Post 3 - Looking to the Future
The art or ‘cartomancy’ is an act of divination using a deck of cards, and tarot is at this point pretty much synonymous with it.While some would have you believe that using tarot for divination is an ancient practice, the truth is that it doesn’t date back very far at all. "The only theory of ultimate interest about the Tarot is that it is an admirable symbolic picture of the Universe" (Crowley, 1969). In fact, scholarship can’t find evidence of tarot being used for divination at all before the 18th century. In 2003, Dummett spoke in The Playing-Card (a quarterly academic magazine produced by International Playing-Card Society) about an anonymous manuscript from the 1700s that supposedly is the first documented use of tarot for this purpose. “It is unclear when it happened, but some time prior to the eighteenth century people began to use playing cards for the purposes of divination. [...] It is far easier to identify when people began using Tarot cards to make predictions. This occurred at the end of the eighteenth century in France thanks to the efforts of Antoine Court de Gébelin and Jean-Baptiste Alliette who went by the pseudonym Etteilla.” (Lynn, n/d). Alliette was the one to coin the terms Minor and Major Arcana for the different card types, and some occult decks forgo the Minor Arcana entirely. "Eventually, the Tarot came to interest British occultists of the 19th and early 20th centuries—in particular, members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organization that heavily influenced modern occultism" (Chamberlain, 2017). This is the group through which Wiate comissioned Pamela Colman Smith and created the Rider-Waite deck.
From there tarot was well established in occult circles, but would not reach mainstream popularity until a spike in the USA around the 60s, where it has remained an occult symbol to this day.
In the occult world, there is more and less option for decks that you can use. There are several artists who develop packs for the sake of divination, but most if not all of them end up being strongly derived from three main decks. The Tarot of Marseilles, Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck, and the Thoth tarot deck. I thought about using the Thoth Deck for this journey, but in the end I decided against it because I was more familiar with the Rider-Waite,and resources regarding it are easier to find.
A New Values Reading:
Upon rereading the pyramid layout definition, I realized that I really misunderstood what the reading is actually for, so I decided to do a New Values reading instead. I dropped the idea of the three fates reading too, as I’ve learned in the past two weeks that I get plenty of content from one reading, far more than I thought, and there’s no need to do two a week like I thought. The New Values reading is another three card reading, indicating what will become more and less important in the future, as well as identifying what’s crucial right now.
Position One: What is currently essential
Five of Pentacles (Inverted)
The Five of Pentacles is a particularly morose card, most of the time. It represents financial problems, poverty, health issues, and narrow mindedness. “The Five of Pentacles is a more positive card when reversed thaan when upright.” (Fenton-Smith, 2008). It is an assurance that things will change, usually times of struggle are about to come to an end, and that you are becoming more open minded.
Position Two: What will become more important
Page of Cups
The Page of Cups represented an opportunity for fulfillment. Sometimes taking a new lover or a new business partner. In the story of the Cups, a young man falls in love, realises the relationship isn’t what he wants it to be, and slowly recovers. The page of cups falls at the end of his journey and when he has found fulfilment in another relationship tat is better than the last.It can also represent psychic development and emotional growth.
Position Three: What will become less important
The Chariot (Inverted)
The Chariot represents contradictions, for the most part. The sphinxes heading the chariot have opposite energies, constantly at war, while mediated by the man in the middle. “When this card appears it can mean that you need to control the opposing forces in your life.” (Fenton-Smith, 2008). When inverted the sphinx's energies grow stronger, and can represent a build up of strong emotions about to explode. It can also represent being blinded by nostalgia. “One possible meaning of the chariot reversed is sentiment and unresolved emotions clouding your present for you with things. Don't hold onto the past, to old ways of coping or to the emotions which are building up within you.” (Fenton-Smith, 2008)
Reflections
Interpretation:
The Five of pentacles in position one, I took to mean that right now it’s important to remember that change is coming from a time of hardship, but remaining broadminded is crucial. I have also been experiencing extreme financial struggles at the moment, so that’s a big part of my life right now too. The Pages in the Tarot represent study, and while they do mean studies within their suit’s respective areas, they can also mean study in general, and I am hoping that it’s presence in second position means that I will be able to put more emphasis on my studies. They’re already important to me, but have been suffering under burden of extreme stress and labor. Inverted Chariot is a good sign in position 3. It means that the emotions that are blinding me and affecting me right now are going to become less terrible to deal with in the coming future.
Technical
These are more about the cards themselves, the meanings that they have, and my skill in memorizing and associating them.
I am definitely learning which cards to look out for as I continue this journey. As my familiarity with the cards grows, so does my knowledge of what cards you really don’t want to see turning up. Someone who doesn’t know anything about Tarot might presume that Death or The Devil are unnerving cards to see, but as I’m learning more, I’m realizing that the Nine or Three of Swords. It is a mark of my progress that I felt a bit sick when I saw the Five of Pentacles show up. Thankfully it’s a bit cheerier a card when inverted, but it did strike me as a mark of progress that I was unnerved to see it turn up. The image is pretty haunting, but I actually figured out that it’s not an ideal card by utilising my new associations with the numbers. Pretty much all the fives are uncomfortable at best. They represent change and that often involves being uprooted and shaken up, but they can herold good things. The presence of the Five led me to believe that change is coming, and effected how I read the second and third card, as I believe that these cards represent what will be important after the change occurs.
Reflection through Reading
This is more about my performance, and how I interpreted the cards and linked them to my personal circumstances to find meaning and advice for self-reflection
Honestly, I stewed on this one a while, trying to figure out how to tackle the Page. It was rereading Fenton-Smith that I finally found a somewhat satisfactory answer in the form of the ‘studies’ angle. The other two were, I thought, pretty intuitive. While not encouraging at the time, this reading did actually give me the confidence to apply for a job that I would really like to get. Only time will tell if that’s what the cards wanted for me. Last week gave me a lot to reflect on in terms of perseverance, but also on how ‘all-talk-no-action’ I had allowed myself to become in terms of being unhappy. It helped give me a spurr forwards, and this week's cards were encouraging to taking a couple of risks and invest in a coming and hopefully better future.
A Footnote:
This week was short but hard. Physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging. While it may not be reflected in the length of the post, I did actually get a lot out of the past two weeks spiritually. I hope I'm able to explain in more detail in my final reflections.
References:
Dummett, M. (2003). "Tarot Cartomancy in Bologna". The Playing-Card.
Crowley, A. 1969. The Book of Thoth. Massachusetts: Weiser Books
Chamberlain, L. (2017, November 6). The Witch and the Tarot: A Wiccan Guide –. Wicca Living. https://wiccaliving.com/witch-tarot/
Fenton-Smith, P. (2008). Tarot revealed. General Books.
Lynn, M. (n.d.). A History of Seeing the Future: Tarot Cards in Early Modern Europe. From: The Ultimate History Project. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://ultimatehistoryproject.com/history-of-tarot-cards.html