Category: Tarot
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Roses and Lillies in the Smith-Waite Tarot
These flowers show up multiple times in the Smith-Waite-Rider deck. You perhaps will have noticed them on the Magician card. They also appear on the robes of the tonsured monks at the bottom of the Hierophant card. This is mostly likely a symbol from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. They initiated Waite and…
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The Lovers – Tarot
Originally, this card featured a couple of young children about to be struck by Cupid. The children are probably the offspring of the Visconti and Sforza families who are arranged to be wed before long. Those were the families that commissioned the deck. Early interpretations of this card include marriage. Later the Marseille and Italian…
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The Hierophant – Tarot
This is the 6th trump and is associated with the number 5. Traditionally this card is called the pope and sometimes the High Priestess Card is called the Papess (or female pope). I think I’ve seen one pack that even calls this the High priest, but that feels like some Wiccan stuff. Gébain changed the…
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21st Atu – The Universe – Thoth Tarot
This card symbolises the 32nd path on the Tree of Life, the path associated with the Hebrew letter Tau. This is the path that connects Yesod to Malkuth. It is associated with Saturn. This article is an attempt to analyse the pictures and symbols that appear on The Universe card of the Thoth Tarot Deck.…
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The Symbols in the Thoth Deck
The Thoth deck was designed by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Freida Harris. It was compiled in the last few years of Aleister Crowley’s life and he also published a book about it called the Book of Thoth. This deck is perhaps the most symbol-heavy deck of tarot cards you will ever see. If…
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A Brief History of the Tarot
This is part of my section about the Tarot including interpretation of the symbolism of all the cards. Please see this page as an index of all that information. In the modern day, the tarot is a means of divination. This means it is used to derive information from spiritual sources. It was not always…
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The Emperor – Tarot
The Emperor is the male counterpart to the Empress card, many of the cards have a partner. In earlier decks such as Visconti-Sforza and the Marseille the Emperor is side on where as the Empress is facing the viewer. Earlier versions of this card feature the emperor side-ways on with crossed legs, and according to…
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The Empress – Tarot
This card has generally been very consistent. It features a female ruler. Even as far back as the Visconti-Sforza deck she has a shield with her while her male counter part the Emperor has the globe. In Smith-Waite-Rider’s deck she also holds a wand with a globe on the end and her shield rests on…
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The High Priestess – Tarot
So the real question in my mind is what Waite, who seems the least womanly of all the Golden Dawn men, would have to say about this card. I mean you had the men who adored women in the Golden Dawn, but couldn’t quite get them. The men who raised women up but then also…
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The Magician – Tarot
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The Magicians Sometimes called the Magus and sometimes the Juggler this card often features a man at table. Frequently on the in front of him are a series of tools. In the Smith-Waite-Rider deck the cools before him are the suits, but older cards have a variety of different tools. In the Smith-Waite-Rider deck he…