The 22 cards of the Tarot’s Major Arcana are a map of the ascending spiral dance of your Soul’s quest for evolution and enlightenment. Each card marks a step along the way and offers profound insights regarding where you are on your journey, why, and how to get the most out of each step.
You begin your journey as The Fool (0). In modern decks, The Fool is shown as naÔve and a bit unconscious of his surroundings. But older decks often reveal The Fool as a carnival huckster or thief, a person steeped in the material world, greedy and grasping.
The Magician (I) is the one who jars you out of your trance. These days they are often a speaker who excites you by demonstrating the powers of meditation, or the Law of Attraction, or perhaps a particular psychic ability. You battle your way through the crowd surrounding the speaker at the end of the lecture, and finally get to express your enthusiasm. The Magician smiles and hands you a map, which leads you to …
The Priestess (II), your first true spiritual teacher. She may instruct you in the mysteries of Tarot or meditation, psychic development or Reiki healing. When you have learned enough, she pulls back the curtain behind her and gestures you down the path to …
The Empress (III), who is Mother Earth, the Feminine Force, source of fertility, abundance, cycles and seasons, creation and destruction. Through her you learn how things unfold without intervention, that everything has its time, and that energy and possibility wax and wane, just as the Moon does. She then passes you on to her consort …
The Emperor (IV), who is the Masculine Force which expresses through will, action, order and form. He is the Grail King, the archetypal ruler whose health, for good or ill, determines the well being of his kingdom. At his best, the Emperor is a benevolent, compassionate and caring ruler; at worst, he brings famine, war and destruction.
The Pope or Hierophant (V) is the first teacher who challenges you, who forces you to measure your new-found beliefs and knowledge against others’ perceptions. Here you get to find out what your friends and family think of your new ideas. If, after seeing their reactions, you want to continue on this path, you are granted permission to move on to …
The Lovers (VI). Originally The Lovers showed a young man choosing between two women, or two paths, deciding whether to go for carnal satisfaction or a higher, more sacred experience. Although today’s decks often show a couple, The Lovers card still asks you to choose your path, sacred or profane, and then to follow it without hedging.
If you again choose the sacred path, you next learn how to use the Feminine and Masculine Forces, beginning with …
The Charioteer (VII), who demonstrates the power of focused will. He shows you how to control his team of horses or Sphinxes, not by using reins, but through the sheer impact of steady, powerful intent. You practice driving his chariot down the road to discover …
Strength (VIII), a woman leaning affectionately on a full grown lion. Her strength is a peaceful and loving heart, and she tames even the most ferocious creatures by approaching them with both kindness and kinship. Using the Feminine Force, the Law of Attraction, she creates by making a place where the possible can take form..
Now you move on to a path which begins at the foot of a mountain and leads to …
The Hermit (IX), an old, solitary man in tattered clothes. You almost move on without speaking, until you recognize the wisdom in his ancient eyes. He guides you into the cave of your own heart, and teaches you to be quiet and still, and in the silence discover who you really are.
You depart The Hermit’s sanctuary by the back door, and find yourself stepping off into space! You fall, turning and turning, whirled around and around by the action of …
The Wheel of Fortune (X). Finally, you stop spinning and land! Dizzy and tired, you look around to get your bearings, and are stunned to see that you’re back where you began, but somehow … not. As you puzzle over your disorientation, you see before you …
Find out where the Wheel of Fortune leads in Part II …
