Numerology and stuff

Tarot Symbolism

The Tarot is steeped in symbolism. It was designed to be just so. A great deal of time and effort went into carefully constructing the detail in each card. There is absolute rhyme and reason for every stroke and swirl of colour, every flower, animal or cloud in the sky, every building, mountain, cliff or bridge. Nothing appears in the imagery or depictions in the Tarot by accident. As mentioned before, this is not just art for art's sake. There is no limit to the variety of Tarot Decks available to purchase and imagery will vary greatly from deck to deck. However, regardless of choice each of these decks will have been designed to symbolically represent a situation, a person, a personality, joy, trauma or catastrophe on every level of being.

Symbols are loaded with meaning and when used in the Tarot, their aim is to symbolically tell a story without words. A story that we will all respond to and identify with.

We are surrounded by symbols in our daily life. For a most simplistic example, think of all the street and road signs indicating a series of bad bends ahead, a cross roads, end of motorway etc. We may not all speak the same language but for most of us in the world we can readily and instinctively read and interpret symbols. Therefore, by acquainting ourselves with the symbolism present in each card a whole story opens before us. Often when reading, a certain symbol rather than another will jump out of the card at you and instantly you will know what story needs to be told. You will automatically make the connections and will be able to relate its relevance and importance to the querant. At times several similar looking symbols will appear in a spread and these will reinforce the message for the querant. As Tarot readers you must train yourself to be observant not only when it comes to spotting and interpreting symbols but also spotting recurring symbols and hidden symbols.

Most symbols you will identify immediately as they carry universal meaning and you will probably have grown up with an understanding of them. The meaning of other symbols you will be learning about for the first time. Understanding the deep symbolism in the Tarot will greatly improve your reading skills and also make the whole process of learning each card considerably easier.

Certain symbols will appear repetitively throughout the Tarot especially when representing a particular Suit or Element. The Tarot works with many levels of symbolism. Some of this symbolism is deeply mystical such as the symbols relating to the Kabbalah and Alchemy. The Kabbalah will be explored in Part III when we accompany The Fool on his journey through The Major Arcana. However, references will also be made to the Kabbalah in Part I and Part II. Do not attempt to burden you workload at present by delving into the Kabbalah as it is quite complex. Instead just absorb the snippets that will accompany the Introductions to all the numbered cards in the Suits.

Other Types of Symbolism:

Numerology is the science of numbers. Pythagoras (580/572 BC – 500/490 BC) the ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher believed that numbers contained their own unique energies that affected us on many levels and that everything was related to mathematics. Pythagoras claimed that by numbers alone anything could be predicted or explained. His theory was based on the cyclical nature of numbers and their patterns. Pythagoras was once quoted as saying "number is the ruler of forms and ideas and the cause of gods and demons." He also considered numbers to be mystical and magical. He believed that the world, our personalities and everything we did could be explained by numbers. Numbers also had a sex – odd numbers were male, even were female. Today numerologists use the 'Fadic' system, which is the adding of two digits or reducing of digits to make one.

With the exception of the 16 Court Cards, each card in the Tarot Deck is numbered and each of these cards carry the vibration or energy of the particular number associated with it. The Minor Arcana are numbered one (ace) to 10 in each Suit and the Major Arcana is numbered from 0 to 21. Not only is the meaning of the card taken into consideration for interpretation but also its numerical association. When we see a particular number turning up repetitively in a spread, the meaning associated with the number is strengthened and so must be given close attention for it is telling us something. Numbers alone in a reading can provide great information not only on what is going on in the Querant's life but also alert us to the particular stage they are at on their life cycle. Both hold great importance for the querant and often provide answers as to why they are going through certain issues at such time.