On the topic of Tarot: Meanings times infinity (well, close, maybe)
A traditional deck of Tarot cards consists of 78 cards; 22 Major Arcana, 40 Minor Arcana/Pip cards (the suits of Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles), and 16 Court cards. (Let’s see…22 + 40 + 16…carry the…yeah, 78.) Generally speaking, Majors represent larger life themes and lessons, Minors represent more day-to-day items and actions, and Court cards are often personalities. Each card has rich imagery, collective meaning, intuitive meaning, and positional/directional meaning.
Firstly, an interesting note, a card might have one meaning in one reading and a completely different meaning in another reading. That is the “magic” of intuition. While I store the collective meaning in the back of my head for overall guidance, it is intuition that pulls the messaging for the querent. (Oh, PS! Querent is what we call a client or customer in the Tarot community.) One step further, and I’ll only cover this surface level here, messaging from my guides and the querent’s guides steer the reading for a really rich and custom experience.
Secondly, no matter how many times a Tarot reader sees a card, something new can jump out at any point. For example, perhaps there is a bird in the sky of a certain card. Review after review and reading after reading, the reader might never really pay attention to that bird. However, then (please read that with dramatic pause), along comes a reading in which that bird stands out more prominently than anything else in the card. And, that single observation can take the messaging of that card to places it has never been. Ugh, so exciting, I love this stuff.
Lastly, each deck has different imagery. Therefore, as an artist depicts a card, they often build in traditional imagery, as well as add their own flair or interpretation. Each deck takes on a personality, suited for different readings. The image you see in the pic, it took me aback the first time I saw it in a reading. It still does. The Five of Coins (Pentacles) has a traditional meaning of poverty (financial or spiritual), feeling down and out, in despair, etc. The imagery in this card is different than a traditional deck. Here is a beautiful woman, feminine energy, a broken mirror, and more. But, what caught me most of all, the child she is shielding. While this could be representative of an actual child, it also appears to take on a very strong meaning of the concept of Inner Child and healing.
Let it be known to all, I love Tarot. It is rich with meaning and a pro at helping querent’s to gather insights, to gain perspective from their intuitive self (which has the tendency to be sooooo much quieter than their ego self). I hope you all enjoyed this little chat. And, reach out if you have questions! I love to talk about passions. Kinda one of my favorite things, if that wasn’t obvious.
Angela McKay LLC specializes in Life Coaching and Tarot. Angela is an Intuitive Life Coach and Tarot Professional. She stands beside her clients, lending insights into their space via Tarot and serving as their accountability partner via Coaching.