way of experiment, let us try to find out what 1993 has in store for us and draw one card for the year. Let us ask a general question: what will it bring to all of us, what will it be like? We lay out the Major Arcana of the Grimoire Tarot on the table and listen to which card responds…
Here it is: the 14th Arcana, “Fishing.” Yes, next year truly anything can happen. Still, the card does not point to any threat or catastrophe, and that is already good. Yet there is no complete clarity, and equal chances for all are not guaranteed: everyone will cast their net again and again in search of their golden fish. Some will succeed at once, while others will have to fish for their luck for a long time. The card advises: think before accepting any offer or invitation. After all, “fishing” also means “choosing.” And a choice made thoughtfully always increases the likelihood of success.
