Understanding Tarot

Pam Richards

Description

At the heart of Pam Richards' new book, Understanding Tarot, is a detailed guide to the imagery and symbolism of each of the 78 cards in the tarot deck. This book uses as its reference point the classic tarot deck known as 'Rider-Waite-Smith', which was designed by Arthur Edward Waite and then drawn and brought to life by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909. Readers who wish to learn more about the images of this extraordinary deck will find this book very helpful.Understanding Tarot is intended to be a companion for all tarot students, with whatever deck they love, whether they are completely new to the subject or an experienced enthusiast looking to broaden their view of this wonderful deck of cards. Both the upright and reversed meanings of each card are given, and for those new to tarot, in these sections you will find keywords for each displayed in bold-italic text, and an 'In a Nutshell' section, which both give a quick glance at the cards without delving into the deeper elements of the book.Whether you wish to understand each card in detail or use them for psychic development, this book has you covered.

Sujets

• Occult

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
• Date de parution: 30 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781398431492
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

About the Author
Pam Richards was born in England in the late 1960s. She started her psychic journey at a young age and found Tarot in her late teens. She works as a clairvoyant and has previously worked as a therapist. Her wish to understand the deeper symbolism of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot images by Pamela Colman Smith, has created this book.
She lives with her partner and cats in Portugal and the UK.
www.psychicpamrichards.co.uk


Pam Richards
Understanding Tarot
A detailed guide to the Rider Waite Smith Tarot cards, for both the new and experienced Tarot student




Copyright © Pam Richards 2022
The right of Pam Richards to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781398431485 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781398431492 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published 2022
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
1 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5AA


To Debbie for introducing me to Tarot all those years ago.
To Robin, Martin George, Suzi for your input and wisdom.
To Saskia for the wonderful and rare 78 Rose and Lilies images.


Clear your mind – and welcome in The Sun
Clear your mind – and welcome in the dawning
Clear your mind – connect with The One
In the light of The Sun – in the light of the morning
~ ‘The Telling’ by Davey Dodds


