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History
& Mystery of Tarot
by
M. J. Abadie
The
Tarot has experienced a resurgence in the past
two decades and has become especially popular
recently, with newly minted modern Tarot decks
coming out frequently. There are now dozens of
decks from which to choose, representing
themes from Egyptian and Celtic to Native
American and Feminist.
Over
time, the Tarot cards have had their ups and
downs, falling from popular interest only to
be once more resurrected by those in search of
the deeper meanings behind their complex
symbolism. As the saying goes, "Truth
will always out."
The
earliest known "book" of Tarot cards
still in existence are those from 1840-42, of
which seventeen remain. The first entire deck
still in existence was painted by the Italian
Bonifacio Bembo for the Duke of Milan.
Many
theories exist about the origins of the Tarot.
During different periods of history, occult
(the word means "hidden") studies
were either freely available to all or deeply
secret, depending upon the prevailing
authorities of the culture's attitude toward
occult knowledge.
One
theory is that in the great library of
Alexandria in Egypt, whose female librarian
Hypatia was world-renowned for her wisdom and
learning, there existed scrolls (which was how
books were made in those days) containing all
of the wisdom of the ancient world.
One
of these "books" was supposedly
based on the legendary Book of Thoth, derived
from the mystery schools of Egypt. The
allegorical illustrations on the Tarot cards
are said to contain these secret teachings,
which in the Major Arcana represent a course
in personal development. The esoteric
teachings were hidden in the seemingly
innocent pictures.
Gypsies
are said to have carried the cards to Europe
and "gypsy" is considered a corrupt form
of "Egyptian." Considered by the
Church to be "the devil's picture book", the cards were quickly condemned
by the Catholic Church as heretical. Just to
possess them was a dangerous act.
There
seems no doubt that the cards were a means for
preservation of ancient knowledge that the
Church considered dangerous, or heretical, at
a time when it was literally a danger to your
life to believe anything other than the
established Church dogma.
Though
we can only speculate on its origins, the
Tarot images are inextricably linked to
ancient beliefs, mythologies, and religious
systems such as the Hebrew Cabala. Others,
notably Pythagoras, believed that letters and
numbers are in themselves divine beings
possessing extraordinary powers; the Greek
neo-Pythagorean school taught these ideas.
No
matter the origin of the Tarot, it is clear
that its motifs refer directly to fundamental
human psychological and spiritual experiences.
The more one studies them and practices their
use, the deeper one's understanding becomes,
and the more they resonate to the inner life,
as well as to events in the outer life. They
are primarily meant to be used for
enlightenment, for discovery of the authentic
Self.
Number
cards are believed to have been added at a
later date, around the time of the first known
deck in the fourteenth century. This theory
suggests that they derive from an Italian card
game known as tarrochi.
Though
we will never know their true history, that
needn't prevent us from using their wisdom,
for the Tarot cards do indeed tell a powerful
story: the story of the development of human
life. It is an adventure story, like the
hero's journey, filled with challenges,
obstacles to be overcome, lessons to be
learned, reconciliations to be achieved, honor
to be protected, goals to be formulated and
reached. In this universal story, each of us
undertakes his or her own Way, following
whatever symbolism speaks to us at the moment
of a reading. It is this amazing flexibility
that has allowed the Tarot and its marvelous
symbols to endure through long and tumultuous
centuries in order to come down to us today.
The
Soul of the World
In
the view of the alchemists and mystics, the
universal significance of such symbols as the
Tarot presents and preserves was thought to
spring from the anima mundi, or soul of
the world, which was seen as a vast repository
of knowledge, like a universal library, that
was filled with the memories and wisdom of the
entire human race-past, present, and future.
Sometimes called the "Akashic records", this source
of knowledge could be accessed by anyone
willing to make the effort of deep
contemplation.
Within
this collective pool are all the basic figures
found in religions, myths, legends, and fairy
tales. Taken together, these figures
encapsulate a magical storehouse of profound
esoteric knowledge. For example, The Empress
symbolizes the essence of femininity as
represented by the great mother Goddess of the
world's most ancient religion. She can be seen
as the representative of what Goethe called
"the eternal feminine", in both myth
and psychology.
Thus
does each figure of the Tarot call forth from
the individual's unconscious a deep resonance.
Contact with these images in a conscious,
intentional way allows their hidden
counterparts -- denizens of the deepest layer of
human collectivity -- to surface and become
integrated into a person's life.
Properly
conducted, a reading is a story -- the images on
the cards meld into a meaningful pattern that
can clarify the issues confronting the person
for whom the reading is held. In a profound
sense, if taken rightly, a reading can act
like a vivid, enlightening dream or a moment
of the flash of inspiration-the
"Ah-ha" experience. "So, that's
how it goes!"
Tarot
cards are wonderful for meditation, as well as
for divination, or the answering of questions.
They act to stimulate the intuition, which is
the key to the gateway of the unconscious.
They act to illuminate the hidden factors in a
person's life that bear on the situation at
hand. Often, the person him- or herself may be
unaware of these inner issues that are
secretly shaping the course of his or her
life. The Tarot, by contacting what is inside
the person, reveals them.
 This article
has been excerpted with permission from her book "The Everything
Tarot Book" ©1999 published by Adams Media Corp., Holbrook,
MA. Visit the publisher's website at http://www.adamsmedia.com.
Info/Order this book.
Another
article on the tarot by this author.
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