Journey to the Tarot

Why do I study Tarot

I live in a country where almost everyone is materialist. Am I a materialist? I think the answer is yes. But that doesn't mean I think tarot is meaningless. Materialism is good, science keeps advancing and more and more things in real life become explainable by science. However, I still believe, or suspect, that intuition and subconsciousness are chaotic yet with a pattern to follow. Thoughts guide how one acts and influence reality. And reality, in turn, can influence thinking. The influence between thinking and reality can be huge or trivial. I think tarot is a possible way to expand the tiny influence and make it visible. Besides, I believe interpreting tarot can help one reflect on oneself.

I'm a person who really believe the intuition. I have many cases of intuitive success and some of them are incredibly impressive. I bought my first tarot cards when I was about 12. But I've never formally studied tarot. Recently, I used some ai tools to help me interpret cards and I thought the outputs were really worth referring, which strengthened my determination to study Tarot.

Anyway, let's get started.

Major Arcana

$22$ Major Arcana cards can be interpreted as a person's growth journey, often referred to as The Fool's Journey. For a rough overview:

$\text{The}$ $\text{Fool:}$ $\text{"I'm}$ $\text{going}$ $\text{to}$ $\text{set}$ $\text{off."}$ $\rightarrow$ $\text{Magician:}$ $\text{"I discovered}$ $\text{that}$ $\text{I}$ $\text{have}$ $\text{the}$ $\text{ability}$ $\text{to}$ $\text{influence}$ $\text{the}$ $\text{world."}$ $\rightarrow$ $\text{Priestess:}$ $\text{"But}$ $\text{not}$ $\text{everything}$ $\text{can}$ $\text{be}$ $\text{understood}$ $\text{through}$ $\text{action."}$ $\rightarrow$ ... Finally arrived $\text{World:}$ $\text{"This}$ $\text{stage}$ $\text{is}$ $\text{complete."}$

So when the Major Arcana appears, what we usually focus on first is not "What small event happened today?", but: What larger theme is this person experiencing?

0 — The Fool

Elements: Young man, cliff, puppy, sun, white rose, luggage, raised head.

1. Cliff

   This is the most important element in this card. The young man is walking forward. However, he seems not to have even looked at the ground.

   So there are two completely different interpretations existing simultaneously here:

   1. "I don't know what's ahead, but I'm going."
   2. "I haven't even figured out what's ahead. but I'm still setting off."

   So naturally, we can infer the core tension of The Fool:

   1. Freedom / Courage / New Beginnings
   2. Naivety / Lack of preparation / Recklessness

2. Why does he only have a small bag?

   If the picture depicts a well-prepared traveler, he should be carrying a lot of equipment. But Fool has almost nothing.

   So it reinforces:

   1. Traveling lightly and not being bound by the past.
   2. Insufficient preparation.

3. What is the puppy doing?

   We can interpret the dog as: companion, intuition, instinct, reminder, protection.

   1. "Go! Explore!"
   2. "Hey! There's a cliff ahead!"

One principle of Tarot: The same symbol often contains both the bright side and the dark side.

Practice

1. "Have I recently received a completely new job offer? Should I accept it?" How would you explain The Fool to this person?

   Me — show my interpretation

   I think you need to do more research on this job opportunity first. It might offer you more opportunities but also come with many risks. All of these need to be based on your further investigation of the job.

   Re — show the response

   This interpretation approach is correct, and you have already captured the crucial dual nature of The Fool. However, there is one aspect that needs adjustment: Your current interpretation has slightly shifted from "the card" to "realistic advice".

   Does The Fool really tell us "More research is needed"?

   No.

   So if I were the Reader, I might read it like this:

   "This card as a whole does not actively prevent you from accepting this opportunity. On the contrary, it has a strong connotation of 'entering a new stage'. This job might bring you into an environment different from your past experiences and bring about new possibilities."

   "But The Fool also reminds you: You don't know much about what lies ahead. Therefore, this is not 'I confirm it must be great, so I accept it', but more like 'I know there are unknowns, but I am willing to take the unknown and step out'."

   Then the practical suggestions can be:

   "Before making a decision, make sure to identify the risks that you cannot accept."

   It is better to separate these two levels:

   What the cards tell you → How you interpret it → Based on this understanding, what suggestions do you give.

2. "I already have a stable job, but recently I suddenly have a strong desire to quit. I have no savings and haven't found a new job yet. Should I now take a voluntary leave?"

   What state do you think "The Fool" is depicting for this person? What aspect of "The Fool" is being shown here?

   Me — show my interpretation

   I believe that 'The Fool' is depicting a state of recklessness or lack of preparation for this person, because he mentioned that he already had a stable job, but recently 'suddenly' wanted to resign, which precisely corresponds to the vigilant aspect of 'The Fool'.

   Re — show the response

   Re: Yes, and this time your reasoning has already been very close to the true "reading of the cards". I will take your interpretation one step further: The Fool is not necessarily saying "The idea of quitting is wrong".

   It might be describing:

   "Right now, you are extremely eager to break away from the existing structure and venture into the unknown. So your attention is focused on 'obtaining freedom after leaving', without fully paying attention to the cliff."

   This is better than saying "You are very rash" because the Tarot Reader should try to describe the state rather than label the person.