Introduction
Welcome to Understanding Tarot and the wonderful world of Tarot. This book has been written as a guide, a resource and a friend to help you on your journey.
If this is your first introduction to the Tarot, you will find you are entering a fascinating field of study containing all of life’s possibilities. Within the pages of this book, you will meet with most facets of human existence and learn a lot about both yourself and others along the way.
Understanding Tarot is aimed at those completely new to Tarot as well as the more advanced student. If you have already been introduced to the Tarot, then I hope that this book is helpful, interesting and inspiring. You may have found out from previous study that the Tarot is a complex subject and not one best suited to conventional teaching. You can, however, be guided and hopefully this book will help you achieve that aim.
For those of you who are new to the study of the Tarot, the words in bold italics are to help you understand each card more quickly and to help bring the card’s main points to the beginner’s eye. The ‘In a Nutshell’ descriptions fulfil a similar function by offering a brief summing up of each card.
Tarot is an endless subject, branching into many others such as Astrology, Alchemy, Numerology, Chakras, Occultism, the Kabbalah, dreams, psychology and many, many more. Each author and deck designer have added their perspective of the Tarot, which gives us all a personal Tarot niche to settle into. However, when Tarot cards were created, those equally deep subjects were not an aspect for the tarot student or tarot reader to consider, nor were reversed cards. If you’re not drawn to any of these complex subjects, do not worry they are not needed to be able to learn and read Tarot, as the imagery holds all you need to know. We will touch on the subjects of Numerology (the study of numbers and how they affect life, personalities and events) , Chakras (energy centres within the body, based on eastern spiritual practices) and Astrology (how the stars and planets affect the world about us, personalities and life) ; however, with just a passing interest in these subjects, I’m not qualified or knowledgeable enough to go into deep detail in these areas. This shows you need only go to what you’re drawn to with Tarot to make it work for you. Don’t expect to have a grasp of the Tarot overnight: it’s best approached as a long and pleasant journey, so keep it simple.
This book is here to guide you towards an understanding of the Tarot and its symbolic nature, especially the Rider Waite Smith deck, with both upright and reversed meanings (the latter you can take or leave as befits your study). You can also use this book to aid your psychic development by learning how to use Tarot as a steppingstone to clairvoyant development, or subconscious growth, via the meditation exercises which utilise the Tarot in a less traditional way. Yet do understand: you do not have to be spiritual, clairvoyant, or mystical in any way to use the Tarot, as they are a subconscious tool first and foremost.
I wish to give, as far as I can, an uncomplicated approach to the Tarot. My aim is to show you as much of its magic as possible from the images of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck, with the book also being of use to all Tarot users and any deck they wish to work with.
New Tarot Students and the Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck
Understanding Tarot goes in-depth, showing the symbolic meanings behind as much as the imagery as possible in each card within the Rider Waite Smith deck (traditionally called the Rider Waite tarot deck). There are countless variations of this deck in print by new artists, as well as the deck itself, which is what I recommend to those new to or struggling with their Tarot journey to use. The reason this deck is so great to learn from is due to the amount of symbolism each card has drawn within it. Tarot stems from its symbolism, and learning the intricacies of each card is easier when they are in front of you.
To have your first Tarot deck as one which is pretty, yet has none of the symbolism, can make it harder for you to develop an understanding of them, as the subconscious mind will not be able to pick up on the universal symbolism which you already have within yourself if it is not present within the cards. The amount of resource material for this deck is also outstanding, from books such as this one to thousands of others and websites dedicated to them, so you will always be able to find a teacher or resource which you can gel with.
Understanding Tarot is a journey, one which can take time to grasp, and one where you never really stop developing your understanding of the cards’ meanings and symbolism. I know I haven’t. There are no shortcuts to learning such a complex system, so go for a deck that is fit for that purpose – the Rider Waite Smith.
I don’t have a Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck; can I still learn from this book?
Yes! While this book investigates the symbolism, the imagery of each card within the RWS deck, the card meanings and all the other pages of information will still help you with your Tarot study and practice, as it is universal information.
Your own journey with the Tarot is individual to you and I hope this book will introduce you to your own inner guide.
Grab your cards and let your journey begin!
A Brief History of The Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck
(with contributions from Saskia Jansen)
Tarot is said to have been born in Italy around the 14th century. The Major deck was used to play a card game called Tarocchi, which is like Bridge and is still played today, mainly in France. These decks were often highly decorated works of art, having been hand-painted and some decorated with gold leaf.
Later in the 14th century, the French introduced playing cards to the Tarocchi deck, and these two decks were paired together to create Tarot, although this still would most likely have been used as a parlour game, as opposed to divination.
Major changes came with Antoine Court de Gébelin, who held the opinion that Tarot held the secrets of the Egyptians. Without producing any historical evidence, he developed a reconstruction of Tarot history, stating that Egyptian priests had distilled the ancient Book of Thoth into these images. These they brought to Rome and secretly shown to the popes, who brought them to Avignon in the 14th century, whence they were introduced into France. In 1788 Court de Gébelin introduced Tarot for divination purposes in his compendium series, Volume VIII in an essay called ‘Le Monde primitif, analysé et comparé avec le monde modern’. Within two years the fortune-teller known as ‘Etteilla’ (Jean-Baptiste Alliette) published a technique for reading the Tarot, and the practice of Tarot reading was born with the first deck specifically printed and designed for divination.
The Rider Waite Tarot deck was first published in 1909. Its name derived from the name of the publisher, William Rider and Son, and Arthur Edward Waite who designed the deck. The Rider Waite name only appeared in 1971. Before that, they were merely called Tarot cards.
Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was born in Brooklyn, New York to an American father and British mother. Arthur’s father died when he was very young, which prompted his family to move back to England, where he lived for the rest of his life. As he grew, he became interested in the occult; this may have, in part, been due to the death of his sister. Christian Spiritualism and its belief in proof of survival of the Spirit after death were on the rise within the UK at that time, which no doubt stirred his interests.
In January 1891, aged 34, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society dedicated to the study of the occult, paranormal and metaphysical, which disbanded in 1914, after which Waite started the