Numerology and stuff

Major Arcana

After completing our study of the preceding 56 cards of The Minor Arcana, including the Court Cards, we now move onto the remaining 22 cards which make up The Major Arcana . We move away from the structure of the Four Elements and their distinctive qualities, to a somewhat different approach when divining the meaning of Major Arcana cards in a spread. As we have already covered in Part I, The Major Arcana (big mysteries), are the more intense and fixed cards in the Tarot . Each card in the Tarot has their own unique value, but whereas The Minor Arcana give us information on what is happening in our everyday life, The Major Arcana tells us why.

In The Minor Arcana we experience the flux and flow of energy as we move through our daily life. The energy The Minor Arcana brings with it is transient. The ups and downs of life are highlighted along with the people who are influential in each situation. Some of this energy may seem more than transient to us at times as we endure hardship, loss or sadness. Other times the energy rushes through and is gone all too soon such as happy times, summer days, romance, holidays and special occasions. The Minor Arcana tells us what is going on at any one point or time in our life. We all experience the highs and lows of such energy as represented by The Minor Arcana and we all have been temporarily altered as a result of it. If we are honest with ourselves we will all admit that our personalities have reversed at times due to our circumstances, leaving us negative or nasty. Hopefully, after a period of time we have righted ourselves and got on with life once more.

When The Minor Arcana appear in a reading their energy is not fixed. Therefore if it all looks a bit negative or gloomy, with a bit of effort on our part we can change the course of direction to a more positive outcome. Their energy at the end of the day is not that powerful if we can potentially alter it or rework it to suit our situation.

The energy The Major Arcana brings into a reading is not so flexible. The Major Arcana are often looked upon as our Destiny, Fate or Karmic cards. Their energy brings strong spiritual messages and often reflect the karmic lessons we carry from life to life as we strive to overcome and master them for our spiritually growth. The energy of The Major Arcana follows us around throughout our whole life; shadowing us, challenging us, supporting us and sometimes overpowering us. When a Major Arcana card appears in a reading we must give it proper attention for it is giving us strong reasons and explanations for the situations The Minor Arcana are depicting. They give us a 'behind the scenes' version of the events. They tell us the deep and often powerful force that is driving the situation.

When the Outcome or Answer positions in a reading are Minor Arcana then we generally can alter the outcome if it is not in our favour. We can do this in many ways such as changing our attitude, behaviour, method of communication or by forgiving, releasing and letting go. When the Outcome or Answer positions are Major cards then the outcome is pretty fixed and considerable effort would need to be put in on the querant's behalf to overturn it. Karma is definitely an issue.

It is through The Major Arcana that we will discover the underlying, or root cause behind our behaviour, or our pattern of living. The Major Arcana will give us deep insight into who we really are and will expose our shadow side whether we try to hide it or not.

The Major Arcana are developed around archetypal characters, situations and symbolism which we all connect with. As we move through the cards, you will also connect with certain cards more than others. You will recognise your friends, partners, family, work colleagues and even your neighbours, in the stories and scenarios that unfold throughout the journey. You will identify certain cards with certain episodes in your life, and may gain valuable insight as to how they came to be, and how better you may have handled the situation.

The Major Arcana is often referred to as a journey. This journey represents the evolution of mankind from the dawn of time, but it also represents our personal journey from birth to death, on both a physical and spiritual path. We may liken the journey through The Major Arcana as that of a new baby in The Fool card as he finds his feet; amazed at everything in life being new and fresh, and for the moment, untainted. The innocence of The Fool in his youth, as in real life, is not destined to last, and whether the baby wants to grow up or not, that is what happens. That is his destiny and how the Universe works. The baby must eventually take his first steps, and as he gets older, rely less and less on Mother and Father as he seeks independence and responsibility for his own life. It is how The Fool handles his independence and how responsible he is on his journey that determines whether his path flows smoothly or is pitted with obstacles and disasters.